Chapter 4

My heart plummeted. I unhesitatingly extended my arm.

"Take mine. Lily and I are both B positive!"

The nurse shook her head.

"Close relatives cannot directly transfuse blood; it can easily cause graft-versus-host disease, which is very dangerous."

"I'm not her biological mother!"

I practically yelled, my voice trembling with suppressed emotion and pleading.

"She's the child of fallen heroes! Her parents both sacrificed for the country! Please, I beg you, save her! Take my blood!"

The nurse hadn't expected Lily's background and immediately began preparations.

In the blood donation room, I watched as the dark red blood flowed through the tube into the blood bag, feeling time pass agonizingly slowly.

Every second, Lily was fighting for her life.

I pulled out my phone with its cracked screen and saw messages constantly popping up in the unit's private SnapChat group.

"What happened? Why is she suddenly injured? We're on our way!"

"How is Lily? We're bringing a combat medic!"

"Tell Lily not to be scared, her dads from the Second Combat Division are coming too, about ten minutes out!"

My sisters and comrades, along with a combat medic, were on their way, which brought some stability to my racing heart.

Just as the 400cc of blood was drawn and the nurse removed the needle, preparing to send the life-saving blood for processing, a hand adorned with bright red nail polish suddenly reached out and snatched the blood bag.

"Isn't there blood right here? You lied to me about the blood bank being low!"

"Quick, give it to my son! He was startled and now has low blood sugar, he needs nutrients!"

I suppressed the dizziness in my head and stood up, staring intently at her.

"Put the blood bag down!"

Tiffany was momentarily intimidated by my gaze but quickly regained her arrogant composure.

"You… what are you going to do? This blood belongs to the hospital now. I can give it to whoever I want!"

The nurse, unable to stand it, bravely stepped forward to reason with her.

"Mrs. Vance, that little girl is the child of fallen heroes. Her parents sacrificed their lives for the country, and she's all that's left…"

"Please, for goodness' sake, just return the blood. Save a child's life!"

Tiffany remained unmoved. Instead, she roughly pushed the nurse away.

"Fallen heroes? Ha, telling so many lies to gain sympathy, aren't we?"

"Who knows if that's even true? And even if it is, what does it have to do with me? My son's health is the top priority!"

If I hadn't steadied her, the nurse would have hit her head on the corner of a table.

I stopped wasting words with Tiffany. With a swift, precise grappling move, I instantly locked onto her wrist joint.

She cried out in pain, her fingers involuntarily loosening. The still-warm blood bag steadily dropped into my hand.

"You… you dare to hit me?!"

Tiffany shrieked, yelling at her bodyguards.

"Are you all dead?! Teach her a lesson!"

Two bodyguards quickly surrounded me. Their steps were steady, clearly indicating they were professionally trained fighters.

Since they wanted to fight, the long-suppressed anger and frustration within me instantly found an outlet.

"Watch this."

I placed the blood bag into the nurse's hands.

Almost simultaneously, I lowered my center of gravity, sidestepping the first bodyguard's incoming punch.

My right leg, like a cannonball, shot out in a fierce, rapid side-kick, striking him hard in the abdomen.

"Ugh!"

The bodyguard had completely underestimated my speed and strength. He was sent flying backward.

Seeing this, the other bodyguard's eyes hardened. He attempted to choke me from behind and to the side.

I abruptly dropped my body, avoiding his arm while my left leg supported me. My right leg executed an incredibly swift back-spin kick, my heel precisely connecting with his chin.

The second bodyguard's eyes rolled back. He fell straight to the ground, unconscious.

The entire process took mere seconds. The corridor fell silent.

I slowly turned around, taking one step after another toward Tiffany, who was already frozen in terror.

She watched me approach, the color draining from her face, backing away repeatedly.

"You… what do you want? Don't… don't think I'm scared just because you can fight!"

"I'm telling you, I'm the Vance family's daughter-in-law! If you dare to hurt a single strand of my hair, the Vance family will never let you get away with it! You won't have an easy time either!"

I looked down at her face, twisted with fear, and grabbed her by the neck.