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"Don't be in such a hurry," the lady called out as she appeared out of nowhere, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Savor each drop as you won't be able to drink Ryan's blood any time soon. I was only able to get this much for you."

Lisa's body shivered when she heard it but she didn't stop drinking, gulping on the thick liquid. She slowed down but she was still done in less than ten seconds. The glass was only half-full from the start.

"Did you like it?" the lady asked friendly but Lisa didn't reply, questioning instead, "Where is Ryan? Is he okay? Let me meet him please."

Lisa wiped her face and sat up, looking into the lady's red eyes underneath the hood. She didn't feel any fear, knowing very well the lady wouldn't hurt her. No one would place you in an elegant room, let you sleep on a comfortable bed, and feed you only to hurt you later.

"You are so cute. The first thing you thought of was Ryan instead of yourself," the lady said amused. "Ryan is not here. We are far outside the city where no one can find us."

"Is he okay?" Lisa repeated, not giving up until she gets her answers.

"He is naturally okay. I wouldn't hurt my grandson," the lady replied with a shrug.

Lisa's eyes widened at that, suddenly confused.

"Then you are—" Lisa asked but the lady cut her off while taking off her hood. "I'm Elizabeth Morgan, Ryan's grandma but you may know me as the beauty guru, the owner of Miss Elizabeth, the biggest fashion company in the world."

Ah!

Lisa couldn't help but exclaim, clearly dumbfounded.

It was her! Long black hair, always straight and shiny. Slim lips and perfectly clean face, without any wrinkles or flaws. Although she was supposed to be sixty, she looked like her aging stopped in her thirties, giving her a full mature look.

This was one of her selling points that brought her company to the next level. Who wouldn't believe her cosmetics works after seeing such a beauty at the age of sixty? Advertising using her own face worked like a charm.

Being one of the most famous designers in the world, everyone admired as well as respected her. Even Lisa strengthened her back despite the current situation she was in.

"I know you are confused about the whole situation and want an explanation. I am here to tell you everything you need to know," Miss Elizabeth said calmly while taking off her cloak. "Shall we?"

She definitely knew how to treat her body well, wearing an elegant cocktail dress even under a black cloak. The rumor that she liked color red wasn't a lie as she wore red from head to toe.

Lisa was so drawn into Miss Elizabeth's great body that she forgot to reply, only realizing it after a moment, nodding, "Yes, please."

"Let's start at the very beginning. I know you are smart so based on the urges you felt earlier and the blood you drank, you should have already figured what you have become," Miss Elizabeth described mysteriously.

"A Vampire…" Lisa replied, touching her long fangs that she noticed with her tongue.

Nothing else came to her mind. The concept of Vampires was quite well known in modern culture but who would have thought they were real.

"That's correct. After you drank Ryan's blood, you turned into a Vampire, or to be specific, a Half-Vampire," Miss Elizabeth confirmed.

"Does that mean you and Ryan are also Vampires?" Lisa asked a bit spooked.

"Yes, but there is a difference. We are Pure Vampires," Miss Elizabeth corrected. "You see, within us Vampires there is an established hierarchy that everyone sticks to. Unfortunately for you, Half-Vampires are the lowest on the ladder. They are considered as soldiers, or in other words, servants. It is quite easy to create a Half-Vampire and in most cases, their only purpose in life is to serve us, Pure Vampires."

"…" Lisa was speechless for a second, not really used to serving people. She was the one who directed everything, dominating the business scene. There was rarely anyone above her in her job.

"What if I don't want to serve anyone?" She asked curiously, figuring it would be best to know where she stands.

"Even if you don't want to serve, you have no choice. Only Pure Vampires can create Half-Vampires and all of them will consider them their Master. If they tell you to kneel, you will kneel. If they tell you to jump, you will jump. You can't reject an order from your Master, his blood within your body won't let you," Miss Elizabeth explained, putting one leg on the other. "You are honestly lucky your Master is Ryan."

"Lucky?" Lisa asked with a complicated expression. She didn't exactly like the concept of a Master and a servant.

Miss Elizabeth smiled bitterly and replied, "Let's say some Pure Vampires aren't exactly good. They turn beautiful human girls into their servants only to use them for endless pleasure. We managed to eliminate most of the bad blood who used to abuse their servants and established certain rules that prevent it from happening in the future. There are some that still do it but at least now they are forced to take care of their servants. If they break the rules, they would be quickly hunted down."

"Ryan is not like this," Lisa immediately defended.

"This is why I said you are lucky. He is too in love with Rose to even think about anyone else. Even if he has more beautiful servants in the future, he would still stay loyal to Rose. I'm sure he will treat you like a normal friend instead of a servant and allow you to have your own life instead," Miss Elizabeth comforted. "Isn't that what you want?"

Lisa turned silent. It obviously hurt her she couldn't win his heart.

Her sudden change got noticed as Miss Elizabeth quickly followed up, "What? Are you now thinking that you would rather be his servant, hoping to get closer with him and eventually become something more than friends?"

Lisa didn't reply to that, and instead stated firmly, "I want to meet him."

Miss Elizabeth smiled but ended up shaking her head, "I'm sorry but I can't let that happen. Especially not now. Your presence would ruin my plan in securing Rose. You see, I really want her to join my family and no one will stop me. Even her grandfather."

"Grandfather?" Lisa questioned curiously but Miss Elizabeth didn't react as if the question wasn't asked.

Lisa figured she wouldn't receive an answer so instead, she changed the subject.

"What about my work? My businesses? Are you going to keep me locked up here?"

