Chapter 11 The Price of Freedom

Sean comforted Keira briefly before hurrying away.

In the days that followed, while Sean continued to visit her frequently, his phone calls became noticeably more numerous.

Despite his efforts to maintain a composed tone during these conversations, Keira could sense an underlying gravity in his voice.

Even without her sight, she could feel the exhaustion and pressure radiating from him.

She overheard nurses whispering that Coleman Group was aggressively targeting O'Neill Enterprises, using ruthless tactics with seemingly unlimited resources.

In that moment, Keira's heart felt as if it had been plunged into an icy abyss.

She understood now—this was Aiden's revenge.

He despised anyone who had ever helped her.

The realization sent a sharp pain through her heart.

When Sean next entered her ward, Keira reached out, fumbling until she caught hold of his sleeve.

"Mr. O'Neill, I can't burden you any longer," she said, her voice trembling. "Let me leave, please."

Sean paused.

"I can't be the cause of your troubles anymore," Keira continued, tears sliding from her vacant eyes. "His target is me. If I leave, he'll stop coming after you. Please, let me go anywhere else."

Sean gently took her cold hand in his, his voice steady and resolute.

"This has nothing to do with you, Keira. Aiden's attacks on my company are business competition, unrelated to you. You just need to focus on recovering and preparing for your surgery. Leave everything else to me."

His words were warm, yet they couldn't dispel the deep chill settling in Keira's heart.

She knew that everything stemmed from her.

Once again, she—the person everyone treated as a burden and harbinger of misfortune—had entangled the only person who had offered her protection.

The guilt nearly crushed her.

Yet she couldn't be ungrateful.

She resolved that if Aiden truly came, she wouldn't hide like a coward.

She didn't expect that day would come so soon.

The following afternoon, an unusual commotion suddenly erupted outside the ward.

Keira instantly realized—it was Aiden! He had come!

Fear gripped her throat like an icy hand. He had found her after all.

Outside, Aiden stood with a frosty expression, emanating a dangerous aura that warned everyone to keep their distance.

Behind him stood several black-suited bodyguards, creating a tense standoff with Sean's men.

"Hand her over," Aiden demanded, his voice hard and unyielding as he tried to peer through the ward door.

Sean stood blocking the entrance, his posture unbending. "She needs rest."

"Rest?" Aiden let out a scornful laugh, anger smoldering in his eyes. "I'd say she's quite comfortable hiding behind you. Her tactics are becoming more sophisticated. Tell her to come out and face me!"

Their argument carried clearly into the ward.

Keira's heart pounded frantically, threatening to burst from her chest.

She couldn't let Sean continue to face this difficulty.

She struggled to sit up on the bed and turned to the nurse beside her.

"Orla, please, help me go to him."

Nurse Orla felt reluctant, but after Keira's repeated pleas, she carefully helped her up.

When the hospital room door opened, all eyes immediately turned toward it.

The moment Aiden saw Keira, his pupils contracted sharply.

She donned an oversized hospital gown that made her appear as if the slightest breeze could carry her away.

Her long hair fell loosely around her shoulders, making her small face appear even more lifeless.

Most striking were her eyes.

Those once clear eyes now stared emptily ahead, focusing on nothing.

She really couldn't see?

This realization caused Aiden's heart to clench momentarily.

But the feeling was quickly overwhelmed by even stronger anger and suspicion.

This must be another act!

A more sophisticated way to gain others' sympathy!

"Still putting on an act!" he snapped, his tone icy with disgust. "Do you think I'll believe this charade?"

Keira turned her head slightly toward the sound of his voice, her empty eyes looking in his direction.

"Aiden," she called, her voice barely audible yet carrying a heartbreaking calmness. "What will it take for you to leave me alone?"

Aiden approached her step by step, towering over her with contempt.

"Come back with me and continue paying your debt!"

"No." After a long silence, Keira shook her head. "I won't go back. Please."

Her voice quavered. Under everyone's shocked gaze, she painfully sank to the ground, collapsing in the direction of Aiden's voice.

The sound of her body hitting the cold floor reverberated heavily in everyone's hearts.

"Please let me go."

She lowered her head, her slender neck looking so fragile it might break at the slightest touch.

"I'm already blind. Please, show some mercy and spare me."

She prostrated herself on the ground, using her last shred of dignity to beg for his mercy.

Yet her humility and desperation only appeared to Aiden as proof of her continued defiance.

He lunged forward, seizing her arm with enough force to nearly crush her bones.

"Come with me! Stop making a spectacle of yourself!"

As he roughly pulled her, something in Keira—her final thread of resistance—completely snapped.

All the anguish, pain, and humiliation exploded in that moment.

Return to that hell?

Continue to endure his and the Lynn family's wrath and torture?

No! She would rather die!

She summoned strength from somewhere deep within and violently wrenched herself free from Aiden's grasp.

Simultaneously, she pulled something from the large pocket of her hospital gown.

It was a fruit knife she had secretly hidden when the nurse wasn't looking.

"Aiden!" she cried out his name with all her might, her voice piercing and desperate.

"You want me to repay my debt? You hate me to the bone? Fine! I'll repay you with my life! Everything the Lynn family owes you, everything I owe you—I'm giving it all back! From this day forward, I owe you nothing!"

Before anyone could react, she gripped the knife with both hands and plunged it toward her heart.

The dull sound of the blade entering flesh was horrifyingly distinct.

Blood immediately surged forth, staining her pale hospital gown a shocking crimson.

Time seemed to freeze.

She couldn't escape him—only death could separate her from Aiden.

She was gambling! Gambling that fate wouldn't be so unjust.

Betting that God wouldn't be so cruel as to take her life.

The anger on Aiden's face instantly shattered.

"Keira!" Sean cried out in horror.

He was the first to rush forward, catching her collapsing body and pressing his hand firmly against her wound to stem the flowing blood.

"Doctor! Call a doctor immediately!"

The medical staff finally snapped out of their shock, hurriedly placing Keira on a stretcher and racing toward the operating room.

Sean followed for a few steps before abruptly stopping.

He turned back, fixing his gaze on Aiden's ashen face.

Then he rushed into the ward, grabbed a stack of documents, and came back out, throwing them violently at Aiden!

"Look at this! Aiden! Look closely!" Sean's voice shook with extreme anger and heartache.

"These are her medical reports—severe optic nerve atrophy causing blindness. Acute gastritis, severe malnutrition, and neurological damage. Permanent trauma from forced surgery. Any one of these conditions could kill her! Are you satisfied now?"

The papers scattered to the floor.

Like heavy hammers, each one struck Aiden's heart.

He looked down in disbelief.

So everything she had said was true.

She really was dying.

Overwhelming remorse and panic engulfed him like a tidal wave.