Chapter 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?”