After a rough, jarring ride, Sophie was rushed into the ER.

The doctors took her stretcher at once and turned to send Daniel off for treatment for his burns.

He shoved the nurse aside, panic breaking through his composure.

“Forget about me, I’ll live. Treat my wife first! She has no pre-existing conditions. She just gave birth a month ago, type A blood!”

Moments later, after examining Sophie, the doctor’s expression turned grim.

“Captain Hart, your wife has lost too much blood. She needs a transfusion immediately, but our blood bank is empty.

“It’ll take at least a week to get more in. She won’t last that long. You might have to… call in a favor and request blood from your unit’s emergency reserve. There’s still time.”

But Daniel fell into a long silence.

With what little strength she had left, Sophie forced her eyes open a fraction. She heard the aide lower his voice.

“Captain, what are you waiting for? Look at her, she’s bleeding out. Just give the order!”

Daniel closed his eyes, his voice low and strained.

“How am I supposed to give that order? Have you forgotten—after I gave Sophie’s child to Clara, I already used my record to keep everyone at the hospital quiet?”

“The paperwork for the baby isn’t even done yet. If I don’t keep control of this, what happens when the truth comes out?

“Clara will find out everything. She’s already lost so much. How is she supposed to survive losing another child? I won’t let her take that risk. I can’t.”

The words cut cold and deep, piercing straight through Sophie’s heart.

“Daniel… how could you be this cruel…”

She was hanging by a thread, and all he cared about was whether Clara might lose the child.

What about her?

Even before this, she had already lost two pregnancies.

Her body had been too weak and malnourished.

Each time, the moment she learned she was pregnant, it ended in blood.

She was afraid he would blame himself, that it would affect his work, so she said nothing, swallowing all the pain and grief alone.

And now, was she about to become just another pool of blood, dying before she could even leave?

Sophie felt her blood slipping away, drop by drop, taking her warmth with it.

Despair closed in, inch by inch.

Just then, Clara rushed in.

Without hesitation, she rolled up her sleeve. “Doctor, take my blood! I’m a match! I can save her!”

Daniel’s brows knit together as he quickly pulled her back.

“Clara, what are you doing?”

“You just gave birth. You haven’t even recovered yet. You can’t donate blood!”

Clara shook him off, her gaze unwavering.

“Daniel, let me do this. She got hurt because she was making soup for me. When she’s in danger, I should be the one to step forward.”

Daniel’s eyes reddened instantly, his expression full of pain.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Clara had already followed the nurses, pushing Sophie’s stretcher into the emergency room.

She glanced down at Sophie and gave her a gentle smile.

“All these years, I’ve never forgotten how well Daniel’s treated me. Let me repay some of that to you.”

The blood flowed through the tube, slowly entering Sophie’s body. She felt a faint return of strength, and a flicker of gratitude stirred in her chest.

What Daniel had done was his choice; it had nothing to do with Clara.

Sophie forced her eyes open, wanting to say thank you.

But suddenly, a chill ran through her body.

Her chest tightened as if a weight had been dropped onto it. Her face drained of color, and even breathing became difficult.

The nurse yanked out the transfusion line and shouted, “Miss, did you lie about your blood type?!

“Doctor! Doctor! The patient is having a hemolytic reaction. We need to resuscitate immediately!”

As the nurse rushed out to call for help, Clara’s gentle expression vanished.

A cold smile curled on her lips as she said, “Go. To. Hell.”

“Only if you’re gone will Daniel belong to me alone.”

Sophie’s eyes widened.

Clara had done this on purpose.

But she couldn’t speak.

Her body convulsed, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness completely.

Sophie had no sense of how much time had passed when she woke, pain tearing through her body.

“Water… someone…”

She used every ounce of strength, but the sound that came out was barely more than a weak, breathless whisper.

Just then, Clara’s muffled sobs drifted in from outside the door.

“I’m sorry… Daniel, this is all my fault…

“I remembered my blood type wrong. I almost got her killed… You should punish me… Whatever it is, I’ll accept it.”

Through the narrow gap in the door, Sophie caught sight of Daniel’s face—soft and tender, enough to melt anything in its path.

He reached out and gently touched Clara’s hair, his voice softer than Sophie had ever heard.

“It’s alright. Don’t blame yourself. Sophie’s fine, isn’t she? You meant well. I could never punish you.”

Something in Sophie’s chest twisted sharply.

Of course.

Even if she had nearly died, he wouldn’t let Clara be hurt, not even a little.

As if something amused him, Daniel let out a quiet chuckle. “If I have to punish you, then you can hold little Leo through his shots.”

Clara laughed.

“You’re terrible, Daniel. You know he’s attached to you! And he’s gotten so chubby. I can barely carry him anymore.”

With that, she looped her arm through his, the two of them leaving together, chatting and laughing as they went to take the baby for his vaccinations.

Sophie trembled where she lay, a wave of aching bitterness crashing over her, nearly swallowing her whole.

Leo was the name she chose.

She remembered leaning against Daniel’s chest, suggesting it softly. “If it’s a boy, let’s call him Leo. He would grow up brave, just like you. What do you think?”

Daniel had smiled then, gentle and warm. “Alright. And if it’s a girl, we’ll call her Lily. She would grow up to be just like you.”

And now, all she could do was watch as Clara walked away with her husband, holding her child, calling him by the name she gave him.

Each word cut deeper than any blade.

She didn’t know how long she lay there alone. Just as sleep began to pull her under again, the door suddenly opened.

