Chapter 3

Scarlett POV

Cold.

An icy, piercing chill radiated from the marble floor, threatening to freeze my blood.

I didn't know how long I'd been unconscious. I only knew that when I woke, the mansion was still empty.

Only a dark red stain of dried blood on the floor reminded me of what had just happened.

Leo had cried himself to sleep beside me, his little flushed face still streaked with tears.

I propped up my weak body, carried the child to bed, and put a fever patch on him.

Then I took out a syringe and a hemostatic agent from the medicine cabinet, skillfully found my vein, and inserted the needle.

Long illness makes one a doctor.

Someone unloved like me, for the sake of my child, could only desperately cling to life.

Just as I pulled out the needle and pressed a cotton swab to the injection site, the mansion door was unlocked and pushed open.

James was back.

But he wasn't alone.

Behind him, Serena walked in, smiling innocently.

"Scarlett, I'm so sorry."

Serena intimately hooked her arm through James's, her posture very much like the lady of the house. "My house's wiring suddenly broke, and I couldn't find anyone to fix it on Christmas Eve. James was worried about me being alone in the dark, so he suggested I stay here for the night. You don't mind, do you?"

I wasn't an idiot.

She said "stay" but the triumph and provocation in her eyes were almost overflowing.

Before I could speak, James commanded me, "You'll sleep in the guest room tonight."

He pointed towards the master bedroom and told Serena, "Serena, you take the master bedroom. It gets good light, and you're afraid of the dark."

How ironic.

This was James and my marital home, and now, for another woman, he was openly kicking me out of our master bedroom.

Just then, a small figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

Leo had been woken up. He rubbed his eyes as he walked down. Seeing James, his eyes lit up, and he timidly called out, "Daddy..."

James's face instantly darkened.

He frowned in disgust, looking at Leo as if he were trash.

"Where did this bastard come from? He's so loud."

The word "bastard" felt like three red-hot needles, stabbing straight into my eardrums.

That was his biological son!

His own flesh and blood, sharing his blood!

I rushed over in a panic, shielding Leo tightly behind me, my heart pounding.

"He...he's a relative's child. No one was home, so I'm watching him for a few days."

I couldn't let him know Leo's identity.

Absolutely not.

I knew James had been looking for a special bone marrow for Serena's "genetic optimization therapy" to eradicate her genetic disease.

And Leo's various indicators perfectly matched Serena's.

If James knew, he would undoubtedly snatch the child away, using Leo as Serena's "living donor"!

Serena scrutinized Leo with interest, then suddenly walked forward, bent down, and put on a fake smile.

"Oh, what a cute little boy."

I watched as she used her long nails to viciously pinch Leo's arm.

Before I could intervene, Leo, caught completely off guard, burst into tears from the sharp pain.

Serena immediately straightened up, a hand pressed to her chest in feigned surprise. "What a temper this child has! I only wanted to touch him.."

James's patience completely ran out.

He looked at me coldly, scolding sharply, "Control your child! Make him shut up! Otherwise, I'll throw him out of here!"

I could only frantically cover Leo's mouth, carrying him back to his room upstairs.

When I came back downstairs, I witnessed a scene that made my blood run cold.

The small white pill bottle I'd left on the coffee table - a special, life-saving medicine for Leo that I'd pulled countless strings to get from abroad.

Now, it was in the mouth of Serena's poodle, Prince, being chewed like a toy.

The bottle was bitten open, white pills scattered everywhere.

The dog extended its tongue, licking them with relish.

Serena giggled beside it, even taking out her phone to snap photos.

"These calcium tablets taste good, don't they? Look how much our dog loves them."

Calcium tablets?

That was Leo's life!

"Don't touch it!" I rushed over like a madwoman, trying to snatch the pills from the dog's mouth.

But James shoved me away.

My lower back hit the sharp corner of the coffee table with a heavy thud, the sharp pain instantly making me double over, cold sweat breaking out.

James looked down at me, his eyes full of contempt.

"It's just a bottle of calcium tablets, is that really necessary?"

"I'll have someone buy you a whole box tomorrow."

A whole box?

He didn't know this medicine was globally limited, priceless.

He didn't know his own son could die without it at any moment.

He knew nothing.

He only knew Serena had cut her finger, and Serena's dog needed "calcium tablets."

And my child, his own child, was less to him than that dog.