Chapter 3

Watching Maisie's hurried back as she walked away, I couldn't hold back any longer. I strode forward and grabbed her hand, an edge of anger in my voice.

"Maisie, he's your son! Do you have any idea how long he waited for you yesterday? You—"

But before I could finish, she shook my hand off without a moment's hesitation, impatience already coloring her tone.

"Charles, since when did you get so soft with him?"

"Everything I do, isn't it for your sake, for the good of this family?"

"Daddy, it hurts, it hurts so much..."

There was no time to think. I spun around and hurried to my son, and only then did I see the blood pooling beneath his head.

"Daddy's taking you to the hospital, Daddy's taking you right now..."

A huge panic spread through my chest. I couldn't spare a thought for anything else. I scooped him up and hurried outside.

And right then.

Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets.

Watching my son's face grow paler in my arms, I ran straight into the downpour, trying to flag down a taxi.

But there was none.

Not even a single passerby.

There was no time to think.

Eyes bloodshot, I ran toward the hospital with my son in my arms.

I don't know how long it went on.

Then, finally.

A car horn sounded behind me.

I whipped around and stuck out my other hand, trying to stop it.

The car stopped.

The window slid down a crack.

I heard the person in the passenger seat speak up, testing the waters.

"Ms. Pruitt, there's a father holding a child, he stopped the car. The kid looks sick. Should we—"

The next second.

A little boy's cheerful voice reached my ears.

"Mommy Maisie, you promised you'd take me to that new restaurant, remember? I'm starving, let's hurry and go."

"Let's go."

The woman's familiar voice reached my ears.

By the time it registered, the window was already back up, and the car had already swept past me.

Countless sprays of water splashed over me.

I looked up without thinking.

The next second, I met Maisie's eyes, full of cold. That look was cold to the bone, and it struck straight at my heart.

Thankfully, in the end a kind person came by and got my son and me to the hospital in time.

Looking at my son lying in the hospital bed, my doctor friend beside me couldn't help but speak.

"Little Robin already has a rare illness, and his condition was already serious. This time his head's been injured, and on top of that he was just out in the rain. Now... even with surgery, there'll still be... lasting damage afterward. But I'd still say we have to go ahead with it, or... his life will be at risk."

I stood where I was, not saying a word, but my body wouldn't stop trembling.

I took out my phone.

I turned to call Maisie.

The hospital corridor suddenly erupted in noise. A group of men who looked like security guards walked at the front, as if shielding someone.

"Where's the doctor?"

"My son is hurt, please, come look at him quickly!"

The woman's familiar voice reached my ears. In that voice was an urgency and worry I had never heard from her.

Watching Maisie's hurried back, the gossip of onlookers filled the space around me.

"I hear this one's the CEO of the Pruitt Group. So young and already CEO, that's really something."

"Right, and look at her like this, she must be a good mother too."

"Yeah, I always thought the CEO behind the Pruitt Group was a man. If I hadn't just seen the official news, I never would've known!"

My doctor friend clapped a hand on my shoulder, and finally couldn't help asking.

"You and Maisie, what's going on?"

"She's actually the CEO of the Pruitt Group. You've kept it well hidden, never once mentioned it. Well, this is good news at least. You won't have to worry about your son's surgery costs anymore."

I twisted the corner of my mouth, my voice thick with mockery when I spoke.

"I only just found out myself."