The year the Vance Clinic was on the brink of bankruptcy, I married the Vance family's young master and became the heir to the Vance medical empire. Everyone said I was taking advantage of their vulnerability, but I didn't care. Because I knew Liam Vance and I truly understood and loved each other. I carried him and the entire Vance Clinic on my shoulders. Working day and night, I led the clinic from a struggling private practice to a top-tier national medical conglomerate. Until the day I successfully retired, at my farewell ceremony, he stood in front of everyone and proposed hanging Chloe Jenkins' picture in the Vance Clinic's Hall of Honor, replacing my position. I was shaking with anger. Questioning, arguing, pleading—none of it worked. To force me to accept reality, he pulled out a yellowed notebook, claiming that all the medical technology I used to bring the hospital back to life came from Chloe's research. He even accused me of stealing Chloe's life. The son I had raised for thirty years even cursed me, calling me a despicable, shameless fraud. Looking at the disdainful eyes of the guests filling the hall, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I collapsed in the middle of the celebration. When I woke up again, I had returned to the day the Vance family was choosing their heir. Old Mr. Vance sat in the center of the conference room, his expression grave. "Liam, you are an adult now. It's time to make a choice." "Tell Grandpa, who do you lean towards more, Evelyn or Chloe?" Mrs. Vance held her coffee, her face full of expectation: "Is there even a need to ask? Our Liam has always protected Evelyn since they were little." 1 Whether in medical skill or moral character, I was a level above Chloe. Everyone in the Vance family knew that my position as the clinic's heir and the young Mrs. Vance was practically set in stone. But in this life, Liam looked at me with cold detachment. In an instant, I understood everything. He had been reborn too. Since you are so obsessed with Chloe. Then I will grant your wish. I stood up from my chair and spoke to the room full of people: "Grandpa Vance, Grandma Vance." "I, Evelyn Thorne, have shallow knowledge and flawed morals. I am truly unworthy of Liam, and even less capable of bearing the heavy responsibility of being the heir to the Vance Clinic." "Chloe has excellent medical skills and a sharp mind. She is more suited for this position than I am." Liam's expression visibly stiffened. He didn't say a word, turned around, and rushed out of the conference room. I knew exactly what he was going to do. At this very moment, Chloe was performing an unauthorized procedure in the lab. That accident would cost her her left hand. There was still time to stop it. I stayed where I was, unable to hold back a bitter smile. Nearly fifty years of marriage in our past life couldn't compete with Chloe's place in his heart. "Evelyn, are you crazy! What nonsense are you talking about!" Old Mr. Vance's voice was filled with anger. I looked up, meeting his gaze. This elder, who had personally guided me in studying medicine, was now full of disappointment. My tone was calm: "Grandpa Vance, Liam has someone else in his heart. I can't force things." Old Mr. Vance and Mrs. Vance looked at each other in dismay. But thinking of how resolutely their grandson had just left, any further words of reproach got stuck in their throats. I silently walked back to the guest room, packed a few changes of clothes, and a briefcase containing my medical research data. Early the next morning, the Vance family's butler announced a piece of news. The decision regarding Liam and Chloe's engagement. The announcement was plastered all over the clinic's bulletin boards. In the photo, Liam held Chloe tightly, smiling brightly. I shoved the briefcase into my suitcase, my face expressionless. Near noon, a commotion erupted downstairs. Standing by the window, I saw Liam intimately holding Chloe's hand, walking proudly into the office building. Not long after, a fierce argument broke out in the chairman's office. "Grandpa! You promised! Whoever becomes the young Mrs. Vance gets to take over the German medical technology import project!" "Why is Evelyn still holding onto that position now?" Old Mr. Vance suppressed his anger and explained: "Liam, Evelyn is in charge of all the technical interfacing for that project. Changing the person in charge at the last minute will cause major problems!" "I don't care!" Liam interrupted him. "I've thought it through. Chloe is the future of the Vance Clinic! Grandpa, would you rather believe an outsider than trust your grandson's judgment?" The collaboration with the Germans was the Vance Clinic's only chance to break out of its predicament and introduce advanced medical equipment. In our past life, I led this collaboration, working day and night with my team to successfully design a crucial surgical instrument required for the German technology. From then on, the Vance Clinic gained immense fame and became a national medical benchmark. It also solidified my position as the true heir and power holder. Liam knew all of this like the back of his hand. A few minutes later, I was called