I, Eleanor, made a decision Julian would never approve of. Behind his back, I sent Seraphina, the young woman he had taken in, to a top music academy abroad. Julian Sterling, a man always described as aloof and unapproachable, a picture of cool indifference, instantly snapped. He was convinced I had deliberately gotten rid of his “little rose.” In a fit of rage, he threw our five-year-old son, Leo, onto a cruise ship headed for the Arctic, demanding I bring Sera back. I watched, paralyzed, as Leo cried uncontrollably on the ship. The vessel was already moving into international waters. Then, Julian’s assistant lifted Leo, his small body dangling precariously over the side. Julian’s voice, dark and chilling, cut through the wind. “My love, you have five minutes to decide. Otherwise, our son will sink into the deep sea!” The first minute, my mind flashed back to my five years of silent adoration for Julian. I had quietly become his secret partner. He came from a prestigious pharmaceutical family, while I was from a humble background with an ordinary face. I chose to stay in the shadows, asking for no title. The second minute, his family pushed for an arranged marriage between Julian and an heiress after his graduation. Instead, he pulled me straight to the registry office and married me. The third minute, I was pregnant, but his family still refused to acknowledge me. Julian took me away from his family, cut ties, and we had Leo. The fourth minute, Julian adopted his friend’s niece. The night of her 20th birthday, I saw the raw, protective, and deeply hidden love in Julian’s eyes when he looked at her. The fifth minute, my thoughts spiraled to Julian and his “niece,” Seraphina, entangled on a bed, their bodies intertwined in a desperate embrace… Julian let go of something. The intricate silver bracelet he’d worn for nearly twenty years, the one he never let anyone touch, was gone. It was now casually clasped around Sera’s right ankle. Julian’s eyes were utterly cold, devoid of any warmth. “Eleanor, I’m asking you one last time. Where is Seraphina?” A sharp pain seared my throat, amplified by Leo’s incessant cries in my ear. “Mommy, save me…” The sea wind whipped at my face, stinging me raw. “My love, do you want our son to die?” A suffocating pain gripped my chest, making it hard to breathe. I lifted my tear-filled eyes to Julian. “Julian, Leo is your biological son! How could you threaten me with his life?” His thin lips parted to utter, “But Seraphina is my life too!” Tears streamed down my face. So, Seraphina was his life now. What about me? What about our son? “Eleanor, as long as Seraphina comes back, you’re still my wife.” I swallowed back my emotions, fighting for control. “Julian, I don’t believe you’d actually take our son’s life for Seraphina, especially since I haven’t harmed her.” Julian’s voice turned arctic. “Counting down from five. If you don’t tell me where she is, our son, Leo, will be thrown into the open sea, to feed the sharks!” “5… 4… 3…” Seeing the man actually begin to move, I couldn’t hold out any longer. “Seraphina is at the BK College of Music in the US.” I collapsed to the ground. He actually dared. He dared to abandon our own son for Seraphina. My tear-filled eyes watched Julian immediately grab his phone and make a call. He was clearly frantic. “Get a helicopter ready. I’m flying to the US.” He didn’t spare me another glance, his eyes glued to his phone. My trembling hand clutched a handful of sand. For the past ten years, I had quietly been the woman behind Julian. In every scientific breakthrough, every achievement, every single one of his projects, I had played a crucial role. He built Sterling Group from the ground up, moving away from research to become the CEO. I, on the other hand, spent 24 hours in the lab, solely dedicated to developing the medicine he desired. I succeeded. Sterling Med skyrocketed, becoming a top-tier pharmaceutical conglomerate, rivaling the old Sterling family empire. That night, Julian held me close, his kisses trailing down my neck, filled with deep affection. “Ellie, you are my rib! The kind that melts into my bones and blood!” I thought everything was finally moving in the right direction. I could prove I was worthy of standing by his side. Even his family saw my achievements, and our relationship with them had softened over the past two years. But the end result was Julian falling for a girl nine years younger than him, a girl who was blissfully naive to the world, innocently demanding, and constantly clinging and playing the innocent card. “Julian, I want you to stay with me.” “Julian, I don’t know how to do this. Help me.” “Julian, you *have* to be at Sera’s cello