On Christmas Eve, my husband, a renowned chief surgeon, personally sealed away my son’s only chance at survival. My son, Leo, was bleeding internally and needed emergency surgery. Dr. James Vance, his father and a compatible RH-negative AB blood donor, was instead by the bedside of Serena, the woman he loved, simply because she had cut her finger. I stood outside in the snow, crying and pleading with him. “James, Leo really is your son. Please, just give him some blood!” He looked down at me coldly through the glass, not even glancing at the unconscious Leo. “Scarlett, I’ve seen the medical report. To extort money, you’d even fake that illegitimate child’s death?” Because he refused to believe me, Serena crushed Leo’s last dose of life-saving medication right before my eyes. I could only watch helplessly as my son stopped breathing in convulsive agony. Dr. James Vance, when you finally learn Leo was your biological son, will you regret it? Scarlett POV The night before Christmas Eve, fireworks burst outside my window while I coughed blood into my hands in the bathroom. My phone screen lit up, the top trending headline searing my eyes: “Dr. James Vance Rushes Across Town for Love, Protecting Serena Hayes’ Scratched Finger.” I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, looked at my pale face in the mirror, and chuckled softly. “James, this is your last year with me.” In the empty mansion, a meticulously prepared holiday dinner slowly grew cold. The crystal chandelier cast a cold glow over the fine dinnerware. I had laid the table for three. One for me. One for James. And a small one for my secret-my son, Leo, hidden upstairs. This would be my last holiday after being diagnosed with advanced coagulation disorder. I wanted to leave my child and myself at least one warm memory. Even if that memory was a facade, painstakingly built with my last strength. A faint sound came from upstairs. I immediately suppressed all my emotions and hurried up. In the small room, Leo lay on the bed, his little face flushed with fever. “Mommy…” His voice was soft and weak, “Daddy… is he coming home today?” My heart twisted with agony. I leaned down and pressed my forehead against his. The scorching temperature made my heart race. “Yes, he will. Daddy will bring Leo a present after he’s done with work.” I whispered gently, feeding him the fever medicine. Leo was so good, he frowned his little face and swallowed the bitter medicine, his big, dark grape-like eyes full of anticipation. Just then, the front door opened downstairs. My heart lifted with a surge of hope, and I rushed down. James was back. He brought with him a biting coldness, and a strange perfume scent that didn’t belong in our home. It was Serena’s scent. I knew he only married me because he’d saved my life from a fire five years ago. That act of kindness, repeatedly emphasized by his mother, gradually became proof of my “scheming.” Since then, his gaze held nothing but scrutiny and disgust for me. I dared not let him know about Leo’s existence, fearing that for Serena’s rare genetic bone marrow disease, he would treat his own flesh and blood as a cruel “living donor.”
Scarlett POV “I’m just here to grab something.” James’s voice was as cold as his demeanor, utterly devoid of warmth. He didn’t even glance at the dinner on the table. “Serena cut her hand, I’m going to take care of it. I won’t be eating at home tonight.” His tone was flat, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated to him. But I knew, anything about Serena was always related to him. “Can’t you stay?” I instinctively grabbed his sleeve, a hint of desperation in my voice that even I hadn’t realized was there. “I… I don’t feel well.” His gaze finally landed on my face. There was no concern in his eyes, only scrutiny, impatience, and the disgust for my “greed and scheming” that his mother had repeatedly instilled in him. He mercilessly shook off my hand. “Scarlett, stop pretending to be sick for attention.” His words cut like an icy blade straight through my heart. “I saw your medical report last week. You are perfectly healthy. You could even donate blood.” James pulled a black card from his wallet and casually tossed it on the floor. The metal card clattered against the marble, a harsh, grating sound. “If you want money, just say so. Don’t use your body as an excuse.” With that, he turned and left, without a single backward glance. I stood frozen, watching the familiar taillights of his car disappear into the night, a bitter ache in my chest. I once thought that saving my life would at least earn me a shred of warmth. Now I understood, that was merely my delusion. My phone screen automatically lit up, a new entertainment notification popping up. The photo showed James carefully cradling Serena’s finger, his brow slightly furrowed, his expression focused and tender. The caption read: “Christmas Eve Romance! Dr. James Vance Bandages His Lover’s Wound, He’s So In Love With Her!” My heart clenched painfully. For me, it was coldness and humiliation. For Serena, it was devoted affection, held in the palm of his hand. “Mommy.” A soft, childish voice came from behind me. Leo had somehow stumbled downstairs. He saw my tears, and his little brow immediately furrowed. He pulled a slightly melted candy from his pajama pocket. He stood on tiptoes, trying to push the candy into my mouth. “Don’t cry, Mommy. Leo brought you a present.” The child’s innocence was like an even sharper knife, cutting my heart to shreds. A sudden, metallic taste surged up my throat. My vision blurred, nosebleed began to flow uncontrollably, and my body went limp, collapsing directly to the floor. In the last moment before losing consciousness, I heard Leo’s terrified scream. If I were to die like this, perhaps it would be a release. James, I’m free. But what about you?
