Chapter 3

I sank into the bathtub, my lower body screaming in burning agony. My face was ashen, and I stared blankly at my horribly deformed left foot.

From now on, I’d be crippled for life.

I lay in bed, unable to sleep all night.

I watched the sky outside gradually lighten. Suddenly, I heard faint sounds.

Curiosity stirred. I sat up, limped downstairs, and saw the living room TV was on, broadcasting the city’s top news story.

I stood in the living room, frozen. The news headline on the screen read: “Former Vance Enterprises Head Dies of Heart Attack at Home.”

The reporter’s camera panned to a sobbing young girl.

It was Willow, my little sister.

My ears roared. Tears blurred my vision, but I kept my gaze fixed on her frail figure.

How could this be?

My mother’s health had been improving, hadn’t it? Why would she have a heart attack now?

And Willow… she wasn’t even an adult yet. How would she survive out there, all alone?

Without thinking, I tried to rush out, but the bodyguards outside pushed me back. No matter what I said, they wouldn’t let me leave.

Not until evening, when Dax returned.

The TV was still on, playing the evening news, filling the silent living room with a strange clamor.

Hearing footsteps, I looked up, staring directly at Dax as he entered.

I didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt like a stranger. I’d loved Dax for over a decade, but when had he changed like this?

Dax walked over, and a sharp slap landed across my face.

My head snapped to the side from the impact. I heard Dax’s voice above me, cold and unforgiving. “You don’t deserve to look at me like that.”

A red, swollen handprint bloomed on my pale cheek. I felt no pain, only stared at him with wide, empty eyes.

“My mother… did you kill her?”

Dax met my gaze. “She deserved it. If she hadn’t forced Seraphina away, Seraphina never would have broken up with me!”

Then, Dax sneered. “Rather than saying I killed her, it’s more accurate to say you killed her. If you hadn’t been so desperate to marry me, how would she have died?”

My face went white.

I couldn’t hear Dax’s continued mocking. Only his words echoed in my mind: *my mother was killed by me*.

Yes, wasn’t my mother killed by me?

It was my delusional hope, my naive belief that I could win Dax’s heart, that brought about this catastrophe.

It was my stupidity, my self-righteous love, that destroyed the Vance family.

Salty tears slid past my lips. I mumbled, “I was wrong. It’s all my fault…”

After that, I completely gave up fighting. I no longer thought of escaping, nor did I dare mention wanting to see my sister, terrified Dax would hurt Willow.

I became a caged bird in Dax’s mansion.

The food I ate came back up again. One night, while in bed, I told Dax about it.

His frantic thrusts stopped. He’d clearly thought the same thing I had. After he finished, he called his private doctor.

The doctor examined me and finally concluded: I was indeed pregnant. One month along.

Dax spoke. “Get rid of it.”

My hands rested on my lower belly, my expression eerily calm.

Dax’s words didn’t faze me. His decision was exactly what I expected. Knowing his personality, he would never allow this child to be born.

I suppressed a flicker of sadness in my eyes. This child came at the worst possible time. I didn’t want to bring him into this world to suffer.

The doctor hesitated. “We can’t perform the procedure here, Mr. Thorne. Do we need to go to a hospital?”

Dax suddenly smiled. “No need.”

He dismissed the doctor and called a bodyguard upstairs.

The bodyguard entered, carrying an iron bar.

My gaze fell on the bar, and a sudden dread filled me. “What are you going to do?”

Dax said calmly, “It was my oversight, allowing you to get pregnant.”

He gave a look, and the bodyguard stepped forward, pinning me down. I struggled, but couldn’t break free from his grasp.