At We Care Private Hospital.
The doors slammed open so hard the hinges visibly flinched.
"Selene Sinclair!" the police captain roared, boots thundering across the polished floor. "You are under arrest for harboring a fugitive!"
Phones flew up once again faster than someone could blink.
A collective gasp rippled across the lobby.
Someone dropped their coffee in slow motion.
A baby began wailing in existential despair.
Selene froze.
Not because she was scared.
Because she knew this exact moment was about to go viral on ten different social platforms. The captain, flanked by half a dozen officers in grim-looking gear, marched toward her with handcuffs gleaming like judgment day jewelry.
'Think, think, think of something!' Selene thought in panic.
But from outside, she maintained calm.
"Officer," Selene said innocently, "there must be some mistake."
The captain wasn't impressed. "You dragged that nanny out of the Sinclair estate right in front of us. Where. Is. She."
Ding!
[Danger Level: 63%]
[Charisma Buff Activated — Iron Widow Class Perk: 'Gaze of Authority' Engaged.]
[Nearby targets affected: 3 of 5. Impact: Mild Hypnotic Influence. Side Effects: Awkward Flirting, Heightened Compliance, Sudden Confusion.]
Selene didn't notice the system's prompt at first—but the shift was immediate.
The captain blinked twice.
His grip on the handcuffs faltered.
One of the younger officers subtly straightened his collar. Another shifted uncomfortably, suddenly looking away shyly from Selene's face.
She was dumbfounded.
But to them, her eyes glinted like moonlight caught on shattered glass, calm and lethal.
The abrupt pause among the officers gave Selene more time to think.
'This buff is stupid.'
[It's helping you, Player.]
'Wait… why is everyone else so silent? The Gaze isn't supposed to affect them all…'
Selene's eyes flicked around. The crowd wasn't whispering. They were watching. Waiting. Like a courtroom audience on a budget soap opera.
A few people lowered their phones after noticing Selene was staring at them.
But none of them spoke.
Not after what she'd done to the Dean.
It clicked.
They weren't silent out of fear—or a weird buff—they were silent because no one wanted to be the idiot who went viral snitching on a woman who bought a hospital within seconds! Despite being blacklisted by the most powerful family in the city!
Selene inwardly laughed.
She turned back to the captain, her smile suddenly soft and charming as she asked. "You think these people wouldn't have snitched on me already if I were actually hiding someone here?"
The captain hesitated.
Not because Selene had a point.
But because her voice… it sounded so beautiful all of a sudden. He fought an urge to ask her to sing.
"I'm Selene Sinclair," Selene added casually, "The city's favorite failure. People would sell my secrets for an expired bubble gum."
The onlookers awkwardly looked away.
Some of them seriously nodded.
Then, suddenly, a small voice shouted.
"That's not true!"
It was a teenage girl, looking greatly disappointed by all the adults hiding the truth around her. She jabbed a finger at Selene like she was outing a witch in the 1400s.
"I saw her! Earlier! With an—"
Selene's heart dropped.
"Goddammit, teenager!" She cursed under her breath.
The captain gasped as if jolted out of a spell.
Before anyone could react, a nurse launched himself forward with the reflexes of a caffeinated mongoose and jabbed the girl with a loaded syringe.
Thunk.
The teen slumped to the ground, snoring peacefully.
"She's from psych," the nurse said coolly, already tucking the syringe away like it was part of his morning routine.
A beat.
The captain frowned. Not sure who to believe.
Selene blinked. Twice. That was suspiciously convenient.
Before she could process the potential conspiracy she was now accidentally part of—
Ding!
[Warning: Charisma Buff Compromised.]
[Analyzing local variables…]
[Elite Tier Presence Detected.]
[Overriding Area Influence.]
[Deactivating Charisma Buff.]
Pause. Then:
[Status Update: You are no longer the main character in this room.]
[Your current visibility rating: Background NPC.]
Selene's eye twitched.
A heavy foreboding settled in her heart. It was the same feeling she had always felt when she was child—used to always being showered by love and attention from the world. All because she was the adorable, only daughter of the Sinclairs.
Everything she did made headlines.
But then, one day, the narrative so quickly shifted.
Click.
Clack.
The sound of expensive heels striking polished marble sliced through the tension. Bianca Sinclair had arrived. She was dressed in white silk, wearing a large fancy hat and what seemed like a genuinely worried expression.
A gasp rippled through the onlookers.
Bianca Sinclair NEVER appeared like that before the public!
Someone audibly whispered, "She's even more beautiful in real life…"
A nurse dropped her clipboard, "Oh, gosh! That's Bianca Sinclair! She paid for my brother's surgery last month!"
One of the male officers awkwardly fixed his tie and stood up straighter. "I heard she has paid a hundred million dollars in charity just last month!"