competition. If you’re not there, I won’t play…” “Julian, Sera likes you so much.” Begging and fawning were things I had never done for Julian. Confessing my love was also something I had never done. Right under my nose, Julian fell deeply in love with his ‘helpless’ little princess. She needed him to lift her up and spoil her, and he indulged her willingly. The helicopter arrived swiftly. Julian couldn’t wait for Leo’s ship to return. He boarded the helicopter and flew off to the US. I watched the helicopter disappear into the distance, calling Julian several times, only for him to hang up on me each time. I sent him a SnapChat message directly: [When is our son coming back?!] [Three hours, Eleanor. Seraphina is just a friend’s daughter I promised to look after. She calls me ‘Uncle Julian.’ I cannot betray that trust.] Reading his explanation, a bitter laugh escaped me. Betray that trust? Just as I was about to close my phone, another message popped up. [Eleanor, so what if I love Julian? He wants to be with me, and we’ve been entangled in desperate passion. He lost his passion for you ages ago. You’re the one who can’t let him go.] [Eleanor, Julian came to see me at school again tonight. We went to a hotel. He really liked the bunny outfit I wore today.] […] And then, the explicit video. It captured Julian’s wild abandon in vivid detail. I shut off my phone and sat numbly by the sea, waiting for Leo to return. My tears were dried by the wind. I used to believe that as long as I loved Julian, it was enough. When he cheated, I even rationalized it, thinking men sometimes just seek excitement. We had a son; we needed a complete family. But now, I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. From childhood, I had been alone, without parents’ love or family’s affection. I thought I had found true love, but now, everything was shattered. I scrolled through a contract on my phone. This was the divorce agreement I had secretly signed when Sterling Group was going public. It stipulated automatic forfeiture of all my shares in Sterling Group and the termination of my marriage. Just before the IPO, Grandpa Sterling had sought me out. “Eleanor, if you sign this, I will help Julian’s company go public. With my help, Sterling Group can rival the old Sterling empire, especially if he wants to list it in G-Port.” To reassure his family and for Julian’s sake, I had signed the agreement in secret. I had never imagined Julian would abandon me. But now, everything had changed beyond recognition. Soon after, I sent another message. [I accept. I’m joining Ocean Gate.] Ocean Gate was a world-leading marine medical research team, home to top talents from various countries. Once you entered, you had to stay underwater for 30 years before you could emerge. My only condition was to take my son, Leo, with me. Julian would never find Leo and me again! To go to a place without borders, I needed to take my unique research findings. But all those research data and samples were in the lab. The lab could only be opened with both Julian’s and my fingerprints and passwords, simultaneously. Not long after, I finally waited for Leo. His face was stained with tears, and he was sleeping fitfully. I kissed his forehead. “Leo, do you want to leave with Mommy?” Leo’s eyelashes fluttered. He looked at me, crying, “Mommy, Leo almost went into the sea.” At five years old, he already understood. It was Julian’s closest assistant who had taken Leo away. My eyes welled up with moisture. “Leo, if you come with Mommy, you won’t have Daddy anymore. Are you willing?” Leo’s small arms wrapped around my neck, and he nodded. “Wherever Mommy is, Leo is.” I took Leo to the company. My fingerprints and password allowed me access to the high-level research lab. But I still couldn’t open the door. Through the glass, I could see the computers and various experimental samples inside. One set of experimental data, entirely developed by me, was the only thing I needed to take. “Mommy, what should we do? Daddy isn’t here, you can’t open this door.” My mind replayed the memory of Julian building this lab and entering our fingerprints and passwords. He held me close, whispering in my ear, “Ellie, don’t tell me this password, and I won’t tell you mine. This lab holds the most important treasures of the company. Only when we’re both here can we open this door and see these things. This way, we’ll always be connected, never apart.” When two people are in love, this creates mutual dependence. But when love dies, it becomes the perfect way to guard against each other. Julian, did you ever imagine this day, five years ago? The lab door remained unopened. I took Leo directly to our apartment on