CHAPTER 981: CHAPTER 981 CHERRY SULLIVAN

"She just texted me that she was in the garden, so I came up to catch up with her. Instead, I ran into you all, so I thought I’d come over to say hello..." She then turned and flashed Leo a sweet smile, as if her intentions were pure.

Yet, despite her calm tone, everyone felt suspicious of her explanation; it sounded a little too convenient, almost rehearsed.

"Sophia! I’m here!" A cheerful female voice called out from the far side of the garden. A girl appeared, escorted by a nurse who gently held her left hand as they walked slowly together.

Draped in a thick shawl, her frail, emaciated frame showed the toll of her illness, yet her eyes shone with determination. Despite her weakened body, her voice rang clear and sweet, carrying a warmth that made her seem lively and full of spirit.

Just by hearing her, one could already picture her as the kind of girl everyone adored, the bright, cherished favorite of the class.

"Cherry! I’ve been looking for you. So here you are, did you wait long?" Sophia called as she hurried toward the girl.

Cherry smiled warmly at Sophia, but her gaze soon shifted past her to the group standing behind: Zhane, Rafael, Leo, and Hera.

"Do you know them, Sophia?" Cherry asked, her clear eyes sweeping over the strangers. No matter how intently Zhane and the others studied her, Cherry’s innocence was unmistakable. She seemed far too guileless to be hiding anything, making it easy for them to believe Sophia’s claim that their meeting had been nothing more than a coincidence.

"Oh, yes. Didn’t I tell you I used to work as a private doctor before? I happened to run into my former employer and just came to say hello," Sophia explained with an easy smile. "Anyway, let’s go, Cherry. I’ll walk with you while I’m on my break."

Before leaving, she turned back to Leo, her expression softening. "Sir Leo, I’m truly glad to see you and Sir Terry here. I hope you both recover quickly. I apologize if I disturbed you, but if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call on me. I’ll do whatever I can to help."

She bowed politely, then gently hooked her arm through Cherry’s and began guiding her toward the other side of the garden.

Watching her leave so casually, even Zhane, Leo, and Terry began to wonder if they had simply been overthinking things, paranoid from the string of unsettling events that had plagued them lately.

But Hera’s eyes lingered on Sophia and Cherry’s retreating figures, her expression unreadable as she sank into thought. After a moment, she looked away, yet her mind remained sharp. She already knew what Zhane, Leo, and Terry were thinking; it was simply too coincidental.

And given how Leo’s whereabouts had been leaked not once, but twice, Sophia naturally stood out as the prime suspect.

The first leak led to Leo’s ambush in the forest. The second time, Silvia had somehow learned his location. If Sophia truly had been keeping an eye on him, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to uncover where he was now.

Still, Hera’s gaze shifted, thoughtful, toward the nurse standing quietly behind Terry. She hadn’t missed the moment when the woman slyly snapped a candid photo of her, Leo, Rafael, Zhane, and Terry. It was subtle, but Hera caught it.

And she knew well enough how these things worked; when the nurse wasn’t tending to patients, she was likely sharing updates in a hospital staff group chat. That, in itself, wasn’t unusual... but in the wrong hands, such casual leaks could be dangerous.

Every company had its own group chat, and as someone who had worked across countless industries, Hera knew exactly what filled those chats: gossip. It wouldn’t be surprising if the nurse had already sent their photo to her colleagues.

And since Sophia was employed at Zhane’s family hospital, it wasn’t far-fetched to think she might have learned Leo’s whereabouts through such casual leaks.

But then... what about Cherry?

Hera’s eyes swept the garden once more before tilting upward to the sky. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she pulled out her phone.

[Hera: Sasha, I have a task for you...]

Meanwhile, not far away, Sophia guided Cherry to a pavilion nestled in the garden. Once Cherry was seated, Sophia waved the nurse away. Her expression shifted the moment they were alone, her lips curling into a smirk.

"I didn’t know you were such a good actress, Cherry..."

Cherry’s eyes lowered to her knees, shame flickering across her face. Her legs had grown so thin she could barely stand without support. She was still so young, just the same age as Hera, with a future that should have been bright. Yet leukemia was steadily draining her strength day by day.

Her once lively household, full of laughter and love, had grown heavy with grief. Cherry had always been the cherished little sister of her many protective brothers, but now the family that had given her nothing but warmth was left powerless, watching helplessly as her life slipped away.

Wealth and influence meant nothing in the face of her illness. No amount of money could buy her more time.

Then came Sophia. She had entered Cherry’s hospital room when despair had nearly consumed her, when the thought of leaving her family behind felt unbearable. Sophia extended her hand, offering her a deal.

And in that moment, Cherry could not refuse. Because within that deal, she glimpsed something she hadn’t seen in a long time... a path to survival.

"Sophia... will you really donate your bone marrow if I help you like this?" Cherry’s voice was soft, tinged with uncertainty. "Covering for you doesn’t seem like it will benefit you that much..."

Sophia had confided in her before, admitting that she liked Leo but couldn’t get close because of a woman named Hera. The only way to slip past Hera’s watchful eyes and the devoted doctor Everett, who hovered around her like a guard dog, was to use Cherry as a cover.

Sophia claimed this was her only chance, and Cherry had agreed, clinging to the hope that helping Sophia would mean saving her own life.

But to Cherry, it never felt like enough. Sophia was offering her something as precious as a bone marrow transplant, while all she could do in return was cover for her. That imbalance left Cherry with a heavy guilt pressing on her chest.

What Cherry didn’t realize, however, was that this guilt was exactly what Sophia wanted. She knew Cherry was a naive girl, sheltered by her loving family to the point she couldn’t read malice in others.

So when Sophia asked her to act as her cover, even pushing her frail body out into the garden despite the biting wind, she was already putting Cherry’s life at risk. Cherry could barely stand on her own, yet she complied, thinking she owed Sophia.

And because Cherry felt indebted, her family would only see Sophia as their daughter’s savior. In truth, Sophia’s goal was far more calculating, earning the favor of a family known for their kindness and devotion.

If she succeeded, even if Cherry’s illness claimed her life, Sophia might still be embraced as the grieving family’s solace, perhaps even as a replacement for the daughter they lost.

That way, Sophia could secure a powerful family background, one strong enough to let her stand toe to toe with Leo.

But how did she meet Cherry in the first place? The answer lay in coincidence and calculation. Shortly after Sophia was transferred to this hospital, she overheard Cherry’s parents speaking with Zhane in hushed, tearful voices.

They were desperate, unable to find a matching bone marrow donor for their beloved daughter. At first, Sophia was only curious. But when she secretly tested herself and discovered she was a perfect match, the curiosity turned into something darker.

From that moment, she began weaving her plan. She cozied up to Cherry’s family through Cherry herself, wrapping herself in the image of a savior. At the same time, she deliberately leaked Leo’s whereabouts, knowing full well he would survive the ambush and be sent here, to this hospital, the best in the country, where high-profile patients like him would receive care.

All Sophia had to do was wait. If she wasn’t assigned to take care of Leo directly, she still had her backup—Cherry. Through her, she could draw closer and closer, until eventually, Leo’s attention would fall on her.

And then, to keep the Hendrix family from ever standing between her and Leo, Sophia was already planning to have Cherry’s family adopt her. Of course, she never intended for Cherry to truly survive.

She had offered her bone marrow as if it were a noble sacrifice, but the operation could only proceed once Cherry’s body grew strong enough to endure it.

Yet how could Cherry possibly recover when her body was being poisoned, little by little, without her ever realizing it?