Daniel froze for a second, then his face lit up. “Sophie! You’re finally awake!”

He helped her sit up, carefully holding her as he gave her water, checking her temperature.

Clara rushed in behind him, her face full of concern. “Are you feeling alright? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

She bent down as if to tuck the blanket around Sophie, all soft concern on the surface, but when she leaned close, her voice dropped to a whisper.

“If you tell Daniel I gave the wrong blood on purpose, you’ll regret it.”

A bitter smile touched Sophie’s lips.

Did Clara really think that if she spoke up, Daniel would believe her?

He had already handed her child over to Clara.

What wouldn’t he do for her?

Sophie knew better than to humiliate herself.

A sharp wail suddenly broke out from the hallway.

The aide rushed in, carrying a crying infant, his face strained. “Captain… Mrs. Hart… Ms. Bailey, sorry to interrupt. I can’t calm him down…”

Sophie’s heart clenched tight, tears spilling over before she could stop them.

That was her child…

Clara smiled as she took the baby and cradled him, gently soothing him.

Once his crying eased, she looked up at Sophie. “You haven’t seen my son yet, have you? Then again, we gave birth the same day, and yours didn’t make it. Why don’t you hold him? Just to see how it feels.”

Sophie instinctively nodded, then shook her head.

She didn’t dare.

Because if she held him once, she might never want to let go and try to take him back.

And she knew Daniel would never allow it.

Worse, he’d make her family pay the price.

As expected, Daniel frowned, displeasure written all over his face. “Clara, stop it. Sophie’s still injured. She can’t hold a baby.”

Clara ignored him, smiling as she pushed the baby toward Sophie.

“What’s there to be afraid of? I just want her to feel it…”

In the struggle, Clara suddenly let go.

The baby slipped from her arms and hit the floor, his cry piercing the room.

“Leo!”

Clara scooped him up, sobbing, then turned and grabbed Sophie by the collar, dragging her off the bed.

“If you have a problem, take it out on me! Why would you hurt my child?!”

Sophie collapsed to the floor.

The surgical wound tore open, and blood spilled out at once.

She looked up in panic. “I didn’t! Clara, I wasn’t trying to hurt the baby. You were the one who let go—”

“Enough!”

Daniel’s voice cut through the room, sharp and furious, his eyes cold.

“Clara is his mother. No one loves that child more than she does. If it wasn’t you, then who was it? I never thought you could be this cruel to lay a hand on a baby.”

Sophie stared at him, stunned.

Cruel?

More than anyone, he knew she was the child’s real mother. Even if she died, she would never harm him.

Pain swallowed her whole.

“I didn’t… I really didn’t…”

But Daniel didn’t love her, so why would he believe her?

His expression darkened as he ordered the aide to take Clara and the baby for a checkup.

Then he turned back to Sophie, his gaze heavy, his voice low and chilling.

“Sophie, I understand that you resent me for giving our child to Clara. That’s on me. I’ll make it up to you. But you crossed a line today. It seems you still haven’t come to your senses.”

He slammed the door and walked out.

As he stepped over the blood spreading from her body, he didn’t spare her a single glance.

Sophie was pushed back into surgery to have her wound stitched up again.

In the days that followed, Daniel never came. There wasn’t a single person by her side to take care of her.

She had to get her own meals, collect her own medication, even make her way to the bathroom alone.

Once, while hooked up to an IV, she fell asleep—when she woke, blood had flowed back into the line, filling half the tube, and no one had called a nurse for her.

Just as she thought being left alone in the hospital was the extent of his punishment, Joanne came rushing in, breathless with panic.

“Sophie! Your parents came into the city to see you… Your father… he was accused of groping a woman in a public restroom. They’ve taken him in. They’re saying they’re going to charge him with sexual assault!”

Sophie’s mind went blank, her whole body turning cold.

If the charge stuck, her father could be facing years in prison.

Her father had spent his whole life being kind and honest. If he were branded like that, it would destroy him, drag the entire family down with him, leave them with no way to hold their heads up again.

Sophie tore out her IV and ran barefoot toward the base.

At the entrance, her mother sat on the steps, pale and worn, her face streaked with tears.

Sophie’s chest tightened. “Mom…”

Her mother scrambled to her feet, lost and shaken like a child.

“Sophie, what’s going on? Daniel had someone pass word that you were in the hospital, told your father and me to come see you.

“But on the way, a woman suddenly ran into your dad, fell to the ground, and started accusing him of touching her!

“No matter how we explained, no one would listen. Your father’s already in poor health from all the hard labor, and now they’ve taken him.

“How is he supposed to survive this…? Daniel was just here. I wanted to beg him for help, but he said he’d wait for you. Did you two have another fight?”

Sophie froze. “Daniel told you to come?”

A chill shot up her spine.

Could it be… all of this was deliberate?

The anger she had been holding back snapped. She turned and stormed into Daniel’s office.

“You did this, didn’t you? You had someone set my father up, just because Clara said I hurt her child?!”

She hadn’t expected Clara to be there.

Clara looked at her and smiled, slow and mocking.

“That’s right. I asked Daniel to stand up for me. You dared to hurt what’s mine, so now you get to see how it feels.”

Daniel stood in the dim light, his expression unreadable, his gaze cold as it landed on her.

“You refuse to admit your jealousy and resentment toward Clara. Without a lesson, how are you ever going to understand?”

His voice dropped, quiet and chilling.

“Sophie… don’t forget, an accusation like this can ruin a man’s life.”