"I heard she saved a baby dolphin once," The nurse holding down a teenager whispered in amazement.
Even the overhead lights seemed to shimmer more kindly upon her.
Selene glared daggers at Bianca.
Bianca looked genuinely concerned, partly disappointed as she gazed back at Selene. "Please don't make it worse," she said sadly.
"Worse?" Selene scoffed, her voice dripping with venom, "You kidnapped my baby kittens from the emergency ward!"
Everyone gasped.
The saintly Bianca could do something like that?
The police captain frowned. "Shouldn't you be worried about that old nanny first?"
In her ward, Mariah sneezed.
Selene clenched her fists tightly.
Selene clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging crescents into her palms. Her entire body was still, taut as a drawn bow.
"You have declared a war, Bianca," Selene said, each word sharp enough to draw blood. Her voice didn't rise, it fell—like a blade.
The entire hospital held its breath.
But Bianca?
She was as calm as the silence before a storm.
Selene walked slowly toward her. Her every word laced with a bitterness that could poison hearts, "You have touched the last piece of good left in my life. You took my family. My name. My peace. And now you dare lay hands on my kittens?"
The crowd parted around her like she was a bomb with legs. Her eyes gleamed. "You have seconds to tell me where they are. Test my patience, and I'll make sure this is the last mistake you've ever made!"
Silence.
Absolute, stunned, delicious silence.
The officers stared. One guy dropped his pen.
Selene stopped when she was an inch away from Bianca.
Bianca… just blinked. Slowly.
And sighed. "What are you talking about?" she said gently. "I paid for their surgery."
The crowd deflated like a confused balloon.
Selene's glare faltered for a split second. "You what? Why are you lying?"
"Yes," Bianca nodded, turning to the captain with a graceful shrug. "Even though Mariah escaped after stealing from our estate, I let it go. All for the sake of those sweet kittens."
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. Soon, the call was connected, and a live feed of the We Care Multi-Speciality Veterinary Hospital popped on her screen.
Everyone stared silently.
The nurse on the other line said cheerfully.
"Thank you for everything, Lady Sinclair! Because of your funding, not only were we able to help these three kittens, but also treat more than a thousand stray animals! Our hospital will be forever grateful to your kindness!"
Selene was dumbfounded.
There they were: the kittens. Healthy. Fluffy. Each in its own luxury incubator. One was wearing a bow. Another had a paw resting dramatically on a tiny pillow. The third was in the nurse's hand, constantly licking the camera.
There was even a banner in the background: 'Sinclair Animal Welfare Project – Saving Paws, Saving Hope.'
Selene opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Bianca turned to the crowd.
"I didn't want to say anything. It felt… tasteless to boast."
The whispers returned, but now in a different tone.
"Wait... wasn't Selene Sinclair the girl who ran away from her wedding? Twice?"
"I heard she tried to sue a charity because they gave her the wrong flavored cupcake."
"My cousin swears she once tried to adopt a lizard and screamed when it moved."
Selene threw her hands in exasperation, "Those are all lies! Can you not use your goddamn brain for one second?! Also—!" She clenched her fists.
"I was the one who paid for the kittens!"
Bianca looked at Selene like an adult staring at a rampaging child.
"What are you talking about? You were begging me to buy you imported chocolates just this morning. You can't afford anything, sweetheart."
Selene's face was almost red now.
The tide had turned.
The officers hesitated.
Bianca took one graceful step forward, placing herself between Selene and the police like some tragic heroine in a courtroom drama.
"Let's not be hasty," she said, her voice soft, polished, and unshakably sincere. "We all know Selene has… struggles. She lost her inheritance, her place in the family, and now, I fear, her grasp on what is right and what is reckless."
Selene's jaw locked.
Bianca turned to the captain, "She helped a convicted thief—one who stole from her own family, who used stolen money to bribe a hospital and manipulate resources. If we forgive that, if we let Selene walk away without consequences, what does that say about our society?"
Her voice lowered, rich with righteous reason.
"Wealth can not be above law." Bianca said with a sad smile.
She didn't raise her voice.
She didn't need to.
Because the way she said it—measured, calm, calculated—it made Selene sound like a spoiled heiress trying to cash in on a dying nanny's loyalty.
And people bought it.
The captain shifted his weight, considering. Then he stepped forward.
"Miss Sinclair," he said, voice less harsh now, "if you tell us where Mariah is, we'll consider this resolved. You won't face any consequences."
A few hospital staff exchanged glances.
One nurse bit her lip. Another looked at the floor.
And everyone found it so easy to believe Bianca.
Selene exhaled slowly. Her head tilted, just a little.
And then she laughed—once. Low and sharp.
"Alright. Fine. Arrest me."