Vivienne was still lurching forward, her body rigid, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles had gone white. Her face was twisted in an expression of pain — not the same unbearable, all-consuming agony she had been experiencing before, but something sharp and intense nonetheless.Like her body was fighting.Like whatever Nathan had done had triggered some kind of internal war, and her system was violently purging everything that did not belong.She looked like she was in pain.Terrible pain.Maybe even worse pain than before.Claire's mind went blank for a moment.Then it filled with fury."What the hell have you done to her?!" Claire's voice exploded across the space, sharp and accusing. "What the hell have you done to her?!"She took a step toward Nathan, her entire body trembling with rage."She has never vomited before!" Claire continued, her voice rising with each word. "Never! Not once! Ever since those doctors started treating her, she has never vomited before! What the hell

If it could be fixed.So there was no point in arguing with Nathan right now.No point in wasting breath on accusations and threats.She just needed to wait.Claire's jaw remained clenched, but she forced herself to speak in a more controlled tone."Well," she said slowly, her eyes locked on Nathan's face, "I am going to give you some minutes. Some minutes to see what is actually going to happen."The unspoken threat hung in the air between them: *And if she dies, you die with her.*Nathan nodded slightly, acknowledging the threat without seeming particularly concerned about it.And that calm acceptance — that complete lack of fear or defensiveness — only made Claire angrier.But she said nothing more.She turned away from Nathan and moved closer to where Vivienne was still bent forward on the pavement, her body trembling, her breathing labored.Claire knelt beside her employer, one hand hovering near Vivienne's shoulder but not quite touching, unsure whether contact would help or mak

He had no other choice then, did he?Nathan's muscles tensed slightly, preparing to execute the techniques his body somehow knew — preparing to use what his fragmented memories called the Iron Fist style, a brutal and efficient combat system designed for exactly this kind of close-quarters situation.The bodyguard with the knife raised it slightly, adjusting his grip, preparing to make the cut.Two paces away now.Then one.Nathan's fist clenched.His spiritual energy began to flow, gathering in his arms and legs, preparing for the explosive burst of speed and strength he would need to—"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"The voice cut through the tension like a thunderclap.It was not loud.It was not a shout.But it carried absolute authority — the kind of authority that made everyone freeze in place instinctively, including the bodyguard with the knife raised just inches from Nathan's face.Everyone's heads snapped toward the source of the voice.Vivienne Sterling was stan

At that moment, before Claire could finish issuing her cold dismissal to Nathan, Vivienne's voice cut through the air like a blade."Just keep your mouth shut."The words were quiet, Controlled.But they carried a weight that made Claire freeze mid-sentence.Vivienne turned to face her secretary, and her expression was no longer the grateful, relieved look she had worn moments before.Now it was cold.Hard, Angry."You are actually annoying me," Vivienne continued, her voice still quiet but gaining intensity with each word. "What you are saying right now — what you have been saying this entire time — is wrong. Can you not see what is right in front of you? Can you not see what he has done? How he has literally saved me?"She took a step toward Claire, her eyes blazing."If not for him, I would literally be dead right now," Vivienne said, her voice rising slightly. "Dead. On this pavement. Gone. Do you understand that? If not for him stepping up when everyone else was useless — when th

At that moment, upon hearing what Nathan had just said about paying her back, Vivienne shook her head violently, the movement sharp and almost panicked as she waved her hands in front of her in a gesture of refusal that was far more animated than her usual composed demeanor would allow."No, no, no," she said quickly, her words tumbling over each other in her haste to stop this line of conversation before it went any further, before Nathan said anything else that might reveal more details about their encounter, before Claire's suspicious mind started putting together pieces that Vivienne desperately needed to keep separated. "You don't actually have to pay me back anything. You don't have to pay me back at all. I'm not demanding that you return any of it, not a single cent. The card was a gift, a token of... appreciation, and you are free to use it however you see fit without any obligation to repay me."But Nathan, being Nathan, was stubborn and principled in a way that Vivienne fou