Soon, a knock sounded at the door—soft, measured, two taps spaced with clear intention.

She did not move at once. Her gaze shifted toward the sound, attention sharpening as she noted its rhythm and the absence of urgency. Only then did she cross the room and open the door.

Li Chen stood outside, Mo Chen beside him. Both had already slipped back into the residence and aligned themselves with its rhythm. Su Wan’s gaze passed over them once, quick and assessing. She stepped aside.

"Come in."

Li Chen entered first, controlled yet alert. Mo Chen followed, his movements quieter, his presence less visible but more deliberate. The door closed behind them with quiet certainty.

"Miss..." Li Chen’s voice was lower than usual, caution threading through it.

"What happened?" Su Wan asked, not fully turning toward them. Her tone remained even, the question merely another step in an ongoing sequence.

Li Chen stepped forward and offered her a phone—new, unmarked, its clean surface catching the light with a faint pink sheen. She took it, turning it once in her hand, noting its ordinary weight and unremarkable design. It was precisely the kind of object that would go unnoticed.

"And the woman?" she asked.

"She will appear tomorrow morning," Li Chen replied. After a brief pause he added, "She believes it is her opportunity."

Su Wan gave a small nod, the minimal gesture carrying her approval.

Li Chen hesitated, his expression tightening. "Miss... if she is truly pregnant—" He faltered, the rest of the sentence left unspoken.

Because it could truly shaken Su Wan’s position in the Lu Residence.

Su Wan turned her gaze to him fully, her face unchanged. "I want it to be."

The words settled heavily between them.

"I need movement," she continued, her voice calm and measured. "Chaos forces mistakes. And mistakes create openings."

Her fingers brushed lightly over the phone, confirming its presence and purpose.

"I need funds moved," she said. "Not embezzlement, I don’t want cases. Find a way."

Li Chen nodded slowly, his mind already shifting into motion, calculations forming beneath the surface.

Mo Chen had remained silent since entering, barely moving. Yet something in him altered—an almost imperceptible adjustment. His attention narrowed. His posture shifted by a fraction as he stepped forward, positioning himself slightly between Su Wan and the window without explanation or announcement.

There was no warning.

The glass shattered.

The sound cracked through the room—sharp, sudden, violent enough to fracture the contained quiet though not loud enough to carry through the entire residence. Fragments burst inward, catching the light in jagged flashes.

One shard, larger and unevenly edged, tore forward faster than the rest.

Mo Chen moved instantly, arm lifting to intercept, but he was not fast enough to stop everything.

The shard struck Su Wan’s upper arm with clean force. Her body jolted at the impact. A sharp breath escaped her before she could contain it.

Blood welled up at once, bright against the pale fabric of her sleeve, then began to run—first in slow beads, then in steady lines tracing down her arm. She pressed her hand over the wound instinctively, yet the warmth continued to seep between her fingers, gathering at the edge of her palm before slipping free and falling to the floor in quiet, rhythmic drops.

Li Chen reached out at once to steady her as her balance shifted.

"Miss—"

She did not answer.

The quiet that had once held the room together was gone. Something had broken, and it was far more than the glass.

The sound of shattering glass did not remain confined to the room. It tore through the corridor with a sharp, violent edge that shattered the stillness of the entire wing. Within seconds, footsteps echoed in response—not measured or orderly, but hurried and uneven, the rhythm of people reacting before they understood what they were rushing toward.

Voices overlapped as they drew closer.

"What was that—?"

"From this side—!"

"Open it!"

The door was pushed open with force rather than care, swinging inward under the pressure of multiple hands. Light flooded the room abruptly, too bright after the dim quiet that had existed only moments before.

They entered almost at once.

Lu Shaohan stepped in first, his pace fast, his gaze already sweeping the space. Behind him came Second Madam, Lu Meiqi, Su Yao, Third Aunt, and several others, their presence crowding the doorway and spilling into the room. Servants gathered at the edges, uncertain whether to approach or retreat. Old Master Lu followed more slowly, but the moment he crossed the threshold, the weight of the room shifted again.

And then everything broke apart.

Because what they saw did not arrange itself into something easily understood. It collided with perception and turned into something else entirely.

Su Wan stood near the center of the room, but she was not steady. Her body tilted slightly forward, her balance uneven, held upright only by Li Chen’s arm around her. The proximity between them was immediate and unavoidable—too close, too familiar—and from where the others stood, it appeared damning.

Her sleeve had been torn open. Blood ran freely from her upper arm, dark and fresh, staining the fabric and dripping steadily onto the floor. It gathered at the edges of her fingers where she tried to press against the wound, but it did not stop.

Mo Chen stood just behind them, not still but subtly shifting, his body angled as if to shield, his attention already tracking every opening in the room—the broken window, the corridor beyond, the people filling the doorway.

From the outside, it did not read as protection. It looked contained. Closed. Private. And compromised.

The room erupted.

"What is this?!" one of the aunts demanded, her voice rising sharply above the others.

Lu Meiqi moved forward immediately, her reaction too quick to be mistaken for surprise. Her eyes moved from Su Wan to Li Chen, then to the blood, and something in her expression sharpened into satisfaction.

"Oh my god—look at them!" she exclaimed, her voice climbing higher. "This... this is what she’s been doing?" She laughed, the sound brittle and cutting. "Right in the house?"