As soon as Alaric saw Caspian, he couldn't stop shivering.

Seeing Alaric like this made Caspian even more dissatisfied. "How can a man be so spineless? You're nothing compared to Julian. How do you even deserve to be my son acting like this?"

My heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife. I shielded my trembling son behind me. "Why are you here? I absolutely will not let you hurt Alaric again."

Caspian's brow instantly furrowed into a tight knot.

In the past, my son and I fawned over him like dogs, revolving our entire world around him. Now that we dared to give him attitude, his high-and-mighty ego felt gravely offended.

This was the first time he had been treated with such disgust by us, and a wave of irritability and discomfort he had never felt before welled up in his chest.

"Isolde is a single mother who just returned to the country; she's struggling to adjust. As a friend, what's wrong with me helping her out?" He adjusted his cuffs—which were worth a fortune—his tone so self-righteous it made me want to vomit. "Besides, Alaric didn't die, did he? Stop playing the victim and blowing things out of proportion. If you want money, just ask. Don't be so petty; it makes you look like a joke."

"Want money?" I laughed out of extreme anger, my fingernails digging deep into my palms. "Caspian, has a dog eaten your conscience? To save Isolde's bastard, you stole my blood and nearly killed your own son! Do you realize Alaric almost died on that operating table just now?! And now you want to talk to me about money? Can your money buy back his life?!"

Caspian's eyes turned cold. A cruel, mocking sneer curled at the corner of his mouth as he stepped closer to me. "Ivy, stop making yourself sound so noble. When I went 'bankrupt' and told you to get lost, you were the one who shamelessly insisted on staying in the basement with me. You were the one who insisted on giving birth to this burden, Alaric."

He looked down at me, every word piercing my heart like a poisoned needle. "For the past five years, I didn't hold a gun to your head forcing you to suffer. You did it all voluntarily, didn't you? Since it was voluntary, don't stand here acting pitiful to gain sympathy."

My ears buzzed, and it felt like all the blood in my body was flowing in reverse.

Yes, I was pathetic.

I thought sincerity could warm a stone. I thought eating chaff and vegetables with him would earn his gratitude. In the end, all I got was a dismissive "voluntary." In his eyes, the suffering my son and I endured was something we deserved!

I stared dead at him, gritting my teeth. "You're right, Caspian. The pathetic Ivy from before is dead. Now, take your stinking money and get the hell out!"

Caspian was stung by the resolve in my eyes. The feeling of losing control made him incredibly irritable. He swept a cold glance over us, as if looking at us for one more second would dirty his eyes, then turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

For the next few days, we recovered in a cramped, noisy, disinfectant-smelling ordinary ward, while right next door was Isolde's VIP presidential suite.

When the nurses came to change the dressings, they whispered enviously:

"Did you hear? To calm Miss Isolde's nerves, Mr. Thorne gifted her a pink diamond jewelry set worth twenty million! The main stone alone is the size of a pigeon egg!"

"And that kid, Julian. He just mentioned he wanted to play with Legos, and Mr. Thorne bought out the entire limited edition stock from the toy store and had it sent over! The boxes are piled up so high you can't even walk! Same species, different fates, huh?"

Twenty million in jewelry. Buying out a toy store.

That money was enough for Alaric and me to live in that basement for centuries, enough to buy countless cans of nearly expired discounted food.

Listening to this, my heart felt as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

When pain reaches its limit, it becomes numbness.

On the day of discharge, I pushed Alaric in his wheelchair to Central Park.

I gritted my teeth and bought him a balloon I would never have borne to buy before—it cost what used to be our food budget for a whole day.

Holding the balloon, a hint of color finally returned to Alaric's pale face.

"Mommy," he suddenly looked up, his sensibility breaking my heart, "as long as you're here, I don't envy anyone."

I held back my tears and pointed ahead. "Alaric, let's go see the carousel."

That was his fifth birthday wish—he wanted his daddy to take him on the carousel once.

However, when we arrived at the carousel, we saw that nauseating figure.

Caspian, wearing a casual suit worth more than my life, was patiently lifting Julian onto a golden horse.

