Olivia Harper watched in disbelief as her husband Marcus threw a lavish party to celebrate his first love’s daughter getting into community college. Meanwhile, their own son Ethan, the school valedictorian, was forced to work as a waiter at the very same event. Chloe Gardner, Marcus’s first love, approached Ethan with a fake smile. “Ethan, it’s been a while since you’ve had your dad’s cooking, hasn’t it? Why don’t you try this special fish dish he made for Rose?” Ethan hesitated, but before he could respond, Marcus intervened. “If Chloe’s offering, just eat it. Stop being so picky – you’re just like your useless mother!” Without warning, Marcus forcefully opened Ethan’s mouth and shoved a piece of fish inside, making him swallow it. Ethan collapsed, clutching his throat in agony. Marcus simply walked away, arm in arm with Chloe and Rose. By the time Olivia wheeled herself to her son’s side, Ethan’s face had turned an alarming shade of purple. She frantically dialed 91 Desperate, she called Marcus, hoping he would help their son. But his voice was full of irritation: “He probably just got a fish bone stuck in his throat. Give him some vinegar and he’ll be fine. Stop making such a fuss.” 1 Olivia’s mind reeled at the mention of fish. “Marcus! Don’t you know Ethan is allergic to seafood?!” But her husband’s anger only grew. “Olivia, what are you yelling about? I should be the one upset here. Look at the son you’ve raised – Chloe kindly offers him some food, and he has the audacity to turn up his nose at it. You two are exactly the same – utterly worthless!” Olivia was stunned. How could her usually well-mannered son be painted in such a light? “Ethan has always been severely allergic to seafood. You know this…” she tried to explain. But Chloe’s apologetic voice cut in: “Oh dear, Olivia, I’m so sorry. I just wanted Ethan to taste his father’s cooking. He rarely gets the chance, you know.” “Don’t blame Marcus. I’ll come apologize to you and Ethan another day, okay?” Before Olivia could respond, Marcus’s furious voice boomed through the phone: “Listen here, Olivia. Both Chloe and Rose have asthma, but they ate the fish with no problems. Are you saying Ethan is more delicate than them?” “You’re always jealous of Chloe, but now you’re dragging Ethan into your petty games? Enough is enough!” The line went dead. Outside, the ambulance sirens wailed. Soon, a team of paramedics rushed in with a stretcher. After examining Ethan, the lead paramedic scolded them: “I can’t believe you’d give seafood to a child with such a severe allergy! What kind of parents are you?” “We don’t have enough epinephrine in the ambulance. We need to get to the hospital immediately. You’d better pray we make it in time.” Olivia could only manage a bitter smile. Who would have thought that the person responsible for her son’s condition was his own father? At the hospital, an ER doctor’s words sent Olivia’s heart racing: “A VIP’s daughter was just brought in with an asthma attack. They’ve used up all our epinephrine…” Seeing Ethan’s face turning darker and his breathing becoming weaker, Olivia crawled into the ICU and fell to her knees: “Please… save my son…” But as she looked up, she met Marcus’s furrowed brow: “Olivia, I’m impressed that a cripple like you managed to follow us here. What’s the point of this little act?” Olivia’s mind was filled with images of Ethan lying on the hospital bed. She had no energy to argue with Marcus and pleaded urgently: “Ethan… Ethan is in critical condition. He needs epinephrine to save his life. Please, help him…” Before Marcus could speak, Chloe put on a pitiful expression and leaned in: “Olivia, are you using Ethan as an excuse to try and steal Marcus from me?” Her tone suddenly changed… “Or… are you trying to take our life-saving medicine, knowing that Rose isn’t out of danger yet, just to kill her?” Olivia was stunned. A sharp slap across her face brought a stinging pain. Marcus’s angry shout rang in her ears: “Olivia, have you lost your humanity?” “Chloe and Rose are already pitiful enough, and now you want to harm Rose? When did you become so vicious?” The pain on her face was nothing compared to the agony in her heart. Olivia begged through tears: “I’m not lying… Ethan is really in critical condition… If you don’t believe me, you can go to the ER…” A violent gasp from the hospital bed interrupted her words. Marcus quickly grabbed a vial of epinephrine from the nearby table and injected it into Rose. As her breathing stabilized, he turned to Olivia with an icy glare: “Olivia, are you done with your theatrics? Won’t you be satisfied until Chloe loses Rose?” “Now, crawl over here and lick Chloe’s shoes clean. If she forgives you, I’ll give you a vial of epinephrine.” Olivia looked at Marcus in disbelief. But his eyes were filled with cruel anticipation. She understood – he just wanted to humiliate her for Chloe’s sake. Once upon a time, he had been a good husband, taking care of both her and Ethan without complaint despite her disability. But Chloe’s appearance had changed everything. Thinking of Ethan’s increasingly dark face, Olivia could only endure. She crawled humiliatingly towards Chloe’s feet, fighting back nausea as she extended her tongue. Again and again, she licked Chloe’s leather shoes until they shone. Chloe looked down, her face full of disgust: “You’d better not have any intentions