“Make a… call…” Rong Jin gasped out a string of numbers, her nails digging into the woman’s neck. The woman’s legs went weak, and she shot a desperate, pleading glance at Ning Yun. “Rong… Rong Jin, don’t do anything crazy…” Ning Yun hadn’t expected this and was genuinely startled. “You have no one left. Who could you possibly call for help?” She had been friends with Rong Jin for years; she knew every one of her friends like the back of her hand. Any of them with decent family backgrounds had already been bought off. There was simply no one left who could help! “I said… make the call!” Rong Jin hissed the words through clenched teeth. Her nails had already broken the skin on the woman’s neck, sending a tremor through the woman’s legs as her mouth fell open in a silent scream. Ning Yun’s expression darkened. Afraid the woman would accidentally blurt out her name, she gritted her teeth and dialed the number Rong Jin had given her. The call connected almost instantly. “Hello?” At the sound of that familiar voice, tears welled in Rong Jin’s eyes. She swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva and rasped, “It’s Rong Jin… Come to the… Yuncheng… Police… Department…” As long as they let her go to the hospital, as long as she could see her grandmother, she would give that man anything—even her own life. Compared to her only family, what was dignity? Soon, officers who had heard the commotion rushed over. But seeing Rong Jin clutching the woman’s throat, seemingly ready to take her down with her, they didn’t dare rush in. The minutes ticked by, and still, no one came for Ning Yun. She decided Rong Jin must have been bluffing and was about to urge the officers to go in and subdue her when, in the next second, a man in his early thirties hurried toward the detention cell. When Rong Jin saw him, a flicker of hope ignited in her eyes. She pleaded, “Bail me out… please, I have to get to the hospital…” The man nodded, his face grave, and quickly turned to leave. In less than a minute, not only had the man returned, but he’d brought the police chief with him. As the man helped Rong Jin out, the chief even asked respectfully, “Mr. Xu, do you need me to arrange for someone to drive you to the hospital?” “That won’t be necessary.” Ning Yun watched, dumbfounded, as the man carried Rong Jin away. She turned to the chief, protesting, “Chief, Rong Jin is a murder suspect! How can you just let her go?” “Without concrete evidence, we can no longer hold her,” the chief said impatiently. “If you have no other business here, you should leave.” Ning Yun was furious but had no choice but to go. She knew the deputy chief in Jing City had a good relationship with Song Shi, which was why it had been so easy for her to arrange for someone to rough up Rong Jin. She never imagined Rong Jin actually had a powerful backer she could call to bail her out of a police station. After arriving at the hospital with A Sheng, Rong Jin stumbled into her grandmother’s room, bumping into the nurse who had been caring for her. The nurse’s face was filled with pity. “Miss Rong, my condolences…” Rong Jin looked past the nurse and saw a white sheet covering the figure on the bed from head to toe. In that instant, the blood froze in her veins. She felt like she was suffocating. “Grandma?” She dragged her stiff legs, step by agonizing step, to the bedside, her raised hand trembling. “I’m sorry… I took so long to get here… It’s me, Jin’er…” She forced the words from her throat, calling out to her grandmother, but there was no reply. When she lifted the white sheet and saw her grandmother’s pale, cold face, Rong Jin’s knees buckled. She collapsed to the floor, a piercing shriek tearing from her throat as she broke down in gut-wrenching sobs. “Grandma…” Her grandmother was the only reason she had held on for so long. And now, her only family was gone. A bitter hatred consumed her. If only she had cast aside her so-called dignity that day and gone with A Sheng to that villa, she wouldn't have been framed by Song Shi and sent to jail, and her grandmother wouldn’t have died. Rong Jin clung to her grandmother’s body from day into night, crying until no tears were left. On the day of the burial, the sky over Jing City was heavy and dark, a light rain falling. She stood in a daze, watching the workers shovel handfuls of earth over her grandmother’s urn. Long after everyone else had left, she remained standing before the gravestone, the rain soaking her to the bone. From this day forward, she had no one. After the funeral, Rong Jin returned to Yanyuan with A Sheng. She locked herself in her room. For three full days, the meals left outside her door remained untouched. Worried something terrible would happen, A Sheng called Fu Xiaoquan. That evening, Fu Xiaoquan arrived at the villa. He used a spare key to open the door, finding the room shrouded in darkness, every source of light blocked out. From inside, he could occasionally hear a woman’s sleep-talking, laced with sobs. “Mama, I’m so scared… Take me with you…” Fu Xiaoquan fumbled for the switch on the table lamp, and its soft glow revealed the woman curled up on the bed. In just a few days, she had become little more than skin and bones. Her slender fingers gripped the bedsheets, so thin the blue veins on the back of her hands stood out. Her pale, despairing face was streaked with tears. If she didn't eat soon, she might not wake up tomorrow.