A flash of malice and calculation passed through Eliza's eyes. The next second, she suddenly threw herself backward. Her face was filled with shock and fear as she tumbled down the stairs. 

"Ellie." Victor rushed forward and cradled Eliza in his arms. "Ellie, are you okay?" 

Eliza weakly reached out and grabbed his sleeve. "Vic, don't blame Mrs. Powell. It's my fault. I shouldn't have upset her." 

Serena walked down the stairs and saw Eliza putting on a show. She said, "She broke my emerald bracelet and tried to run. I didn't push her. She fell on  her own." 

Leon started shouting at Serena like crazy, "You wretch. Why are you so mean?" 

Victor's rage exploded. He stood up and slapped Serena across the face. The sound echoed through the villa. The burning pain spread quickly across her cheek, snapping her back to reality. 

Serena's lips trembled slightly. Tears welled in her eyes but stubbornly refused to fall. "I said I didn't push Eliza." 

Looking at her expression, Victor faltered for a moment. "Seri, what's happening between us has nothing to do with Ellie. Why would you take it out on her?" 

"I told you I didn't. She's the one who broke my emerald bracelet first," Serena said. 

"Victor." Eliza looked at him through teary eyes. "Vic, don't blame Mrs. Powell anymore. It's all my fault. I accidentally broke her emerald bracelet. That's why she got so upset. Victor, I'm hurting all over." 

Only then did Victor snap out of it and remember Eliza had fallen down the stairs. He didn't have time to argue with Serena. He quickly carried Eliza out to take her to the hospital. 

In just a few minutes, the huge villa was completely empty–Serena was the only one left. 

Her cheek was swollen and red. Not a single person cared about her injury. They had all rushed Eliza to the hospital to take care of her. To Serena, the whole thing felt like a joke. 

At the hospital, Eliza lay weakly on the bed. Victor held her hand with concern and said, "Good thing the injuries aren't too serious. I really didn't expect Serena to go that far–actually pushing you down the stairs." 

Seeing that Victor had taken the bait, Eliza hid the satisfaction in her eyes and put on a gentle, understanding expression. "Victor, this whole thing is really my fault. It has nothing to do with Mrs. Powell." 

Victor replied, "Ellie, I know you just don't want me to fight with her, but what she did was way out of line. I think she really meant to get you killed." 

Eliza shook her head. "Mrs. Powell isn't like that. She was right–I broke her emerald bracelet, and that's why she got upset. But I only wanted to take it to get it fixed. Maybe Mrs. Powell misunderstood." 

Victor thought, 'Serena pushed Ellie down the stairs over a bracelet?' 

His anger flared. "Ellie, stop making excuses for Serena. I know exactly what kind of person she is. She's just mad because Leon's getting closer to you." 

"Victor, don't say that about Mrs. Powell. She'd be heartbroken if she heard you," Eliza said softly. 

Victor looked at Eliza who seemed so kind and understanding. He then thought of the way Serena had acted. He figured the contrast between the two couldn't have been more obvious. 

Victor comforted her, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Serena apologizes to you. You're not going to suffer for nothing." 

"I think I should move out," Eliza said. "As long as I stay with you guys, Mrs. Powell will keep picking fights with you. I don't want to be the reason you two keep arguing. I don't want to come between your marriage." 

She turned her head slightly, letting Victor see the tears falling from her eyes, deliberately triggering his urge to protect her. 

Victor explained, "Ellie, things between me and Serena aren't how you think. Just get some rest and don't overthink it. As long as I'm here, you'll always have a place in my house." 

After settling Eliza in, Victor headed back to the villa and went straight up to the second floor, only to find that Serena wasn't there. He turned and made his way to the kitchen. 

In the kitchen, Serena had just grabbed an ice pack to put on her face. When she turned around, she saw Victor storming in, full of anger. He walked straight up to her and slapped the ice pack out of her hand. 

"What are you doing?" Serena asked. 

