The metallic ding of the elevator echoed through the building, a sound Yi Chen would never forget. His arms tightened around the girl in his embrace—Xin Yi—her body limp, her breath shallow. Blood trickled from the wound on her forehead, soaking into his white dress shirt, staining it crimson. The warmth of it was fading, fast.
Hao Yang kept glancing at her face, his own hands shaking. He leaned in, gently tapping her cheek. "Hey… miss? Can you hear me? Wake up, please…" His voice was almost a whisper. "Don't sleep now, okay? Help is coming."
But she didn't respond.
As the elevator doors slid open onto the ground floor, the two men moved with urgency.
"Where's the ambulance?" Yi Chen's voice cut through the silence.
Right then, the sirens blared outside. Red and blue lights flashed across the marble lobby as the ambulance skidded to a halt. The doors flew open, and EMTs rushed toward them with a stretcher.
"She fell from the stairs. Hit her head," Hao Yang explained quickly.
"She's unconscious. Multiple contusions. Possible skull trauma," one EMT muttered as they assessed her.
Yi Chen gently laid her down on the ambulance bed. "Be careful with her," he said, voice cold but laced with worry.
Yi Chen made to climb into the ambulance, but Hao Yang reached out, stopping him. "Boss! Are you going with her?"
Yi Chen looked at him, face unreadable, eyes dark with urgency.
"Yes."
"But—let me come with you."
Yi Chen leaned closer, lowering his voice. "No. You wait here. I need you to do something."
"What is it?"
Yi Chen's tone turned colder. "Get every piece of information about her. Every single detail. I don't know who she is exactly, but… I have a hunch. I think she's connected to Lei Xian."
Hao Yang's eyes widened. "Your aunt?"
Yi Chen nodded grimly. "Dig into it. Quietly. And one more thing…"
He paused, his jaw tightening.
"Erase all evidence. Every trace. No one should know she was ever there."
"What?" Hao Yang blinked, confused. "But… why? We're not criminals. Why cover it up?"
Yi Chen's voice was low and deadly calm. "Because if this was planned—and I think it was—then my aunt will move fast. She'll erase everything the moment she smells trouble. I need to get there first. I need proof before she makes it all disappear."
With that, he stepped into the ambulance.
The doors slammed shut. The sirens blared to life again.
Yi Chen sat beside Xin Yi, holding the gauze the EMT gave him. "Press here," the medic instructed, pointing to her forehead wound. "We've slowed the bleeding, but it's deep. Keep pressure here."
Yi Chen nodded, pressing the gauze gently but firmly. Her skin felt cold. Too cold.
"Will she survive?" Yi Chen asked, his voice low.
The medic glanced at him, hesitated. "I can't say for sure. The injury is… severe. Her skull might be fractured. And look—" he pointed at her wrist. "These marks… she didn't fall on her own."
Yi Chen's eyes narrowed. "How can you tell?"
"These are grip marks. Someone yanked her hard. Look closely—her wrist has distinct bruising. It's like she was fighting someone… before she fell. This wasn't an accident."
Yi Chen's eyes darkened. He didn't speak, but the expression on his face turned to stone.
****
Hao Yang moved swiftly, his shoes echoing against the marble staircase of the 14th floor. The bloodstains had already been noticed by the cleaning staff, who were nervously scrubbing at the tiles.
"Stop," he ordered.
A housekeeper looked up. "Sir, we were told to clean immediately…"
"I need to photograph everything first." He pulled out his phone and took pictures from every angle—the staircase, the railing, the floor. Every speck of blood, every possible trace.
Then he turned to the hotel manager, who had arrived with two security guards, visibly sweating.
"Mr. Hao Yang, I assure you this will be kept confidential—"
"Save it. I want full access to all surveillance footage. Elevators. Hallways. Every floor. Now."
"Yes—yes, of course."
