Chapter 1

My husband used our son for drug sensitivity tests, all to cure his rare heart condition.

I played along, feigning ignorance.

Our son's fragile body deteriorated with each passing day, and I was utterly, agonizingly helpless.

Finally, the trials bore fruit. He’d found his cure. I naively believed our son's torment would finally cease.

But then, in a cruel twist of fate, my best friend’s son was suddenly struck with kidney failure.

Hearing this, my husband brutally dragged our son right in front of my 'best friend,' demanding he donate a kidney.

My 'best friend' then dared to push her luck, looking at me expectantly, asking for *my* opinion.

I simply smiled, a chilling, hollow sound escaping my lips, and whispered, "Okay."

Julian Blackwood and I had been married for six years, and our son, Leo, was five.

To outsiders, we were the picture of an enviable family.

My husband, Julian, was a PhD in Cardiology and a Chief Physician, loaded with accolades.

But what no one knew was that Julian had a rare heart condition, and it was unclear how many years he had left.

And our son's health was far from ideal.

He’d been frail and sickly since birth, always in and out of the ER.

Julian was exceptionally attentive to Leo, claiming it was his duty as a doctor and a father.

He personally took care of Leo, meticulously, as if putting on a show.

He even called Leo "special" and said he needed extra attention.

But that day, I accidentally caught him feeding Leo some medicine.

The label on the bottle—I’d never seen it before.

The packaging was crude, with no official approval.

I felt a pang of suspicion and secretly looked it up.

Those pills were unapproved laboratory drugs, never clinically tested.

Their safety hadn’t even been verified!

I knew there was no experiment more direct, more effective, than human trials.

But this violated medical ethics, and it certainly violated the law.

Especially when it was his own flesh and blood…

But I said nothing.

I was just a stay-at-home wife; every decision in our home was his.

I comforted our son, "It's okay, Leo. You'll get stronger when you grow up."

He nodded, his gaze blank and dull.

My best friend, Skylar Hayes, also conceived around the same time I was pregnant, using a sperm bank, becoming a proud single mother.

Her son was named Caleb.

Skylar often brought Caleb over to our house.

The kids were innocent and playful, and I adored them.

It was just that Julian was *too* good to Caleb.

"Caleb is so well-behaved and smart, unlike this worthless trash Leo. He's as dumb as a brick."

"Leo, come here!" Julian's voice suddenly turned harsh.

"Look at Caleb. So well-behaved, so obedient, so healthy."

Then he slapped Leo across the head.

"You piece of garbage, always sick with something."

"Hey, Julian, don’t hit him like that!" Skylar said, but a smile played on her lips.

"You'll make him truly stupid. Our Serena would be heartbroken." She gave me a meaningful look.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I was wrong." Leo sank to his knees.

This was routine for him.

And the interactions between Skylar and Julian were more than just a little excessive.

Even in front of me, they made no effort to hide it.

Skylar would naturally link arms with Julian, giggling as she asked him medical questions.

Julian always looked annoyed, but he never actually pulled away.

He’d frown at me, then gently answer Skylar.