"When you were sleeping I investigated your life a bit and I'm honestly impressed. You achieved so much in such a little time. It has been a while since I met such a talent and trust me, I have lived a long life," Miss Elizabeth praised amazed. "Of course, I won't keep you here for long. You need to either sell or find a replacement for all your business after all."

"Wait, what? Sell? Replacement?" Lisa's brain froze for a moment as she didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"You thought you will be able to stay and continue your life as normal? We won't be staying in this country for long. In four days we will be leaving. It's okay if you want to keep your companies but you won't be here to manage them. We don't have an infrastructure here to keep you monitored and we will not leave a lone Half-Vampire on loose. We are still trying to stay low key in this world so it's best if our race is not discovered," Miss Elizabeth explained.

"I can't, it's impossible," Lisa quickly disagreed, knowing her work very well. "Four days is too little. I can't find a replacement this fast. I have too many businesses to take care of."

"Well, you can still come back later if there is a need but try to settle everything in the next few days. I know you are skilled enough to do it in time," Miss Elizabeth convinced but Lisa didn't really buy her flattery.

"So what now, I am forced to give up on everything I have worked for since young age so I can follow you outside the country and start from scratch or even better, become a servant instead? You do realize how surreal it is?" Lisa asked seriously, knowing how big of a life-changing choice that would be. "Even with unlimited money, it takes years to build a profiting business."

Miss Elizabeth stared at her and sighed, taking off her shoes. Climbing onto the bed, she walked next to Lisa and sat down beside her, leaning on the bed frame. Lisa couldn't figure what Miss Elizabeth was planning but then she felt her body being pulled by a strange force and found herself hugging onto Miss Elizabeth's chest.

Miss Elizabeth caressed her cheek and muttered softly, "I know it's hard but it's going to be better. You are one of us now and we will take care of you."

"But—" Lisa tried to argue but Miss Elizabeth shushed her, "Shhh, let me finish. There is something I still didn't tell you. It's not like I want to force you to do anything but it's more like we don't have a choice. You turned into Half-Vampire and with that, you are a subject of many complications. Although the blood of Pure Vampires is a blessing that can prolong your life, give you strength and power, it is also a curse."

"Curse…?"

"The blood of a Pure Vampire carries a special poison that is lethal to humans. The blood grants immortality and as long as you consume enough of it every once in a while, the poison will stay inactive. But, if you stop taking your Master's blood, the poison will activate and slowly kill you. I'm doing it for your own good and for Ryan's sake too. I don't want him to be depressed after your death," Miss Elizabeth explained.

"…"

It was a lot to swallow, making Lisa speechless for a while. This was the first time she felt really powerless. She always had her life in her hands yet now it belonged to someone else.

"So basically… If I don't follow Ryan, I will die?" Lisa asked to confirm and received a kiss on the head. "Yes. If I could prevent it, I would but Ryan drank too much of your blood during his Awakening. The only way to save you was turning you into Half-Vampire which he did."

Lisa didn't know why but she found Miss Elizabeth's chest really comforting. Especially at that moment when she suddenly felt like crying. She was happy that she survived, able to live but at the same time, is that the life she wants? Life inside someone else's shadow? It would be like endless torture for her.

"There, there… It's going to be okay…" Miss Elizabeth assured her, hugging Lisa into her chest. "I know you are really ambitious. How about this, I will let you work with me. Usually, I would just force you to work for me but I feel like you deserve more. You can become my partner and I will give you the freedom you want. Although I can't give you Miss Elizabeth company I can help you build your new empire. What do you think?"

"Can I even have my own life at this point? I am forever connected to Ryan. What's the point of success if I can't share it with anyone?" Lisa asked softly, expecting some solutions but was there a solution?

"There is nothing I can do to undo your transformation. The only advice I can give you is pushing forward. Who knows what future has prepared for you," Miss Elizabeth cheered her up. "It's still better than giving up on living,"

Lisa spent a moment in silence before finally deciding firmly, "I will accept your offer but I want to meet Ryan."

Miss Elizabeth thought for the moment and agreed, "Okay. You two can only meet in four days when we leave this country. You will have a whole plane ride to talk to him but until then, you cannot meet him."

"Then I want you to pass him a message from me."

———

"You two can go upstairs to Rose's room. We will have a small chat with Mrs. Morgan," Dana suggested right after exchanging greetings, and Ryan's mother quickly agreed. "Yes, Ryan, go with Rose. There are some matters us parents need to discuss."

"Alright," Ryan nodded, already expecting it.

When his mom decided to go in with them he knew she wanted to talk to Rose's parents. He could only sigh and take Rose upstairs.

"What do you think they will talk about?" Rose asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder. "Could it be our grandparents?"

"Maybe," Ryan confirmed but didn't say anything more. "Let's talk inside."

He never knew who was watching so it was best to talk behind the close doors. They entered inside Rose's room but just as he closed the door, something felt off.

"Wait…" Ryan muttered, pulling Rose closer to him.

Sniff, sniff.

He activated his smell and quickly confirmed his theory.

"Someone was in the room just a moment ago."

He was really sensitive to different smells and he was sure it wasn't anyone from the house.

"He came in from the window," he informed after investigating further and called out coldly, "Come out, we know you are here."

Rose squeezed onto Ryan's hand and subtly reached out to the nearby drawer, pulling out of one her hidden toys, a flip knife.

They waited for a few seconds when a shadow of the bed suddenly extended, growing in size before turning into a tall man in a cloak.

Ryan recognized him but he didn't drop his guard, putting Rose behind him.

"What do you want?"

"Not bad. You are quickly getting used to your new powers. I'm impressed," the man praised and answered, "I came with a message from your grandma. Would you care to put that knife away and listen? I will take you a minute."