"Simon, just let Harper go, okay? I'm alright. It doesn't bother me that I got a cold that almost paralyzed me.  Don’t let me be the reason your wife and child suffer…”

Before I could finish my words, Janet cut in. As she snuggled in Simon's arms and tears welled in her eyes, she said again, "But Simon, don't worry too much. Though I went to the hospital that day, I saw it all on the surveillance footage. The child stayed in the air-conditioned room for hours. Later, maybe he cried nonstop from the cold, but nothing else happened...”

Nearly paralyzed? Cried for hours? She practically ran out that day and after she left, I rushed my son to the hospital immediately.

"She's lying! Our home surveillance system's app is connected to your phone. Verify it for yourself!"

But before I could finish, his expression darkened. He lowered the ladder and barked an order, "Guys! Strip her and the child naked! That woman never tells the truth. Today I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget!”

As the helicopter descended, Simon hurriedly pulled Janet closer. His eyes never left mine as he adjusted her clothes.

"Tell me … you made up about my son's illness, didn't you? Just to win my favor, you even used your own son! You're so disgusting, Harper! You've made many mistakes already, so if you don't sincerely admit your fault today, you can stay there!”

Then he bent and cupped Janet's face. His eyes filled with tenderness. "Janet, as long as I'm alive, I'll never let you suffer injustice. Don't be afraid.”

Just as he helped Janet sit down, his men rushed toward me in a frenzy. They eyed me up and down, grinning lewdly as they tore off my thin clothes.

With my son clutched in my arms, I kept retreating backward, but no matter how hard I tried, my strength was no match with several men.

They shoved me and snatched my son. Then stripped away his last piece of clothing and tossed him straight onto the ice. Instantly, my son's heartbreaking cries entered my ears, though it was clearly weaker than before.

Panic seized me. I stumbled and crawled toward him.

My bare skin stuck to the ice, each movement tearing away chunks of flesh, but I was too focused to care. I kept dragging myself forward like a madman, while leaving a long trail of blood behind me.

My son was also stuck firmly to the ice, so every time I moved him, the pain made him cry even harder.

As I tried to soothe him, I was lying beside him as an attempt to melt the ice beneath him with my body heat…

Minutes later, the ground beneath me was soaked in blood.

Clearly, Simon saw this because he pushed Janet away from his arms and leaned down to glance at my son. Just when he was about to speak, Janet slid down the ladder and pleaded, "Harper, just admit your wrongdoing. Men have their pride. With all these brothers here today, if you don’t apologize, how will Simon ever show his face again?"

I grabbed her by the collar, glared at her and screamed, "What should I admit? My son is in the ICU because of you! Do you dare ask Simon to pull up the surveillance footage from that day right now? Only a fool like him would believe such a pathetic lie!”

“You said you were paralyzed? Show me your medical record!”

Simon had followed downstairs. Hearing my words, his gaze toward Janet held a hint of unreadable emotion.

But at that moment, Janet suddenly slipped off her coat and dropped to her knees beside me with a loud thud. Then she slapped her own face violently. "Simon, this is all my fault. Hurry up … take Harper home. Don't fight with her because of me …."

"But, Simon, I'm telling the truth. I’ll kneel right here. In a few hours, when I’m paralyzed on this ice, you’ll finally believe me …”

The hesitation in his eyes immediately turned into heartache. He rushed forward, lifted Janet with tender care, his face full of anguish. Then he looked at me with cold eyes. "Harper! You really know how to twist black into white. If I didn’t protect her, a kind soul like Janet would’ve been bullied to death by you! And even now, you’re still so defiant—don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Spinning around, he barked another order with an icy voice, “Guys! Release that polar bear from the cage! Let it have a good time!”

A burst of laughter erupted from behind him.

“Well, well, we’ve never seen a polar bear play with humans before! Thanks to your wife, we’re about to get a real show!”

Then they rushed toward the massive iron cage.

Just before the cage's door opened, a timid female's voice suddenly piped up from behind, "Simon, my dad saw polar bears during his expeditions. They’re violent creatures. If they smell blood, they really will eat people. Look—your wife and child are both covered in blood. If you release it, someone could actually die…”

Simon immediately gestured for the man at the cage door to stop. When he was about to speak, a faint, pitiful sob sounded from beside him. "Just forget it, Simon. I don’t care if I end up paralyzed in bed. I’m just worried about the child in my belly…”

"On that day, I just found out I was pregnant, Harper threw me out. Maybe she was angry about that …”

Pregnant? I had no idea this bitch was pregnant!

