She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 103

Sybil felt like she was about to faint, her palms slick with sweat. Her only hope now was that the bar’s dim lighting would obscure the deliberate way she had thrown herself backward.

Gavin went to the back room and pulled up the feed from the pinhole cameras. While the main, obvious cameras were duds, he always kept a secret, high-definition backup system running for situations just like this—especially with his high-profile clientele. The cameras, equipped with night vision, had captured the entire incident from multiple angles.

The moment the footage appeared on the big screen, a wave of murmurs swept through the crowd.

Sybil’s face turned white as a sheet. On the screen, her deliberate tug on Loyce’s arm was perfectly clear, magnified for all to see, even the flicker of calculation in her eyes.

“No… that’s not real…” she stammered, stumbling backward.

Lucian caught her arm, his voice chillingly gentle. “Careful now, Sybil. The quality is excellent, isn’t it? You can even see the expression on your face.”

Leroy whipped his head around to stare at his sister, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Sybil…”

The bar erupted.

“Damn, what an actress!”

“She was playing the victim the whole time!”

“Wow, the Seabrook girl has some moves…”

Sybil was trembling all over. She pointed a shaking finger at the screen and shrieked, “That video is fake! It’s doctored! Loyce, she—”

“Enough,” Lucian said. His voice was quiet, but it commanded immediate silence.

He calmly took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the tear she had splattered on his hand. When he looked up, his gaze was like a knife. “Sybil, if you keep making a scene, this won’t end well for you.”

Sybil’s legs gave out, and she sank to the floor. Her perfectly styled hair fell in disarray around her shoulders, her makeup streaked with tears. The pitiful, innocent facade was gone.

“A striptease is a bit undignified,” Lucian said, turning to Loyce. “How about you do me a favor? Let the siblings apologize, and we’ll call it a night.”

Loyce smiled, satisfied with how Lucian had orchestrated the whole thing. “Fine,” she conceded. “I’ve always been the generous type, after all.”

Just as Leroy helped Sybil to her feet, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

Whether it was real or fake, Loyce didn’t care to find out. She just scoffed. “Well, that was fun. You’d better get Sybil to a hospital before I give her something else to be upset about.”

Though furious, Leroy knew his sister’s well-being came first. He scooped her up and stormed out of the bar without a backward glance.

Lucian dismissed the crowd and followed Loyce out. As they left, Loyce spoke without turning around. “Coming to a bar in your condition? That’s brave of you.”

Lucian raised an eyebrow but did as she asked. He walked over to the lab bench and saw a vial containing a liquid that glowed with a faint blue light. “The latest formula?”

Loyce finally turned around, her bright eyes visible above her surgical mask. “Yes. Unlike the previous one, this is a neural nourishment serum. It’s to prepare your body for the nerve repair surgery.”

She pointed to a specially designed tub in the corner. “But this serum is even more potent than the Nexo-7 you took before. Your body will experience neural chaos, a burning sensation. That’s what the ice bath is for.”

Lucian glanced at the tub, which was emitting cold vapor. “An ice bucket challenge, is it?”

“You don’t have to do it if you’re afraid of the cold,” Loyce said flatly. “But I should warn you, the effects of the last injection are wearing off. You must have noticed it yourself every morning in the mirror.”

Though Lucian’s eyes were still sharp, his complexion grew paler by the day, tinged with a faint, deathly quality. Anyone with medical knowledge could see he was merely putting on a brave face, while in reality, the pain had returned, growing more intense with each passing day.

“I wouldn’t dare disobey the miracle doctor,” Lucian said warmly, and began unbuttoning his shirt.

Loyce turned her back to him to arrange her instruments, listening to the soft rustle of clothes falling to the floor.

“I’m in,” Lucian’s voice came, somewhat muffled, from the ice bath.

When she turned back, Lucian was fully submerged in the transparent container filled with ice, only his head and shoulders visible above the surface. The man’s muscular form was faintly visible through the ice water, his skin already turning a light pink from the extreme cold.