The night I rushed to save the Secretary of State, my fiancé's mistress stole my car and ran over my hands. ------ Dr. Fiona Hargrove's pager burst into action at 3:47 a.m., with the urgent red alert blazing across the display like a sudden alarm. Secretary of State – Chancellor Theodore Langford. Urgent surgical procedure required. Aortic dissection. Federal Council priority Alpha-1. The surgery needed completion inside the critical golden hour. The Council's official black sedan already stood ready downstairs. It represented the sole transport capable of cutting through early morning congestion and reaching the airfield promptly. Yet upon arriving at the underground parking area, the designated spot sat vacant. The security camera footage on her device verified the situation in thirty harsh seconds: Julian Ashford had driven the car away forty minutes prior. Not due to any crisis. Not connected to family matters. Simply to show off for his newest intern. Plane takeoff remained in fifty-three minutes. No alternative approved transport possessed the sedan's special permissions. She faced no other option. By the moment she pulled up to the Ashford estate's private entrance, the black sedan rested shining beneath the portico like a symbol of authority. And relaxing in the rear seat, legs neatly crossed, browsing her phone as though the universe centered on her, appeared Vanessa Sterling. Fiona shut off the motorcycle's motor and advanced with purpose, her tone steady yet sharpened by resolve. "Ms. Sterling. Exit my transport. Immediately." Vanessa barely raised her eyes. "Your transport? Julian mentioned I could borrow it anytime I wished. You're staying put until he returns." Fiona's gaze tightened. The young woman was barely twenty-two, dressed in high-end fashion with an arrogant expression, clearly intoxicated by the influence of being the heir's preferred companion. "Abusing a Federal Council vehicle?" Fiona stated icily. "Three years minimum sentence. Allowing some random young woman a pleasure trip without my knowledge? Additional penalties." Three years earlier the Ashfords had pleaded with her to enter the engagement—claiming it repaid her role in saving Harlan Beaumont's life, assuring Julian offered position, appearance, and devotion. They vowed the union would secure their weakening organization. Yet here she stood, witnessing their prospects collapse for an intern. Vanessa eventually met her stare, lips twisting upward. "You actually believe you're important just because you're a physician? Julian selected me. Move on." She declined to budge. Fiona breathed out once, sharply, then pivoted and settled into the driver's position regardless. Lives took precedence. She was the only one who could have saved the Chancellor. Julian could justify his actions to the Council afterward. She ignited the motor. "What is your problem?!" Vanessa surged ahead from behind, yelling, grasping at the steering wheel. "You lack permission to drive without MY approval!" The vehicle lurched sharply. They deviated wildly, tires howling, heading directly for the stone barrier along the driveway. Fiona wrenched the wheel with expert control and hit the brakes firmly. The sedan crashed into a trimmed flowerbed rather than the wall. The motor faltered but continued operating. Small favors. "Are you out of your mind?!" Fiona yelled, pulse racing in her chest. "Don't handle what doesn't belong to you," Vanessa mocked, eyes shining with victory. "Try it once more and I'll sever your hand, failure." Sophisticated. Fiona disregarded her, exited the car, and promptly evaluated the harm. Hood bent. Bumper marked. Motor still active. Minor blessings. Before she could reenter, a group of Ashford security personnel appeared, pushing her roughly with routine aggression. With Vanessa observing from the rear seat like royalty on a platform, two of them entered the front. "Believe you can insult Ms. Sterling and simply depart?" one snarled. "You're fortunate we don't flay you." Fiona addressed the astonished maid lingering close by. "Who precisely is she?" The maid scoffed. "You don't recognize Ms. Sterling? She's Mr. Ashford's preferred intern assistant. Vanessa Sterling." Fiona chuckled once, brief and without mirth. An intern. Behaving as if she controlled the organization. She retrieved her phone. "Let's discover Julian's response to this." Vanessa stiffened noticeably, stare fixed on the display. Fine. Let her feel uneasy. The call rang endlessly before Julian answered, tone relaxed, entertained. "Julian," Fiona declared, voice even and businesslike, "operating my designated Federal vehicle without authorization counts as a public safety violation. Instruct your intern and her guards to leave. If they avoid further hindering my assignment, perhaps I'll spare you from prison." Quiet followed. Then he chuckled—chilly, contemptuous. "Fiona Hargrove. Who do you imagine you are, demanding I humiliate poor Vanessa on your behalf? You genuinely feel you merit that car more than she does?" She froze. The Ashfords had implored her to wed Julian—stated it repaid her medical efforts. Promised he possessed appeal, rank, and would support her. Never anticipated he would align with her. Did he truly overlook that absent their betrothal, his whole clan would collapse? She represented why the Federal Council granted them major agreements. He acted unreasonably. "You should consider this carefully," she replied, suppressing her fury. "If you squander my schedule, Grandpa Harlan's heart may not survive." She held responsibility to perform surgery on Julian's grandfather that night. But failing to reach Chancellor Theodore Langford promptly would leave Harlan waiting—each minute increasingly perilous. Chapter 2 "Stop it!" Julian barked. "Don't assume I remain unaware of your deceptions! "I investigated thoroughly. That initial heart operation on Grandpa? Routine. Any physician could manage it. You merely deceived him into viewing you as exceptional to secure the marriage." He clenched his jaw. "Well, well done. I'm not terminating the engagement, but you'll never treat him again." Her chest constricted. "No—this procedure truly requires only—" "Continuing the performance, are we?" He appeared