"Uncle Caspian, I want to ride the highest one! And I want to go faster! I want to leave everyone behind!" Julian commanded arrogantly, like a spoiled little emperor.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Caspian gently fastened the safety belt for him, even leaning down to kiss Julian's forehead. "Hold on tight, my little knight. The whole playground is yours."

That kind of patience and doting, treating someone like a treasure—he had never given even a fraction of it to Alaric.

Alaric sat in his wheelchair, clutching the hem of his clothes tightly, watching his father give all his love and patience to another child who shared no blood relation with him.

Soon, the carousel stopped. Julian hopped off, wanting more, and immediately spotted Alaric in the wheelchair.

"Oh, isn't it the sicko?"

Julian licked the imported ice cream in his hand that cost dozens of dollars, his eyes full of malicious provocation.

He swaggered over, pointing at Alaric's wheelchair and laughing loudly. "Mommy said you're a useless broke loser! Uncle Caspian likes me best because he's going to be my new daddy! You're a jinx, and I'm a lucky star! I have a big castle to live in, and you can only live in a sewer!"

Isolde stood not far away, frowning with fake concern. "Julian, don't talk like that." But the smile in the corners of her eyes couldn't be hidden.

Julian ignored her completely. He made a face like a little demon at Alaric, then suddenly charged forward...

"Bang—!"

Before I could even react, Julian had already hopped into a high-powered go-kart.

He floored the accelerator and drove straight at Alaric's wheelchair!

"Bang—!"

The massive impact shattered the wheelchair instantly.

Alaric was sent flying along with the wreckage, smashing heavily onto the hard concrete.

Blood gushed out immediately, staining his small, pale face crimson.

Julian jumped out of the kart, threw the imported ice cream—worth enough to feed my son and me for a week—onto the ground, and started wailing, playing the victim before anyone could accuse him. "Waa! That cripple tried to hit me! I swerved to avoid him and crashed! I was so scared!"

I had just gathered Alaric, who was covered in blood, into my arms when Caspian rushed over, drawn by the commotion.

Suddenly, Isolde let out a shriek. She threw her body back in an exaggerated motion, falling onto the soft grass.

"Ah! My ankle!" She clutched her foot, pointing at me while weeping beautifully, like a pear blossom bathed in rain. "Caspian... Ivy pushed me! She was angry that Julian accidentally bumped into Alaric, so she took advantage of the chaos to push me! It hurts so much!"

Caspian's face instantly turned pitch black.

He didn't even spare a glance at our dying biological son. Instead, he nervously helped Isolde up.

"Where does it hurt? Is it bad?" He asked gently, then turned his head to glare at me, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust and rage. "Ivy! Are you crazy? Julian is just a child; so what if he accidentally bumped him? Unlike you, Isolde is delicate and fragile. How dare you touch her? When did you become so venomous?"

I desperately pressed my hands against Alaric's wound, but I couldn't stop the blood from flowing.

"I'm venomous?" I screamed hysterically. "Open your eyes and look! Julian drove that car and hit the wheelchair on purpose! Isolde faked that fall! Alaric is bleeding! His head is broken! Are you blind?!"

Isolde sobbed even harder, burying her face in Caspian's chest. "Boohoo... Caspian, I didn't... Ivy must be jealous that you treat Julian so well, so she's taking it out on me. If my foot is broken, how can I dance with you in the future..."

Caspian roared at me, "Isolde wouldn't even hurt a fly, how could she fake a fall? Look at you, reeking of poverty. Over these past five years, you've become completely unreasonable! Jealousy has twisted you beyond recognition!"

Alaric was fading in and out of consciousness from the pain. His small hand weakly grasped my collar, his voice faint. "Mommy... it hurts... I can't see... why won't Daddy save me..."

I didn't want to argue anymore. I picked Alaric up, desperate to get to the hospital. "Move! I need to take my child to the hospital!"

"Stand down."

Caspian spoke coldly, blocking my path.

"Caspian!" I screamed in despair, looking at my son whose breathing was getting weaker. "Alaric needs a doctor! He's bleeding! You're going to kill him!"

"Apologize." He looked down at me from his height, pointing at Isolde, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Apologize to Isolde for your barbaric behavior just now. Otherwise, don't even think about taking a step out of here."

"I did nothing wrong!" I glared at him with red eyes. "We didn't do anything wrong! Why should I apologize?!"

