Gwen was speechless. Was this Darius’s doing? How could he be so cruel to his own daughter?!

“Use my savings! Do something, I beg you. My daughter is in so much pain!”

“Your financial status is marked ‘high-risk.’ Without a guarantee or an upfront payment of $3,000, we cannot perform any medical procedures.”

Laina was left abandoned in a wheelchair in the cold hallway.

Passersby glared at Gwen with looks of disgust—news of the “mistress attacking the legal wife” had apparently gone viral. Not a single nurse dared to approach, fearing the Reeds’ family authority.

Suddenly, firm footsteps echoed. Darius appeared in a neat suit, not a speck of dust marring his clothes. He stopped a few steps in front of Gwen.

Gwen glared at him with eyes blazing with anger. She immediately lunged at Darius and swung her fist, striking the man’s chest repeatedly.

“You bastard! Laina is your own biological daughter! You used to love her the most! How could you be so heartless as to block her access to medical care?!”

Darius immediately grabbed Gwen’s wrist, unaware that her wrist was actually injured.

Gwen winced at the sharp pain in the same spot, caused once again by that man.

However, Darius paid no attention to it. He said in a low, cold voice. “Gwen, you’re the one who forced me to do this. I’ll take Laina to get the best care and doctors. But you have to meet these two conditions.”

Gwen’s eyes scanned the lines of text on the paper. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly.

“You... you abandoned your own flesh and blood?” Gwen’s voice was barely audible, caught in her throat.

“It’s for your own good.”

“Or to protect that crazy woman?” Gwen sneered coldly, her voice filled with rage.

“Choose, Gwen,” Darius hissed cruelly. “Sign now, and she’ll be in the operating room in five minutes. Or, keep clinging to your pride, and let that child be disabled for life.”

Gwen turned around. Laina was staring at her with eyes brimming with pain.

“It hurts, Mommy…” the child murmured, her face turning pale and bluish.

Gwen’s heart died right then and there. She grabbed the pen, signed the document, and quickly handed it to Darius.

“It’s done,” Gwen said. Her voice sounded hollow and empty. “Now, save my daughter. And never again mention my name or hers with that filthy mouth of yours.”

Darius frowned at Gwen’s final words. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he merely shook his head. He gave a hand signal.

Instantly, the medical team he had prepared appeared and immediately carried Laina into the operating room.

Gwen immediately fell to her knees on the cold corridor floor, watching Laina’s bed being carried away, into the operating room.

Darius was still standing nearby. He bent down slightly and extended his hand to Gwen.

“Don’t kneel on the floor. It’s cold.”

The voice that just moments ago had so coldly ordered her to remove her daughter’s name from the Reeds family name now spoke softly, as if he were still the Darius Gwen once knew.

Gwen didn’t take his hand. She just stared blankly at the operating room door.

Darius looked at his hand hanging in the air, receiving no response from his wife. He withdrew his hand and said stiffly, “Gwen, regarding what happened in the garden… You have to forgive Clara. Ever since she saw me enter your room, her condition has worsened. She thought I was having an affair and that Laina was my child….”

“Laina really is your daughter!” Gwen gritted her teeth, glaring at Darius. “Don’t you dare make her look like an illegitimate child. I can tolerate anything you do for the sake of your ‘best friend’s wife,’ but if it causes Laina to suffer, I truly won’t forgive you.”

“Gwen, come on… we’ve already agreed on this. Clara is sick; we have to be understanding toward her….”

“If she’s sick, take her to the doctor! If her mind is sick, lock her up in a mental hospital!”

“Gwen!” Darius’s face went pale instantly. He pointed at Gwen, “You used to always help Clara. Why have you become so cold and cruel? If you say anything like that about Clara again, I’ll make you apologize to her!”

Gwen opened her mouth to retort, but a nurse suddenly approached them.

“Sir and Ma’am, please don’t make a commotion in front of the operating room so as not to disturb the doctors and nurses on duty.”

Gwen held the words back on the tip of her tongue. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

Darius clicked his tongue. The phone in his pants pocket vibrated. It was a very familiar ringtone—a special ringtone Darius had set for Clara ever since he brought her into their home.

Gwen didn’t turn her head even slightly when Darius said to her, “Call me after Laina’s surgery is over. I’ll come visit later.”

“Go ahead,” Gwen replied coldly.

After all, Laina didn’t need a father who had struck his name from the Reed family tree.

Without looking at Gwen a second time, Darius turned and left the operating room waiting area.

After Darius left, Gwen immediately covered her face with both hands, letting her tears fall silently.

A few hours later, Laina’s surgery was finally over, and she was moved to a hospital room. Gwen couldn’t close her eyes; she stayed by her daughter’s side all night until the next day.

When Laina woke up, her tiny face looked very pale as she whimpered in pain. However, the first thing she asked about was her father.

“Mommy… where’s Daddy?”