Scarlett POV Cold. An icy, piercing chill radiated from the marble floor, threatening to freeze my blood. I didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious. I only knew that when I woke, the mansion was still empty. Only a dark red stain of dried blood on the floor reminded me of what had just happened. Leo had cried himself to sleep beside me, his little flushed face still streaked with tears. I propped up my weak body, carried the child to bed, and put a fever patch on him. Then I took out a syringe and a hemostatic agent from the medicine cabinet, skillfully found my vein, and inserted the needle. Long illness makes one a doctor. Someone unloved like me, for the sake of my child, could only desperately cling to life. Just as I pulled out the needle and pressed a cotton swab to the injection site, the mansion door was unlocked and pushed open. James was back. But he wasn’t alone. Behind him, Serena walked in, smiling innocently. “Scarlett, I’m so sorry.” Serena intimately hooked her arm through James’s, her posture very much like the lady of the house. “My house’s wiring suddenly broke, and I couldn’t find anyone to fix it on Christmas Eve. James was worried about me being alone in the dark, so he suggested I stay here for the night. You don’t mind, do you?” I wasn’t an idiot. She said “stay” but the triumph and provocation in her eyes were almost overflowing. Before I could speak, James commanded me, “You’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.” He pointed towards the master bedroom and told Serena, “Serena, you take the master bedroom. It gets good light, and you’re afraid of the dark.” How ironic. This was James and my marital home, and now, for another woman, he was openly kicking me out of our master bedroom. Just then, a small figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Leo had been woken up. He rubbed his eyes as he walked down. Seeing James, his eyes lit up, and he timidly called out, “Daddy…” James’s face instantly darkened. He frowned in disgust, looking at Leo as if he were trash. “Where did this bastard come from? He’s so loud.” The word “bastard” felt like three red-hot needles, stabbing straight into my eardrums. That was his biological son! His own flesh and blood, sharing his blood! I rushed over in a panic, shielding Leo tightly behind me, my heart pounding. “He…he’s a relative’s child. No one was home, so I’m watching him for a few days.” I couldn’t let him know Leo’s identity. Absolutely not. I knew James had been looking for a special bone marrow for Serena’s “genetic optimization therapy” to eradicate her genetic disease. And Leo’s various indicators perfectly matched Serena’s. If James knew, he would undoubtedly snatch the child away, using Leo as Serena’s “living donor”! Serena scrutinized Leo with interest, then suddenly walked forward, bent down, and put on a fake smile. “Oh, what a cute little boy.” I watched as she used her long nails to viciously pinch Leo’s arm. Before I could intervene, Leo, caught completely off guard, burst into tears from the sharp pain. Serena immediately straightened up, a hand pressed to her chest in feigned surprise. “What a temper this child has! I only wanted to touch him..” James’s patience completely ran out. He looked at me coldly, scolding sharply, “Control your child! Make him shut up! Otherwise, I’ll throw him out of here!” I could only frantically cover Leo’s mouth, carrying him back to his room upstairs. When I came back downstairs, I witnessed a scene that made my blood run cold. The small white pill bottle I’d left on the coffee table – a special, life-saving medicine for Leo that I’d pulled countless strings to get from abroad. Now, it was in the mouth of Serena’s poodle, Prince, being chewed like a toy. The bottle was bitten open, white pills scattered everywhere. The dog extended its tongue, licking them with relish. Serena giggled beside it, even taking out her phone to snap photos. “These calcium tablets taste good, don’t they? Look how much our dog loves them.” Calcium tablets? That was Leo’s life! “Don’t touch it!” I rushed over like a madwoman, trying to snatch the pills from the dog’s mouth. But James shoved me away. My lower back hit the sharp corner of the coffee table with a heavy thud, the sharp pain instantly making me double over, cold sweat breaking out. James looked down at me, his eyes full of contempt. “It’s just a bottle of calcium tablets, is that really necessary?” “I’ll have someone buy you a whole box tomorrow.” A whole box? He didn’t know this medicine was globally limited, priceless. He didn’t know his own son could die without it at any moment. He knew nothing. He only knew Serena had cut her finger, and Serena’s dog needed “calcium tablets.” And my child, his own child, was less to him than that dog.