Victor grabbed her hand and started dragging her out. "Ellie feels guilty because of you. She's hurt that badly and still thinking about you. Come with me to the hospital and apologize to her." 

Serena let out a laugh out of sheer rage as she thought, 'He wants me to apologize to Eliza?' 

She yanked her hand out of his grasp, the love in her eyes completely gone. "Victor, don't you see the swelling on my face?" 

"You brought that on yourself. I don't care what your reason is. You hurt Ellie, so you're coming with me to the hospital to apologize," Victor snapped. 

Serena felt like it was all a sick joke. She stepped back and finally saw Victor for who he really was. "In your eyes, no one matters more than Eliza. I've been married to you for years. 

"I'm the one who took care of you. I was the one by your side during the hardest time of your life. And now Eliza shows up and suddenly I'm invisible?" 

Victor flinched slightly at the look on her face. He thought back to how she had truly looked after him back then. It really had been her who stayed with him through the worst period of his life. 

He thought, 'Why do I feel guilty right now?' 

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Victor pulled it out and saw a message from Eliza. 

Eliza: [Victor, maybe this isn't my place, but I can't let Mrs. Powell keep hiding this from you. Turns out, she only got close to you because your father paid her.] 

Attached below were two photos–one of Victor's father, Albert, handing Serena a check, and another of Serena passing that check to a man Victor didn't recognize. 

Everything suddenly clicked for Victor. All those memories now felt like a setup. He thought, 'And to think I actually believed I owed Serena something. Turns out I was just fooling myself. 

He demanded, "Serena, tell me–why did you approach me in the first place?" 

The question stunned Serena. She murmured, "What are you talking about?" 

Victor waved his hand and stepped toward her, his eyes bloodshot. He grabbed her shoulders tightly, his voice turning sharp. "I'm asking you-did you take money from my dad? You got close to me because of the money. 

"Everything you did to take care of me was fake. It was all for the money, wasn't it?" 

Serena's body started to tremble uncontrollably. She couldn't deny that in the beginning, she had done it for the sake of the orphanage. But over time, her feelings had become real. 

She muttered, "Victor, let me explain. I really do love you. If it was all fake, why would I give birth to Leon? I could've left once you recovered. Why can't  you believe me?" 

"Believe you?" Victor let out a bitter laugh. "I let you stay in the Powell family because I believed you. I married you because I believed you. And now  you're telling me you were only with me for the money?" 

Serena felt like something heavy had slammed straight into her chest.

Serena said, "Yes, I took the money, but I didn't marry you for it. Why can't you believe me just this once?" 

"What a joke. If you can sell yourself for money, what wouldn't you do?" Victor shoved her hard, catching her off guard. Serena's lower back slammed into the edge of the table. The pain made her eyebrows knit together, but Victor didn't care at all. 

He grumbled, "No wonder you kept going after Ellie once she came back. Turns out you were afraid she'd edge you out, afraid you'd be kicked out of the Powell family with nothing. So this was your plan all along" 

The trust he had built over the years completely collapsed in that moment. 

Back then, Eliza's departure had devastated him. But Serena's betrayal now made him feel even more disappointed, Victor thought, briefly believed Serena was just jealous. Turns out it was all about the money! 

Serena shook her head again and again. "No, it's not true. I never did any of that. Eliza framed me. Ever since we got married, I never thought about taking the Powell family's money." 

But now, Victor wouldn't believe a single word from her. He glared at Serena, his fists clenched, trying to suppress the fury boiling inside. 

He grumbled, "Serena, go to the hospital and apologize to Eliza. If you do, I'll act like none of this ever happened. If you don't, I'll divorce you and make sure you don't get a cent." 

Serena stood frozen, stunned. She thought, 'He's actually using divorce to force me to apologize to Eliza? So to him, everything we've been through over the years means nothing compared to her.' 

Serena said, "I won't apologize to Eliza. Victor, I'll say it one last time. I didn't stay for the money. And I didn't push her." 

