Chapter 3

I endured the dizziness, hurrying home in a panic. The moment I pushed the door open, Leo flung himself into my arms, his soft, rosy face covered in purple bruises. Tears streamed down his small cheeks, scalding my heart.

I hugged Leo tightly, looking at the man and woman before me, grief and fury surging within me.

“Liam, how could you do this to your own son! You’re a monster!”

Liam scoffed, looking at me as if I were the unforgivable villain.

“Get out, you and that bastard! I won’t give you two a single cent!”

Scarlett smirked triumphantly, her eyes darting around slyly as her seemingly delicate hand caressed Liam’s shoulder.

“Liam, honey, I heard a mystic say there’s a way to trade a life for a life. If one boy is gone, another can be born.”

“Leo isn’t even your child anyway, and I’m ready to have a baby now. Should we try it?”

At her words, my entire body trembled. I stood up, raising my hand to slap Scarlett. But Liam’s grip clamped down on my hand. He kicked Leo, sending him sprawling to the floor, where he curled up in pain. My eyes turned bloodshot, and even my fingertips trembled.

“Liam, you can’t do this! Leo is your biological son!”

But he only sneered, then summoned his bodyguards to throw Leo and me out like stray dogs.

The biting autumn wind was bone-chilling. Leo, dressed in thin clothes, shivered from the cold. His small face was red, filled with sorrow.

“Mommy, did Leo do something wrong? Is that why Daddy doesn’t like me and Mommy anymore…?”

My nose stung. I knelt down and hugged his small body.

“Leo, Mommy and Daddy are getting divorced. Will you stay with Mommy?”

Sadness clouded his face, but to comfort me, he forced a smile and nodded.

“Okay, Leo likes being with Mommy.”

Listening to my five-year-old son’s words, too mature for his age, my fingertips turned white. A wave of crushing disappointment washed over me.

*Liam, you said you’d love and protect me my whole life.*

I held his small hand, walking slowly along the road, unsure where we were going. Suddenly, turning a corner, we saw a group of menacing men, staring straight at Leo. My heart seized with fear. I scooped Leo into my arms and ran for my life.

The next second, the men grabbed my arm.