I Confronted His Dad, He Gave Me An Island

Chapter 5

Cedric's face darkened as he grabbed Paige’s arm firmly. "I said, do not hurt her."

Paige pouted in dissatisfaction and lowered the tip of her arrow just an inch downward.

Miranda scrambled back to her feet and turned to run, narrowly dodging several arrows that whizzed past her.

She stumbled and fell, her elbow scraping roughly against the ground, sending a searing pain shooting through her arm.

She forced herself to stand up again and continued running unsteadily forward. Her figure, silhouetted against the dark night, looked miserable yet determined.

"Sister, run faster! Otherwise, I can't guarantee where the next arrow will land!" Paige called out with a teasing laugh from behind her.

Another arrow cut through the air.

Miranda dropped low and rolled out of the way with sharp precision. This time, she did not continue her desperate flight.

The ropes binding her wrists had finally been completely severed.

From the very beginning, she had been running toward this specific spot. Stacked against the corner were bows and arrows left behind from the day’s training, which hadn't been put away yet.

Just as Paige was about to lose another shot, Miranda, ignoring the agony radiating through her body, grabbed one of the bows.

She swiftly notched an arrow and drew the string back. In the dim light, the arrowhead glinted with a cold, icy gleam.

Cedric’s entire body went rigid. He shouted sharply, "Miranda! Drop it!"

Miranda’s eyes were colder than ice. She released her fingers, and the arrow shot straight toward Cedric.

"Cedric!" Paige screamed and threw herself in front of him. The arrow buried itself deep into her left shoulder.

Paige stumbled backward, collapsing to the ground and letting out a piercing, agonized shriek.

"Paige!" Cedric’s expression changed instantly. He rushed to catch her and held her tightly in his arms.

He looked up at Miranda, his eyes wide with disbelief.

But Miranda stood her ground, keeping the bow drawn and aimed steadily at both of them.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her voice sounded as if it were being forced out from the very depths of her throat. "Where should the next one go? How about right between the eyes?"

"Cedric, it hurts so bad!" Paige whimpered, shrinking into his embrace and screaming continuously.

Cedric knew deep down that Miranda truly had the courage and resolve to shoot. She had always been this bold and unyielding. She never knew how to back down or submit.

Cedric picked up Paige, who had fainted from the pain. He looked at Miranda with a gaze so filled with hatred it seemed he wanted to tear her apart limb by limb. "Miranda! If anything happens to Paige, you will pay dearly for this!"

He didn't spare her another glance. Carrying Paige, he strode rapidly away from the range.

Miranda was left standing alone on the field. Blood dripped steadily from her wounds, soaking into the dark soil until it vanished completely.

At the moment she released that arrow, she had genuinely wanted to kill Cedric.

Yet, the second Paige had willingly thrown herself in front of him, her heart had felt as though it was being sliced open by a knife, throbbing with a sharp, aching pain.

Miranda threw the bow aside. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably. She had no strength left to draw another arrow.

The next moment, her vision went black, and she collapsed onto the ground, losing consciousness.

*****

In a daze, Miranda felt herself being wheeled into an operating room. The strong, sharp scent of disinfectant filled her nose.

"The injuries are extremely severe. We need to debride the wound on her thigh immediately. She also has multiple fractures throughout her body. Have we managed to contact her next of kin?"

She heard a nurse speaking anxiously nearby, "We have contacted Mr. Green. He said we can proceed with the surgery, but we are not allowed to administer any anesthesia. If we refuse, we are to leave her there until she bleeds out, and then send her directly to the crematorium."

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room.

Miranda tasted a thick, metallic sweetness in her mouth. It felt as if a large, bleeding chunk had been ripped out of her heart and covered with coarse salt, leaving her in such agony she could barely breathe.

She forced her eyes open. Through the oxygen mask, she spoke in a raspy, broken voice, "I... can... endure it!"

A faint, almost imperceptible smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. The next second, a scream echoed throughout the entire operating theater.

"Ah!"

One cut.

Two cuts...

Miranda’s vision blurred and darkened. Through the haze, she vaguely saw a nurse run over and say something urgently to the doctor.

Then, she lost consciousness again.