Maybe it started with the money. But Serena had never done anything to betray Victor. And from today on, she would only live for herself. She wouldn't do anything foolish for anyone else ever again. 

Victor rolled his eyes at Serena, completely unconvinced. "Save your lies for someone else. I'm done believing you. You sold your body for money. You  make me sick. 

"You're nothing compared to Ellie. Take care of that swollen cheek. I'll have someone pick you up and take you to the hospital." 

As Victor turned to leave, Serena quickly followed. But before her hand could even touch him, he quickly stepped away. 

Her outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air, but what he said next hurt her even more. "Don't touch me with those filthy, disgusting hands. Just looking at you makes me want to throw up," Victor snapped. 

At this moment, Serena felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Her throat tightened as if something was lodged there. 

Watching Victor walk away, Serena didn't try to stop him. She had only wanted to clear her name. She hadn't done any of the things he accused her of. 

But then she thought, 'No matter what I say, Victor won't believe me anyway! 

The pain spread from Serena's chest to every part of her body, like countless needles stabbing into her limbs. Her vision the kitchen and cried for a long time, until there were no more tears left to cry. 

She thought, 'Wasn't I already disappointed? I've already packed my things. And Albert will give Victor the divorce papers.' 

She squatted down in.

There was nothing Serena needed to worry about anymore. She took everything that belonged to her from the villa, leaving almost no trace behind. 

Before leaving, Serena went back to the orphanage. When she pushed open the door to the director's office, she saw the director Tiana Brown, who was now well into her fifties, holding a pen and a ledger, frowning in frustration. 

Hearing the door open, Tiana looked up and saw Serena. Her eyes lit up with joy, and she quickly potted Serena down into a seat 

"Seri. What brings you back? I haven't seen you in ages. Why do you look ever skinnier? What happened to your face? Did someone you 

asked. 

Her string of concerned questions made Serena feel a wave of warmth. Serena blinked back the tears and pushed down her emotions, saying its nothing. Some lunatic mistook me for someone else. Tiana, I'm going away for a while. Take this money" 

Serena took a debit card out of her purse. It held the money she had saved up during this time. 

Tiana immediately pushed it back. "No. You've already helped the orphanage so much. I can't take your money again. You should keep it for yourself and take better care of yourself. These days, you can't do anything without money." 

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of myself. Just use this money on the orphanage. Think of it as my small way of helping out." 

"Seri, tell me the truth. Did something happen to you out there?" 

Tiana changed the subject. She could tell something was off with Serena. The sadness in Serena's eyes was hard to ignore. 

Serena replied, "I'm really fine. It's just that I got the chance to study abroad. I gave it up back then, and now I don't want to pass it up again." 

Hearing that, Tiana lit up. "You're going abroad to study? That's a great opportunity. Then I really can't take this money. Going–abroad on your own is hard enough. You can't be short on money." 

Serena smiled and pushed the debit card back again, saying, "I really still have money on me. If you don't take it, I'll have to donate it elsewhere." 

Tiana let out a deep sigh and finally accepted the debit card. "All these years, you're the only one who always thinks about this place." 

Serena pressed her lips together, then finally said what she had to say, "I divorced Victor. Tiana, if anyone comes asking about me after I leave, please don't tell them I went abroad." 

"Divorced?" Tiana's hand paused, and a look of regret crossed her face. She sighed, "You and Victor worked so hard to get married. His illness had mostly healed too, and now you're getting divorced? That's really a shame." 

Serena didn't want to talk about what had happened between her and Victor, and she didn't want Tiana to worry, so she made up a casual excuse. Tiana agreed not to tell anyone. 

After wrapping up things at the orphanage, Serena also sent her resignation letter to the company's email. She had applied in advance, so the resignation process went quickly. She didn't have any burdens left. 

As night fell, Leon clutched his stomach and whined in the hospital room, yelling, "Daddy, my stomach hurts so bad. It's killing me." 

