Gavin leaned closer, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. "Do you think I don’t know? You were with him, bore his child—how could you stoop so low?"

Sienna was already sobbing, her voice trembling as she tried to explain. "Gavin, it’s not like that. Please, listen to me."

Gavin exhaled deeply, his anger giving way to frustration. His tone softened, though his eyes remained filled with worry. "Sienna, listen to me. You need to leave him. Go as far away as you can. He’s not someone you can handle—he’s dangerous, a demon..."

"Visiting time is over!" the prison guard called out sharply.

Gavin's words cut off abruptly. He stood, his posture stiff as he gazed at his sister with deep concern. “Promise me, Sienna. Be obedient—leave him.”

--

When Sienna exited the prison, she saw the black commercial vehicle waiting for her, but this time, the driver’s seat was occupied by Elijah himself.

He leaned casually against the door, his face shadowed by a slight scowl. The ground beside him was littered with cigarette butts, a sign that he’d been waiting for some time.

Noticing her red, swollen eyes, he raised a hand to brush away her tears. “Little girl,” he murmured, his voice deceptively gentle.

Sienna flinched, pulling her face away sharply—and in her haste, her head struck him lightly on the cheek.

The sound wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make Elijah pause. His expression darkened as anger flickered in his eyes.

Sienna froze, her heart pounding. She fully expected him to retaliate, perhaps even strike her. But instead, Elijah grabbed her arm and unceremoniously pulled her into the car.

"Let me go!" she cried, struggling against his iron grip. Her resistance was futile; she was no match for his strength.

“Fasten your seatbelt,” he commanded coldly, his voice laced with menace. “Unless you want to die right here.”

Sienna’s chest heaved as she tried to compose herself. Gathering what courage she had, she turned to him, her voice trembling with accusation. “Did you tell my brother about me?” Tears streamed down her face, her emotions a chaotic blend of fear and anger.

Elijah’s jaw tightened, and a sharp, cold glint flashed in his eyes. “It’s better this way,” he said flatly. “He was going to find out eventually. Did you really think you could keep it a secret forever?”

His sarcastic words only fueled the fire of her anger. Without a second thought, Sienna yanked open the car door, ready to escape.

The chill in Elijah’s eyes deepened. He extended his hand to stop the door, his voice icy. “Sienna, are you sure you want to challenge me?”

Her eyes, red and swollen, remained silent, but the frustration she had carried for days surged to the surface. “Just leave me alone,” she muttered, barely able to contain her emotions.

Elijah’s face flickered with something unreadable, but his smile grew even more mocking, his voice low. “Then go. Get out.”

Without hesitation, Sienna jumped from the car, her movements sharp, as if to prove a point.

Before she could regain her footing, the car sped off, its engine roaring as it disappeared into the distance, nearly sending her stumbling.

Bitterness tightened in her chest as she walked quickly, her mind clouded with frustration. But as she glanced at the winding road ahead, a sinking realization hit her—how foolish she had been.

The sky above darkened ominously, thunder crashing, and heavy rain began to fall in torrents.

Sienna stood alone beneath the oppressive sky, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. She felt like the last person in a world crowded with people, abandoned in the downpour, lost, unable to find her way.

Suddenly, the sleek black car reappeared, stopping in front of her. The door opened, and the tall figure of Elijah stepped out, holding an umbrella. “Get in,” he commanded, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Sienna lifted her wet face, her lips trembling as she silently climbed into the car.

Elijah tossed her a clean towel, his gaze intense and focused on her.

The white shirt clung to her body, damp against her skin, tracing every curve with the rise and fall of her breath. Gone was the innocent girl he once knew—now, she held the allure of a woman, her beauty wrapped in a quiet, intoxicating charm.

The sweet, milky fragrance that lingered around her only added to the heat spreading through him.

His hand reached for her, and Sienna’s heart skipped. When her gaze met his, the intensity in his eyes was unmistakable—desire burned in them, raw and unmistakable.

Her hand trembled, and the towel slipped from her fingers, falling to the floor.

Outside, the storm raged on, but inside the car, a different rhythm took over—one that pulsed with unspoken tension.

…

That night, neither of them returned to Morgan's house.

Instead, Elijah booked a hotel in the mountains, and there, he pushed her limits, his torment stretching through the hours, filling the silence of the night.

Even though she gazed at him, a man who exuded such restraint, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he always seemed unsatisfied, as if something was missing in him. Were his desires really so different from his wife’s?

Sienna had suffered intensely, and the cold rain had taken its toll. The next day, she fell ill.

