Return of the Crowned Heiress (Felicia)
2

At this time in her past life, Felicia's adoptive brother, Shawn Fuller, had schemed against her. He knocked her out and locked her in a hotel room, planning to offer her up to his loan shark as a way to settle his debts.

In order to escape, she had no choice but to jump out of the window. However, she was caught, and Shawn broke her right hand, ruining her ability to practice medicine and acupuncture forever.

This time, however, she would strike first. She would carve her own path with blood if needed.

At that very moment, Shawn was standing outside the hotel room door with the loan shark, nodding and bowing to him. "Mr. Thompson, she's in there. Just like we agreed-I give you my sister and all my debts will be wiped clean!" Lance Thompson, the loan shark, stared at the closed door, his heart itching with anticipation. "Shawn, I didn't think you'd actually go through with offering up your sister to settle a debt."

"She's not my real sister anyway," Shawn muttered under his breath, then quickly added, "Here's the room key, Mr. Thompson. She's all yours!"

Lance took the keycard eagerly, swiping it immediately. A few days ago, when he had come to collect his debt, he had caught a glimpse of Felicia. Even though she was young, she was stunningly beautiful.

He had been fantasizing about her for days since then. Finally, he was going to get what he wanted. He could hardly wait.

Behind him, his lackeys whistled and hooted.

"Mr. Thompson's getting lucky tonight!" one of them teased.

Without even looking back, Lance made his way into the dark room, his belly jiggling with excitement. "You punks wait your turn! Once I've had my share, you can have the rest."

His lackeys burst into cheers, but just as he stepped into the room, a heavy vase came crashing down from the darkness. It hit him squarely on the head, and blood splattered everywhere. His vision went black.

Before anyone could react, the vase smashed into Shawn's head as well. He let out a piercing scream, finally snapping the lackeys out of their shock. All eyes turned toward the figure emerging from the room.

The hallway was brightly lit, casting light onto Felicia's form. In her hand, she clutched the vase, blood dripping from the bottom. Her face was devoid of emotion, and her eyes were as cold as ice, making her look like a deranged killer.

With blood streaming down his face, Shawn looked at Felicia as if he'd seen a ghost. He couldn't explain it, but his usually docile sister had suddenly transformed into someone completely different. Her eyes brimmed with ferocity, each glance cutting like a knife. "What the fuck?"

Lance, whose head had been hit with the vase, growled, "What are you idiots doing? Tie her up! I'm going to teach her a lesson tonight!"

Hearing the command, the lackeys rushed forward to grab Felicia. However, there was no way she'd give them the chance to do that.

She swung the vase hard, knocking one of them down. She dodged a sneak attack from behind, kicked another lackey in the knee, and smashed the vase on the ground with a loud crash.

The shards of the broken vase flew everywhere, and even Lance and Shawn flinched instinctively. In that brief window, Felicia bolted down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway was the elevator, and next to it, a fire escape. Felicia darted into the fire escape, but not before glancing back. Lance, Shawn, and their lackeys were already in pursuit, their bloody faces twisted with anger as if they wanted to tear her apart. Felicia smirked and flipped them the bird. They were nothing but trash to her.

Lance's face turned purple with rage.

"Catch her!" he roared.

Some of the lackeys continued the chase, while others ran ahead to intercept her path.

Lance sneered, turning to Shawn. "If you don't catch her today, not only will I collect your debt with interest, but I'll also chop off one of your hands to settle the score."

Shawn's face went pale. He knew all too well what kind of man Lance was. He was ruthless and always kept his word. He cursed Felicia in his mind. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be in this mess.

"Don't worry, Mr. Thompson! I'll make sure she's tied up and delivered to you!" Shawn promised, ignoring the injury on his head.

He took off in the direction Felicia had gone, his gaze filled with malice. He decided that he would break her legs when he caught up to her so that she couldn't run.

Outside the hotel was a busy intersection with cars constantly passing by. Felicia sprinted halfway across but had to stop. The lackeys had surrounded her, blocking her from every side.

As they closed in, Shawn sneered, "Run if you dare, Felicia! No matter how far you go, I'll always drag you back. You'll never escape me!"

Felicia's expression remained unchanged. Not even a hint of fear could be seen on her face.

She couldn't run even if she wanted to. Lance's men had surrounded her in all directions. Although the street was lined with passersby, no one dared to step in and help. They all made way for the lackeys.

