Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 340: Vital signs are stable…

“Nella, I’m done running. Now that I know who Alice really is, I’m going to make sure she ends up in jail myself,” Ryan said quietly, his eyes calm as he looked at Nella.

“So, I need you to work with me.”

The next moment—

The door crashed open with a loud bang, slamming to the ground.

Alice had kicked it in.

“Ryan!”

Ryan pressed the knife harder against Nella’s neck.

He wasn’t holding back.

A thin line of blood appeared on Nella’s throat.

Her breathing quickened.

Ryan knew Alice was incredibly paranoid.

He had to make her believe he was really holding Nella hostage.

“Alice, what do we do with her? Should we call the cops?” Ryan’s voice cracked, as if he was on the verge of tears.

But he was watching Alice’s reaction closely.

Just as he expected, she didn’t agree to call the police.

She was terrified of the cops, scared they’d uncover her true identity.

“No, we can’t call the police. We don’t have any proof that this Nella is the same person who was involved in the kidnapping years ago.”

“Ryan, we have to get rid of her.”

Nella, at that moment, put on a flawless performance.

She screamed, her voice filled with anger and desperation, “Ryan, you can’t do this to me! She’s lying!”

“Shut up!” Ryan snarled viciously.

Alice seemed to be enjoying the scene unfolding in front of her.

If Ryan didn’t know her so well, he wouldn’t have noticed the twisted pleasure in her eyes—a kind of sick joy he’d never seen before.

She was getting off on watching them tear each other apart.

“Kill her? I can’t… killing someone is a crime!” Ryan’s voice trembled.

Alice walked over to Ryan, placing her hand over his, the one holding the knife. She leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “Don’t be scared. Killing is easy. Just close your eyes, and I’ll do it for you. Just a little slice…”

Her voice was shaking with excitement.

What a psycho.

Ryan smirked inwardly.

In the next second—

Alice’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Ryan.

Because the knife that had been pressed against Nella’s throat was now pointed at her chest.

Ryan looked at her with a half-smile.

“Killing does seem pretty easy. Just a little slice, right?”

The blade pierced her chest, just slightly.

For the first time, Ryan saw fear on Alice’s face.

“Ryan… why?”

She tried to struggle.

But Nella grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

“Die, you freak!” Nella spat, her voice filled with venom.

Alice couldn’t break free from Nella’s grip.

Her face twisted in a mix of panic and rage, her mask finally slipping. She glared at both of them, her expression dark and vicious.

“When did you figure it out? No… it’s impossible. I covered my tracks perfectly, unless…”

It was like something clicked in her mind, and she stopped talking, her whole demeanor collapsing.

Alice was taken away by the police.

Her true identity had been revealed.

It turned out her real name was Elena.

After the police left, only Ryan and Nella remained in the room. The air was thick with tension, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. Ryan stood there, staring at Nella by the window, his gaze deep and conflicted.

He took a step toward her and spoke slowly, “Bella, are you still holding on to those memories?”

There was a hint of confusion and bitterness in Ryan’s eyes. He continued in a soft voice, “I don’t know why, but there’s always been this gap in my memory, like something buried deep in my mind. But now… it’s back. I remember.”

His eyes flickered, and a painful memory surfaced. “Back then… when you locked me in the basement, you seemed to believe you were someone else, just like now. You thought you were Nella, that twisted killer you were so afraid of.”

Bella sighed deeply, her gaze darkening.

Ryan saw the look on her face, and the pain in his eyes deepened, but he remained resolute. “Bella, do you know why I gave up my spot for adoption to you? I wanted you to have a normal life, to feel the warmth of a real family. I wanted you to find your true self, not become Nella.”

Bella’s expression shifted slightly, but then she let out a cold laugh. “My true self? Ryan, all those hopes you had for me were just your wishful thinking. Reality is cruel. I was never going to escape Nella’s shadow.”

Ryan was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath, his voice filled with both resignation and tenderness. “I understand… you’ve gone so far, too far. But the sister I knew, the Bella who went through all those hard times with me, she’s still in there. Even if you don’t want to admit it, I’ll never forget her.”

Nella trembled slightly, her expression growing more complicated.

She lifted her head, her eyes showing a flicker of doubt, but she quickly suppressed her emotions.

“Bella, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about what happened. Let the past stay in the past… You can go. I won’t stop you anymore, Bella… my sister, always.”

Nella didn’t respond. She simply disappeared into the night outside the window, a bitter smile playing on her lips.

…

One week later.

Ryan and Anna arrived at a hotel.

“Anna, don’t you think this place feels kind of familiar?” Ryan asked, frowning.

Anna nodded, her brow furrowed. “Yeah, it does. But we’ve never been here before, right?”

Ryan shrugged. “Who knows? Let’s not overthink it. Let’s just grab something to eat.”

Meanwhile, Mia was sitting in Alice’s old seat. She had always admired her sister’s position, and now, she had successfully taken over Alice’s role in the criminal organization.

It was only after sitting in this chair that Mia truly understood how difficult her sister’s decisions had been.

Many of them had been made out of necessity.

In the dim light of the office, Mia stared at a photo on the desk—a picture of her and Ryan at an amusement park. It was a relic from the past. She quickly flipped the photo over, face down on the desk.

The time for mercy had passed. Now, only the hunt remained.

Mia clenched her fists, her heart racing as she began to plan her next move.

…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots echoed through the hotel.

Ryan collapsed onto the floor, blood soaking through his white shirt.

Maybe Ryan would never know that if he hadn’t changed his fate, this hotel would have been the place where his funeral was held a week later.

…

Ding! Main mission complete 5/5: Killed by Mia (Progress 100%)

Congratulations, host, for completing all main missions.

In the corner of a hospital room, the heart monitor emitted a faint “beep… beep…” sound, the rhythm gradually speeding up.

Suddenly, Ryan’s eyes snapped open. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, an oxygen tube still in his nose, the ventilator slowly helping him breathe.

“Patient 017 has regained consciousness. Vital signs are stable…”

Nurses rushed into the room, their footsteps echoing in the quiet space as they hurriedly began their work.

In the spacious hospital room, four other survivors of the fire lay in their beds: Alice Sinclair, Anna Merritt, Mia Sinclair, and Bella Langston…

The faint “beep… beep…” sounds beside them also began to quicken.