into the office. Old Mr. Vance sat in his swivel chair, looking embarrassed. "Evelyn, there's something... Grandpa has let you down." "Grandpa Vance, say no more." My voice was calm. "I understand." Old Mr. Vance looked up, his eyes full of guilt. He had raised me like his own granddaughter for many years. But facing this situation today, caught between his stubborn grandson and his favored successor, he was truly in a dilemma. I took out the research report from my briefcase—the one I had spent countless sleepless nights completing—and placed it on the desk. "The report contains all the technical data and interface plans. Liam also knows the critical data on the last page." This report had been with me since my first day at the Vance family. It recorded all my hard work. In my past life, it was locked in my safe until the day I died. Looking at my calm expression, Old Mr. Vance opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. I stood up and bowed deeply to him: "Grandpa Vance, I will never forget your guidance all these years." Just then, Liam and Chloe walked in. "Grandpa, she agreed?" He walked straight to Old Mr. Vance without even looking at me. Old Mr. Vance nodded weakly and pushed the report toward him: "Evelyn... she handed it all over." Before Liam could reach for it, Chloe, standing next to him, snatched the report, unable to hide the smugness on her face. "Wait a minute." I spoke up suddenly, and Liam immediately frowned: "Evelyn, what trick are you trying to play now?" I shook my head and pulled out a single, folded blueprint from my pocket. "These are the final process parameters for the new surgical instrument. I just calculated them last night and haven't had time to write them into the report." Liam took the blueprint, staring at the numbers and formulas on it, his brow furrowed tightly. "If these parameters are off by even a fraction, the entire batch of instruments will be ruined. The direct loss will be at least several million, and the German experts will terminate the collaboration immediately." My tone was indifferent. "With Chloe's skill level, solving this problem shouldn't be an issue, right?" Chloe's face instantly flushed red, but she quickly puffed out her chest and regained her arrogance. She snorted coldly: "Stop being an alarmist. This is a minor problem. I'll figure it out when I get back." I didn't say anything else. Chloe was nothing but a mediocre talent who hadn't even mastered basic medical theory, let alone knowing anything about precision instruments. 2 "You can leave." Liam said coldly. "From now on, the Vance Clinic has absolutely nothing to do with you, Evelyn." Just as I was about to turn around, Chloe suddenly stopped me: "Hold on!" "Since Evelyn is no longer the heir, she isn't considered part of the Vance family anymore, right?" "According to the rules, everything she uses belongs to the Vance family. Now that she's leaving, shouldn't she leave behind everything that isn't hers?" "Liam, isn't that right?" I turned around, ignoring Chloe's smug face, and looked at Liam. "Is this what you want?" He stood there, looking a bit awkward. Ultimately, he avoided my gaze. Hearing this, Old Mr. Vance violently smashed the ashtray from his desk onto the floor: "Bastard! Evelyn has been in the Vance family for fifteen years. Even if she isn't your wife, she's still half a granddaughter to this family!" "Grandpa!" Liam finally spoke, but not to defend me. "Chloe is right. Since she's leaving, we should settle things clearly, to avoid any messy entanglements later." I looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Grandpa Vance, since this is Liam's decision, I accept it." "But to settle the score, I have a few things to say too." "I entered the Vance family at eighteen, studying medicine under you. Today, it's been exactly fifteen years." Chloe let out a disdainful scoff. "In my third year here, I improved the testing program for the cardiac monitoring equipment, saving the clinic over eighty thousand dollars in maintenance fees every year." "In my fifth year, I led the team to tackle the sterile control issue in the operating rooms, securing performance bonuses for the entire medical staff for three consecutive years." "In my tenth year, to secure the military hospital contract..." I listed them one by one. With each accomplishment I mentioned, Old Mr. Vance's face grew uglier. "All of this added up, over these fifteen years, the value I created for the Vance Clinic is enough to build a brand new hospital." Liam bit his lip tightly. He certainly knew the significance of these numbers. In our past life, the Vance Clinic went from a small practice to a medical giant relying on these very tangible achievements. "The Vance family raised me for fifteen years, and I risked my life for the Vance Clinic for fifteen years." "The sweat I've shed is enough to repay Grandpa and Grandma Vance for raising me." "From now on, we are even." "I'm leaving with nothing, and we have no further connection." Chloe suddenly let out a sarcastic laugh: "You make it sound so noble. Look at what you're wearing, what's on your wrist. Which of these things is actually yours?" She took a few steps