uninterested. "Vanessa located an international heart specialist. Surgery advanced. You're removed from duty." Advanced? And nobody informed her—the primary surgeon? If not trapped by this assignment, she would race back to the hospital to halt it personally. But she could not. She lacked further options. "If complications arise, will YOU accept responsibility?" she demanded. Patients queued months for access to her operating room. Harlan? He advanced solely via Julian. Ordinarily, he would not qualify. If they rejected her assistance, she refused to plead. Quiet returned. He had not foreseen her yielding so rapidly. "Nothing will go wrong," he stated hastily. "I assume full accountability." Click. He ended the call. With Julian abandoning her, the maid—who had clearly relished the spectacle—snorted. "Feeling remorse now, right?" She rolled her eyes. "Ms. Sterling isn't merely an intern. Mr. Ashford instructed us to regard her as the household's mistress." Household's mistress? She truly believed she misheard. They possessed a "mistress" prior to any marriage with him? "You individuals truly unaware Julian Ashford maintains a fiancée?" she inquired. The maid sneered. "Come on. He remarked once that foolish female arrives, she can depart immediately. The sole woman he acknowledges is Ms. Sterling." Vanessa sighed theatrically, displaying a conceited smile—and the sparkling diamond on her finger. Fiona laughed. Dry. Resentful. The Ashfords? Completely astonishing. If she had realized Julian behaved so repulsively, she would never have consented. She verified the clock—thirty minutes until departure. Miss this plane, and the entire assignment collapses. "Final caution," she uttered coolly. "Delay me further, and you cannot manage the consequences. Surrender the car immediately, and perhaps I'll still support you." Vanessa's eyes wavered. Then she chuckled. "You're merely a chauffeur. Your complete earnings couldn't purchase one pair of my footwear! Even if I killed you, I could settle it effortlessly." No moments to spare. She refused to shift, so Fiona abandoned the vehicle and summoned a cab. She possessed thirty minutes to catch that flight. She stood steps from the entrance when an impact struck her abdomen. Forcefully. Her device sailed away. She collapsed onto the ground like lifeless mass. Agony tore through her—felt as if her organs ripped apart. Blood flooded her mouth. She coughed and expelled it. Vanessa approached casually, arrogant as always, and pressed her stiletto into her cheek. "Attempting departure without an apology?" Chapter 3 Agony burned inside her. She remained immobile. Vanessa directed her stiletto heel toward her eye. One push and it would burst like fruit. Julian's protectors hovered nearby, clutching bats as if eager for justification. She held no opportunity. "S-Sorry, Ms. Sterling..." she gasped, frantic. "Please... I possess a patient awaiting me. I implore you. Release me." For an instant, Vanessa appeared startled. Then she seized her hair and smashed her head against the ground. "Deceiving me while facing death?!" she screamed. "You view pretending as a physician like some pastime? You aren't even a genuine chauffeur—and even supposing you WERE a doctor, I could eliminate you effortlessly!" Fiona attempted shielding her head. Vanessa trampled her fingers. Fiona cried out, quivering, murmuring, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." As a surgeon, her hands defined her. One improper fracture, and she could never grip a scalpel once more. "Frightened yet?" Vanessa taunted. "Too delayed." She indicated her vehicle. "Didn't you desire driving? Let's create entertainment." With a wave of her hand, the guards charged her. Bound her. Hauled her to the vehicle's rear. She began shaking. She understood precisely her intention. "I'll perish!" Terror engulfed her swiftly. "You cannot—" Smack. She struck her sharply. Then hurled a thick wad of currency at her face. "Twenty grand—for your existence." The guards chuckled. "Ms. Sterling previously struck someone with this car unlicensed. Paid merely ten grand. You ought to feel privileged." The motor thundered. Next instant, she endured dragging over burning asphalt. Vanessa accelerated and turned sharply, laughing while her form collided with prickly rose shrubs. Then the car halted. Vanessa emerged, striding as if performing. "Tsk tsk. I expected at least a scream. I've performed this on five individuals. You rank the least exciting." She could not respond. One guard had already sealed her mouth with tape. Content, she reentered. This occasion, she directed onto a sandy path. Particles cut into her injuries, embedding further with each jolt. Her elbows and ankles suffered tearing—bone almost visible. Suffering clouded all. Just as unconsciousness neared—Vanessa jammed the brakes. Her hands—exposed, damaged, worthless. She would never grasp a scalpel again. Her phone buzzed intensely in her pocket near her ribs. She scarcely possessed energy to extract it using her bloody, unsteady fingers. Federal Council Emergency Alert Chancellor Theodore Langford – Deceased. Time of death: 04:51 a.m. Dr. Fiona Hargrove failed to reach designated surgical location. Full probe initiated into reason for delay. All connected individuals face accountability. Federal charges forthcoming. Her heart halted. The man who trusted her with his life had perished. All because of this arrogant, spoiled girl and the man who preferred her above all! And she retained nothing except suffering… and the icy vow of vengeance igniting within her chest. With remaining power, she accessed the response field and entered with destroyed fingers, each character bringing fresh torment. [Julian Ashford and his intern Vanessa Sterling commandeered my assigned Federal Council vehicle. They physically blocked me from reaching the airfield. Vanessa Sterling then secured me behind the car and drove over my hands multiple times. I could not perform surgery. I could not even arrive at the plane.] And SENT. ------------------------------ 📚👇👇👇There are limited chapters to put here, click “learn more” to open the app and continue reading the rest of the story .👇👇👇 (lt will automatically jump to the book when you open the app)