the second floor. For years, Leo, Julian, and I lived at the company until Seraphina appeared, and we bought a villa, making it feel more like a home. Everything in this apartment was something Leo and I had made together, before Seraphina. I packed all my personal belongings – the things Julian bought me, the things I bought him, and all the matching couple’s items I had secretly cherished. Leo also packed all his things. “This is what Daddy bought, don’t want it. This is what Mommy bought, take it. This is our family photo, don’t want it.” The little guy sorted things quickly into three bags. I suppressed my tears, watching my son meticulously categorize everything. Julian, do you know how smart Leo is? He didn’t say anything, but he knew you had given up on him. Leo ran over and hugged me. His small hands wiped my tears. “Mommy, you always wanted to go to that lab, didn’t you? You said the ocean takes up three-quarters of our home, and we need to protect it. You always wanted to be a warrior protecting the ocean. Mommy is the best. You’re just going to fulfill your dream, and Leo supports you and will follow you.” I looked at a painting in the distance. Julian was a talented artist. It was an oil painting he did of Leo and me when Leo was two. I walked over, opened a paint box nearby, grabbed a brush, and slowly painted myself out of the picture. Leo immediately grabbed a small brush and, mimicking me, painted himself out of the picture too. The little guy said warmly, “Mommy, in the future, when Leo learns to paint, I’ll only paint for you. Leo is super good, definitely better than this painting.” A faint smile touched my face as I caressed my son’s cheek. Once everything was sorted, I made a phone call and had the garbage disposal service take everything away. This included the bed Julian and I shared, the sofa, the kitchenware—everything. The cozy photos I had put up on the walls, Leo’s messy scribbles—I tore them all down and discarded them. I even got new paint buckets and meticulously painted the walls over and over again. Until this 200-square-meter apartment was stripped bare, leaving only the load-bearing walls, empty and gleaming white, without a single trace of what had been. In the kitchen, the stomach medicine I always kept for Julian was gone too. It took me a day and a night to do all this. Leo had fallen asleep on the floor. I carried Leo back to the villa. Pushing open the door, I found the living room shrouded in cigarette smoke. The ashtray overflowed with a dozen cigarette butts. Julian’s usually stoic face was etched with a hint of exhaustion, his red eyes bloodshot. His voice, dark and low, filled the air. “Sera was bullied the moment she got to school, covered in bruises and lying in her dorm, without even money for medicine!” Julian had been waiting for me, his face filled with accusation, his icy gaze piercing, as if I were his enemy. I glanced at Leo, asleep in my arms. “Julian, whatever it is, don’t argue in front of our son.” Just as I was about to go upstairs, Seraphina appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a white nightgown, her cascading curly hair falling to her waist. Her innocent face was etched with panic, her hands nervously clutching the fabric of her nightdress. “Aunt Eleanor, I—I promise I won’t bother Uncle Julian anymore. Please don’t send me abroad.” The girl stood not far away, deliberately calling me ‘Aunt Eleanor’ to make me sound older, like a faded, resentful woman. She looked at me pitifully. Julian had already risen from the sofa and strode towards Seraphina on the stairs. He gently pushed aside her long hair, revealing red finger marks on her fair face, as if she’d been viciously slapped. Seraphina leaned into Julian’s embrace, sobbing. “Aunt Eleanor, the people who bullied me were all from outside. They said they were paid to do this to me. You sent me to a top music academy, so it couldn’t have been you trying to hurt me.” Julian’s eyes turned utterly cold, his icy gaze fixed on me, standing on the first floor. “Eleanor, you can dislike Sera, but I told you I have to take care of her until she graduates with her master’s at 25, until her uncle returns. But my constant compromises have only led you to repeatedly bully Sera.” During their argument, I saw Leo stir awake. He tried to turn his head, but I wouldn’t let him. “Leo, close your eyes, don’t listen.” I desperately tried to compose myself. “Julian, BK College of Music is one of the top three institutions globally. If there’s bullying, you can report it to the police, or investigate it yourself, instead of accusing me here.” Seraphina continued to sob uncontrollably. “Aunt Eleanor, I was wrong, I was wrong.” She