When Vanessa Bright walked in, I almost didn’t recognize her.

Just five days ago, she was as radiant as a blooming flower. Now, her cheeks were swollen, the corners of her mouth cracked, and bruises mottled her exposed wrists—so severe they were horrifying to look at.

“Claire!” She dropped to her knees the moment she saw me, the dull thud of bone against the floor echoing sharply. “Please let me go. I can’t take it anymore!”

Instinctively, I stepped back. “What are you talking about?”

“They make you train day and night. You’re not even allowed to eat!” She lifted her skirt, revealing dark scars on her waist. “I fainted from hunger and exhaustion. They whipped me awake with a leather strap!”

“That’s impossible!” I blurted out. Before agreeing to send her there, I had thoroughly vetted the company—they had no record of mistreating trainees.

Vanessa Bright’s tears splashed onto the floor. “It’s true! Please don’t make me go back. I can’t be a trainee anymore!”

A chill ran through me. “What do you mean I’m forcing you? You told me it was your dream. You begged me to help you!”

“I never had a dream. I just wanted to stay by Victor’s side.”

Then she turned to Victor with a heartbreaking expression. “Victor, training is too hard. I really can’t handle it. Can I stay with you instead? I promise I’ll be good.”

Victor reached out, gently patting her head and helping her up.

When he turned to me, his gaze was as cold as a blade of ice. “Why did you force her?”

“I didn’t!” I protested, my voice trembling. “She begged me to go! I investigated that company—they don’t treat people like that. There must be some kind of misunderstanding—”

“Look at her injuries,” Victor cut in, his brow furrowed. “What misunderstanding could explain this?”

“Since you refuse to admit it, then you should experience the same suffering Vanessa did. Think of it as penance.”

I tried to speak, but he was already dragging me to the storage room. His grip was so tight on my wrist that I felt the bruise forming instantly.

He called Vanessa Bright over and told her to bring Ethan.

Victor had always been gentle with our son. So when Ethan saw him, he giggled, stretched out his little arms, and nestled against him, seeking affection.

But Victor didn’t respond. With a cold expression, he peeled the child from his neck and shoved him into my arms.

“Vanessa was beaten. I won’t lay a hand on you—but your son will suffer with you instead.”

“Victor!” I clung to his arm. “I swear, I didn’t do anything! We can check the cameras—call the police!”

“So now you’re saying Vanessa is lying?” Victor’s voice dropped, trying to stay calm. “Who would do this to themselves just to frame someone?”

“I’ve raised Vanessa for six years. I know her—she’s gentle, kind, pure.”

“But you...” His eyes turned colder than ever. I felt like a stranger under his gaze. “Claire, when did you become so cruel? You would even harm a little girl?”

It felt like my soul was being dragged into a frozen abyss.

We had known each other for sixteen years. We shared a bed for six.

Yet all it took was Vanessa Bright’s tears to erase everything.

The storage room door slammed shut, plunging us into darkness. Ethan’s cries filled the air, loud and desperate.

The hot, dusty air choked us. My baby, still recovering from illness, thrashed restlessly in my arms. His cries turned from sharp wails to broken, hoarse sobs.

“Victor! Open the door! He’s burning up again!” I pounded the door with all my strength, my palms going numb. “He was just released from the hospital! His wounds haven’t healed! He’ll die in here!”

“Victor, punish me—hit me if you want! But save Ethan!”

“He’s your son, too! I’m begging you!”

Silence.

Only silence.

I slid down to the floor, my body trembling. It felt as if my heart had been carved out of my chest while I was still alive.

Ethan’s cries began to fade. His breath grew shallow.

“Ethan! Don’t fall asleep!” I slapped his cheek gently. “Baby, look at Mommy!”

His lips parted slightly, making a faint sound, but his eyes never opened.

“Ethan!”

Vanessa Bright suddenly pushed the door open.

I froze, then rushed to her. “Vanessa Bright, please! Call Doctor Ethan! He needs fever medicine!”

She was my only hope. For Ethan’s sake, I could beg—even if she was the reason we were locked in here.

A faint, unreadable smile curled on Vanessa Bright’s lips. She opened her hand. “You mean this?”

“Yes! That’s it! Thank you!” I reached out, but just as I was about to take it, she flipped her hand—and the pill fell to the floor.

I scrambled to pick it up, but she pressed her foot down and ground it onto the floor.

“I thought he’d die in the desert. He’s really lucky.”

I stared blankly at the crushed white powder.

Vanessa Bright pinched my chin and leaned close. “Claire, listen to me. Victor and I are bound by life and death. We’re fated.”

“Do you know what he said when he held me? He said he couldn’t sleep next to you. Only my scent gives him peace.”

I bit my lip hard, trying to contain the wave of pain in my chest. I remembered clearly—after our first night together, Victor held me close and whispered, ‘I can’t sleep without your scent anymore.’

“He doesn’t love you, Claire.” Vanessa Bright’s voice was soft, but every word cut deep.

“Why couldn’t you just let go? Why give birth to a child just to trap Victor?”

My entire body got cold. I hugged Ethan tighter and asked slowly, “Did you do all this on purpose—just to take Victor from me?”

“Not entirely,” Vanessa Bright tilted her head, smiling sweetly as she spoke with venom. “I also wanted to watch you suffer.”

“You and I are both orphans. So why did you get adopted by the Boone family and marry Victor, while I had to trail behind without a name or title?”

