Edward looked at me and mumbled something. I couldn't make it out, but it sounded like he was cursing at me.

The herbal bath was ready soon enough. Lucy dumped the entire sack of snakes and scorpions into the tub.

Maybe the alcohol was too strong, because the creatures immediately started scrambling out. Snakes and scorpions crawled all over the floor, filling the room.

Susan screamed in panic.

"What are you scared of?" Lucy snapped.

Holding a wooden stick, she pushed each escaping creature back into the tub one by one. "These are medicinal ingredients. The more poisonous they are, the better the effect!"

Then, she turned to Edward. "Hurry up. Take off your clothes and get in!"

Edward's mouth was still twisted, and his words slurred. "A-are you sure this will work?"

"Of course it will. I paid three thousand for this remedy!" she shot back, glaring at him. "Hurry up. Soak for three days, fifteen hours a day. I guarantee you'll be fine."

Kenneth chimed in from the side, "Dad, when has Mom ever been wrong? Remember when I had a fever of 104? Mom burned mugwort and smoked my feet, and the next day my fever was gone."

I stood in the corner, watching coldly, saying nothing.

Using a folk remedy for a fever might not be a big deal, but this was a stroke. Without proper treatment, even the aftereffects would be the least of their problems.

The whole family depended on Edward's pension. If something happened to him, they wouldn't even have time to cry.

"Edward, just give it a try. Lucy's just trying to help you. She went all over the place looking for a cure for you," I said gently.

He hesitated and glanced at me. In the end, he took off his clothes and carefully lowered himself into the tub.

"Ah!"

The moment he sat down, he cried out. "It... it hurts..."

Several snakes wrapped around his legs, and scorpions crawled onto his arms.

"Just bear with it. That means the medicine is working!" Lucy pressed down on his shoulders and coaxed him patiently. "Don't move. I'll start the acupuncture now."

She pulled out a bundle of long silver needles from her clothes. The tips were rusted, and who knew if they'd ever been sterilized. She didn't hesitate and started sticking them into his head.

"Lucy, do you even know how to do acupuncture?" Susan asked timidly.

Lucy shot her an impatient glare. "Why wouldn't I? I've watched old doctors do acupuncture plenty of times. Didn't I treat your leg pain last time?"

Susan awkwardly stepped back and went quiet.

A few years ago, she had leg pain. My mother-in-law had done the same thing then, grabbing silver needles and just stabbing them into her leg until she said the pain was gone.

But after that day, she started to walk with a limp.

Lucy insisted it was because Susan had been born with a disability.

Now, Lucy looked completely confident as she jabbed several needles into Edward's head.

He winced in pain. His mouth was still crooked, making his face look even worse.

I sneered inwardly. A stroke patient should never be moved around like this, especially not during an acute episode. But here he was, sitting in alcohol, being bitten by venomous creatures, and getting random acupuncture on top of it. Even if he didn't die, he'd be left in terrible shape.

But I said nothing. I just quietly stepped aside and took a few photos of them.

"Emily, why are you taking pictures?" Kenneth asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"For memories," I said.

I gave Lucy a thumbs-up. "When Edward gets better, he can look at these photos and see how good you were to him. Doing everything yourself like this, you really are the model of a head of the family."

Kenneth frowned, but didn't say anything else.

After the first day of soaking, Edward was already pale and trembling all over.

On the other hand, Lucy looked pleased.

"See? It's working! He's detoxing!"

Edward started vomiting nonstop that night, and his speech became even more slurred.

Lucy was certain it was a detox reaction. She told him to drink more water so he could "flush out the toxins."

By the next morning, the whole house was filled with a strange, foul smell.

Edward was stripped down to just his underwear, and Kenneth and Lucy held him up as they tried to lower him back into the tub.

His crooked mouth dripped with saliva as he let out muffled, unclear groans. His weak arm pushed at Lucy, like he was trying to get away.

"What are you afraid of? Just get in! Once the medicine kicks in, you'll be fine!" she snapped, shoving his back.

He fell into the tub with a loud splash, and the herbal alcohol mixture splattered everywhere.

The snakes and scorpions had been soaking for a full day. They were even more agitated now, attacking him nonstop.

He struggled, trying to climb out.

"Hang in there! Today is the most important day!" Lucy said.

She and Kenneth pressed him down together so he couldn't move.

I stood there watching him struggle in pain. I thought back to how viciously he had shoved me down the stairs in my last life and felt nothing.

After Dylan became paralyzed, Edward turned his attention to me.

He would even walk into the bathroom while I was showering to use the toilet. When I told Lucy, she accused me of making it up and trying to seduce him. She beat me with a stick until my body was covered in wounds.

And even while confined to the bed, Dylan would curse me out as well.

I felt sorry for myself. In my last life, I had been so stupid. I tried to save a man who ended up killing me.

This time, that wouldn't happen again.

That afternoon, Charlotte came over with some fruit. As soon as she walked in, she was hit by a strong smell of alcohol mixed with something foul. Then she saw Edward sitting in the bath, his face turning bluish, and she was shocked.