pleaded as she sank to her knees. “Please, Aunt Eleanor, I just want to study here in Northwood. I can even live in a dorm. I promise I’ll only come back once a month, no, even half a day is fine. Please don’t send me away. Those people will kill me.” Seraphina’s tears seemed to enchant Julian. He picked her up right in front of me, his eyes filled with a fierce intensity as he glared at me. “Let’s talk in the study later. I need to comfort Sera first.” I walked numbly upstairs. Leo’s childish voice, muffled against my shoulder, asked, “Mommy, can we leave Daddy soon?” I stroked his back, my heart aching. “Yes, honey. Once Mommy handles everything, Mommy will try her best.” I carried Leo down the second-floor hallway, heading towards his bedroom. As we passed Seraphina’s room, I noticed the door wasn’t fully closed. Through a tiny gap, I saw Julian pressing Seraphina down onto the bed, and his hand reaching inside her white nightgown. My body froze instantly, my eyes filled with excruciating pain. Julian, is *this* how you ‘care’ for her? Watching Julian’s betrayal with my own eyes felt like my heart was being ripped out. I carried Leo into his room and placed him gently on his small bed. I tried my best to soothe him. “Leo, three days at most. We’ll leave in three days. Please pack your little things in your room.” The little one nodded. I came out, closing the door behind me. In the hallway, Julian’s eyes were cold and dark. His voice was grim. “Study, now.” I entered the study, only to realize that somewhere along the way, Seraphina’s presence had taken over Julian’s private space. Her hair accessories, jewelry, sheet music, and various snacks littered the sofa and the carpet. For all those years before, his study had been filled with our data, our research directions, our work. Without me even noticing, it had completely transformed. I remembered when I was pregnant with Leo, too exhausted to move, I would fall asleep leaning against him. When I woke up, Julian would kiss my forehead and say, “Ellie, don’t push yourself too hard. You and our child are my future. If you two are well, I can be well.” Back then, I believed all my efforts were worth it. Julian had given me a home, given me warmth. As I stepped into the study, Julian flung a stack of documents at me. Each page was a confession, written in what appeared to be foreign characters. “Eleanor, news came from Sera’s school. These are the bullies’ confessions. Someone wired money from Northwood to their accounts, instructing them to harass Sera. And the account was ultimately traced back to you.” I said nothing. Julian’s voice was cold. “I won’t divorce you. I’ll calm Sera down this time, but I absolutely will not let her leave my side again. If you still want to be with me, to maintain our marriage, then put an end to your malicious schemes.” I didn’t even have the energy to explain. I just tried to keep myself composed. “Julian, are you free tomorrow? I need you to come to the lab with me. There’s an issue with a set of data, and I need to go in and verify it.” Hearing that there was a problem at the company, Julian’s brow furrowed slightly. “Hmm. Tomorrow morning, I need to take Sera to the hospital; her injuries can’t scar. I’ll have lunch with her, and then I’ll be at the company in the afternoon.” So, I was relegated to the very last. I hadn’t noticed before, but from this outsider’s perspective, it was glaringly obvious. For Sera’s cello competition, he abandoned me to face international partners alone in a meeting, just to watch her perform. When Sera claimed she was in pain, he left me stranded on the roadside, telling me to take a taxi home to face his family elders by myself. When Sera expressed a desire for wontons, he woke me up in the middle of the night, regardless of my working over a dozen hours, to make them for her. “Alright…” I sighed, a deep, weary sound. The next morning. I was jolted awake by a piercing scream. Julian burst into my room like a madman and dragged me off the bed. I cried out in pain, my delicate features contorted. Julian’s grip on my arm was incredibly forceful, his eyes bloodshot with fury. “Eleanor, how *dare* you treat Seraphina like this?!” Leo, beside me, was crying and hitting Julian. “Let go of Mommy, you bad Daddy!” Julian shoved Leo, sending the child tumbling to the floor. Julian’s phone slammed onto the bed. “Eleanor, those people actually dared to take *explicit* photos of Seraphina, and now they’ve posted them all online! The entire city knows!” “Ah… Mr. Sterling, Miss Seraphina has attempted suicide.” Julian immediately pushed me away and rushed across the hall. Standing there, I saw Seraphina sprawled on the bed, her