Scarlett POV Ignoring the pain, I held a feverish Leo and hid in the cold storage room, wiping his body repeatedly with alcohol swabs, trying to cool him down with basic physical methods. The medicine was gone; this was all I could do. “Mommy…” Leo murmured in his sleep, his little hand clutching my shirt, “Am I… going to die?” A scalding tear fell onto the child’s equally scorching forehead. My heart shattered beyond repair. Just then, my phone rang. It was Mr. Davies, the Vance family’s housekeeper. James had sent someone to rush me to the Vance family’s grand estate for their Christmas gala. On the phone, Mr. Davies’ voice was cold, devoid of emotion. “Mr. Vance instructed that you must wear heavy makeup to cover your illness. Don’t look like you’re half-dead at the gala; it’s bad luck.” Bad luck. In front of his family, I wasn’t even allowed to show a hint of weakness or illness. I was merely a decoration, expected to be perpetually poised and radiant, to adorn the Vance family’s facade. I glanced down at Leo, who was breathing faintly in my arms, and had no choice. I had to go. Only by going could I receive the annual cash gift the Vance family gave to their wives. It was a considerable sum. With that money, I could buy medicine for Leo through underground channels. I hardened my heart, entrusted Leo to a trusted part-time nanny, and went to the gala alone. The Vance estate was brightly lit, filled with guests, clinking glasses, and laughter. Everyone wore polite smiles, exchanging insincere well wishes. I felt like a puppet, numbly following James, enduring countless gazes that scrutinized and evaluated me. Halfway through the gala, James, in front of everyone, took out a velvet box. He personally opened it, revealing a dazzling set of ruby jewelry. He didn’t look at me. Instead, he walked straight to Serena, who was seated nearby. He personally fastened the necklace around her neck. “This set of jewelry suits you perfectly.” Immediately, a chorus of envious praises erupted. “Mr. Vance truly holds a candle for Ms. Hayes. All these years, she’s still the only one in his heart.” “Yeah, the official Mrs. Vance looks pretty terrible right now.” The voices were not loud, but clear enough to pierce my ears. I stood there, like a clown publicly executed, enduring everyone’s mockery and pity. But the pain in my heart had long gone numb. Finally, it was time for the cash gifts to the younger generation. James walked up to me, a formal smile on his face, and slipped a thin envelope into my hand. The envelope was so light it felt weightless. My fingers trembled uncontrollably. I retreated to an empty corner and opened the envelope. There was no check, no bank card. Only a few crumpled bills and a pamphlet for birth control pills. That piece of paper felt like a resounding slap, hitting me hard across the face. Utter humiliation. He was using this method to tell me: He saved my life years ago, and I “schemed” my way into the Vance family. Now, everything he did was merely repaying the kindness I had “exploited.” He didn’t even want me to “scheme” for another child. He didn’t know. Three years ago, I had already given birth to his son. “Scarlett, don’t complain it’s too little.” Serena had approached me without me noticing, waving a high-value check, her smile bold and triumphant. “James is doing this for your own good, afraid you’ll waste money. After all, people like us who can help his career are simply worth more than those who are just kept at home.” Every word was a stab to the heart. Just then, my phone vibrated violently. It was the nanny calling. Her voice was choked with tears, almost frantic. “Ms. Reid! It’s terrible! Leo… he’s coughing up blood and has collapsed!” BOOM. My mind went instantly blank. I cared about nothing else; I turned and ran out. “Stop!” James grabbed my wrist, his eyes icy. “What game are you playing now? In this kind of setting, who are you performing for?” In his eyes, I was always just trying to get attention. “Let go of me!” My voice was shrill, completely off-key. “Leo is in trouble!” “How many times are you going to pull this stunt?” His face was full of mockery and disbelief. Guests around us looked over, whispering and pointing. I looked at his cold face, all explanations stuck in my throat. I knew. He wouldn’t believe me. The next second, I did something that shocked everyone. My legs gave out, and I fell to my knees in front of him, in full view of everyone. The cold, hard floor dug painfully into my knees. I didn’t care about anything else. I bowed my head towards him, slamming my forehead hard against the ground. The sound of my forehead hitting the floor was dull and desperate. “Please, let me go.” My voice was hoarse, tinged with blood. “After this…I’ll do anything you ask.” My dignity. My pride. In that moment, I ground them to dust with my own hands. I wanted nothing. I only wanted my Leo to live.