"Unrepentant." Caspian's voice was cold enough to make one's blood curdle. "Ivy, it seems five years of slum life hasn't taught you humility; instead, it's turned you into an ungrateful shrew."

He pointed at the crocodile skin high heels on Isolde's feet and spoke every word with deliberate slowness:

"Kneel down. Lick the tip of Isolde's shoe to apologize. Lick the dust off until it's clean. Otherwise, I will call the insurance company right now and cancel all of Alaric's medical insurance."

I trembled all over, feeling like I had been struck by lightning.

In this country, without expensive commercial health insurance, the costs for an ambulance, surgery, and hospitalization were astronomical. The savings Alaric and I had wouldn't even cover the registration fee.

He was using our son's life to break me.

"Caspian..." I looked at him in disbelief. "He is your biological son... are you the devil?"

"You have three seconds to decide. Three, two..."

Alaric's body in my arms was growing colder, his breathing fainter.

I crumbled.

"...Fine." I gritted my teeth so hard I could taste blood. "I apologize."

Holding my child, my legs shook as I bent them. Under the gaze of the crowd, I fell heavily onto the hard, cold tiles.

I lowered my head, forcing back tears of humiliation, and moved my lips close to Isolde's expensive shoe.

"I'm sorry..." My voice was hoarse and broken, every word feeling like I was swallowing glass. "I shouldn't have... pushed you."

Isolde looked down at me. Just as my lips were about to touch the surface of her shoe, she pulled her foot back with feigned magnanimity, even wiping it on the grass in disgust.

"Oh my, Ivy, what are you doing? We're all friends here; just don't be so impulsive next time. I'm not one to hold grudges, so let's just forget about it this time."

Caspian looked at me kneeling on the ground, his brow furrowing slightly as if he felt a momentary flash of reluctance. "Enough. Since Isolde has forgiven you, get the hell to the hospital with the kid. Don't be an eyesore here; you've ruined my mood."

I picked up Alaric and fled.

Behind me, I could hear Julian's cheerful laughter and Caspian's gentle voice coaxing Isolde.

At the hospital, Alaric received eight stitches on his brow bone.

Because he was allergic to anesthesia, he had to be stitched up without any numbing.

He convulsed in pain, crying until his voice was hoarse. "Mommy... I didn't do anything bad... why is Daddy treating me like this... did I do something wrong..."

My heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife. I could only kiss his cold forehead over and over, my tears wetting his cheeks. "It's not Alaric's fault... it's Mommy's fault... Mommy is useless, I couldn't protect you..."

After hours of torment, Alaric finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

I went to get a change of clothes for him.

When I passed the VIP lounge, the door was ajar. Familiar voices drifted out from inside.

"Caspian, about what happened in the square today... was it too much for Ivy?" Isolde's voice sounded affected and probing. "Making her kneel and kiss my shoe in public... she must hate me to death. What if she gets angry and leaves you with the child? After all, she really did love you."

"Leave?"

Caspian scoffed nonchalantly. "She can't leave me. Isolde, you don't know her."

I watched as he turned around and gently scraped Isolde's nose, his tone tender yet cruel to the extreme:

"She loves me to the point of madness. Even if I told her to die, she wouldn't hesitate. For the past five years, I made her live in a basement and eat garbage, and I still couldn't drive her away. Today was just a little kneeling. As long as I crook my finger, she'll come crawling back like a dog."

"So, don't worry. In this lifetime, she will never escape the palm of my hand."

Standing outside the VIP lounge, I heard everything.

So he knew. He knew I loved him to the point of losing all dignity. He knew Alaric craved even the smallest scrap of fatherly love. That was why he dared to trample on us like trash, using us as tools to show off his control in front of Isolde!

Caspian, you're too confident.

This time, I will take Alaric and disappear completely. Since you think we'll crawl back like dogs, I'll show you that even a "dog" has a backbone.

As soon as Alaric's wound was bandaged, I rushed him out of the hospital as if we were fleeing for our lives.

"Mommy, where are we going?" Alaric looked up, his eyes still glazed from the anesthesia.

"Home to get our passports. We're leaving," I said, pulling him quickly toward the curb. "We're going to a place where there is no daddy."

Just as we reached the intersection, a black van with no license plates mounted the sidewalk like a mad beast and cut us off!

