Chapter 666: Biased?
"Ruby! Get me out of here! If you don’t... I swear... the day I get out of this prison... I’ll make your life a living hell! I’ll definitely take revenge on you!"
Ruby merely looked at him with complete indifference.
"By the time you get out, I’ll be long gone."
Without another glance, she turned around and walked away.
Watching her disappear through the steel door, Tan roared furiously.
The guards quickly restrained him before dragging him back toward his cell.
However, in the end, Tan never managed to fulfill his threat. He never got the chance to make Ruby’s life miserable.
Because he died inside that prison.
...........
Meanwhile, Ruby slowly walked out of the prison gates.
A chilly breeze brushed against her face as she removed her sunglasses and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"What am I supposed to do now...? I desperately need money."
She had originally planned to start her own business.
Unfortunately... no bank was willing to approve her loan. No relatives wanted to help her.
Even her acquaintances had begun avoiding her. She was completely alone.
Dragging her exhausted body forward, she slowly made her way back toward the run-down apartment she was renting.
.........
Meanwhile... Nia gently tugged on Adeline’s sleeve.
Adeline lowered her head before smiling softly. "What happened, Nia?"
Nia’s tiny face looked unusually pale. She slowly placed her little hand against the left side of her waist.
"It hurts... It hurts here..."
Adeline’s smile immediately disappeared. Her heart skipped a beat.
Without wasting another second, she quickly crouched beside Mia. "Since when has it been hurting?"
Mia softly shook her head.
"I don’t know... it started hurting today."
Fortunately, they were already inside the hospital where Adeline was currently working as an intern.
Today happened to be Family Day.
Doctors, nurses, and interns had all been allowed to bring one family member to visit the hospital.
Since Adeline had only recently begun her internship, her position wasn’t particularly high.
However, because of her hard-working attitude and gentle personality, nearly everyone in the department respected her.
The moment several nurses noticed Nia’s uncomfortable expression, they immediately gathered around.
"What happened? Is she feeling unwell?"
"Let’s check her first."
Everyone began examining the little girl.
Seeing how concerned everyone was, Adeline’s heart warmed slightly.
"Thank you..."
She gratefully nodded toward her colleagues before carrying Nia toward one of the examination rooms.
After several rounds of blood tests, imaging scans, and additional examinations... the final diagnosis arrived.
The doctor’s expression turned unusually serious. "I’m afraid, your sister has severe kidney disease."
Adeline’s breathing suddenly stopped. The doctor’s next sentence completely shattered her world.
"She will most likely require a kidney transplant."
For several long seconds... Adeline couldn’t hear anything else.
It felt as though the entire room had fallen silent.
’A kidney transplant...?’
Her legs suddenly felt weak. She almost collapsed onto the nearest chair.
She quickly got tested, but the result made her feel despair. Wasn’t compatible...
How... how was she supposed to find a compatible kidney?
Finding a matching donor wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight.
Sometimes... patients waited ten years or even longer before a suitable donor finally appeared.
But Nia didn’t have that much time.
Given her already fragile constitution, the doctor estimated that if she failed to receive a transplant within the next two years...
Her chances of survival would decrease dramatically.
The more Adeline thought about it, the more hopeless she became.
Tears quietly gathered in her eyes. Her trembling fingers instinctively reached for her phone.
Without even thinking, she dialed the only person who came to mind. Alex.
The call connected almost immediately.
The moment Alex heard Adeline’s trembling voice, she explained everything that had happened.
When she finally finished, Alex smiled reassuringly.
"Don’t worry. I will handle everything."
As he spoke, his gaze slowly shifted toward the man sitting across from him.
Lucas. Lucas remained silent, his expression unusually grim.
The truth was... the moment Alex regained the memories of his previous life, he had already remembered everything.
He remembered that Nia’s kidneys would completely fail around the age of eight.
By then, it would already be too late to search for a donor.
Eventually... Her fragile body would gradually deteriorate until she passed away because of poor health and an extremely weak constitution.
Back then... there had indeed been a compatible kidney donor.
Unfortunately... the donor had already died by then.
That person had been Lucas.
Because Alex remembered everything, he had already arranged this meeting the moment he learned that Adeline and Mia would be visiting the hospital today.