They led him into the surveillance room, where monitors displayed every camera angle. The operator tried to click through to earlier footage, but Hao Yang stopped him.
"Don't delete anything yet. Copy all footage from today onto this." He handed them a USB drive. "Especially from the thirteenth and fourteenth floors."
"Yes, sir."
He watched closely. In the footage, Xin Yi could be seen in the hallway, running… then stumbling… then someone—unseen—reaching into frame and then she fell.
"Zoom in on that moment," Hao Yang demanded.
He turned back to the manager. "No one talks about this. No staff interviews. No leaks to the media. If a single rumor spreads, this hotel will be blacklisted by the Yi Corporation. Understood?"
"Yes, sir. We'll erase all records."
"Not yet. I said *no leaks*, not *no evidence*. Keep a copy hidden. I'll be back for it."
****
The ambulance screeched into the emergency bay. Doctors and nurses rushed toward the doors, pulling the stretcher out.
"She's unconscious!" the EMT called. "Severe blood loss and head trauma!"
Yi Chen followed close behind, his shirt and hands stained crimson.
Inside the ER, nurses swarmed around her like bees, moving with practiced urgency. The sliding doors shut, but before he could follow, a nurse stopped him.
"Sir, you need to fill out her admission form."
Yi Chen blinked. "What?"
"Name, age, relation to the patient—please, quickly."
He looked at the form in her hand. All blanks.
He didn't even know her name.
The nurse repeated, "Sir, we need this."
He picked up the pen and wrote in the blank space:
Relation: Family.....
....Hours passed. The walls of the hospital felt colder than ever.
Yi Chen sat in silence, elbows on his knees, fingers interlocked. He hadn't moved. He hadn't spoken. Blood still stained his cuffs.
At last, the surgeon emerged. Yi Chen stood immediately.
"She's stable," the doctor said. "We controlled the bleeding. There was a skull fracture—we performed an emergency craniotomy to relieve pressure."
"She'll live?"
"She's in a coma. We can't predict when she'll wake up… if she does. But right now, she's alive."
Yi Chen bowed slightly. "Thank you."
"She'll be transferred to the ICU shortly. You can see her then."
When the doctor left, Yi Chen finally pulled out his phone and dialed Hao Yang.
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes..... Hao Yang said, voice tight with tension. "but .....there's something very strange."
"What do you mean?"
"She's not in any records. No ID. No database entry. Nothing. It's like… she doesn't exist."
Yi Chen's jaw clenched. "Not even a name?"
"Nothing. I used every connection I had. No school, no family, no medical history… it's weird."
Yi Chen's voice dropped. "What about the footage?"
"You were right," Hao Yang said grimly. "It wasn't an accident. She didn't fall… She was pushed by an unknown man."
Yi Chen's voice was sharp now. "You recognized him?"
"Yeah. I've seen him before.
He's one of Lei Xian's personal bodyguards. I saw him at her lab's gala event last year."
Yi Chen's eyes darkened. "So she is behind this…"
Hao Yang continued, "Boss, the footage is clear. The man's face is right there. He physically assaulted her before she fell. I already copied the files to a secured drive. I've also wiped the hotel system clean. No one else has access now."
Yi Chen exhaled slowly, pacing near the emergency room. "Good. You did well."
"Also," Hao Yang added, "I spoke to the hotel manager. He was freaking out about the hotel's reputation getting ruined."
"I told him this was an internal incident, and if he wanted it to stay that way, he'd hand over the footage and stay quiet."
"He agreed?"
"Oh, yeah. He even offered to give us access to every floor's camera in case we needed more."
Yi Chen's brows furrowed. "Keep digging."
"Okay. But… doesn't that seem weird to you? Who is she, really?"
Yi Chen didn't answer right away.
He looked through the glass at her still body in the ICU.
Then, almost in a whisper, he said to himself:
"…No identity. No trace. Definitely connected to Aunt Lei Xian. But who is she… really?"