Chapter 2

"What?!"

Julian slammed on the brakes.

Without asking for my opinion, he spun the steering wheel and sped toward the hospital.

Our private family doctor was already waiting anxiously at the entrance. Seeing our car pull up, he jogged over to meet us.

"Mr. Vance, Lily's vitals are dropping rapidly."

"Our local experts have very little research on this specific rare disease, and we don't have a... Wait, Dr. Vance?"

The doctor looked at me, pretending to be utterly shocked and thrilled.

He gasped and rushed closer.

"Yes! I remember now! Dr. Elena Vance, you were the leading researcher on this exact pathology!"

He immediately turned to Julian, his voice filled with urgency.

"Mr. Vance, now that Dr. Vance is out of prison, she is the most qualified person to take over Lily’s treatment!"

"Since young master Leo passed away from the exact same illness, Dr. Vance must have perfected the cure by now."

I sneered inwardly.

Same old, cheap trick.

Chloe was trying to use a sick child to trap me again. She wanted to play the victim, paint me as the villain, and dump all the blame on me if things went south.

While I was analyzing the situation, Chloe threw herself onto the floor before me once again.

She sobbed hysterically, grabbing at my coat.

"Elena, I beg you. Please."

"Save Lily. I know I made mistakes in the past. I’ll be your slave, I'll do whatever you want to make it up to you! You can torture me, you can ruin me, I don't care! But the child is innocent! Even if you hate me, please, think of Julian."

"Lily is his blood, too. I beg you!"

Chloe's performance was top-tier.

Predictably, Julian chimed in.

"Elena, even the doctor says so."

"Let the past be the past. From now on, you will be in charge of Lily's treatment..."

"SLAP!"

A resounding slap echoed through the hallway, stunning everyone into absolute silence.

But that slap didn't land on Chloe's face. Nor did it land on Julian's.

It landed squarely on the smug doctor's face.

I screamed at him, my voice trembling with manic fury.

"Who gave you permission to speak Leo's name?!"

"You useless, incompetent hack! You couldn't save Leo back then, and you still can't save Lily now?!"

With a backhand, I slapped him again.

The force of the blow knocked the doctor flat onto the floor. He was completely dazed.

His eyes darted instinctively toward Chloe.

This was completely off-script. The plan Chloe had texted him was simple: shift the medical responsibility to Elena, trigger Julian's guilt, and force Elena to comply.

Why was this woman physically assaulting him?

But I didn't stop.

Slaps, punches, and finally, I threw myself on top of him, wrapping my fingers tightly around his neck.

"You worthless fraud! You're all in this together!"

"You killed my Leo, and now you want to destroy me too!"

The doctor’s eyes rolled back as I choked the air out of him. Terrified of dying, he squealed like a pig.

"Mrs. Vance! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"It was Chloe! Chloe made me do it! She told me to lie about Lily's condition worsening so we could force you to be the primary doctor! I'm just a doctor, I had to do what she said!"

"I have the text messages on my phone to prove it! Please, let me go!"

I slowly released my grip.

I fished the phone out of his pocket, grabbed him by the hair, and forced his face against the screen to unlock it.

Sure enough, the text message was right there.

[Tell Julian that Lily is dying. Force him to make that bitch the primary doctor. We'll handle the rest later.]

I thrust the glowing screen right in front of Julian’s face.

Chloe’s face turned paper-white in an instant. She wrapped her arms around Julian's legs, weeping hysterically.

"Julian, no! That's not what it looks like! Let me explain!"

"I was just so desperate for Lily. Think about it, Elena was able to develop the targeted trial drug for Leo years ago. If she treats Lily, the chances of survival are so much higher. You have to believe me, I only did this for our daughter!"

Julian’s expression became incredibly complex, but his eyes locked onto the word "bitch" on the screen.

He remained silent for a long time.

Just as he sighed, preparing to pull Chloe up from the floor,

Another pair of hands beat him to it.

It was me.

I bent down and gently pulled Chloe to her feet.

My eyes curved into a sweet, beautiful smile.

"Of course I believe you, Chloe."

"After all, you trust me so much. You convinced Julian to steal my son's life-saving medicine for your daughter, essentially murdering my boy. And yet, you are still willing to hand your daughter over to me—a mother who has every reason to want blood."

"Are you truly not afraid that I will take this chance to torture her, mutilate her, or... kill her?"