I said, “Victor mentioned adopting you. It was you who—”

“Who wants to be his adopted daughter?!” She screamed, cutting me off. “I’m his destined one! His wife!”

Her fingers slid across my belly and jabbed at Ethan’s flushed cheek. “When your baby died back then, I was thrilled.”

My pupils contracted.

She continued calmly, “Victor protected me. Even though I killed his child, he still protected me.”

“That’s when I knew—he belonged to me.”

Her nails dug into Ethan’s cheek, making him cry out in pain.

I grabbed her wrist. “Don’t touch my child!”

Suddenly, Vanessa Bright stumbled back with a gasp of fear.

“Ah—!” Her forehead slammed into the door handle, and blood poured down her face.

“Vanessa!” Victor rushed in and immediately wrapped her in his arms, trying to stop the bleeding. “Housekeeper, call a doctor!”

Vanessa Bright leaned limply into his chest. “Victor, I’m okay. Ethan has a fever—let the doctor check him first.”

Then she looked at me with watery eyes. “I just wanted to give him medicine… Why did you push me?”

Tears mixed with blood slid down her face.

Victor’s gaze filled with anguish. He turned to me, voice low and cold. “Claire, why can’t you be more tolerant?”

“She fell on her own!” I pointed to the crushed powder. “She even destroyed Ethan’s medicine!”

His eyes dropped to the floor, and for a moment, I saw hesitation flicker across his face.

He knew how much I longed for Ethan. I had waited six years to become a mother—he knew I would never risk my son’s life.

A sliver of hope rose in me. “Victor, Ethan’s fever—”

Before I could finish, Vanessa Bright burst into tears. “It’s my sister! She said Ethan would rather die than take my medicine! Victor, please help him—he’s really sick!”

Victor gently caressed her face. “Even like this, you’re still thinking of him.”

Then he stood and approached me.

I will never forget the way he looked at me in that moment.

“Claire,” he said, his voice soft but sharp, “I never imagined your jealousy would blind you to your own child’s suffering.”

He held out his hand. There was no anger in his tone—only calm finality.

“Give me Ethan.”

I instinctively held the child tighter. “What are you trying to do?”

“How can I be at ease letting Ethan stay with you in your condition?”

“No!” I staggered back. “He’s my son! I won’t be separated from him!”

Victor’s gaze turned ice-cold as he forcefully pulled Ethan from my arms. The child wailed again, his cries piercing.

“Give him back to me!” I lunged forward, but he kicked me away. My waist slammed into the sharp corner of the cabinet, and a low cry of pain escaped my lips.

Victor hesitated for a moment, his back stiffening, but he never turned around. He helped Vanessa Bright up and left—carrying my son.

The door shut behind them. Before the last sliver of light vanished, I was consumed by darkness.

When I regained consciousness, everything was bathed in stark white.

It was the bedroom ceiling. I turned my head and saw Victor asleep beside the bed. He stirred the moment I moved, and his fingers lightly brushed my cheek. “You’re awake. Do you feel unwell?”

“I…” My throat was dry and raspy, barely able to form words.

Victor quickly held a cup to my lips. “You’ve been unconscious for a whole day and night. Why didn’t you tell me you had hypoglycemia? Do you know how scared I was when you collapsed?”

His worry and concern looked sincere—so much so that, for a fleeting second, I almost forgot he had locked me and our child in that storage room.

That gentleness nearly deceived me. Almost.

One day and one night. That meant in just four more days, I could finally leave him.

I struggled to sit up. “Where’s Ethan?”

He gently pushed me back down. “Don’t worry, Vanessa’s looking after him.”

“What?” My heart clenched. I instantly pushed him away and got out of bed.

The moment my feet hit the floor, Victor grabbed my wrist and threw me back down.

“What are you doing?” He shut his eyes, clearly trying to restrain his anger. “Claire, you need to rest now.”

Fear and fury surged through me. “You left my child with Vanessa Bright—how do you expect me to rest?”

“Claire!” Victor’s rage erupted. He paced beside the bed several times before finally snapping, “Why are you so hostile toward Vanessa? Didn’t you two used to get along?”

“Yes,” I laughed bitterly, “I once treated her like a sister. But what did she do? Have you ever asked? Have you bothered to find out?”

“You—”

A woman’s scream and a baby’s cry suddenly rang out from the next room.

I shoved Victor aside and rushed to the nursery. The sight before me turned my blood to ice.

Ethan was lying on his back in the crib, face flushed red, his tiny body convulsing with harsh coughs. Vomited milk stained his cheeks, his chest, and the sheets.

Vanessa Bright stood to the side, wiping her clothes with a baby wipe, her face twisted in frustration.

I hurriedly scooped up Ethan, patting his back anxiously. As I drew closer, I saw red rashes blooming across his forehead and chest.

Victor was the first to turn to Vanessa Bright. “How did this happen?”

I demanded, “Vanessa Bright, what did you give him?”

She shook her head. “Nothing, I just fed him milk formula.”

Victor wrapped her protectively in his arms. “Why are you blaming her? She’s still just a child!”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Yet you still trusted her to care for Ethan? Did you even check if he had allergies? Did you even look at him when you came in?”

“Enough!” Victor suddenly roared, “Vanessa did her best to care for him. And you? You’re always finding faults!”

“Claire, your jealousy and bitterness right now—it honestly disgusts me!”