Rylee’s POV

The day I was discharged from the hospital after my miscarriage happened to be Vlad Armstrong’s birthday. I kept it a secret from everyone and brought gifts home, wanting to surprise him.

I bought his favorite flowers and a watch, then rushed back excitedly. Before I could even push the door open, deafening music and laughter crashed into me, stabbing at my eardrums.

The living room was brightly lit, with streamers and balloons covering the ceiling.

Friends gathered together, chatting and laughing.

Madeline was wearing a dazzling silk gown, her cheeks flushed.

Vlad had one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close as he kissed her.

My hand froze on the door handle. My entire body went rigid, a loud buzzing filling my ears as overwhelming nausea and helplessness swallowed me whole.

The man I had loved for so many years… was actually involved with my own younger sister.

The people around them laughed and egged them on.

“To keep Rylee—that walking blood bank—by his side, Vlad went all out acting like a hero saving a damsel. He made her fall in love step by step, then trapped her completely.”

“What a pity. Once Maddie’s illness is cured, Rylee won’t be useful anymore. Vlad will definitely throw her out like a dog.”

Madeline leaned shyly into Vlad’s arms. Her voice was soft and sweet, yet laced with smugness and cruelty.

“Of course, I’m the one Vlad has always loved. But honestly, my sister really is stupid.

“The first time, we lied and said her prenatal checkup failed, and she had her six‑month‑old baby induced.

“The second time, we told her the baby was stillborn, and she believed it.

“The third time, we gave her some pills, set her up to fall when she went out, and she even blamed herself for failing to protect her child.”

Vlad lowered his head lovingly and gently rubbed her hair.

“She and those two children existed only to cure your illness. I just want you healthy. I will only ever have children with you.”

In that instant, my mind went completely blank. I couldn’t breathe. It felt like the world spun violently around me.

So my three children hadn’t died by accident at all… They were murdered—by their own biological father!

That day, I had begged Vlad to go see a stage play with me. After much pestering, he finally agreed.

But when it ended and we were walking down the steps, I slipped and fell, tumbling down.

My forehead was smashed open, blood everywhere. I was hemorrhaging badly below.

I was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

The doctors issued a critical notice and needed a family member to sign.

But Vlad’s phone could never be reached.

Enduring excruciating pain with every movement, I desperately begged the doctors to save my baby.

This was a child I had risked half my life to conceive—a child Vlad and I had longed for.

When I woke up again, Vlad was standing by my bed, his brows furrowed, his eyes full of pain and guilt.

He bent down and kissed my lips, then gently stroked my eyes, apologizing over and over.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. If I’d been with you, the accident wouldn’t have happened. If I had picked up your call, our baby could have been saved.”

I stared at him emptily as tears streamed down uncontrollably.

I blamed myself again and again. Why did I insist on going out?

Did I trip on my dress?

Were my shoes not slip‑resistant?

Why didn’t I hold the railing properly on the stairs?

During that time, I hated myself countless times.

I had already lost two children. How could I still fail to protect this one?

Vlad stayed by my side every day, comforting me.

“Don’t blame yourself. We’ll still have children.”

The more I thought about it, the more it felt like my head was about to explode.

All three waves of pain crashed down on me at once.

I had to grab the wall just to steady myself.

A metallic taste surged up my throat.

The loving man before my eyes overlapped with the man in my memories.

All those moments of love replayed before me.

At twenty, he charged alone into an abandoned building to save me after I was kidnapped. The kidnapper’s knife missed his heart by barely a centimeter.

Yet he covered my eyes and said softly, “Rylee, don’t be afraid.”

At twenty‑two, when my parents forced me to be Madeline’s blood donor and I argued with them until my heart condition relapsed, he willingly lost billions and cut off a major partnership with my family’s company just to stand up for me.

At twenty‑four, when he learned I was pregnant, he was ecstatic. He gave me the best of everything in the world.