He wanted to negotiate with Lucas before tragedy could repeat itself.
Silence filled the office. After Alex finished explaining everything... Lucas slowly raised his head.
His voice was calm. "I agree."
Alex blinked in surprise. "You aren’t going to ask for any conditions?"
Lucas simply smiled bitterly. Conditions...?
He had no right to ask for anything.
The memories of his previous life continuously haunted him.
Back then, while working under Alex’s company, he had been blinded by greed.
He had constantly dreamed of replacing Alex as the company’s CEO.
Under Adriana’s manipulation, he had even begun a relationship with Adeline, not because he loved her, but because he wanted to torment her.
Whenever it rained heavily, he deliberately ordered her to bring him food, fully aware that she had no choice but to obey.
Sometimes she was already exhausted from working countless part-time jobs just to repay her debts.
Even then, he never once showed her mercy.
Instead, he watched her silently struggle. He watched her health deteriorate day after day.
Her once healthy body gradually became weak and fragile under endless stress and exhaustion.
Eventually, Alex and Adriana got married.
Lucas watched everything unfold before his own death.
And ten years later, he also witnessed Adeline’s death.
She hadn’t died because of an accident. Nor had she been murdered.
Her body had simply endured too much abuse, exhaustion, and neglect over the years.
By the time her illnesses finally caught up with her... it was already far too late for her to recover.
Alex had become nothing more than a puppet rather than a living human being. After Adeline’s death in his previous life, he had simply continued existing.
It was as though someone had suddenly drained every trace of life from his soul.
He merely operated on autopilot, moving through life like an empty shell.
Whenever he recalled the past, an overwhelming sense of guilt suffocated him. He had destroyed the life of such a kind and gentle woman.
Thinking back carefully, Lucas realised something.
From the very beginning... Alex had never taken the initiative to target Lucas.
Every action he had taken had only been retaliation. Lucas was always the one who created problems first, while Alex merely responded.
Yet despite that... Adeline had become the greatest victim.
This time, he refused to let history repeat itself. He would atone for every mistake connected to his previous life.
Looking at Lucas, Alex spoke softly. "Thank you."
A faint smile appeared on his face. "But... I want Adeline to know about your contribution."
Hearing those words, Lucas immediately shook his head. "No. There’s no need."
He lowered his gaze. A trace of shame filled his eyes.
’How could I possibly accept any credit? After everything I’ve done to her...’
In his previous life, he had caused Adeline endless suffering.
Compared to those sins... Donating a kidney was nothing.
It wasn’t kindness. It was merely the smallest form of repentance. Alex, however, slowly shook his head.
His expression remained unusually serious. "No. That recognition is something you deserve."
Lucas merely smiled bitterly. Deep inside... he didn’t believe he deserved anything at all.
...........................
Meanwhile... Owen sat across from Jonah inside a luxurious office.
Owen’s once-neat appearance had become rather miserable.
His expensive suit was wrinkled, his hair was slightly dishevelled, and exhaustion could clearly be seen on his face.
Looking at Jonah, he forced out a smile. "Jonah, at least show me a little mercy. I was once your manager."
Jonah couldn’t help chuckling. Recently, his career has reached unprecedented heights.
Just as Ms Dawn had promised, he had become one of the most popular movie stars in the country.
He was now widely recognised as the second Movie King.
Surprisingly... he wasn’t jealous in the slightest that someone else had surpassed him. Because the person standing above him wasn’t an enemy.
It was Theodore. His closest friend. If Theodore succeeded, Jonah genuinely felt happy for him.
Now, looking at the miserable man sitting before him, Jonah couldn’t help recalling the countless humiliations he had endured in the past.
The very manager who had repeatedly ruined his career, who had forced him to entertain influential clients, who had constantly treated him like a disposable commodity, had now fallen so low that he could barely survive.
Life truly had a strange sense of irony. Owen leaned forward slightly.
"Jonah. As long as you let me become your manager again. I promise I’ll make you the number one Movie Emperor. You have to trust me."
He lowered his voice.
"Ms. Dawn may have made many promises, but when it comes to distributing resources, she’s biased. She always gives Theodore better scripts and bigger opportunities than you."