My husband Gideon Lucas said that after his older brother Bruce Lucas died, he couldn’t bear to see Bruce’s wife Maggie Lucas living as a widow. He volunteered to take care of her and her daughter, adopting Jane and treating her like his own flesh and blood. However, later on, just because our daughter Ruth Lucas scored 2 points higher than Jane on an exam, Gideon mercilessly threw her into the gladiator arena. I knelt on the ground, begging him to spare Ruth, crying as I told him, “She won’t survive in a place like that!” But he said coldly, “Doesn’t she love competing? Then I’ll let her fight to her heart’s content.” Later, while I held Ruth’s mangled body in the arena, sobbing over her torn flesh, Gideon was hosting Jane’s coming-of-age ceremony. By chance, I overheard a conversation between Gideon and Maggie. “When Christmas forced you to marry Bruce, who was terminally ill, it was truly unfair to you.” “Now that he’s finally dead, you can finally become my wife openly.” In that moment, I realized this had all been a long-planned scheme. The only person Gideon had ever loved was Maggie, so he never could and never would love Ruth and me. The truth pierced my heart like a blade, leaving me barely able to breathe. Since I was unwanted, leaving would be the best choice. Gideon said, “Don’t worry, no matter how outstanding Ruth is, only Jane can inherit the Lucas family fortune. So what if Jane isn’t my biological daughter? As long as she’s your child, I’ll treat her as my own.” I watched from afar as they embraced emotionally, my mind buzzing and going completely blank. Before I could even recover from the pain of Ruth’s death, this sudden revelation dealt me another fatal blow. I thought, “If you never loved me, why did you marry me in the first place? Why did you have Ruth with me?” Just then, Gideon finally noticed me standing nearby. He released Maggie’s hand and said coldly, “Jane is your niece. Do I really need to send someone to beg you to attend her coming-of-age ceremony? If you didn’t want to come, fine, but since you’re here, don’t look so miserable.” His face was full of undisguised impatience. Just two hours earlier, I had finally found Ruth in the arena. She lay on the blood-stained sand, her clothes in tatters, her body covered with countless claw marks, her death utterly gruesome. In that moment, my breathing stopped, and I nearly fainted on the spot. Ruth had such a bright future ahead of her, yet because of one word from Gideon, she was ruthlessly thrown into the arena to fend for herself, ultimately meeting her death there. Fighting back my grief, I carried her body to the crematorium. But before I could even collect her ashes, a car suddenly stopped in front of me, and several burly men forcibly dragged me into the vehicle. One of them said, “Today is Miss Jane Lucas’s coming-of-age ceremony. Mr. Lucas has ordered that you must attend!” No matter how I struggled or cried, I was forcibly brought to Jane’s coming-of-age celebration. Looking up at the joyful scene, it stabbed at my eyes like needles. Images of Ruth’s gruesome death flooded my mind, and grief and rage broke through all my defenses. I rushed forward, questioning Gideon through my tears, “Why couldn’t Ruth have a proper coming-of-age ceremony like her? She even spent her birthday in the arena! Ruth was your biological daughter!” He just sneered mockingly, “You have the nerve to bring her up? All she did was compete with Jane day and night. Sending her to the arena perfectly satisfied her wishes, didn’t it?”
“She’s so desperate to prove herself and inherit the Lucas family fortune—you must be the one pulling her strings behind the scenes!” But he knew perfectly well that Ruth had never fought for anything. The so-called “competition” was simply because Ruth had scored a few points higher than Jane on an exam. That was completely normal—Ruth had done nothing wrong! Gideon’s self-righteous words left me speechless. Seeing this, Maggie flashed a triumphant smile while pretending to mediate: “Gideon, don’t be angry. Today is Jane’s coming-of-age ceremony, after all. Ruth has been sent to the arena for so long—Violet probably just misses her.” I despised Maggie’s fake sympathy most of all. Over the years, she’d been having an affair with Gideon right in our home, and I knew it. I’d chosen to turn a blind eye, unwilling to face the truth. No wonder after Bruce’s death from illness, Gideon had been so eager to offer his care for them. The only person he’d ever loved was Maggie. Years ago, his parents had disapproved of their marriage because of Maggie’s poor background. So he’d been forced to marry me instead, someone from a better family. But he never gave up—he orchestrated Maggie’s marriage to Bruce, who was terminally ill. After our wedding, all his tenderness toward me had been an act, just to keep me stable and maintain his plan. Now that Bruce was gone, he’d gotten what he wanted and didn’t hesitate to abandon Ruth and me. Hearing Maggie’s consolation, his expression softened slightly. He said, “Fine, since today is Jane’s coming-of-age ceremony, for her sake, I’ll have Ruth brought back from the arena.” Those words stirred a complex mix of emotions in my heart. After a long moment, I finally managed to calm down enough to speak slowly: “Ruth is already dead.” I’d expected Gideon to be shocked and moved by this news. Instead, a flash of viciousness crossed his eyes, and he suddenly kicked me hard in