Chapter 11: The Hidden Snapshot

Charlotte Xiao anxiously pressed, "Dr. Lin, what should we do about President Vanderbilt's treatment now?"

Dr. Lin Tong feigned calm, pulling a pen from his pocket. "I'll adjust three herbs. This revised formula will cure her."

He crossed out three ingredients and scribbled replacements.

Relief washed over Charlotte as she watched his composed demeanor. "Thank goodness we consulted you. That fraud Daniel brought could've killed her!"

Idiot. Useless as always.

Lin Tong hid a smirk. The substitutions—harmless but meaningless—were designed to impress Charlotte. To an amateur, the changes seemed drastic; to a trained eye, they swapped herbs with nearly identical effects. A calculated risk, but one that showcased his "superior" expertise.

Meanwhile, Hospital Exit

As Daniel escorted Dr. Zhang Zizhen out, the old physician hesitated, then asked quietly:

"Mr. Lockwood… was it truly a dream that warned you of the fire?"

He didn't suspect Daniel of arson—the clinic's layout made stealth impossible, and Lin Xiao had been guarding the back room all night.

Yet the precision of Daniel's prediction gnawed at him.

Dr. Zhang Zizhen's brows furrowed. How had Daniel known about the fire?

"A dream" was too convenient, too hollow.

Daniel chuckled lightly, his tone casual yet cryptic. "Let's just say… I have precognitive abilities."

"Precognitive?" Zhang repeated, startled.

Could such a thing—defying all scientific logic—truly exist?

The old physician shook his head, swallowing further questions. Daniel clearly wouldn't elaborate.

Regardless of the truth, Zhang owed him a life debt. "Visit the clinic anytime, Mr. Lockwood. My door is open."

"I will."

As Zhang and Lin Xiao departed, Daniel turned back toward the hospital—

"Daniel!"

A woman's voice, sweet and shrill, pierced the air.

Before he could react, a figure in a red spaghetti-strap dress crashed into his chest.

"You promised to call after that night!" She pouted, her doe eyes glistening. **"I waited forever! Sebastian told me you were here…"

Her fingers clawed into his shirt. **"Did you divorce that ice queen yet? When will you marry me?"

Daniel recoiled, shoving her away with barely veiled disgust.

Daniel's lips curled into a mirthless sneer.

This woman—Lynn Miao—was none other than the "other woman" Elena had caught him with two nights prior.

His childhood sweetheart, now a pawn in Sebastian Lockwood's schemes.

"Lynn," Daniel's voice dripped with icy contempt, "you plotted to ruin me, and now you dare play the victim?"

Lynn recoiled. The man before her—cold, lethal, unrecognizable—bore no resemblance to the infatuated fool she'd manipulated.

"Daniel, I didn't—! I just wanted us to—!"

"Enough." He cut her off with a venomous glare. "Never approach me again."

He strode back into the hospital, leaving Lynn trembling in his wake.

She stared at his retreating figure, words dying in her throat. His hatred—sharp as a blade—had paralyzed her.

The Shadow Watcher

In a shadowed alley outside the hospital, Sebastian Lockwood watched Lynn stumble past, hastily wiping her tears.

A serpent's smile slithered across his face.

He'd tailed Lynn here, witnessed her pathetic attempt to cling to Daniel.

Perfect.

The staged "affair" had failed, but new opportunities bloomed.

The Framing

Shortly after Lynn's departure, a sleazy teenager slunk out of the shadows, grinning as he handed Sebastian his phone.

"Done, Mr. Lockwood."

The screen displayed a photo: Daniel and Lynn seemingly locked in an intimate embrace.

The angle—deliberately ambiguous—hid Daniel's face but showcased Lynn's pitiful, pleading expression, as if begging for affection. To an outsider, they looked like star-crossed lovers.

"Nicely done." Sebastian's smile turned predatory. "Send me the photo. Payment's on its way."

"Thank you, sir!" The youth bobbed his head in gratitude before scurrying off.

Sebastian's gaze hardened as he stared at the hospital entrance. If only he had Elena's direct contact…

Charlotte's Fury

Inside the hospital, Charlotte barked orders: "Brew the herbs immediately! Not a second's delay!"

Her phone chimed. An unknown number.

She opened the message—and froze.

There it was: Daniel clutching Lynn, the same woman from the "cheating" scandal.

"DANIEL LOCKWOOD!!!"

Her scream echoed through the corridor. The phone trembled in her grip, her knuckles whitening from the force.

How could he?!

Begging for Elena's forgiveness one moment, clinging to his mistress the next!

And with the divorce still pending!

"Filth…" she hissed, tears of rage blurring her vision. **"You're disgusting."