THE DISABLED HEIRESS, MY EX-HUSBAND WOULD PAY DEARLY.

But even worse than the rage… was the satisfaction.

The more she watched, the more it became clear: Oliver wasn't just trying to protect her. He was enjoying it. His movements were filled with a terrifying precision almost like he had been waiting for this moment.

At that moment Cora felt a tremor run through her spine. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. She was speechless. Her heart was hurting, confused between fear and disbelief.

She couldn't believe this was her Oliver? The same Oliver who used to smile warmly at her like the world would stop spinning if she got hurt? The one who made her feel safe and gentle just by holding her hand? This… this wasn't him. The man in the footage wasn't that Oliver. He looked like a stranger. No worse. He looked like a monster.

The air around her suddenly felt heavier. Her throat tightened. Her chest rose and fell slowly as her thoughts became louder than her heartbeat.

"Who are you, Oliver?" she whispered in her head.

And then… like a cruel twist of fate, her mind began to wander to the conversation she once had with William. His words echoed now louder than ever in her ears.

"Oliver is dangerous, Cora. He hides it well, but he doesn't feel things the way we do. There's something missing in him, emotion, remorse... empathy. I don't think he even knows what guilt feels like."

At that time, she dismissed William. She thought he was just trying to ruin things between her and Oliver out of jealousy, or pride, or some bitter motive. But now? Now she wasn't so sure anymore.

The Oliver she was seeing right now… he didn't look like someone trying to save a woman he loved. He looked like someone executing judgment. Someone who believed those men deserved to die. Someone who wasn't protecting he was punishing.

Cora didn't even notice her own lips trembling as the footage came to an end again. Her eyes were still frozen on the screen, but her mind had already drifted far away into a storm of emotions. She couldn't deny it anymore.

This wasn't the sweet and loving Oliver that she knew. Oliver now looked like a different monster entirely. And in her mind, she started thinking that could it be that what William actually told her about Oliver was true, that Oliver doesn't have any emotion, he's so unremorseful. Could it be that is the case?

At that moment, another wave of realization hit Cora so hard, she almost staggered backward. Her breath caught in her chest as she clutched the edge of the table beside her, eyes still fixated on the now-black screen of the CCTV footage. A deep ache slowly began to bloom in her heart, an ache laced not just with worry, but with guilt.

It wasn't just that Oliver had killed those five men. It wasn't just the brutality of it. It was why he had done it.

He did it for her.

He had lost his composure. He had completely let go of reason, of restraint, all because of her. Because she had been in danger. Because she had almost died. And Oliver had been the one to make sure that didn't happen. But at what cost? Cora's lips trembled as she lowered herself slowly onto the couch, her hand pressed against her forehead, her mind spiraling in so many directions. "Oh my God… what have I done?" she whispered.

For the first time, her mind stopped worrying about the five dead men or the sixth hanging between life and death in the hospital. No. That wasn't the issue anymore.

What about Oliver?

Why had it taken her this long to even think of him? Why hadn't she wondered where he was after everything? He hadn't come to the hospital. He hadn't called. He hadn't sent a single message. And for someone like Oliver someone who used to appear the moment she needed help, this silence was deafening.

At that moment her heart tightened, he wasn't absent because he didn't care.

He was absent because something was wrong.

She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, pain crawling through her chest like sharp thorns. Why had she been so focused on everything else, on the aftermath, on the media, on the security lapses, on the people who tried to destroy her career that she had completely forgotten about the man who saved her life? She should have known better. She should have known better.

Maybe he was hurting now. Maybe he was sitting alone, somewhere in the dark, broken by the weight of what he had done. Maybe the blood of those five men was haunting him, tormenting his mind.

Or maybe… he didn't even feel anything at all.

That thought chilled her to the bone. The way he fought in the video… so cold. So precise. So empty. So unlike the Oliver she used to know.

Then her fingers curled into fists on her lap as she whispered again, "No… no, that's not him. That's not the real Oliver. Something must be wrong. He's hurting… and I wasn't there."

Then tears stung the corners of her eyes. "I was so foolish… so blind. What is wrong with me?"

Immediately she sniffed, wiping her face quickly, not wanting anyone to see her break down further.

Then she stood up, her voice trembling but firm. "Giovanni…"

He looked at her immediately.

"Accompany me to Oliver's house," she said, her tone filled with a mixture of urgency and regret. "I need to see my friend and know how my friend is doing."

At that moment, just as Cora turned to take a step out of the room, her phone suddenly rang, slicing through the silence like an alarm. She paused, her hand still midair. For a second, she didn't want to answer. Her heart had been heavy with thoughts about Oliver, and she felt emotionally exhausted. But something tugged at her, curiosity. A small flicker of hope sparked in her chest. Could it be Oliver? she wondered, her fingers hesitating near her pocket.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, she reached into her bag and pulled out the phone. Her breath caught for a second but the name on the screen wasn't Oliver's. It was Malisa.

Immediately she frowned.

Why would Malisa be calling her now, right after visiting her at the hospital? What could be so urgent that she didn't mention it when they were face to face?

She answered the call, her tone slightly annoyed but still controlled.

"Malisa, what is it? What could possibly make you call me like this? Is there something you forgot to say at the hospital? You could've said it earlier."

On the other end of the call, Melissa's voice came through with a nervous softness. "Miss Cora, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to disturb you again so soon. I know you've been through a lot lately…"