The next morning.
Rachel woke up exhausted, to her chagrin.
Not only had she fallen asleep at midnight, but she had also contended with many strange dreams, all
of which made her sweat profusely throughout the night.
It took a few moments for her eyes to focus, and the ceiling came into view.
She sat up and looked out the window as the blazing-yellow sun rose slowly into the sky.She was lost
in thought as sunlight covered every inch of the room.
Suddenly, her smartphone vibrated, jolting her from her reverie.
She looked down at the phone and saw a red dialog box that had just popped up on the screen.
It was filled with code that meant one thing: the search had failed, yet again.
Her eyes darkened as she closed the dialog box and clenched her fists in frustration.
She could no longer keep count of how many times she had seen the dreaded red pop-up of failure.
"Search Failed" were the two words that had been engraved in her mind, and it seemed she would be
unable to forget it even in death.
Abby's whereabouts still eluded her.
Victor said he had sent Abby packing from the Bennet family's house but didn't take her away.
If that was the case, why couldn't she find her whereabouts? It was as though she had vanished into
thin air.
Rachel had even hacked Apliaria's traffic monitoring system and sifted through all surveillance videos
of every place within ten leagues of the Bennet family's house, the Sullivan Group's building, and the
hospital.
However, the videos didn't turn up any trace of Abby's whereabouts—like smoke, she had completed
vanished.
Frustrated, Shelia logged out of the monitoring system and checked the time at the top of the screen.
It was seven o'clock, and there wasn't much time left.
Rays of sunlight shone in through the glass door, illuminating the edge of the bed.
The warm, gold light soon covered the bed entirely, like a scene from renowned drama flicks.
As she basked in the sunlight, her eyes glimmered for a moment.She had made up her mind.
With a hint of determination in her eyes, she got from the bed a while later, took a shower and changed
her clothes.
Then, she left the bedroom and went downstairs to the dining room.
As she walked into the room, she ran into Victor.
He had eaten breakfast and was about to leave.Lukas was also nearby.He didn't wake Rachel up early
because he wanted her to sleep in, as she was pregnant.
Although he was surprised to see Rachel suddenly come to the dining room, he still walked over and
respectfully greeted her.
"Good morning, Miss Bennet.Why did you wake up so early? Don't worry.I'll have the servants bring
you a nutritious breakfast right away."
"Don't bother, Lukas.I'm not hungry," she replied in a hoarse voice, with her expression rather cold.
Yesterday, she ate an entire course of nutritious food and had vomited it all.
Now, she couldn't bear to hear Lukas recommend that she eat "nutritious" food; it made her want to
puke.
Victor gave her the once-over and noticed how pale and exhausted she looked.
A trace of contempt flashed in his cold eyes as he said, "Do you plan to go on a hunger strike? Rachel,
don't think I'm not aware of what you're up to.You present yourself as poor, weak, and out of options
because you want me to pity you and release your friends, right? What a waste of time; I know you're
just acting."
Rachel couldn't help but chuckle at the accusation.She found it funny that Victor could be this ridiculous
while keeping a straight face.
‘'Acting? Me?’'
Trying to win this jerk's pity by starving herself was an exercise in futility one she would be foolish to try.
She just didn't have the appetite to eat anything.
"There are still three hours left before ten o'clock," Victor coldly said, ignoring her chuckle.
"Give up this idea as soon as possible.Even if you kneeled right here, right now, I wouldn't relent
because a woman like you deserves no pity from me.If you want to save them, there's nothing you can
do but sign the agreement," he said and coldly walked past her, heading for the door.
However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Rachel's voice a moment later.
Although she didn't yell, he clearly heard what she had just said.
"I will sign the agreement, but I have three conditions."
Victor turned around and narrowed his eyes with great disdain.
"Who do you think you are to bargain with me?"
Rachel didn't back down, though.
Instead, she looked him dead in the eyes and replied, "You're right-I'm worried about Andy and Abby,
but I'm more committed to ensuring that my interests aren't compromised.If I have to choose between
safeguarding my interests and saving them, I'll choose to protect my interests at their expense.Don't
forget, even for a second, that the baby is in my belly.If I decide I no longer want it, do you really think
you can stop me from doing anything?"
