Paying Me with His Life

I throw myself into cryogenic research so I can keep my only family on this Earth. However, halfway through it, my fiancé embezzles all the funds to propose to Sophia Kensington, his true love.

I panic when I see the ice in Mom's brain start to melt. I have no money to continue with the research.

I'm in utter despair when Leonard Shaw, a rising star in the biomedical field, comes to me with millions of dollars in funding. The research can continue.

Just three days later, something goes wrong with the experiment. Mom explodes in cryogenic chamber.

I'm shattered by this, but Leonard stays by my side throughout it all. He helps me move past this and continue with my research.

I think he's the light of my life until I overhear his conversation with his secretary.

"Is it worth it marrying someone you don't love for Ms. Kensington's sake, Mr. Shaw?"

"Sophia is my life. I'm willing to do anything as long as she's healthy and happy."

"But will Mrs. Shaw still continue helping Ms. Kensington if she learns you tampered with the data and killed her mother?"

"She'll never find out. Besides, I'm already using the rest of my life to make it up to her. That's more than enough…"

It turns out Leonard's love is just a conspiracy. My heart turns to ashes in that moment. I sign an agreement to seal my body cryogenically.

He'll never find me ever again.

The moment I learned that my mother, Amelia Prescott, was killed by Leonard Shaw, I completely broke down.

We were in love for so many years. Back then, I was deeply moved when he immediately injected funds to help me save my mother.

After Mom was laid to rest, I agreed to his proposal. Over the years of our marriage, he cared for me in every possible way.

I always believed that Mom passed away due to a failed experiment. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Leonard was behind her death.

All these years, Leonard repeatedly told me that in this world, he was my only family. He claimed that no matter what happened, he would always stand by my side.

When I was drowning in guilt over my mother's death, he was the one who told me to pull myself together and continue my research so that I could help others like me, people desperate to save their loved ones.

But now, I discovered that his so-called support was nothing more than a means to keep me going, just so I could find a way to save his true love, Sophia Kensington. He didn't hesitate to eliminate my last remaining relative, my only family, just to ensure I remained by his side.

The gift in my hands slipped to the floor, shattering on impact.

Today was Leonard's birthday, so I came home early to celebrate with him.

Hearing the noise, Leonard rushed out in alarm. The moment he saw me, his expression changed. He anxiously asked, "Clara, did you hear something?"

"No, I just don't feel well."

At my response, he visibly relaxed, then immediately called for his secretary, Daniel Brooks, to summon the private doctor, Henry Caldwell.

I let out a cold laugh. Was he truly concerned about my health, or was he just afraid that if I died, there would be no one left to cure Sophia's illness?

Henry arrived quickly, but the results of his examination were beyond Leonard's expectations.

"Mrs. Shaw has been exposed to high levels of thallium due to prolonged work in the laboratory. The excess thallium levels in her body are causing her discomfort."

Leonard's face went pale. He spent years meticulously taking care of me, pouring endless funds into my research because I was the world's leading scientist in cryogenic human experiments.

If something happened to me, what would become of his precious Sophia?

Sure enough, the moment he heard the diagnosis, he urgently asked, "Are you saying it's thallium poisoning?"

Henry gave a helpless nod, cautiously watching Leonard's expression. At his signal, Henry continued, "Mrs. Shaw only has two weeks left."

Leonard completely lost it the moment he heard those words. In a fit of rage, he grabbed the vase from the table and hurled it at Henry.

I stopped him just in time.

His eyes were bloodshot, his entire body trembling as he roared, "You quack! Clara is so young—how could she possibly have this kind of illness?"

As someone in the field of biology, he wasn't ignorant of the risks my research experiments carried. But for years, he chose to turn a blind eye.

He just never expected the consequences to come so soon.