Scarlett POV I don’t know how I stumbled out of the Vance family’s estate. I sped through countless intersections, driving my car like a trapped beast trying to break free from its cage, rushing to the hospital. The emergency room lights were stark and blinding. Leo’s tiny body lay on the hospital bed, hooked up to various tubes, the cardiac monitor beeping faintly and rapidly. “Oh, God…” I knelt on the cold floor, hands clasped, praying to whatever divine power might be listening. “Please, please don’t take him away… take my life instead, I beg you…” The ER doctor walked over with the test results, his expression grave. “The patient’s condition is critical. He’s lost too much blood and needs an immediate transfusion. But he has an extremely rare RH-negative AB blood type. Our hospital’s blood bank is completely depleted, and neighboring blood banks are also running low.” Running low. Those two words hit me like a sledgehammer, shattering my last shred of hope. The doctor hesitated, then added, “To my knowledge, the only place in the entire city that might have this blood type in reserve is Dr. Vance’s private blood bank. He keeps it for special situations.” James. Again, James. Fate, like a wicked joke, pinned me down and crushed me repeatedly. I trembling took out my phone, dialing the number I knew by heart, over and over. “Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is busy, please try again later…” “Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is busy…” The cold, robotic voice pushed me deeper into the abyss, time and time again. I didn’t give up. Over a dozen times. Dozens of times. Finally, the call connected. But the voice on the other end was a soft, feminine one. It was Serena. “Hello? Oh, it’s you? James’s in the shower, so he can’t answer right now. Is something wrong? You can tell me, I’ll pass it on.” Her deliberately intimate tone was like a poisoned knife, dealing another cruel blow to my already bleeding heart. I hung up directly and rushed out of the hospital. Guided by memory, I sped to James’s usual private club. I kicked open the VIP lounge door. The room was softly lit. James, wearing a bathrobe, his hair still dripping wet, was holding a brochure, quietly explaining something to Serena. Serena leaned against him, pointing at pictures in the brochure, laughing easily and happily. They were choosing beauty treatments. How utterly ironic. My son was teetering between life and death at the hospital. And here he was, with another woman, discussing how to make herself more perfect. “James!” My voice was hoarse, almost unrecognizable. “The hospital! Leo is dying at the hospital! He needs a blood transfusion! I’m begging you, release the blood from your private blood bank for him!” I rushed to grab him, but I was blocked by the people beside him. James slowly looked up at me. His eyes were cold and distant, as if he were looking at an unreasonable lunatic. “For that child?” After hearing my words, his tone was flat, even tinged with cold mockery. He stood up, slowly adjusting the lapel of his bathrobe. “Unfortunately, that batch of blood is already earmarked.” “Serena is having a laser scar removal surgery tomorrow; we need to have blood ready to ensure everything goes perfectly.” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Scar removal? She’s just having scar removal! My child will die! That’s a human life!” A clear look of impatience finally appeared on his face. He walked up to me, looking down at me. His voice was as cold as a lifeless winter wind. “The scar on her arm was from saving me years ago.” “In my world, any surgery for her is the highest priority, with no risks allowed.” He paused for a moment, then, with an eerily calm tone, spoke the most cruel words. “As for that child’s life or death, it has nothing to do with me.” Nothing to do with me… My mind went blank with a loud ringing sound. I broke free and lunged at him like a madwoman, trying to snatch the access card for the blood bank from his pocket. But he easily dodged me. I was once again pinned firmly to the cold floor. “Stop acting crazy.” He spat out those three cold words, his tone filled with disgust. I lay on the floor, looking at his hands. Looking at his familiar yet alien face. Suddenly, I laughed. Laughed until tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I looked up, my vision filled with a deadly silence. “James.” I spoke each word distinctly. “You will regret this.” “You will definitely regret this.” “Until the end of your life, you will regret everything you’ve done today, to the point of unbearable pain.”