of harming Rose. Being a mother like you is truly revolting.” Olivia could only meet Marcus’s gaze, desperately asking: “Can you help save Ethan now?” But Marcus turned to Chloe: “Well… that depends on whether Chloe forgives you or not.” Olivia’s mind went blank. She could only force herself to kneel on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to Chloe: “Chloe, please, I’m begging you. I’m an animal, I’m vicious, I’m not human. Please, save my son…” Chloe put on an act of mercy, crouching down as if to help Olivia up. But the words she whispered in Olivia’s ear were like a dull knife stabbing into her heart: “I specifically asked Marcus to make that dish, deliberately arranged the graduation party at the hotel where your son works part-time, and intentionally asked your son to taste it in front of Marcus.” “It took so much effort to put him in this state. Why should I save him?” 2 “You bitch…” Olivia’s mind exploded, her blood running cold. She grabbed Chloe and threw her to the ground, pouncing on her without hesitation. Her fists rained down on Chloe’s face, not even noticing when one of Chloe’s teeth became embedded in her hand. It was only then that Marcus reacted, rushing over to pull Olivia off Chloe. “Olivia, you’ve really gone mad! What gives you the right to suddenly attack someone?!” Marcus glared at her with rage, seemingly about to hit her, but Chloe began gasping for air at that moment. Marcus hurriedly checked on her condition. I took this opportunity to crawl back to my wheelchair, rush to the table, and grab the last vial of epinephrine, intending to leave the room. But due to my disability, just as I was about to rush out the door, Marcus closed it before me and then kicked my wheelchair. The wheelchair toppled, and I rolled to the side like a bag of garbage, still clutching the life-saving epinephrine for my son. Marcus rushed over, using the heel of his shoe to step on my hand, grinding down hard. His voice was agitated: “Seeing Chloe’s asthma attack, you still want to steal this last life-saving medicine. Olivia, how can you be so vicious!” I endured the pain in my hand, struggling in vain. I clearly saw Chloe gasping for air, but she opened her eyes and flashed me a smug smile. I begged Marcus: “Marcus, this is also Ethan’s life-saving medicine… Chloe… she’s faking it, she’s not really having an attack…” But Marcus didn’t even look back, the pressure from his foot increasing: “Still lying! Ethan inherited his father’s good constitution, what life-saving medicine does he need?! I know Chloe’s condition, what benefit would she get from deceiving me?!” “If you’ve really gone crazy, I’ll send you to a mental hospital tomorrow!” Marcus’s heel had dug into the back of my hand, blood oozing out, but I couldn’t feel any pain. Not satisfied, he raised his foot and delivered a sharp kick to my abdomen with the pointed toe of his shoe. My whole body curled up like a shrimp, and I finally let go of my tight grip. To help Marcus’s company go public, I had worked tirelessly day and night, eventually developing a severe stomach condition. Back then, whenever my stomach pain was unbearable, he would personally make a bowl of hot porridge and feed it to me with tears in his eyes. But now, it had become a weak point for him to attack. Marcus bent down to pick up the epinephrine. Though it was within reach, my outstretched hand was in vain. Looking at the hand he had stomped on, he seemed to hesitate for a moment. But as Chloe’s gasping became more urgent, he resolutely stood up and walked over to her. Before injecting Chloe, Marcus turned to me and spoke with ice-cold words: “Olivia, remember this. If Ethan really is in critical condition as you say.” He continued speaking as he injected the medicine into Chloe’s leg: “Even if Ethan dies, it’s all because of you.” At this point, I couldn’t even let out a cry of anguish. Ignoring my despair, I forced myself through the pain to climb back into my wheelchair and leave the ICU. Maybe… maybe there was still time to transfer Ethan to another hospital… But even though I rushed back to the ER as fast as I could, I only received news that tore my heart to shreds. Ethan was dead. He died a few minutes ago, just as Marcus was injecting the last dose of epinephrine into Chloe. His eyes were bulging, the whites now stained dark brown by burst blood vessels, staring fixedly at the ceiling. His entire face had turned blue from prolonged suffocation. I hesitated for a long time before daring to acknowledge this was my son. Helplessly rolling off my wheelchair onto the floor, I let out an agonized wail. …… I followed the gurney covered with a white sheet being pushed out of the ER towards the morgue in a daze. Looking up, I saw Marcus walking towards me. He passed right by the gurney and came to push my wheelchair. His tone was soft, with an indescribable gentleness: “It wasn’t easy for Chloe to raise Rose alone as a single mother, and they both have serious illnesses.” “Taking care of them more, maybe it’s because my sympathy got the better of me. If it caused you any distress, it really wasn’t my intention…” For a moment, I had the illusion that we had returned to years ago, when we were deeply in love. Marcus paused, then continued: “Ethan… I remember his grades were pretty good, right? I’ll hold a more grand celebration for him in a few days