She lay in bed, her body heavy with exhaustion, but her thoughts kept drifting back to her child. She urged the man to leave and return home, but Elijah’s expression remained serious.

“I’m not going back today,” he said flatly.

She assumed he hadn’t had enough of her company, so with a frustrated grimace, she insisted, “I have to go back. I need to see the baby.”

His gaze darkened, and his voice dropped seriously. “Something’s happened to your brother.”

The words didn’t quite register at first. "What do you mean? What happened to Gavin?"

He was gone.

Gavin had been involved in a fight with criminals in prison and had been stabbed in the neck with a sharpened toothbrush. He bled out before he could be saved.

Sienna had no other family, and so Elijah accompanied her to the morgue to identify the body.

The body had already been prepared, the blood drained from his lifeless form. Gavin’s features, so familiar and handsome, remained unchanged, but the unnatural pallor of his skin made him look almost unreal. If it weren’t for the cold, ashen color of his complexion, she might have sworn he’d open his eyes and call out her name.

"Gavin!" she cried, her voice breaking as she rushed forward to hold his body.

Her last family member, her final piece of hope, was gone.

She continued to shake him, her mind refusing to accept the reality of it. They had just spoken yesterday. How could he be gone? He had to be playing some cruel trick on her, like he always did. Her brother, the master of mischief, wouldn’t just vanish.

Watching her sob uncontrollably, Elijah stood frozen. He squeezed his fists by his side, torn between sympathy and helplessness. Finally, he called Liam, instructing her to come in and pull Sienna away.

“Miss Clark,” Liam’s voice was soft but firm. “There is no resurrection after death. Please forgive me.”

Sienna lifted her tear-soaked face and met Elijah’s eyes, her gaze filled with raw, desperate pain. “You promised you’d take care of him. You promised you’d make him better…”

Elijah pulled her into his arms, his voice heavy with regret. "I'm sorry."

Sienna pushed against him, her fists pounding on his chest in a frantic attempt to break free. "You killed my brother! You’re the one who caused this! It was a traffic accident, but you insisted on sending him to prison! You killed him!"

Elijah's expression grew colder, his arms tightening around her in an effort to prevent her from hurting herself—or him.

Sienna’s cries began to subside, her body shaking with exhaustion. She looked up at him, her eyes hollow, broken. "Elijah," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I can’t do this anymore."

He stared at her, confusion flickering across his face. "What do you mean?"

"I won’t be a nanny anymore. I’m leaving the Morgan Family... I’m leaving you."

The shift in his expression was immediate, his features darkening as the weight of her words settled in. "You don’t want the baby anymore?"

Sienna shook her head vehemently. "No... He's not my baby. He’s yours."

He stepped back, his jaw clenched as he grit out, "Don’t even think about it. Your brother’s death was his fault, don’t pin it on me. Just stay by my side until I’ve had enough of you!"

The words cut deeper than any punch, and Sienna was left standing in a haze of confusion and pain. She was physically and mentally drained—her body ravaged by illness and grief.

Sleep evaded her completely, her nights plagued with nightmares. Her hair fell out in clumps, and she wandered through her days in a daze. Sometimes, she forgot to feed the baby, or, worse, she’d absentmindedly shove a biscuit into his mouth when he cried for milk.

One evening, the confinement nurse caught her off guard, witnessing the horrifying scene. Elijah noticed the changes too—the sleepless nights, the emptiness in her eyes when he held her, and the distance that had grown between them.

Concerned, he took her to a doctor, who diagnosed her with postpartum depression. The doctor’s words were like a cold slap, confirming what Elijah feared. Sienna was no longer fit to care for the baby.

Yet Nancy was unrelenting. She wanted to kick Sienna out of the house. But Elijah, despite his frustrations, refused to let that happen.

"Even if you can't breastfeed, you still need to take care of him," he insisted. "You're responsible for his daily needs."

A new wet nurse was brought in, one who could provide an abundance of milk, but the child rejected her. Even though he was hungry, he refused to eat, crying weakly and intermittently, as if he could sense the absence of the woman he truly needed.

Sienna could hear him crying every day. His pitiful sobs tore at her heart, and the guilt of being unable to comfort him only deepened her despair.

She had been taking milk-enhancing medicine, but for the sake of the child, she had stopped, choosing instead to drink soup. The grief of losing her brother began to fade, its weight lessened by the small moments of joy she could still find in caring for the baby.