"Edward, what happened to you? Why do you look so bad?"

"He's detoxing," Lucy said proudly. "One more day of soaking and acupuncture tomorrow, and he'll be completely fine."

Charlotte walked closer to the tub and looked at him carefully.

"Edward, how do you feel?"

Edward forced his eyes open. He tried to speak, but no sound came out. The right side of his body wouldn't move at all.

"This isn't right!" Charlotte grew anxious. "This doesn't look like facial paralysis. It looks like a stroke. He needs to go to the hospital right now."

"Nonsense!" Lucy shoved her aside. "What do you know? This is a family remedy passed down for generations. After yesterday's soak, his face already looks better."

I chimed in from the side. "Yeah, Charlotte. Lucy knows what she's doing. She's treated everyone in this family before. Just trust her. Besides, Edward's a lucky man. He'll be fine."

Charlotte looked at me in disbelief.

"Emily, how can you believe this too? You went to college. This could kill him."

"Kill him?" Lucy snapped before I could answer, glaring at Charlotte.

"I think you're the one trying to kill Edward. You don't want him to get better, so you keep coming here to stir trouble."

Charlotte couldn't believe what she was hearing, and tears filled her eyes.

"He's my brother!"

Lucy sneered. "So what? I know your whole family is eyeing his pension. I'm telling you, his money is mine. You won't get a single cent. You can drop that idea right now."

Charlotte looked at her, speechless. After a long pause, she left with red-rimmed eyes.

Kenneth walked over, rubbing his hands together.

"Mom, how much money is in Dad's account now?"

Lucy lifted her chin, looking pleased.

"At least 40,000 dollars."

That was when I finally realized Lucy didn't even know Edward's pension money was already gone.

He got 2,000 dollars a month. Every month, he gave her 1,600 dollars for household expenses. The remaining 400 dollars went straight into his savings account.

Two months ago, he met an online livestream host. He spent all the money in that account on her. Every last cent was gone.

He was even still dreaming about meeting her in person.

I looked at the greed and excitement in Lucy's and Kenneth's eyes and kept my mouth shut again.

It would be more interesting if they found out the truth themselves at the end.

While I was thinking, a hard slap landed on my back. It hurt so much I winced.

"Go take care of Dylan!" Lucy snapped. "Don't think just because he's paralyzed, you're off the hook. You still have to give him a son. If you don't, I'll deal with you myself."

She grabbed my ear and yanked it hard, her face twisted with anger.

I bent over from the pain and quickly agreed with her.

After everyone left, I walked over to the tub and looked at Edward.

"Edward."

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. By then, most of his basic functions were already failing.

"I forgot to tell you something. You're actually having a stroke. Lucy's remedy doesn't help. It just kills you faster."

I lifted my skirt and showed him the bruises and wounds across my legs. All of them were from Edward, Lucy, and Dylan over the years.

If I were even a little slow with chores or slept one minute longer in the morning, I would get beaten.

Luckily, my husband was already paralyzed from her "treatment," and Edward wasn't far from the end either.

"You see, I said it before that you were all going to get what you deserve."

Edward lifted his hand shakily, looking like he wanted to hit me like he used to. But before he could even raise it, he lost all strength.

On the third day, he fell into a full coma.

No one knew if it was from rage or something else, but it came on fast.

However, Lucy thought it meant the treatment was working. She said it was the toxins leaving his body and insisted on one final soak.

"After today's soak and one more round of acupuncture, he'll wake up tonight and stand right in front of us like nothing happened!" Lucy said confidently.

Susan hesitated. "Lucy, Edward isn't responding anymore. Should we..."

"What do you mean by that?" Lucy snapped at her. "Today is critical. Whether your father-in-law gets better depends on today. Hurry up and help me!"

They worked together to lift Edward into the tub.

Most of the snakes and scorpions inside were already dead, and a foul smell filled the room.

Edward's skin had turned pale from the soaking, and the bites from the venomous creatures had started to rot.

Lucy pulled out her silver needles and stabbed a few into his head again.

This time, she aimed at his temples.

"Lucy, should you even be sticking needles in his temples?" Susan asked quietly.

"Why not? I saw an old doctor do it like this," she said.

She kept going, sticking the needles into his temples without even knowing the points.

Then suddenly, Edward started foaming at the mouth and convulsing violently.

"Look! The toxins are coming out!" Lucy said excitedly.

She didn't even notice his pupils were slowly dilating.

When they carried him back to bed that night, he was still unconscious.

Lucy started preparing dinner. She said she needed to make something good for him to "rebuild his strength" when he woke up. After all, he hadn't eaten properly for three days.

"Make a few of your father-in-law's favorite dishes," she ordered me.

"Okay, Lucy."

I went into the kitchen without argument.

I had just finished cutting the vegetables when I heard Susan scream from the bedroom.

"Lucy! Edward isn't breathing!"