I did not have a chance to explain when Simon's face darkened and he roared at the men near the gate, "Open the cage!"

The next second, that two-meter-tall monster charged toward me and my son.

Meanwhile, Simon pulled Janet onto the helicopter and wrapped her protectively in his arms. As he watched me running frantically with my son in my arms, a burst of cruel laughter came from his mouth.

"Harper!  Let’s see how tough you really are! You tried to harm Janet and now you want to kill the child in her womb. Everything you suffered today—you brought on yourself!”

Sprinting desperately across the ice, my lungs were about to explode.

Seeing this, Janet tried to interfere timidly again, but Simon silenced her with a glare. “Enough! I’ve already prepared a medical helicopter. Nothing will happen. But if you say one more word, you’ll be thrown down there with her!”

Terrified, she shrank back and didn’t dare speak again.

Sniffing the scent of blood, the polar bear went berserk.  Seeing this, I frantically rubbed snow onto my body while sprinting like a madman.

Though the blood scent faded from my skin, it was still on my feet. With every stride, another layer of the soles of my feet was ripped off by the ice.

The bear followed the trail of my bloody footprints, roaring louder as it charged after us.

The freezing cold and blood loss made my head spin.

Finally, when my body gave out and I collapsed onto the ice, I could only watch helplessly as the bear lunged at me.

Clutching Leo, I rolled over swiftly, baring my back to the bear. A second later, a paw bigger than my face crashed into my back.

Slash!

The sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard vividly in my ear. As the claw raked across my spine, blood poured down my back like a stream.

Since I wanted to use my warm blood to give a bit of heat to my son in my arms, I arched my back hard, trying to draw out more blood.

I thought my son could feel the impact of the warmth, but …. nothing. So, I placed my hand under his nose, but … surprisingly … there was no breath at all.

I staggered and yelled toward the helicopter, "Simon! My son died! Even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs! You're a beast! Even if we die, we won't let you off the hook!"

My furious roar stunned him. He ordered the helicopter to descend rapidly. When he saw the vast pool of red mud, his expression changed instantly.

Just as he was about to speak, someone behind him suddenly stepped forward to report, "Simon, we just got a reply to the message that Harper had sent. It said … in one hour, we'll meet our end."

This news completely blew his composure. His finger pointed at me, crawling on the ground and yelled sternly, "Harper! What did you do? How could you possibly receive a reply?"

My eyes blazed crimson as I fixed my gaze on him. "Coward! Are you scared now? Don’t ask how I did it—that message was spot on! Within the hour, you’ll all meet the Grim Reaper! Scumbag!"

For the first time, fear entered Simon's furious eyes and he fell silent.

But Janet stepped forward suddenly and pointed at me, tears of sadness in her eyes. "Harper! What are you doing? I was the one who bought that equipment… There is no message it can't stop! You and Simon are family. What good comes from scaring him like this?”

Then she turned and grabbed Simon's hand. "Simon, bring your wife on board. You promised no one would ever bully me again. I’ll take this as a joke, I don’t mind being wronged, as long as you’re okay…”

Her words made Simon's eyes fill with fury. He barked orders to the people behind him, "You! You like throwing knives, right? Use her as a target. Whoever hits her will receive one and a half million dollars as a reward!"

"Fly this helicopter close! Let's have fun!”

A deafening cheer erupted overhead and the next second, countless blades rained through the air.

My back was severely wounded and I couldn't stand up. So, all I could do was roll on the ground to dodge the blades, but with the child in my arms, I did not dare to make any wild movements.

One after another, five knives plunged straight into my legs and ribs. When the wounded area instantly turned black, I immediately realized the knives were poisoned.

When one of the blades pierced my ribs, I rolled over, but the blade tore straight through my abdomen and drove into my son's back.

Immediately, a piercing wail erupted from my arms.

Seeing my son covered in blood, I completely broke down. "Simon! Pull me up, right now! Get us to the hospital! This knife is poisoned! Son, Leo ... can't hold on much longer!"

Though there was still a trace of anger in Simon's eyes, that piercing wail made him momentarily dazed.

He pulled out his binoculars and looked in my direction. Seeing the floor covered in black blood, he completely lost his composure. Then he grabbed the person behind him and questioned him.