Vengeance and Valor: A General's Oath

Chapter 3

Lacie Harper, Taylor's mother, stood blocking the door, clearly not intending to let them in. Furious, Lacie shouted, "Do you even care about this family? You completely messed up such an important deal! Are you trying to ruin your sister? Ruin all of us?"

"Lacie, this wasn't Taylor's fault. Mr. Lee…" Zac stood behind Taylor and couldn't hold back any longer. He tried to speak up for her.

"Who are you? This is our family's business!" Rhys Harper, Taylor's father, cut Zac off sharply.

Zac kept his cool, still respectful towards the them. "Hello, Mr. Harper and Mrs. Harper. I'm Zac Willis."

Rhys's face darkened. "Zac from the Willis family?" His tone turned cold. "What are you doing here? Let me be clear—forget about that foolish engagement. Now get out of here!"

Lacie joined in, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, so you remember to come back now? You didn't even show up when your parents died. A heartless person like you doesn't deserve my daughter!"

Taylor couldn't stay silent any longer and spoke up with frustration, "Mr. Lee is a creep. He kept harassing me, and if Zac hadn't shown up, I don't know what would have happened."

Rhys pointed angrily at Taylor, yelling, "How could I have raised you, such a loser? Do you have any idea what you've done? Mr. Lee pulled out of the Harper Group deal. The company's taking back all our resources, including your sister's treatment funds!"

The words hit Taylor like a sledgehammer. Her legs felt weak, and her breathing quickened. "How can they do that? That's Anya's life-saving money!"

Two years ago, her sister Anya Harper had fallen ill with a mysterious disease and had been bedridden ever since, in need of costly treatments every month. Without the company's support, her life was in real danger.

Zac quickly reached out to steady Taylor and snapped. "If I hadn't shown up, Mr. Lee would have ra*ed her. Why would you want to work with scum like that?"

Taylor's parents turned their anger towards Zac. Lacie sneered, "And who do you think you are? You're nothing but a retired soldier who came back to stir up trouble!"

Rhys spat bitterly, "Why are you still alive? Don't think you're something special just because you served a few years. All you've done since you came back is bring us disaster! Are you trying to destroy our family?"

Lacie was overcome with fury. She pointed at Zac, shouting, "Get out! You never should have come back here!"

Just as the argument seemed to reach a breaking point, a group of people appeared in the hallway. Taylor turned to see that her uncle's family had arrived.

Her cousin Ted Harper approached with a smug smile. "Taylor, by order of the family head, since you've completely botched an important deal, the family's pulling all funding. Now, you gotta go back to the company and face the music."

Her uncle Frank Harper added in a phony, sympathetic tone, "I tried pleading with the family head, but Taylor caused serious trouble." Nina Harper, Frank's wife, stood by, looking like she was enjoying the whole thing.

Taylor's face went pale. She pleaded, her voice trembling, "I'll go with you. But can I see my sister one last time? I'm scared I won't get another chance…" Tears welled up as she thought about how there'd be no money left for Anya's treatment.

Zac stepped forward, trying to comfort her. "Don't worry, Taylor. I'll go with you. Maybe I can help."

Ted laughed mockingly. "In the past two years, the family’s brought in several top medical teams, and none of them could help. You, a jobless ex-soldier, think you can do something?"

Zac didn't bother with Ted. Calmly, he replied, "I don't argue with short-sighted people."

Zac and Taylor hurried to a bedroom where a girl lay on the bed, eyes closed, face pale, breathing faintly. Tears filled Taylor's eyes as she knelt beside her sister, holding her hand and sobbing. "Anya, hang in there. I'll find a way to save you, I swear."

Anya, though unconscious, seemed to respond, her eyelids fluttering. Taylor, overwhelmed with sorrow, broke down crying.

Zac said softly, "Taylor, don't cry. I can save her." He pulled a delicate wooden box from his pocket and, looking at Taylor, said, "Trust me. This medicine will cure her."

Zac opened the box to reveal a single golden pill.

Lacie, furious, stepped forward. "What is this nonsense? There's no label, no instructions—how dare you suggest my daughter take this!"

Zac stayed calm, trying to reason with her. "There's no better option for her right now. Let her take the pill. If something goes wrong, you can call the cops and have me arrested."

Taylor slowly regained her composure and said, "Zac, give her the pill. Even if it doesn't work, we won't blame you."

Zac felt warmth in his heart. Taylor was still the kind person he always knew. Nodding, he said, "Don't worry, it'll work."

Zac walked over to the bed, gently opened Anya's mouth, and slipped the golden pill inside.

Moments later, Anya began coughing violently, her face turning red as large beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Chaos erupted in the room. Taylor hugged her sister tightly and cried, "Anya, what's happening? Please, don't leave me!"

Anya's eyes rolled back, her body convulsing uncontrollably, and black blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. Seeing her daughter's worsening condition, Lacie collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

Rhys roared in anger, "You're killing my daughter! You're not getting away with this. I'm calling the cops!"

Ted sneered from the sidelines, "See? I told you this guy was full of it. Taylor, hurry up. The family head is waiting."

Zac ignored Ted, wiping the black blood from Anya's mouth with a tissue.

"It's just the medicine working. She'll be fine soon," Zac said calmly.

Not long after, Anya stopped convulsing and lay still. Lacie threw herself onto the bed, wailing, "Anya, open your eyes! Please, look at Mommy!"

Zac, worried Lacie would break down even further, explained quickly, "Lacie, please don't cry. She's not dead; she's just asleep."

Rhys rushed over and checked Anya's breathing. He sighed in relief. "She's really just asleep."

Ted impatiently snapped, "What the hell is the hold-up? Who cares if she's dead or not? Let's go, Taylor. The family head's still waiting."

Taylor, still worried about her sister, hesitated.

"Stop dawdling! Get to the company now!" Rhys barked at Taylor.

Reluctantly, Taylor stood up and followed her uncle's family out, with Zac by her side.

"You two can catch a cab," Ted said dismissively, getting into his car and driving off.

Zac flagged down a taxi and silently helped Taylor into the backseat.

Once inside the car, Taylor remained silent, her head lowered. Zac noticed her anxious expression and tried to reassure her. "Don't worry. Your sister's condition is stable now. She's just very weak from being bedridden for so long, but in time, she'll fully recover."

Taylor frowned slightly, looking Zac in the eye. "Will she really get better? Are you sure?"

"I would never lie to you," Zac said, his gaze steady and sincere.

Taylor didn't say anything more, though her heart was still filled with unease. The car soon arrived at the Harper Group building, and they both got out. Zac's phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID—it was Rabbit. "You go first. I'll take this call and join you shortly," he said to Taylor.

Moving aside, Zac answered the call. On the other end, Rabbit's voice sounded excited. "General, Max's MetroDynamics Inc. has agreed to cooperate with Harper Group."

In a low voice, Zac corrected him, "The deal should only be with Taylor, not Harper Group."

Rabbit paused for a moment before quickly replying, "Understood, General! I'll take care of it."