wrist slashed, red blood steadily gushing out and dripping onto the floor. My face went ashen. I quickly covered Leo’s eyes. “Leo, listen to Mommy, stay in your room and don’t come out.” This elaborate scheme—Seraphina was willing to gamble with her life. I didn’t know what the cost would be. Julian cradled Seraphina and rushed to the hospital. But I was restrained by Julian’s bodyguards and forced into another car. The car sped off, heading directly to the hospital owned by Sterling Group. Julian ran in frantically, holding Seraphina. I watched, realizing in my shock that he had forgotten he himself was a brilliant surgeon. Julian had been in my room for less than thirty seconds before Seraphina cut her wrist, and Mrs. Gable just *happened* to see it. That amount of bleeding wouldn’t even be life-threatening. I was dragged to the operating room doors. Julian’s eyes were icily fixed on me. “Since you like taking pictures so much, fine!” Julian walked over, right in front of the bodyguards and the passing crowd. He roughly tore my clothes. My dress ripped, exposing my pale skin in an instant. My body trembled with cold. I tried to pull my clothes to cover myself, but Julian’s tall frame loomed over me, his large hand gripping my wrist tightly, not allowing me to struggle an inch. His eyes were glacial. “Eleanor! What you did to Sera, I will return to you a hundredfold!” My body shook, my throat constricting as if cut by razor blades. “Julian, I’m your wife, and the mother of your child! How can you do this to me in front of so many people?” But Julian brutally pushed me against the cold wall. Ignoring the growing crowd, he ripped off the rest of my clothes with a harsh tear. My clothes fell to the ground. Instantly, I saw countless camera flashes pointed at me – live streams, photos, video recordings. Julian’s lips curled into a cruel smirk. “Eleanor, you utterly ruined Sera’s reputation! I will make you a spectacle for the entire city!” My face was deathly pale. I tried to cover myself with my hands, but it was useless. Julian further pinned my wrists above my head, intentionally letting those people get a clear view of my body. The crowd’s filming grew even more frenzied. Julian Sterling – everyone knew who he was. In that moment, tears streamed down my face. My mind drifted to Julian five years ago. My skirt had just been snagged, and he immediately took off his jacket, wrapping it tightly around me. He was terribly anxious, even though nothing had been exposed. But now, the man before me, for the sake of another woman, was utterly destroying me. The moment Julian released my hands, I crumpled to the ground. My trembling hands quickly grabbed my torn clothes and put them on, desperate to leave the scene. Julian’s cold, heartless voice reached me. “Eleanor, the entire internet is flooded with your pictures now. Sera’s photos have been taken down across all platforms, but yours… hah… you deal with it!” My face twisted into a bitter smile. I clutched my chest, saying nothing, and simply walked away. My mind was filled with the first time Julian had ever made love to me. He kissed the mole over my heart, saying, “Ellie, from now on, only I can see your body. No one else is allowed to lay a finger on you.” Sitting in the car, I opened my phone and saw news headlines everywhere: [Mrs. Sterling has a red mole over her heart.] [The red-mole beauty.] [Smoking hot figure!] [Breaking!] […] I tapped on a video. It showed the entire brutal scene: Julian tearing off my dress, my reactions, his ruthlessness—all captured in clear detail. Below, the comments from netizens: “Mrs. Sterling, with her usually conservative look, always in black business suits and skirts, who knew she was such a wild one underneath?” “That body, that tiny waist. No wonder Mr. Sterling married her.” “I love her legs the most, so slender and straight. Must be a thrill to touch.” “Those curves… I’d guess D-cup.” “OMG…” The words were sickeningly explicit. My phone rang. I answered, and Julian’s icy voice came through. “Eleanor, I won’t let anyone help you with those online photos. You have only one option: use your money to buy them back, one by one.” Then I heard Julian add, “You must pay for harming Sera. I owe her uncle an explanation!” Julian hung up. My trembling fingers opened my bank account. There was only just over five million dollars—my salary from Sterling Group over the past five years. Yes, salary. I had no shares in the company; all the company’s dividends went to Julian. He had given me a black card. I found a friend, gave him the five million and the black card, asking him to buy back all my photos and videos online. But the influencers who posted the