Suddenly, the corners of her lips curled up into a wry smile.
"I won't die if I fall, but it's hard to say if the baby will survive.In the first three months of pregnancy, the
fetus is feeble and at risk, and anything can happen if it isn't properly cared for, right?"
Victor's face turned ugly.
"Rachel, you are so heartless!" he bellowed.
Rachel raised her eyebrows for a moment and shook her head slowly, causing a lock of her hair to drop
and cover her eyes for a few moments, hiding the fiery coldness that had suddenly appeared in them
from Victor's view.
"Everyone pursues self-interest eventually, Victor," she slowly said.
"What's more, you already know the kind of person I am, don't you? I'm just a greedy, shameless, and
stubborn woman who won't stop pestering you, no?"
Those words were quite familiar to her.
Victor had used these words time and time again to describe the old Rachel.
Every time she heard them, she would get hurt; the words were like sharp knives stabbing at her heart.
She didn't know if she had felt this way in the past because the words were too harsh, but now, all they
did was infuriate her.
This was quite unusual, though, because she knew such words shouldn't have angered her, because
she was Shelia, not Rachel.
But she was pissed off anyway.
The angrier she got, the colder her eyes became.
This time, her fierce expression was plain for all to see.
Victor was stunned.
For some unknown reason, he felt hurt when he heard those words, but the pain vanished as quickly
as it came.
"What are your conditions?" he asked in a deep voice.
Rachel tucked the loose hair behind her ear and looked at him quietly.
A few moments later, she said, "One, I want all the shares you have in the Bennet Group.Two, I can
agree to live in the Sue Garden for the duration of my pregnancy, but you can't prevent me from going
out.And three…"
She paused at this point and looked him straight in the eyes with an unfathomable expression.
"I want to you fire Alice."
Victor was surprised at first.
"Fire Alice?"
Then, he smiled coldly.
"You really don't want to give up on me, do you? Do you think you will become the Sullivan family's
hostess again if I fire Alice?"
‘'The Sullivan family's hostess? How impertinent!’' Rachel sneered in her heart.
‘'Whoever wants to become the Sullivan family's hostess is free to strive as hard as they want.I don't
want it, neither do I care about it.'’
"Think whatever you want," Rachel replied with an indifferent expression.
"Those are my conditions.If you agree to them, I'll sign the agreement.Furthermore, I don't want the fifty
million dollars you included in the agreement."
Victor looked at her silently for a while.He seemed to be thinking hard.
Rachel didn't say anything more, either.She was in no hurry, after all, so she just stood there quietly,
awaiting his answer.
The room was dead silent, and the temperature seemed low.Victor's eyes darkened after a while.
"Fine, but I want to add something to the second condition.You'll be allowed to leave the Sue Garden at
will, but someone must go with you."
"Sure," she replied right away.
"Then, I'll have Ivan draft a new agreement.I want to see your signature on it before ten o'clock," Victor
indifferently said.
With that, he turned around and left.
Rachel remained expressionless until he was entirely out of sight-only then did she breathe a sigh of
relief.She looked down at her palms, and they were covered in sweat.
However, no one could see the glow of cunning in her eyes because she had lowered her head.
Lukas, who hadn't dared interrupt the conversation, hurried forward and earnestly said, "Miss Bennet,
nutrition is the most important thing for a pregnant woman.No matter how nauseous you feel, you have
to eat something for the baby's sake.Besides, now that you've come to an agreement with Mr.Sullivan,
you don't have to worry about anything else.Just focus on resting well in the Sue Garden.A few months
will pass in the blink of an eye."
Rachel smiled at him but said nothing.
Just rest for a few months? And then what? It was a certainty that she'd be driven out right after the
baby's birth.
From then on, the baby would have nothing to do with her.
‘'That's impossible! Victor, now that you're being heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless, too.’'
All she needed was a month—just one-to settle Andy and Abby.
After that, she would make her move.She was actually curious to see how Victor planned to stop her
from getting her own baby.
At that point, not even God would be able to stop her.
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