Victor held Leon in his arms and gently rubbed his stomach, noticing how firm it felt. "Why does your stomach suddenly hurt like this?" 

"I don't know. Daddy, it really hurts," Leon said. 

Victor took him to see the doctor and found out Leon had eaten something bad and gotten food poisoning. 

Leon had to stay at the hospital with an IV drip, wincing in pain while still grumbling, "It's all that wretch's fault. I wish Eliza was my mom instead." 

Victor felt awful seeing how pale Leon looked, but he didn't know how to take care of Leon. Serena had always been the one to handle that. 

"I'll ask your mom to come take care of you," Victor spoke. 

Leon protested, "I don't want that wretch." 

Victor frowned. "Don't start." 

Afterward, Victor called Serena. But no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't reach her. 

His expression darkened. He sent her a message, only to find that he had been blocked.

Victor gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. He thought, 'Blocked? Perfect. Serena, you really went all in this time! 

The stench of disinfectant in the hospital made Victor feel suffocated, and seeing Leon hooked up to an IV with his face so pale only made his chest tighten with frustration. 

After finally getting Leon to fall asleep, Victor rubbed his sore shoulders and stood up, ready to head home and grab some clean clothes. 

"Serena, get out here." Victor slammed the front door open, furious, ready to demand why Serena left without saying a word. 

But what greeted him was complete silence. The empty house showed no trace of life. 

Victor's heart dropped. He quickly strode into the bedroom and opened the door. Serena's clothes and makeup products were all gone. Only an empty 

closet and bare bed remained. 

Victor clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall, his knuckles cracking loudly. He pulled out his phone and dialed Serena's number again, but it still went straight to voicemail. 

"Damn it," Victor growled and threw the phone hard onto the bed. He stormed out and drove straight to the company. 

"Where's Serena?" Victor snapped. 

The receptionist jumped at the anger in his voice. "Mr. Powell, Mrs. Powell already resigned." 

"Resigned?" Victor couldn't believe it. "When?" 

"She submitted her resignation a few days ago. Everything's been processed today." 

"A few days ago?" Victor shouted. "Who gave her permission to resign?" 

"It was approved by HR. Mrs. Powell submitted the request, and once the paperwork checked out, it was cleared." 

"Where is she now?" 

"I'm sorry, we don't know." 

Victor stood frozen. He forced himself to stay calm and thought, 'Right now, Leon is what matters most.' 

A few employees walked out of the elevator and happened to catch a glimpse of Victor's furious figure storming off. 

"Hey, did you see that? Mr. Powell looked really pissed just now. I think he's looking for Serena." 

"Yeah, I saw it. But Serena resigned days ago. How's he only finding out now? Aren't they married?" 

"Seri's design skills are top–notch. If it weren't for taking care of the kid and Victor, she should've gotten the design director role a long time ago." 

"It's a shame. Such a talented designer just up and left like that." 

Right then, the design director stepped out of the elevator and overheard them. She sighed and said, "To be honest, with her ability, she should've taken over my position long ago." Back in the hospital room, Leon's soft sobs echoed faintly, Victor's chest tightened. He pushed the door open and stepped in quickly. 

Leon lay in the hospital bed, his face flushed with fever. The tiny hand attached to the IV was gripping the blanket weakly, his pillow soaked in tears. 

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry" A young nurse was trying to soothe him in a gentle voice, but it clearly wasn't working–Leon just cried louder. 

"Daddy, Daddy," Leon mumbled, 

Seeing this, the fire in Victor's chest flared up again. He thought, 'Serena, how can you be so heartless? Leon's this sick and you're still busy throwing a tantrum.' 

He rushed to the bed and scooped Leon into his arms. "It's okay, Leon. Daddy's here." 

Leon clung tightly to Victor's neck. His cries slowly quieted, "Daddy, where did you go? I was scared," Leon sobbed. 