He picked names for our baby, decorated the nursery with me, and dreamed of our future together.

But it was all fake!

Risking his life to save me was a setup.

Marrying me was to trap me by his side.

Looking forward to each child was for drawing blood.

He never loved me. He was only using me and my unborn children to save Madeline’s life!

And the man she claimed to have loved for years was not someone else at all.

It was Vald, my very husband!

Before I could even catch my breath, my parents came downstairs, smiling brightly.

Madeline ran over happily and kissed them on the cheeks.

Suddenly, Mom’s expression darkened, as if she’d thought of something unpleasant.

“If Rylee had agreed to the blood transfusion earlier, you wouldn’t have had to wait for those two children and suffer for so long. She’s really bad luck.”

“If she weren’t still useful, I would’ve kicked her out of the family long ago,” she continued. “The position of Mrs. Armstrong should have been yours.”

Madeline tugged at Mom’s hand, putting on an obedient act.

“It’s okay, Mom. Today’s a happy day. Let’s not talk about unpleasant things.”

Everyone in the room chimed in, offering their congratulations to Madeline and Vlad.

So my parents knew, too.

I leaned against the ice‑cold doorframe.

That metallic taste surged up my throat again, and I swallowed it down forcefully.

All that remained in my heart was raging fury, despair, and bone‑deep pain.

I turned and ran away as fast as I could. My mind was filled with their voices, their faces.

Only when I reached a street corner did I finally stop, gasping for air.

As I stood there, lost and shaken, a man’s name suddenly surfaced in my mind.

I wiped away my tears, took out my phone, and dialed a number.

He answered instantly, sounding surprised.

“Miss Winters?”

I forced down my sobs and spoke. “This is Rylee. I want to make a deal with you. Or call it a partnership.”

He paused, then laughed.

“Did Vlad send you? Trying to ruin me again like five years ago?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“No. Back then, he drove you into bankruptcy, and your mother unalived herself. Now, he’s deceived me, betrayed me, and killed my children.

“I believe the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I’ll help you find evidence to bring Vlad down. In return, help me take over Winters Corporation, and get me out of New York.”

The man on the other end chuckled softly.

“Deal. I look forward to working with you, Miss Winters. See you in one month.”

After hanging up, I sent my lawyer a message.

[Please draft a divorce agreement for me.]

Then I turned off my phone and walked back toward home.

This time, I will live for myself.

And I will make them atone for the children I lost. I will make them pay the price for everything they’ve done!

Rylee's POV

After hanging up, I crouched on the roadside, crying until I was utterly exhausted, until I was completely exhausted. Only then did I stagger forward.

I hadn’t taken more than a few steps when dizziness hit me, sudden and overwhelming, and I fainted without warning.

When I woke up, I was lying in bed. My face still bore the wounds from hitting the curb when I collapsed.

Vlad sat at the bedside, worry etched on his face. “Rylee, does anything hurt?”

I stared at him, feeling disoriented. Was the man I saw earlier really him, or just a hallucination?

I raised my hand, wanting to touch his face as I usually did. But before my fingers could reach him, he recoiled instinctively.

The next moment, Madeline approached me, a faintly mocking smile tugging at her lips.

“Rylee, your body’s way too weak. Just one miscarriage and you’re fainting every day. How are you still going to carry on Vlad’s family line?”

Her words pierced me like needles.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, forcing down the rising anger. My voice came out cold and sharp.

“If I can’t do it, maybe you should try.”

“You—”

Her face suddenly went pale. She opened her mouth to snap back but suddenly clutched her chest, gasping violently.

Her brows knitted tightly, her body trembling as if she were about to faint.

Vlad’s expression darkened instantly when he saw her like that. He jumped up and rushed to support her.

His eyes were full of concern as he steadied her. Then, he glared at me with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

“Rylee, you know Maddie’s health is delicate. She can’t handle stress, so why did you have to provoke her like that?”