videos were asking for exorbitant prices. My five million only covered seven accounts. My friend tried using the black card. It worked for the first transaction. But for the second, the card was frozen. “Eleanor, the card is frozen, no money can be withdrawn. Those people won’t back down. Without tens of millions, you can’t buy back the videos posted on the influencers’ main pages.” I stared at the black card. Julian had given it to me on the day the company went public. He said, “Ellie, this card has no limit. I want you to never want for money. I’ll take care of you.” Tears blurred my vision, falling onto the black card. In these five years, I had lived and worked at the company, with no significant expenses. The company paid me a salary, so I had never touched this card. The only time I tried, it only worked once. My mind filled with Seraphina. Seraphina, using Julian’s secondary card, shopped everywhere. Later, Julian grew tired of Seraphina constantly going out, only to come back exhausted and complaining of sore feet. He simply waved his hand, arranging for luxury brands to visit monthly, bringing all their latest releases for Seraphina to choose from, money flowing like water. My phone chimed. A message from Julian: [Don’t use my money to buy back the photos. Eleanor, even if you sell yourself, I won’t help you with a single cent.] I wiped away my tears with my hand. “Help me sell that patent, to buy these photos and videos.” My friend was shocked. “Eleanor, are you crazy? That’s your decade of work! Absolutely not! I’ll help you, I promise I will!” My friend took out all his savings, and then frantically sold off his three properties, barely managing to buy back all the original photos and videos. As for the reposts, my friend helped me hack and delete them all. Seeing all the photos cleared, my friend’s words echoed in my mind: [Eleanor, I know that research of yours is ten years of your blood and sweat. And I know that thing absolutely cannot be sold cheaply. It just needs a little finishing touch, and the moment it’s released to the world, it will benefit humanity, worth hundreds of billions. Just remember to give me a hundred million.] My friend’s playful words were still vivid, but then I thought of Julian’s cruelty and ruthlessness. I knew that in these ten years, my biggest mistake was wasting all my time on Julian. I regretted ever loving him. I returned to the villa. The moment I walked in, I heard Leo crying. I rushed inside immediately. I saw Seraphina, a smug look in her eyes, slap Leo across the face. Instantly, I moved swiftly, grabbed Seraphina’s hand, and slapped her twice across the face, back and forth. I pulled my son into my arms, holding him tightly. But Seraphina’s cries were filled with despair. “Julian! Julian!” Julian descended the stairs. Seraphina immediately threw herself into his arms. Julian saw the slap marks on Seraphina’s face, and his eyes instantly filled with murderous rage. Seraphina sobbed, “It’s not Aunt Eleanor’s fault, she just misunderstood me. Leo was playing with blocks just now, and when Aunt Eleanor came back, she got angry and slapped Leo’s face, saying he—he looked too much like you. I tried to stop Aunt Eleanor from hitting Leo, but she slapped me twice instead.” Leo’s childish voice, choked with sobs, exclaimed, “Daddy, Seraphina hit me! She hit me! Mommy only hit her to protect me!” Julian said coldly, “Eleanor! Did you really hit Sera?” I heard Julian completely ignore the core issue and only focus on me hitting Seraphina. “Julian, have you looked at Leo’s face? Do you think I’ve ever hit him since he was born?” Panic flickered across Seraphina’s face. She immediately clutched her wrist, and the bandage instantly began to seep blood. Julian’s eyes were filled with worry. “Sera, did your wound reopen?” Seraphina nodded tearfully. When Julian looked at me again, his voice was cold. “Marcus, slap her ten times. For every hit Sera took, Eleanor will return it tenfold.” I had no chance to resist. Julian’s assistant brutally slapped me ten times, left and right. My face throbbed, blood seeping from the corners of my mouth. My hands covered Leo’s eyes, but he cried hysterically. “Daddy, it wasn’t Mommy’s fault! That woman bullied me, and Mommy just protected me! I hate you! I hate you!” I looked at my son, struggling in my arms. My hands clutched him tightly, not allowing him to move. I endured all ten slaps. My son was crying as if his heart would break. “Mommy, let’s leave Daddy! We don’t want him anymore! Leo only wants you!” Julian’s face changed drastically, filled with extreme anger. “Eleanor, is this how you teach our son? He’s only five, and you want him to disown me as