Victor stroked his back, feeling sorry for Leon. "I just went to get some clothes. I'm sorry for leaving you alone." 

The nurse, seeing Victor had returned, was about to leave. 

"Miss, wait." Victor stopped her. "Can I borrow your phone for a second? Mine's broken." 

The nurse hesitated for a moment before handing over her phone. 

"Thank you," Victor said repeatedly, then quickly turned away to dial a number. 

After a few rings, Serena's voice came through. "Hello?" 

"Serena, what the hell are you trying to do? Leon's sick," Victor growled through clenched teeth the moment the call connected. 

On the other end, Serena's fingers tightened slightly around the phone, then her cold voice came slowly. "Since Leon's sick, take good care of him." 

Victor was stunned. "Are you even his mom? He's sick, and you just walked away like it's nothing?" 

Serena said, "Since Leon loves Eliza so much, let her take care of him." 

Hearing the faint sarcasm in Serena's tone, Victor froze. 'Ellie?' he thought. 

In that instant, he understood exactly what Serena meant. "Serena/you-" 

Before he could finish, Leon's complaints rang out beside him. "You wretch, it's all your fault I got sick. Ellie's way better than you. I hate you." 

Victor swallowed his fury and spoke into the phone, "Serena, you'd better come back right now or else-" 

"Or else what?" Serena cut him off. "Victor, stop threatening me. We're divorced." With that, she hung up. 

The busy tone on the other end made Victor's face twist with rage. 'Serena, you're really something else,' he thought. 

It was a long moment before he took a deep breath and picked up his own phone, dialing another number. "Hi. Yes, I need a caregiver. The most professional one you've got." 

Only after arranging for Leon's care did Victor slump down in the chair by the hospital bed, completely drained. 

Back then, whenever Leon got sick, Serena was the one who took care of everything. Now, Victor finally realized just how exhausting it was to look after a 

sick child. 

The next day, Eliza showed up at the hospital room with a gift basket after hearing that Leon was sick. She stood at the door, looking worried. "How's Leon doing?" 

Seeing how worn out Victor looked, she felt bad for him. "Vic, you have take care of yourself too." 

Victor forced a small smile, " 

fine, just a little tired. Ellie, why are you here? You're still recovering–I told you to rest." 

"I'm okay. I heard Leon was sick and got worried, so I came to check on him." Eliza walked over to the bed and gently stroked Leon's face. 

Then she turned to Victor. 

Mrs. Powell? I haven't seen her." 

Victor shook his head. "No idea. And I don't care. She blocked me." 

A dark glint passed through Eliza's eyes, and her brows quickly knitted together. "How did that happen? Did Mrs. Powell misunderstand something? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have moved in." 

Victor reached out and gently held her shoulders to comfort her, saying, "It's not your fault. This has nothing to do with you." 

Eliza lowered her head, looking guilty. "Maybe Oliver and I should move out soon. Vic, we can't keep causing you trouble." 

Victor's eyes rested on her slightly bowed head. "Ellie, this isn't your fault," he remarked, holding her hand with concern. 

Eliza sighed, "But Vic, I don't want to come between your family. Maybe I should stop seeing you altogether." 

Victor suddenly panicked and gripped her hand tighter. "Ellie, don't say that. Serena's the one who kept going after you and even pushed you down the stairs. She crossed the line." 

Eliza lifted her head, her eyes filled with tears. "But-" 

Victor cut in, "No buts. You're not going anywhere. I want to see how much longer Serena plans to keep acting like this."

That night, Victor received a package at the hospital.

Inside was a set of documents.

At the very top

A divorce agreement. Already signed.

His grip tightened as his eyes dropped to the bottom of the page. Serena's name was there, written cleanly and without hesitation.

A small note slipped out and fell to the floor.

Victor picked it up.

"I gave you seven years," it read. "Now I'm giving myself a chance to live."

For the first time, something in his chest cracked.