Watching him defend Madeline without a second thought, I felt absurd and bitter, a taste of humiliation rising in my throat.

“Me? Provoke her? Vlad, get it straight—I’m the one lying here! I’m the one who lost my baby!”

The moment my words fell, my parents came rushing in. Seeing Madeline’s frail state, they immediately pointed at me and yelled.

“Rylee! What’s gotten into you? You couldn’t keep your own child, and now, you’re taking it out on your sister? How did we raise someone so cruel?!”

I looked at the three people I was closest to, seeing nothing but their defense of Madeline. In their eyes, I was a monster.

A rush of hurt and injustice swept over me.

I laughed bitterly, though tears welled up uncontrollably.

When we were children, Madeline was always sickly. My parents would say, “You’re the older one; you must give way to your sister.”

So I gave her my toys, my favorite treats, even my room and my hobbies. If she liked it, it was hers, no questions asked.

When I grew older, I thought Vlad would be my salvation.

He loved me, protected me, made me his one and only, and planned a future for me.

I thought I had finally found my happiness. But in the end, it was all a lie.

The one he loved was not me but Madeline.

My heart felt ripped apart, the pain so sharp I could barely breathe.

I took a deep breath, wiped the tears from my face, and watched them leave.

The next day, I checked myself out of the hospital. The divorce papers from my lawyer had also arrived.

I took my stuff and returned to the home Vlad and I had shared.

Opening the door, the living room scene froze me in place.

Madeline sat on the couch, frowning slightly every day while Vlad carefully fed her medicine.

Then he offered her a piece of fruit candy, speaking to her with tender affection.

“See? Not bitter anymore.”

The sight stabbed at me, almost blinding me with its intensity. I had never experienced such care and love.

When I was sick and complained the medicine tasted bitter, he would frown and coldly say, “Good medicine tastes bitter.”

He always told me I was grown-up.

But now, he pampered Madeline like she was a child.

I wanted to rush forward and drag them to hell. But I forced myself to breathe deeply, stay calm, and gripped the divorce papers tightly.

“Someone who didn’t know might think you two are married!” I said.

Hearing my voice, Vlad froze, a flicker of panic crossing his face before he quickly suppressed it.

“Maddie is your younger sister. I also treat her like my sister. Don’t think like that, okay?”

I scoffed, walked up to him, and handed him the papers, pretending to be casual.

“Relax, I’m just joking. I know I shouldn’t have provoked Maddie yesterday. This is a gift I was planning to buy her. The amount is a bit large, so I need your signature.”

Vlad eyed me suspiciously but took the papers to look them over.

Suddenly, Madeline began coughing violently, her face pale, the sound heart-wrenching.

Just like that, Vlad rushed to her side. “Maddie, are you feeling unwell again? Come, let’s go to the hospital.”

He tried to take her with him. I quickly intervened.

“Vlad, just sign. It’ll only take a second.”

He signed hastily and, cradling Madeline, rushed out the door without so much as a glance at me.

I stared at the sloppy signature on the divorce papers, a chill running through me.

The marriage he had begged for thousands of times was now over in a single instant.

Rylee’s POV

The day after that, Vlad didn’t come back.

In the photo Madeline posted on her Facebook, Vlad was sitting gently by her hospital bed, his gaze filled with an affection so deep it seemed impossible to melt away.

The next day was my twenty-fifth birthday.

My parents—who had never once thrown me a birthday party—had surprisingly arranged a celebration early that morning.

All because Madeline’s make-up celebration just happened to fall on the same day.

That morning, I stood quietly in a plain white dress in the corner, watching Madeline surrounded by guests at the center of the room.

My parents were busy greeting people, but Vlad and Madeline were nowhere to be seen.

A strange tightness seized my chest. I wanted to go to the bathroom, splash some water on my face, and calm myself down.

I had just reached the door when obscene panting and hushed whispers drifted out from inside.

