Not A Small-Town Girl

----

The nurse was dizzy, unable to form a coherent thought, her

mind spinning from the impact.

“Ah! Help! He’s killing me!" Her screams echoed through the

hallway, drawing the attention of several nurses who rushed

over.

"Stop! Do you know where you are? This is a hospital! If you

don’t stop, I’ll call the police!" one of the nurses shouted,

trying to intervene.

Jaden’s fage darkened as he roughly

slammeckthe nurse’s head against

the walf’again | in front of the others.

The ntrse fell unconscious. J&den

sneered i in disgust, letting he? | limp

form fall to the floor.

----

The other nurses stared in shock. Wasn’t this Ember, one of

their own? Who was this man, and why was he beating her?

“Wake her up," Jaden ordered.

Several bodyguards moved in, slapping Ember hard across

the face.

‘You’ve got a lot of nerve," one of the bodyguards sneered.

“We’ve already called the police, so you better let Ember

go.”

The nurses tried to intervene but were blocked by the

bodyguards. One of the guards continued slapping Ember,

causing her face to puff up like dough, blood trickling from

her mouth.

She was slapped awake, spitting blood and several teeth as

she gasped in horror.

----

“I’m calling the police!" she screamed, but Jaden was

already advancing toward her, a knife glinting in his hand.

“Mr. Johnson, please. This is a hospital. You don’t want to

make things worse,” Elliot spoke up, his voice filled with

concern.

"She nearly killed Xavier, and you don’t want revenge?"

Jaden’s eyes were filled with icy rage.

With one swift motion, he sliced the knife across Ember’s

face.

“Ah! My face!" Ember screamed in agony, completely losing

her composure.

She was starting to understand just how insane this man

was.

Jaden ignored her screams and drew the knife again,

slashing across her cheek.

The nurse, unable to bear it any longer, finally broke.

“T’ll talk! I’ll talk! Just stop cutting me!"

----

But Jaden acted as if he hadn’t heard her and sliced her

face once more.

"| told you I’ll talk, just please stop!"

“I’m not interested in hearing it," Jaden muttered, pulling

Ember towards the window.

“Help! He’s going to kill me! He’s going to kill me!" Ember

screamed, terrified.

“Calm down, sir. Killing is a crime. There’s no need to

escalate this,” one of the nurses begged.

“Shut up," Jaden snapped, his voice chilling as the

bodyguards around him stared with cold, eyes.

----

“If you don’t stop talking, you’ll be joining that nurse."

The nurses were frozen, covering their mouths, too scared

to utter a sound.

With one final push, Jaden sent Ember’s body halfway out

the window.

The people in the hallway gasped in shock, and the Darling

family feared for Jaden’s future if anything happened to

Xavier.

“Mr. Johnson, we can hand her over to the police," Joseph

quickly suggested.

----

Unlike familieSNike the Charringtons

or Johnsons, ho thrived on internal

competition: the Darling family wag~

known f¢ its unity and grounded

appraach. Joseph’s family preferred

6@p things peaceful, not t creating

wes conflicts.

----

But just as Ember was about to fall, Jaden grabbed her by

the leg, holding her suspended in mid-air, her body upside

down.

Ember nearly fainted from the fear, screaming for her life. "I’ll

tell you everything! Just don’t kill me!" she cried, her voice

frantic and pleading.

“T’ll handle it, | won’t involve the police," Jaden said coldly.

Joseph, Elliot, and Matthew thought to themselves, "This is

causing far more trouble than it’s worth. He’s about to kill

her!"

“Just give me a chance to speak," Ember whimpered.

----

"| was paiga large sum to find an

opportunity when Xavier was in the

hospital They told me to make Sure

he did’t make it off the operating

table That’s all, | swear! Please, I’ve

told you everything."