Hospital Ward.
As Maria Hill stepped into the room, Nick Fury fixed her with his single eye—
a gaze deep, sharp, and unyielding.
She instinctively felt a stab of guilt and began to straighten her clothes.
That small gesture—
made Fury roll his eye and let out a cold, mocking laugh.
Maria Hill had been his long-time partner.
They were comrades-in-arms, having walked through life and death together on the battlefield.
He knew this woman better than anyone.
Her behavior now was clearly an attempt to hide what had happened the night before.
The faint scent of body wash clung to her.
Her brown hair was tied up neatly, still soft and freshly washed.
She had deliberately cleaned herself before coming—
trying to erase the traces of something she didn't want him to see.
Her eyes avoided his.
Her face looked worn, her spirit exhausted.
To a veteran spy like Nick Fury, none of these details escaped notice.
"Where were you last night?"
"Who did you meet?"
"Where did that ring come from?"
"I remember—you never wear jewelry."
Fury questioned her directly, like interrogating a criminal.
Hill's face now looked as tender and youthful as that of a teenage girl—
smooth and radiant.
She had become at least twenty years younger,
just like that old fox Alexander Pierce!
She'd been bought.
No one could resist the temptation of eternal youth—
especially women who were sensitive to age.
"That's my personal business. It has nothing to do with you."
Hill frowned and replied coldly.
Her left hand—the one wearing the ring—instinctively tried to pull back.
But realizing that would only deepen the misunderstanding, she clenched her fist instead.
Fury saw that too.
His lips trembled with rage.
He was now even more certain.
"You went to Renjie's place last night."
"And—"
"You stayed there overnight."
"That ring was his gift, wasn't it?"
"Answer me, Maria Hill. What happened between you and that man?!"
Fury raised his voice, anger boiling over.
He couldn't accept it.
One by one, the people he had carefully cultivated were being stolen by that man.
He was no longer the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
His life had hit rock bottom—
the worst collapse he had ever known.
He was irritable. Furious.
Resentful of everything—yet powerless to change any of it.
Hill knew very well that the former director was in a terrible state.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her own anger, and tried to explain what had happened the night before.
"There is nothing between Renjie and me!"
"You don't know what happened last night—"
She had barely begun when Fury cut her off.
"Heh! If that's true, then why are you in such a hurry to erase the evidence?"
"I'm not so important that you'd need to bathe and dress up just to see me!"
"And you too—you're chasing the Sun Ladder!"
"Just like that old bastard Pierce!"
"You've all been bought by Renjie!"
"You're all his dogs!"
Fury roared, his voice warped by paranoia.
He stubbornly believed that what he saw was the truth.
"Nick Fury, show some respect!"
"Yes, I met Renjie last night."
"I wanted to ask him to help get you released."
"After that—"
Hill tried to continue, but Fury wouldn't listen.
"And then you used a honey trap to give him an unforgettable night?"
"Let me guess…"
"Did he also ask you to bring me a message?"
"That he's pulling strings and I'll be free soon?"
"If my freedom has to be bought with your body, I'd rather rot in prison!"
Fury sneered bitterly.
Suddenly, he remembered Renjie's words in the prison.
'Relax and enjoy your retirement behind bars…'
'Next time we meet, I'll bring my son to visit you…'
'Maybe Carol's. Or maybe someone else's—like your most trusted subordinate.'
Those words were still burned into his mind.
And now Renjie was really doing it.
Even Hill had fallen.
Fury's accusations left Hill frozen in disbelief.
She had never imagined her superior could say something so cold and cruel.
"I'll say it again—I did nothing! Nothing happened last night!"
She tried to explain.
But Fury no longer wanted to hear it.
To a veteran agent, betrayal was unforgivable.
Maria Hill could no longer be trusted.
"Enough. We're done."
Fury turned his head away, unwilling to say another word.
Hill's face flushed with anger.
She turned and walked out.
Once trust is cracked, everything built upon it collapses.
From that moment on, the two were officially broken.
Only after Hill left did Fury slowly turn back.
The room became silent once more.
Nick Fury stared blankly.
His backbone had been broken.
Even Hill had abandoned him.
The former director now had nothing left—
no chance of redemption.
There was no hope anymore…
END OF CHAPTER
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