The door slid open violently. Two men in ski masks jumped out. Without a word, a pungent, wet cloth was clamped over my nose and mouth.

The smell of ether shot straight to my brain.

I forced myself to calm down, quietly fumbled for my phone, and sent the text message I had previously drafted but hadn't sent to Valerius: I need your help.

...

When I woke up, it was from a bucket of freezing water being splashed on me.

I choked, coughing violently, and realized Alaric and I were tied to a concrete pillar in an unfinished building.

"Awake?" The leader of the kidnappers sat on a pile of broken crates, playing with a gleaming dagger. "Call your billionaire husband. Fifty million dollars, or I'll make you wish you were dead."

I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, looking at Alaric, who was trembling with fear. Despair washed over me. "You grabbed the wrong people. In his eyes, we aren't even worth five bucks."

"Bullshit!" The kidnapper kicked me in the stomach. "You're the Mrs. Thorne, and this kid is the eldest son. He has to pay! Don't play games with me!"

"No... don't hit Mommy..." Alaric cried out.

Impatient, the kidnapper yanked Alaric over and pulled out a syringe filled with a grotesque green liquid. The needle pressed against Alaric's tender neck. "Won't pay, huh? See this? It's the latest poison from the black market. Once injected, his whole body will fester, his insides will feel like they're burning, and he'll scream for three days and nights before dying."

"No!" I screamed like a madwoman, struggling against the ropes. "I'll call! I'll call right now! Don't hurt my son!"

"Beep—beep—"

Finally, the call connected.

In the background, I could hear elegant orchestral music and the laughter of guests toasting.

I suddenly remembered—today was Isolde's birthday.

"Who is this?" Caspian's voice came through, sounding slightly drunk and lazy.

"Mr. Thorne," the kidnapper spoke grimly. "I have your wife and son. If you want them alive, get fifty million dollars in old bills ready. You have half an hour to bring it to the West Harbor pier."

There was a pause on the other end.

Before Caspian could speak, Isolde's voice suddenly cut in. "Oh my, fifty million? Caspian, this must be a birthday surprise from Ivy, right? She knows it's my birthday, so she staged this scene to trick you into leaving and ruining my party. After all, she probably doesn't want you to be with me."

Caspian let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Ivy, your methods are getting more and more disgusting. For a little money, for that pathetic jealousy of yours, you actually hired people to stage a kidnapping? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

I screamed into the phone, "It's not an act! Caspian, I beg you! These are real criminals! They have poison! They will really kill Alaric! Please save him! As long as you pay, I swear I will never disturb you and Isolde again!"

"Enough!" Caspian's voice held zero warmth. "I don't want to hear the same thing twice. This clumsy trick only makes me sick. You want money? Keep dreaming."

The kidnapper was enraged. He roared into the phone, "Caspian, if you don't pay, I'm injecting your son with poison right now! Don't you regret this!"

On the other end, Caspian swirled his wine glass nonchalantly, his voice cold enough to induce despair:

"Go ahead, then. And while you're at it, throw that lying crazy woman into the Atlantic to feed the fish. Fifty million? I'd rather spend it on fireworks for Isolde than save them. Don't disturb us while we cut the cake."

"Click—"

The call was hung up decisively.

The kidnapper stared at the phone in disbelief, then exploded into a furious rage. "F*ck! I've been played! This guy is heartless; he doesn't even care about his own son! Since I can't get the money, I'll take it out on this brat!"

He spun around, his face twisted, and stabbed the syringe viciously into Alaric's thin arm!

"No—! Take me! Please, take me instead!"

My eyes nearly split open. I struggled desperately to break the ropes, my wrists rubbed raw and bloody, but I could only watch helplessly as the green liquid was pushed into Alaric's body bit by bit.

"Ah—! Mommy, save me! It hurts! My veins are burning!"

Alaric let out a blood-curdling scream. His small body convulsed violently on the ground, foam spilling from his mouth, his eyes rolling back. It looked like countless worms were wriggling frantically under his skin.

"Alaric!"

I cried out in despair.

In the split second before the call had disconnected, what came faintly from the other end was Isolde's girlish laughter and the crowd cheering, "Happy Birthday!"

It was their carnival, but it was our doomsday.