Chapter 5

Scarlett POV

I don't know how I stumbled out of the Vance family's estate.

I sped through countless intersections, driving my car like a trapped beast trying to break free from its cage, rushing to the hospital.

The emergency room lights were stark and blinding.

Leo's tiny body lay on the hospital bed, hooked up to various tubes, the cardiac monitor beeping faintly and rapidly.

"Oh, God..."

I knelt on the cold floor, hands clasped, praying to whatever divine power might be listening.

"Please, please don't take him away... take my life instead, I beg you..."

The ER doctor walked over with the test results, his expression grave.

"The patient's condition is critical. He's lost too much blood and needs an immediate transfusion. But he has an extremely rare RH-negative AB blood type. Our hospital's blood bank is completely depleted, and neighboring blood banks are also running low."

Running low.

Those two words hit me like a sledgehammer, shattering my last shred of hope.

The doctor hesitated, then added, "To my knowledge, the only place in the entire city that might have this blood type in reserve is Dr. Vance's private blood bank. He keeps it for special situations."

James.

Again, James.

Fate, like a wicked joke, pinned me down and crushed me repeatedly.

I trembling took out my phone, dialing the number I knew by heart, over and over.

"Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is busy, please try again later..."

"Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is busy..."

The cold, robotic voice pushed me deeper into the abyss, time and time again.

I didn't give up.

Over a dozen times.

Dozens of times.

Finally, the call connected.

But the voice on the other end was a soft, feminine one.

It was Serena.

"Hello? Oh, it's you? James's in the shower, so he can't answer right now. Is something wrong? You can tell me, I'll pass it on."

Her deliberately intimate tone was like a poisoned knife, dealing another cruel blow to my already bleeding heart.

I hung up directly and rushed out of the hospital.

Guided by memory, I sped to James's usual private club.

I kicked open the VIP lounge door.

The room was softly lit.

James, wearing a bathrobe, his hair still dripping wet, was holding a brochure, quietly explaining something to Serena.

Serena leaned against him, pointing at pictures in the brochure, laughing easily and happily.

They were choosing beauty treatments.

How utterly ironic.

My son was teetering between life and death at the hospital.

And here he was, with another woman, discussing how to make herself more perfect.

"James!"

My voice was hoarse, almost unrecognizable.

"The hospital! Leo is dying at the hospital! He needs a blood transfusion! I'm begging you, release the blood from your private blood bank for him!"

I rushed to grab him, but I was blocked by the people beside him.

James slowly looked up at me.

His eyes were cold and distant, as if he were looking at an unreasonable lunatic.

"For that child?"

After hearing my words, his tone was flat, even tinged with cold mockery.

He stood up, slowly adjusting the lapel of his bathrobe.

"Unfortunately, that batch of blood is already earmarked."

"Serena is having a laser scar removal surgery tomorrow; we need to have blood ready to ensure everything goes perfectly."

I couldn't believe my ears.

"Scar removal? She's just having scar removal! My child will die! That's a human life!"

A clear look of impatience finally appeared on his face.

He walked up to me, looking down at me.

His voice was as cold as a lifeless winter wind.

"The scar on her arm was from saving me years ago."

"In my world, any surgery for her is the highest priority, with no risks allowed."

He paused for a moment, then, with an eerily calm tone, spoke the most cruel words.

"As for that child's life or death, it has nothing to do with me."

Nothing to do with me...

My mind went blank with a loud ringing sound.

I broke free and lunged at him like a madwoman, trying to snatch the access card for the blood bank from his pocket.

But he easily dodged me.

I was once again pinned firmly to the cold floor.

"Stop acting crazy."

He spat out those three cold words, his tone filled with disgust.

I lay on the floor, looking at his hands.

Looking at his familiar yet alien face.

Suddenly, I laughed.

Laughed until tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

I looked up, my vision filled with a deadly silence.

"James."

I spoke each word distinctly. "You will regret this."

"You will definitely regret this."

"Until the end of your life, you will regret everything you've done today, to the point of unbearable pain."