the chest. He snarled viciously: “Today is Jane’s coming-of-age ceremony, and you dare say Ruth is dead! Don’t think you two can manipulate me with your sob story—I won’t fall for it! Ruth’s behavior is all because you, her mother, corrupted her!” I crashed heavily to the ground, the world spinning around me as dizziness overwhelmed me. He turned and commanded the butler nearby: “Robert Baker, go to the arena right now and bring Ruth back! Today she must apologize to Jane at her coming-of-age ceremony alongside her mother!” Robert looked troubled and hesitated: “This… I heard she was severely injured at the arena a few days ago. Forcing her to return now might be inappropriate…” Gideon’s expression stiffened for a moment, but quickly returned to its previous coldness. He said, “Ha! Isn’t she supposed to be such a great fighter? Hasn’t she always wanted to compete with Jane? How is it that she’s injured now? Regardless, she must return today to apologize to Jane!” Faced with his unquestionable attitude, Robert could only nod helplessly and hurry off toward the arena. After he left, Gideon snorted disdainfully: “Ruth is so weak—how could she possibly be worthy of inheriting the Lucas family legacy?” As he spoke, his gaze fell on Jane in the distance, his eyes filled with indulgence and tenderness. He said, “So I’ve decided that from now on, all of the Lucas family assets will be inherited by Jane! This is my coming-of-age gift to you—do you like it?” I slowly pulled myself up from the ground, looking at Gideon with nothing but disappointment in my eyes. He’d finally announced what he’d been most eager to declare. However, the guests below all changed their expressions. “But Mr. Lucas, Jane is your brother’s child—how can she inherit your assets and the company you built from scratch?”
“Your only biological child is Ruth, isn’t it?” Hearing this, Gideon didn’t get angry. He naturally wrapped his arm around Maggie’s waist and gently took Jane’s hand, his tone indifferent: “So what? At least now, Maggie is my wife, and Jane is naturally my biological daughter too.” This scene was like a sharp knife stabbing straight into my heart. What a picture-perfect happy family. Gideon glanced down at his watch and muttered to himself: “Looking at the time, I’m afraid we won’t be able to bring Ruth back today. In that case, why don’t we do something exciting to celebrate Jane coming of age?” He snapped his fingers, and the large screen in front of us suddenly lit up. On the screen appeared Ruth’s frail figure, desperately fleeing while a massive bear pursued her relentlessly. I recognized it immediately—that was the arena where Ruth was held. He said: “This is a video about Ruth sent from the arena. I’ve never watched it before. How about we use this video as our wager today and see whether Ruth wins or that giant bear wins?” I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Yet his excited expression and the scene of people around us excitedly placing bets made it all too real. He was actually treating his biological daughter’s tragic ordeal in the arena as a gambling game! This wasn’t just Ruth’s nightmare—it was a wound in my heart that would never heal! Rage and grief instantly overwhelmed me, my body trembling violently, my heart aching to the point of suffocation. On screen, Ruth ran frantically like a madwoman while the giant bear followed close behind. Finally, it pounced, its claws instantly carving a deep, bloody gash across her body. She cried out in agony, constantly pleading with the people outside the arena: “Please tell my dad I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Can you please let me go? I’m so scared!” However, her desperate pleas for mercy didn’t earn her an ounce of pity, but instead brought even more brutal attacks. Gideon raised an eyebrow slightly and sneered: “Oh? She finally knows she was wrong? No, she needs to kneel before Jane and apologize in person before I might fully forgive her.” My whole body trembled—I couldn’t bear to watch, yet couldn’t look away. Every scene felt like it was carving out my heart. I squeezed my eyes shut, but those images continued to rage wildly in my mind as tears poured out uncontrollably. Ruth had done nothing wrong, yet could only struggle for survival like an ant in the arena, ultimately powerless to resist, walking toward death. I couldn’t bear to see her trampled upon even after death, so I staggered toward Gideon and Jane, my legs giving out as I collapsed to the ground. With trembling hands reaching toward him, I pleaded: “Stop this, please let her go! If someone needs to apologize, I’ll do it for her. If you want me to kowtow, I’m willing.” With that, I slammed my forehead hard against the ground, mechanically repeating the kowtowing motion. All of this was just to let Ruth have some peace. However, he merely glanced at me coldly, then gently patted Jane’s shoulder: “Don’t mind her, let’s keep watching.” Seeing Gideon’s utterly cold expression, the love I had for him in my heart instantly turned to nothing. I wanted nothing more than to rush forward and tear him to pieces, to make him taste this bone-piercing agony too! Finally, when Ruth lay on the ground barely breathing, the arena staff reluctantly stepped forward to call a stop. Disappointed sighs immediately arose from the crowd below. After the video finished playing, Gideon said mockingly: “How boring!
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