Finally, the milk returned. Though the pain was unbearable, she endured it long enough to express the remaining milk, then cradled the baby in her arms once more. His cries gradually subsided, and as he fed, Sienna's heart melted. The baby swallowed greedily, his tiny body making soft whimpering sounds, reminiscent of a kitten.

Once she had finished breastfeeding, she returned to her room, only to be confronted by a sudden flurry of activity. Nancy stood at the center, her voice commanding as she ordered the bodyguards, "Tie up the murderer of my grandson."

Confusion clouded Sienna’s mind, but the mention of death sharpened her senses. In a panic, she shouted, "What's happening? What's wrong with the baby?"

Before she could react, a sharp kick landed in her lower abdomen. Nancy's venomous words followed. "You wretched woman, what did you give the baby to drink?"

Ignoring the pain that flared in her abdomen, Sienna fought to explain. "It's nothing. Just my breast milk. The baby won’t drink formula, so I... I squeezed it into the bottle for him..."

Before she could finish, the housekeeper rushed in, holding the baby in his arms. His face was pale, his body limp. "Madam, the young sir... he's not breathing."

Sienna’s heart stopped as she watched the child’s lifeless form, blood and foam dripping from his mouth—the same mouth that had been drinking her milk moments ago. With a heart-rending cry, she broke free from the grip of the two men holding her and lunged for her child.

Her hands trembled as she scooped the baby up, his small body stiffening in her arms. "No!" she wailed, her voice breaking. She ran for the door, her every step heavy with fear.

Nancy’s voice rang out, cold and commanding. "Stop her! Get my grandson back!"

In an instant, several men and women surged forward, pinning Sienna to the floor. The baby was ripped from her arms and returned to Nancy's, who held him tightly, her expression unreadable.

Sienna, desperate and frantic, pleaded, "Please... please... take him to the hospital! Hurry!"

Her words seemed to pierce through the cold atmosphere. Nancy’s eyes widened in realization, and she quickly barked orders. "Call the driver. Get the car ready to go to the hospital. And someone, get Elijah!"

The coldness returned as she turned to the bodyguards. "What about this woman?"

"Throw her out. Don't let her see the child again."

Without a second thought, Sienna was shoved out of the house, her phone and money taken from her. She stood outside, disoriented, but too afraid to leave. She wandered aimlessly around the grounds of Morgan's mansion, unsure of what to do next.

She had hoped to wait for Elijah to return, to explain everything to him and perhaps find some semblance of resolution. But instead of Elijah, she found herself face-to-face with Wesley Wood, her university professor and her late brother’s close friend.

The car stopped in front of her, and Wesley’s voice broke through her dazed thoughts. “Sienna, is that really you?”

Seeing a familiar face, Sienna felt a lump form in her throat, and her nose tingled with the sharp sting of unshed tears. “Mr. Wood…”

“It’s so late. Why are you out here by yourself? Get in the car,” he said, concern evident in his voice.

Wesley had returned from abroad after hearing about his friend’s death. As soon as he’d come back, he’d searched everywhere for Sienna. Seeing her now, he didn’t ask questions. Instead, he simply drove her back to his place without a word.

The next morning, Sienna, desperate and lost, asked Wesley to lend her some money. She needed to get to the hospital, where her heart was bound, despite the uncertainty. She took a taxi there, trying to steady her breath.

At the hospital, she arrived to find two bodyguards in suits standing at the door of the ward, blocking her way. She couldn’t get in.

Just as she was about to give up, Courtney appeared. With a sly grin, she deliberately shoved one of the bodyguards aside, creating an opening for Sienna. Seizing the chance, Sienna rushed toward the door, hoping this might be the moment she could hold her baby again.

But what she saw made her blood run cold.

Courtney was standing over the crib, her hands around the baby’s neck. Sienna’s heart raced. She didn’t think, only reacted. She lunged at Courtney, pushing her away with all her strength and scooping the baby into her arms.

“What are you doing?” Sienna screamed, her voice cracking with terror and fury.

Courtney blinked, momentarily stunned, before an eerie, malicious smile spread across her face. “Sienna, even if you save him once, it won’t matter. I’m Mrs. Morgan now. There’s no room for this little boy. I’ll make sure he doesn’t survive for long.”

Sienna’s stomach twisted as the realization hit her. “It was you… You poisoned the baby, didn’t you?”

Courtney’s smile grew wider, more sinister. “Yes. The little boy is lucky to be alive, but it’s just a matter of time. There will be plenty of chances, and I’ll make sure he dies. For good.”