forward and roughly tugged at my work suit. "This custom-made suit, the clinic provided it, right?" She grabbed my wrist, revealing the jade bracelet. "Tsk tsk, this bracelet must be worth twenty thousand dollars. Could an apprentice afford this?" She pointed at the Mercedes car keys on the desk. "And that S-class sedan, that was a reward from the clinic too, wasn't it?" "All of these things, which one isn't from the Vance family?" I let her pull at me, keeping my eyes fixed on Liam the entire time. But he still didn't say a word. "Liam." I couldn't help but ask: "The year the cherry blossoms were blooming, the words you said to me under the tree, have you forgotten them all?" Finally, he spat out two words. "I forgot." I thought that by living a second life, this heart would no longer feel pain. I didn't expect to still be deeply pierced by those two words at this moment. I forcefully suppressed my churning emotions and took off the bracelet. "Evelyn!" Old Mr. Vance stood up abruptly. "Don't do this!" "Grandpa Vance." I interrupted him, placing the bracelet on the desk. "Rules are rules." The custom suit, the car keys from my pocket, the high heels on my feet. I took them off one by one, folding them neatly on the floor. Finally, I even took off my socks, stepping barefoot on the floor. The broken glass pierced my soles with a sharp pain. Chloe wore a victorious smile. When I started unbuttoning my last shirt, Liam finally couldn't help but stop me. "Enough!" "Evelyn, stop it right now!" I calmly folded the shirt and placed it on the floor. "From now on, I am just me." "My name is Evelyn Thorne. I am no longer an apprentice of the Vance family." I changed into my own clothes, grabbed my suitcase, and walked out of the office building. A dense crowd of people stood outside. The hospital's PA system was broadcasting the announcement of my dismissal. The gazes of the medical staff cut into me like knives. "Look, that's her, the ungrateful wretch!" "I heard she still wanted to hog the position of heir. How shameless!" "Old Mr. Vance raised her for fifteen years. He really raised a snake in his bosom!" I walked through the crowd step by step. Just as I walked out of the clinic's main gate, a Rolls-Royce sedan stopped right in front of me. The window rolled down, revealing a handsome face. "Are you Ms. Evelyn Thorne?" "My boss would like to have a word with you." 3 "My name is Ethan Sterling. I'm from Hong Kong." I looked at the sharply contoured face in the car without responding. Ethan opened the car door, took off his jacket, and draped it over my shoulders. "Ms. Thorne, our boss has had his eye on you for a long time." "Our conglomerate highly appreciates your research in cardiac monitoring equipment and operating room sterile control." His voice was gentle and calm, carrying professional respect. This was a stark contrast to the condescending charity of the Vance family. "The Sterling Group in Hong Kong specializes in high-end medical device research and development. We lack a technical leader like you." "We are willing to provide an independent laboratory, fifty million dollars in startup capital, and ten percent of the technical shares." "We only hope you will join us to jointly develop a new generation of surgical instruments for cardiac bypass surgery." The terms he offered were too generous to refuse. More importantly, I saw in his eyes a thirst for technology and a respect for talent. After a pause, I nodded. "Looking forward to working with you." "Looking forward to working with you, Ms. Thorne." Ethan smiled and shook my hand. After that, I got into the Rolls-Royce. In the rearview mirror, the Vance Clinic building grew smaller and smaller. But everything there had absolutely nothing to do with me anymore. A week later, I was already in the top-floor laboratory of the Sterling Group in Hong Kong. Ethan walked in holding a report, his expression slightly strange. "Ms. Thorne, something happened at the Vance Clinic." I was adjusting the focus of my microscope and didn't look up. "Speak." "They took the technical data you left behind and initiated production interfacing with the Germans." "The first batch of prototypes was completely ruined due to errors in the critical process parameters." "The German experts announced the termination of the collaboration on the spot and reserved the right to pursue legal action for technical fraud." My hand paused. Millions. That was the figure I had warned Liam about. Now it seemed the losses were far more than that. Ethan continued: "I heard from a friend over there that Liam was so angry he smashed everything in his office, acting like a madman." "But Chloe pushed all the blame onto you." "She told everyone in the Vance family that you intentionally left incorrect blueprints as a trap to destroy the Vance Clinic." I let out a cold laugh. Classic Chloe. Her ability to twist the truth is as good as ever. And Liam? In our past life, didn't he listen to Chloe's slander and believe I stole her life? In this life, he still believed her just as easily. "What about Old Mr. Vance?" I asked casually. "He was so angry he had a cerebral hemorrhage on the spot. He was sent to the ICU and