his father? You’re the malicious one! Sera doesn’t understand anything. Can’t you be more generous?” I picked up my son and started to walk out. But Julian immediately had the bodyguards block our path. “Throw them, mother and son, into the stables. They need to reflect.” We were both locked in the stables. I saw the triumphant gleam in Seraphina’s eyes. She mouthed silently, “Julian is mine!” But I knew, I would never want Julian again. The night in the stables was bitterly cold. My son, in my arms, suddenly developed a high fever. I immediately tried to open the stable door. But it was locked. I called Mrs. Gable. It was Seraphina who answered. “Eleanor, enjoying your stay in the stables? You wanted to compete with me, and now you see, Julian won’t believe a word you say. He loves me even more. You and Leo had better get as far away as possible, or I’ll make sure both of you suffer.” “Seraphina, Leo has a high fever. Let Julian talk.” “Haha, isn’t that just perfect? Your son will just burn up and become an idiot. Let me tell you, Eleanor, I’m already pregnant with Julian’s baby! The one in my belly is the true heir to the entire Sterling Group. Your son might as well become an idiot.” With a ‘snap,’ Seraphina hung up. I tried calling again, but it wouldn’t connect. I watched my son’s fever worsen in my arms. My whole body trembled. I immediately called Mrs. Gable again. Mrs. Gable said nervously, “Madam, I can’t help you. Mr. Sterling issued an order: anyone who brings you or the young master a single cup of water will be fired immediately.” The phone was hung up on me again. My eyes were filled with pain. My phone only had five percent battery left. I gently put Leo down. I slammed my entire body against the wooden door. Once wasn’t enough, then twice, then three times. My whole body was screaming in pain, but I didn’t stop. After hundreds of repetitions, the door finally burst open. My fingers were too sore to lift, but I still scooped up my son and ran outside. “Leo, hold on, Mommy will get you to the hospital right away.” Leo was so feverish he wasn’t responding. Tears streamed down my face. “Leo, Mommy will take you away. I promise.” I couldn’t drive, and no one at the villa would help me. In the middle of the night, I could only plead with Julian. I ran back to the villa. Upstairs, I burst into Julian’s room, holding Leo. I found Julian tenderly comforting Seraphina. A flicker of panic crossed Julian’s eyes, but then he said coldly, “Sera had a nightmare. She just came over to my side.” Seeing their intimate scene, I felt nothing anymore. “Julian, hurry and take our son to the hospital! He has a fever!” Julian showed a flicker of conscience. He came over and saw that Leo truly had a fever. He immediately took Leo, rushing towards the hospital. But Seraphina cried out, “Aunt Eleanor, how can you be so vicious, so cruel to Leo? You deliberately make Leo sick with a fever, just to make Julian feel sorry for him, don’t you?” Julian’s face turned grim at her words. He immediately handed Leo back to me. “Eleanor, you deliberately used our son to soften me. Since you caused this, then you walk your son to the hospital.” Julian refused. My face was deathly pale. “Julian, I’ll divorce you. Please, take Leo to the hospital now. He has a high fever, he really can’t wait.” A look of surprise crossed Julian’s eyes. In his eyes, I had never been weak. I was frighteningly calm, even in his arms, aside from shyness, there was only composure. Julian was about to speak, but Seraphina cried out, clutching her stomach. “Julian, my stomach hurts so much!” Julian looked at Seraphina. His hand unhesitatingly touched her flat abdomen. “Sera, what’s wrong?” I tugged at Julian’s arm. “Julian, take Leo to the hospital, please, please! I’ll agree to anything you want—divorce, property, I don’t care about any of it. I only want Leo.” Julian grew furious when he heard me mention divorce. “I will absolutely *not* divorce you! Eleanor, you are my wife, and that will never change!” But he picked up Seraphina and left. “Since you could solve the photo incident last time, you can solve our son’s fever this time too.” I hugged Leo and ran after Julian’s car. “Julian, please, take our child, take our child to the hospital!” But all I got was Julian speeding away, unwilling to stop for even a second. Seeing Julian’s utter resolve, I let out a hollow laugh. I was wrong, so wrong. Leo, he doesn’t deserve to be your father, and he doesn’t deserve my research. I immediately called 911 from the landline. Julian, I begged you, and you wouldn’t even take our son to the hospital. There will never be another chance.
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