Scarlett POV At the end of despair, there is madness. I was thrown out of the club by bodyguards, like a piece of trash carelessly discarded. I picked myself up from the muddy ground, neither crying nor looking for James again. I hid in an empty public restroom stall, pulling out an old-looking, but military-grade encrypted phone from my inner pocket. This was my past, buried for five years. My identity as “Nyx,” a top medical investor within the covert network. I pressed the power button. The screen lit up, revealing a blood-red phoenix emblem. I dialed the number I hadn’t called in five years. The call was answered almost instantly. “Boss.” “It’s me.” I spoke. “Activate S-class clearance. I need the freshest RH-negative AB blood, airlifted to Central Hospital in half an hour, no matter the cost.” “Boss! Once S-class clearance is activated, your location will be forcefully exposed! The people who hunted you down years ago will come looking!” “I know.” My gaze passed over the stall door, looking towards the hospital. “For Leo, I have to take this gamble.” Half an hour later. A black specialized medical helicopter, ignoring city no-fly zone regulations, landed on the roof helipad of Central Hospital with a tremendous roar. A silver combination lock box was swiftly rushed to the emergency room. The moment the blood plasma entered Leo’s body, the nearly flatlining line on the monitor finally began to fluctuate. Leo was temporarily out of danger. I sat by the bedside, holding the child’s cold little hand, looking at his peaceful sleeping face. The tension that had held me for hours finally broke, and tears silently streamed down my face. Just then, the hospital room door was violently pushed open. James appeared in the doorway. His gaze fell on the blood bag above the bed, then swept to the still dissipating propeller wash outside the window. “How did you manage to mobilize a military-grade helicopter to deliver blood?” He walked in, approaching me step by step. “Who exactly are you?” I quickly wiped away my tears, forcing a smile. “I sold a kidney.” I said it lightly. He paused for a moment. Then he sneered. “For an illegitimate child, you truly will do anything.” I was long numb to such words. He didn’t press further about the blood’s origin. Today, he was here for something else. “Serena’s surgery plan has changed. It requires highly active cell tissue as a culture medium.” “Your bone marrow, it’s a match.” I understood. Serena again. Again, something to be taken from me to fill her needs. “Tomorrow morning, come with me to the operating room for a bone marrow biopsy.” His tone was a command. “I refuse.” I didn’t hesitate. James sneered, his gaze falling on Leo in the hospital bed. “Have you forgotten, this hospital is a Vance family property.” “With a single word from me, I can have that illegitimate child, along with all this equipment, cleared out.” He always used this trick. Using my son’s life to force me to yield. My body trembled uncontrollably. Looking at his familiar yet alien face, the last shred of anything I held inside me completely extinguished. For Leo to continue receiving treatment here, I had no other choice. “Fine. I agree.” Let this be the last time. To repay the debt from when he pulled me from the fire years ago. From now on, we would owe each other nothing. Our lives would run separate courses. James turned and left. He didn’t see the thin surgical blade I had hidden in my sleeve, already clenched in my hand the moment I agreed. Nor did he notice the black sniper scope fixed on the roof across from the hospital, aimed directly at this window. A shadow flickered past outside. My enemies had found me.
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