is still in critical condition." I fell silent. Old Mr. Vance treated me well, but I had already repaid that debt during my fifteen years with the Vance family. It was his own choice to believe his grandson and abandon me. Ethan looked at me and added: "I heard Liam is desperately sending people to look for you now." "He says as long as you're willing to go back, he'll agree to any condition." "He's even willing to break off his engagement with Chloe immediately and give you back the position of heir." I turned off the light source of the microscope and stood up straight. "Ethan, prepare the contract documents for me." "We'll proceed with the terms we discussed before." Ethan's eyes were full of approval. "Right away, Ms. Thorne." When I signed "Evelyn Thorne" on the official employment contract with the Sterling Group, my phone rang. It was Liam. I looked at the familiar name on the screen, rejected the call immediately, and blocked all contact numbers from the Vance family. Liam, it's too late. You were the one who pushed me away. Now, it's your turn to taste what despair feels like. 4 The Sterling Group's efficiency was incredibly high. Within a week, the top medical equipment in Asia was continuously transported into my independent laboratory. I threw myself entirely into my new research. What I wanted to develop was a new type of surgical instrument far surpassing the German technology—a revolutionary product capable of changing the entire landscape of cardiac surgery. I practically lived in the lab day and night, eating and sleeping there. Ethan became my exclusive assistant. He always managed to hand me detailed market data reports right when I needed them most. There was an unspoken understanding between us. One day, while I was conducting crucial mechanical tests, Ethan suddenly opened the door. "There's someone downstairs looking for you." His expression was strange; he looked like he wanted to laugh but felt it was inappropriate. He turned on the office security monitor. On the screen, two people were kneeling at the entrance of the Sterling Group headquarters. It was Liam and Chloe. Liam's hair was messy, completely stripped of his usual pride. He knelt on the ground, crying his heart out, constantly calling my name. "Evelyn! Come out and see me!" "Evie, I was wrong! I was really wrong!" "Please, save the Vance family, save Grandpa!" Chloe knelt beside him, but her face was full of reluctance. The security guards approached several times to drive them away, but Liam clung to the main gate, refusing to let go. He was screaming hysterically. I watched the screen expressionlessly. There was not a single ripple in my heart. "Tell the security guards, if they don't leave, call the police and say they are disturbing public order." Ethan nodded and turned to make the arrangements. Not long after, Liam on the screen was dragged away by two security guards and thrown into a police car. Even then, he was still unwilling to give up. "Evelyn, you ungrateful wretch!" I turned off the monitor. Ungrateful? Exactly who is ungrateful? And who discarded my fifteen years of hard work like trash? A few days later, the Germans formally filed a transnational lawsuit, demanding 30 million euros in damages from the Vance Clinic for technical fraud and breach of contract. As soon as the news broke, the Vance Clinic's stock price plummeted. Within a single day, sixty percent of its market value evaporated. The once-bustling hospital was now deserted. Creditors blocked the entrance, holding banners demanding repayment. The sky had fallen on the Vance family. Ethan told me that Liam, desperate to raise funds for the compensation, had to frantically sell off properties and jewelry in his name. He even pawned his mother's belongings. But compared to the astronomical compensation, it was just a drop in the bucket. And Chloe, the woman who constantly claimed to love him, the woman who was supposedly the only hope of his life, stabbed him in the back at this critical moment. While Liam was overwhelmed, she secretly transferred the remaining few million dollars in the hospital's account to her overseas account, planning to run away alone. When Liam found out, they had a complete falling out. Rumor has it they fought viciously in the Vance mansion, smashing everything to pieces. The once loving and sweet engaged couple were now sworn enemies. While they were tearing each other apart, I received incredible news. The new cardiac bypass stapler I developed had overcome the biggest technical hurdle in minimally invasive surgery. The clinical trial data was absolutely perfect. The Sterling Group immediately applied for a global patent for this technology. The day after the news was announced, the International Medical Innovation Conference in Geneva broke precedent and awarded me the highest gold medal of the year. The eyes of the whole world focused on Hong Kong, focused on the Sterling Group. Orders from top hospitals all over the globe poured into the company. The Sterling Group's stock price tripled in a week, setting a historic high on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
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