for his college admission. After all, he’s our dearest son.” But this sentence was like a bucket of cold water, instantly waking me up. I turned my head to look at him, forcing a bitter smile: “Marcus, there’s no need for a celebration. Ethan… he’s already dead.” I raised my hand to point at the gurney in front, coldly telling him: “He’s right there, you can go take a look…” Marcus suddenly stopped, walked in front of me with a furrowed brow as if wanting to say something, but seeing the expression on my face, he turned and walked towards the gurney. He slowly reached out to grab the white sheet, just about to lift it when Chloe’s voice suddenly rang out: “Marcus, you left your phone with me. Ethan sent you a message, seems like he’s asking what you want for dinner, says he’ll cook for you.” I looked up at Chloe with surprise on my face, my hand unconsciously reaching for the inside pocket of my jacket. Ethan’s phone was quietly lying there. Before I could speak, Marcus had already walked in front of me and slapped me hard: “Olivia, I really fell for your tricks. I almost believed Ethan was dead.” “How many times have you lied to me about Ethan? That’s your own son, is it necessary to curse him dead like this!” 3 My heart went completely cold. I let out a cold laugh and returned Marcus’s slap, shouting back without backing down: “Ethan is lying under that white sheet right now. You can look and see for yourself whether it’s true or false. What’s the point of me lying to you?” “Go lift it and see! See clearly why your son died with his eyes wide open!” When I touched Ethan’s phone in my pocket, I was already absolutely certain that Chloe was lying again. But I knew that Marcus would definitely believe Chloe’s words. Just as he would undoubtedly refute me without hesitation. But this time Marcus hesitated. Instead, it was Chloe who came over, pretending to be sorrowful: “Olivia, is… is that really Ethan’s body?” “Then it’s even more important for Marcus to take a good look. Such a good child, how could he have died…” Others might not have noticed, but I clearly knew that Chloe’s words were dripping with mockery. The next moment, before I could even react, Chloe directly lifted the white sheet covering my son. And then, I was stunned! Under the white sheet was clearly an old man in his eighties. I quickly rolled my wheelchair to the bedside, looking in disbelief at this withered corpse. This person isn’t Ethan? Then where is Ethan? It must be Chloe’s doing! Thinking of this, I raised my eyes to stare at Chloe, shouting furiously: “Where’s Ethan? Where have you hidden my son?!” Chloe’s slightly raised chin, the smugness in her eyes about to overflow. But her tone was full of feigned panic: “O-Olivia, what are you saying? Didn’t I just hear you say Ethan was dead and want to take one last look at him? How can you accuse me of hiding Ethan?” Before I could argue with her, Marcus’s hand slapped me across the face again. The crowd turned to look, and he seemed to be struggling to suppress his anger: “Olivia, your acting skills have really improved. If it weren’t for Chloe, I might have really been fooled by you!” “Now that you’ve been exposed, you’re using Chloe as a scapegoat. It seems I’ve been too lenient with you…” But I had no time to care about Marcus. My mind was full of thoughts about where Ethan could be. Seeing the increasingly thick smile on Chloe’s face, the anger in my heart could no longer be suppressed. I raised my fist and struck Chloe in the abdomen. She fell to the ground in pain. I rolled directly off my wheelchair, tightly gripping Chloe’s neck. “Speak! Where have you hidden Ethan? Where is my son’s body?!” Marcus shouted and was about to pull me away, but this time I didn’t let him succeed. Chloe’s face turned from red to purple. It seemed the near-death experience made her panic. She kept patting my hand, and finally managed to squeeze out three weak words from her throat: “Gar… bage… room” In an instant, I released my hand, ignoring Chloe who had started gasping for air. I struggled to get back into my wheelchair to go find Ethan. But Marcus kicked my wheelchair aside, then crouched down and grabbed my hair, slamming my head against the ground again and again, ignoring the blood flowing from my forehead. He said viciously: “I’ve really been too lenient with you! You still want to kill Chloe? Why don’t you go die yourself!” I endured the pain and accused: “Chloe has confessed… Ethan is in the garbage room…” “Bullshit! How could she say anything when you were choking her?!” Marcus interrupted me mercilessly. Then, as if still not satisfied, he put his hands on my neck and started squeezing. “Come on! Speak to me! Say one word and I’ll believe you!” The pressure on his hands gradually increased, and my breathing became labored. I struggled to say something, but couldn’t squeeze out a single word. As my consciousness began to fade and everything around me became unclear, just when I felt I was about to be choked to death, in that last moment. A scream suddenly came from not far away: “Ah— Ghost!” The pressure on my throat instantly loosened. When my vision cleared, I only saw Marcus stumbling through the crowd, his face pale as he rushed into the open garbage room nearby. And what followed was his heart-wrenching wail: “Ethan——!!”
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