Chapter 3: Steel and Surgery

Part 1: The Bloodline Broken

Her stepmother screamed at the top of her lungs, pointing a trembling, manicured finger at Sabrina.

"AAAAAAH! Honey, take this woman out of my house! Have you seen?! Have you seen what she just did?!"

Forcing a dramatic burst of tears, she collapsed onto the floor, wailing. "Aaaaah!"

Sabrina let out a cold, mocking chuckle. "Oh. Already starting the drama queen act, I see."

"Sabrina!" her father roared, his voice shaking the grand hall. "How dare you lay a hand on your mother while I am standing right here in front of you?!"

"SHE IS NOT MY MOTHER!" Sabrina shouted back, her voice dropping to a freezing, absolute zero. "Not even in a nightmare."

The stepmother glared up from the floor, her eyes flashing with malice before she quickly forced herself to sniffle and sob again. "H-Honeeeey... see? See that?! This is why you married me... so that I could get slapped by this bastard child!"

Completely trapped by his wife's tears, the father's face turned purple with rage. He raised his voice to a deafening pitch. "APOLOGIZE to her. RIGHT NOW."

Sabrina didn't even flinch. "In your dreams."

Sensing the tension, Aileen rushed forward and hid behind her father, putting on a perfect, trembling puppy face. "Daddy... Daddy, she's dangerous. I'm scared! She slapped Mother... slap her back!"

Sabrina sneered at her. "You filthy bitch. Don't you dare try to brainwash him."

"Aileen is telling the truth!" the father barked, completely shielding his youngest daughter. "You are the only one creating a scene here!"

He pointed a harsh finger toward the grand exit. "I am giving you one last chance. Get the hell out before I beat you up as I did in your childhood!"

The mention of her childhood triggered something lethal inside Sabrina.

Before anyone could blink, Sabrina lunged forward. She grabbed Aileen straight by the throat, lifting her slightly before brutally throwing her onto the polished floor.

Thud!

Aileen collapsed into a heap. Sabrina took a sharp step directly into her father's face, staring him down with dead, pitiless eyes.

"I don't give a damn about anyone anymore," Sabrina whispered, her voice dangerously calm. "Go ahead. I want to see exactly who dares to touch me. I will break them into pieces."

The father froze in absolute shock. Down on the floor, Aileen burst into hysterical wails. "Waaaah! Haaaah! Daddy, I'm injured! Waaaah!"

The stepmother lost her mind, glaring at her husband. "Dear! What is wrong with you?! She completely crossed the line, and you're still letting her stand there?! Make her regret being born!"

The father nodded slowly, his eyes darkening. "Yes... yes."

He raised his heavy hand high into the air, aiming a brutal slap straight at Sabrina's face. From the floor, the mother and daughter smiled with twisted joy, waiting for the impact.

But halfway down, his hand stopped dead in the air.

Sabrina's fingers were wrapped around his wrist like iron handcuffs.

"Oh," Sabrina mocked, a savage smirk playing on her lips. "Look at my brave father."

With a sudden, powerful jerk, she twisted his wrist to the side.

"AAAAAH!" the father screamed in sudden agony. "Leave my hand, you shameless brat!"

Sabrina twisted it even harder, forcing him to his knees. "That's it? Has all your hot air gone out already? Don't you dare think I am the same weak girl you threw away."

"Leave me!" her father choked out, his face pale. "Leave me, and then I'll show you!"

"And what if I don't?" Sabrina countered, digging her fingers into his joint.

Enraged and humiliated, the father screamed toward the hallways. "BODYGUARDS! Throw this girl into the basement!"

Instantly, three heavy-set bodyguards rushed into the hall from the left, right, and front, moving in to pin her down.

But Sabrina didn't let go of her father's arm. Instead, she used him as an anchor.

As the guard on the right lunged, she swung her body and delivered a devastating heel-kick straight to his stomach, sending him flying backward. At the exact same microsecond, she pivoted and snapped a brutal kick directly into the face of the second guard.

Crack!

The remaining bodyguard rushed her from the front. Sabrina smoothly dropped her weight, slipping down low beneath his guard, and swept her leg out, kicking him directly in the head.

Within a matter of seconds, all three hardened bodyguards collapsed heavily onto the floor, groaning in pain.

The father's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He was completely paralyzed with fear.

From behind, the stepmother desperately tried to fuel his anger. "Dear! See?! Look at her! She is already a vulgar, arrogant underworld monster! Look at how she turned out, compared to my beautiful daughter whom I raised with love!"

Sabrina slowly turned her head, a cheerful, terrifying smile spreading across her face. "Oh, don't worry, dearest step-villain. I haven't forgotten that you 'raised' me here."

She yanked her father even closer by his twisted arm, whispering directly into his ear. "And don't you dare think I will ever show you mercy. In my world, I can kill, and I can be killed. But I never, ever forgive."

With a cold shrug, she finally released his arm, turning her back to walk away.

But the moment her back was turned, the father's expression turned venomous. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a concealed handgun.

Sabrina wasn't looking.

The stepmother frantically signaled her husband, nodding aggressively. Do it! Shoot her!

The father leveled the barrel at the back of Sabrina's head.

BANG!

But Sabrina's assassin instincts were faster than human perception. Hearing the click of the trigger, she spun around in a blur, her dark eyes locking directly onto the path of the incoming bullet—

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Part 2: The Hallway of Tears

At the exact same moment across the city, a heavy motorcycle screeched to a halt in front of the municipal hospital.

Zayden parked his bike, quickly cutting the engine. "Come on, wait. Let me get down and lift you—"

"No need!" Riley shouted.

Ignoring the biting pain in her twisted ankle, she scrambled off the back of the bike and began to sprint through the hospital's automatic glass doors, limping heavily.

Zayden sat on his bike, looking down at his empty hands, watching her disappearing figure fade into the bright hospital lights. A heavy, complicated sigh escaped his lips.

"I am not able to protect you... even if I want to," he muttered to the empty air.

Inside, Riely was running blindly through the sterile, white corridors. She frantically reached the main reception desk, her chest heaving as she slammed her hands onto the counter.

"Where is Sir?! Please, where is he?!"

The receptionist blinked, startled by the crying teenager. "Ma'am, please calm down. What is the patient's name?"

"J-Jack!" Riely sobbed, her tears spilling over. "His name is Jack!"

"Wait a moment, let me check the log," the girl said, quickly flipping through the emergency admissions paperwork. She paused, looking up with a sympathetic expression. "Ma'am, he is in Room 105. He's currently undergoing surgery."

"Thank you!"

Riely sprinted down the hallway until she saw the bright red 'Surgery in Progress' light shining above Room 105. Her strength completely vanished. She collapsed onto the plastic waiting chair, crossing her hands tightly over her chest as she stared at the closed double doors.

"Ah... please. Please be safe," she wept, her voice breaking into a whisper.

The tears ran down her face in endless streams. She closed her eyes, praying with everything she had.

But as she opened them, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. Riely looked up, her tear-filled eyes widening in sudden shock and fear as a familiar woman hurried into the surgical wing.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

"...Mom?"

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[Chapter End - To Be Continued]

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