It was just her, alone against the world.

Shawn wiped the blood from his head and marched toward her. He snatched a club from one of the lackeys and swung it at her leg.

"You wanna run, huh? I'll make sure you can't run ever again!"

It was like a repeat of what had happened in her past life. However, this time he wanted to break her legs instead of her right hand.

In that split second, just before the club made contact, Felicia's gaze sharpened. She grabbed Shawn's wrist and twisted it. Then, she expertly locked his arm in a painful hold, forcing him to the ground using the acupuncture points in his muscles and tendons. His arm bent at an unnatural angle as the sound of bones snapping filled the air. Shawn let out an agonizing scream.

"That hurts! Let go! Let go!"

Felicia didn't budge. That move was something she had learned in prison in her past life. After being bullied countless times, a cellmate had taught her how to defend herself.

If her body wasn't still weak, she would have broken Shawn's arm completely.

As his screams echoed, Felicia laughed, though the hatred in her eyes was unmistakable. "Doesn't it hurt? You broke my right hand. That hurt a lot worse."

Shawn was stunned, blurting out, "What the hell are you talking about? I never broke your hand!"

He had been aiming for her leg, but before he could, she'd overpowered him. Felicia didn't bother to explain. All she felt was hatred. Endless hatred.

In her previous life, Shawn had damaged her hand, ruining her decade of medical training, shattering her pride and confidence, and leaving her defenseless. If he hadn't done that, she wouldn't have lost everything so tragically. She wouldn't have died that way. Hence, instead of letting him go, Felicia twisted harder, her grip even more ruthless. What Felicia didn't know was that across the street, someone was watching the entire scene play out, casually swirling a glass of wine.

It was none other than Mike Lawson, the third son of the powerful Lawson family.

After enjoying the show for a bit, Mike turned and called out to the man lounging on a leather couch nearby, "Hey, Stephan, come and take a look. There's a young woman downstairs taking on ten guys by herself! She's fierce!"

Hearing that, Stephan Russell stirred slightly on the sofa. Under the dark night sky, the city lights glittered. His tall, refined figure was reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window as he moved toward it.

Immaculately dressed in a tailored suit, his every movement exuded an air of calm authority. His presence was stifling, making it hard for anyone to breathe.

If anyone outside had seen him, they would have trembled and immediately knelt, nervously calling him "Mr. Russell."

Stephan was the head of the powerful Russell family in Seldvale. He was wealthy beyond measure and wielded enormous power. He was also rumored to be utterly ruthless, unpredictable, and impossible to read. Anyone who met him would avoid him, as anyone who crossed his path could somehow end up dead.

No one would ever expect someone like him to be in Khogend.

After a glance downstairs, Stephan seemed unimpressed, and he scoffed. "Is that supposed to be entertaining?"

"Of course!" Mike chuckled, swirling his wine glass with amusement. "According to my sources, that young lady down there is actually the real daughter of the Fuller family. It's the classic story of being switched at birth. Interesting, right?" The Fuller family? A flicker of interest flashed in Stephan's deep eyes.

Mike raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice, "If the thing we're after is really in the Fuller family's possession, maybe we should drop by and take a look."

Stephan's lips curled into a slight smile as his dark gaze locked on Felicia. His voice was soft but chilling. "I like her eyes."

"You're interested in her?" Mike teased.

He wanted to say more, but Stephan cut him off, "I want to dig them out of her head."

Mike choked on his words before finally managing to reply, "You really are the devil."

In the square, Shawn's face twisted in pain as Felicia held his arm in a brutal lock. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at the lackeys, "What are you all standing there for? Grab her, or Mr. Thompson will never forgive you!"

The group of lackeys began closing in on Felicia, preparing to restrain her. However, a few blinding car headlights flashed through the night. Several luxury cars, worth millions of dollars, raced over.

The unique license plates, bold and extravagant, were impossible to miss. These cars belonged to the most powerful family in Khogend the Fuller family.

The thugs exchanged uncertain glances, instinctively stepping back. They knew better than to cross the richest family in town.

Shawn, however, still hadn't grasped what was happening. He cursed under his breath, spitting out a string of expletives.

Felicia, checking the time, softly counted down, "Three, two, one—"

As she whispered the last number, a cool breeze swept by, carrying with it the sound of someone sobbing. In the next moment, Felicia was pulled into a tight embrace. "I've finally found you, my daughter!"