Madeline’s voice was soft and coquettish.

“Vlad… you’re so bad!”

Vlad was breathing heavily, his voice low and seductive.

“Maddie, wait a little longer. Once you’re completely better, we’ll get married. I’ll give you a grand wedding.”

Then came a long, suppressed groan.

My stomach churned violently. Nausea surged up as I clapped a hand over my mouth and stumbled into the garden.

I don’t know how much time passed before Madeline’s voice sounded behind me.

Her cheeks were still flushed. Holding a glass of champagne, she walked over and leaned close to my ear, letting out a soft laugh.

“Rylee, did you like the sound of Vlad and me being so loving? Why did you run off so fast?”

I took a sharp breath, clenching my fists so hard my nails dug into my flesh.

She smiled and continued mocking me.

“Vlad said you’ve miscarried three times. That you’re all loose and saggy now. It disgusts him.

“Every time after he sleeps with you, he washes himself for a long time. He even kneels in front of me, begging me not to be angry.

“Oh, but you should thank me. If I didn’t need your blood, you wouldn’t even qualify to be Mrs. Armstrong. You should be grateful that you—and your children—still had some use.”

Every single word stabbed into my heart like a sharp blade.

Scenes from the past flooded my mind.

Ever since childhood, whenever Madeline got sick, my parents would force me to go to the hospital to give blood, calling it ‘preparing a blood reserve’ for her.

And Vlad… Only now did I realize that he had long been involved with the sister I hated most.

Marrying me was nothing more than a way to keep me close, so my blood would always be available for Madeline.

My entire body trembled. The rage inside me finally broke free. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

The sound was so loud that people inside the living room all turned to look at us.

Madeline covered her face, staring at me in disbelief.

She never expected me to actually hit her. From when we were young to now, I had always been the one who swallowed everything.

Her eyes reddened instantly, tears falling like beads from a broken string.

“Y-You actually dared to hit me?!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, a flash of viciousness crossed her eyes.

She turned and somehow pulled out a fruit knife, plunging it into her own arm without hesitation.

Blood instantly soaked her long dress as she screamed in terror.

Before I could even react, she shoved the knife into my hand.

Vlad rushed over at the sound, catching Madeline just as she was about to faint and pulling her into his arms.

She cried hysterically.

“Vlad! It hurts so much... Rylee… She… she tried to kill me!”

Vlad completely panicked. He tore open his shirt and pressed it against her bleeding arm.

My parents rushed over, too. When Mom saw the wound on Madeline’s arm, she let out a shrill scream and pointed at my nose, cursing wildly.

“Rylee?! You heartless lunatic! Maddie kindly threw you a birthday party, and you actually tried to kill her!”

Dad’s face was livid, his eyes blazing with fury. He stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face.

The force sent me crashing straight to the ground. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.

Vlad looked down at me from above, his face twisted with rage.

“Apologize!”

I wiped the blood from my lips, lifted my head, and met his eyes. My voice was icy.

“I didn’t do it! Why should I apologize?”

He exploded instantly, reaching out and ripping the necklace from my neck.

My eyes immediately went wide open, completely forgetting the pain as my skin was scratched raw.

That necklace was made from the ashes of my deceased child. It was my birthday gift to myself.

It was the only thing I planned to take with me when I left this place.

I stood up and lunged to grab it, but he shoved me away.

Holding the necklace, he lowered it slowly toward the bonfire.

“Rylee, I’ll give you one last chance. Apologize.”

The flames began to lick at the necklace bit by bit. I screamed hoarsely.

“Don’t! Vlad! That was your child, too!”

But he didn’t hesitate, continuing what he was doing.

Like a madwoman, I turned toward Madeline.

“I’m sorry, Madeline. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I ran toward the fire.

Just as I was about to catch the necklace, Madeline collapsed behind me.

Seeing this, Vlad immediately threw the necklace aside and sprinted toward her.