Gwen forced a smile in front of her daughter. She pulled the blanket up to keep her little body warm.

“Daddy’s at work, sweetie.”

“I want to see Daddy,” she whined.

“Mommy will call Daddy and ask him to come here.”

Gwen kept up her smile in front of her daughter, who was looking at her with hopeful eyes. She gently kissed Laina’s forehead and then took her phone out of her bag.

She sent a text message to Darius, asking him to come to the hospital because Laina kept asking for him.

She waited for half an hour, but there was still no reply from Darius.

Meanwhile, her daughter kept whimpering and crying, looking for her father.

Gwen tried calling Darius several times, but he didn’t pick up at all.

Suddenly, a notification from Clara’s social media popped up on Gwen’s phone.

Gwen paused for a moment before finally opening the app. Her own feed was still flooded with hateful comments due to her viral video, but Gwen ignored all of that and immediately switched to Clara’s profile.

Clara’s latest post appeared at the top of her feed.

[Getting ready for our little prince! Thank you, my husband, for setting up a room for our baby.]

In the short video, Clara posed gracefully with her growing baby bump in the middle of the children’s room.

In the background of the video, Darius was seen instructing the workers to remove all the items from the room, replacing them with new, boy-themed furniture.

Gwen’s body tensed. Her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, and her eyes reddened as she held back a storm of emotions.

That was Laina’s room. The room that used to be dominated by pink and had a fairy-tale theme had now been transformed into a masculine blue with a luxurious nautical theme.

She remembered how, four years ago, Darius hadn’t slept for three days and three nights because his fingers were covered in pencil smudges from drawing every detail of the design for their daughter himself.

Darius had even ordered a carriage-shaped bed directly from an artisan in Italy so that Laina would feel like a princess.

Now, all that effort and those memories have been completely destroyed. Darius himself oversaw the workers as they tore down his biological daughter’s room to make room for Clara’s child, who hasn’t even been born yet.

Gwen closed her eyes tightly. Strangely, no more tears came.

The pain had apparently reached a point where her nerves had gone numb.

She opened her eyes and looked at Laina, whose leg was still encased in a thick cast. The little girl’s eyes gazed at her with the innocence typical of children, unaware that the father who once loved her so dearly had now cast her aside.

“Mommy, is Daddy here?”

Gwen nodded slowly, forcing a smile. Her daughter had just undergone surgery for a broken leg; she mustn’t be hurt again by learning that her father had let her down time and time again.

“Sweetie, how about we take a walk in the hospital garden? There’s some really delicious ice cream at the cafeteria. Mom will buy Laina some vanilla ice cream.”

The somber smile on the little girl’s face instantly brightened upon hearing the name of her favorite ice cream mentioned.

“I want ice cream! I want ice cream, Mom….”

“Okay, sweetie.”

Gwen exhaled in relief, then slowly transferred her daughter into the wheelchair.

She pushed the wheelchair out of the hospital room toward the cafeteria. Along the corridor, her daughter hummed softly and chattered cheerfully about the ice cream she loved so much.

Halfway to the cafeteria, Gwen stopped in her tracks when someone approached her.

“Miss Romano, I’m bringing your new identification documents and the plane ticket you requested.”

“Mr. Smith, I’m sorry for making you come all this way.”

“It’s no problem. We’re happy to work with you. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to contact us again.”

“Yes, thank you.” Gwen couldn’t help but smile; her eyes sparkled with relief

The issue with her new identity had been resolved much faster than expected.

She couldn’t wait to leave this place with her daughter. Now, she just had to wait for her divorce papers to be processed.

The young man nodded and said his goodbyes.

Gwen immediately opened the envelope to check its contents. However, a hand suddenly reached out and roughly gripped her wrist.

“Gwen, who is that man? What’s your relationship with him?” a cold, all-too-familiar voice asked accusingly.

Gwen turned and found Darius’s face right beside her. The man had finally appeared just when Gwen least expected him.

“Let go, it hurts…” Gwen tried to shake off the man’s hand, but Darius refused to let go. Instead, he whispered in a low, demanding voice, “Gwen, who were you talking to just now?”

“What’s it to you? We don’t have a relationship anymore—” Gwen abruptly stopped mid-sentence when she saw the gleam in Laina’s eyes as she watched them.

“Daddy! Daddy’s here…”

Darius paid no attention to his daughter’s call. His eyes remained fixed, darkly, on Gwen’s face. “You were smiling at that man. Who is he?”

“Why should you care? You’re free to kiss Clara, so why can’t I smile at another man?”

Something that looked like guilt flashed across Darius’s face. However, his expression quickly hardened again.

“Gwen, you know full well that it’s all to keep Clara’s mental state stable…”

“I know, you’ve reminded me over and over! I understand perfectly. So now, let go of my hand. Do you want to break this one too after shattering my other wrist?”

Darius startled. He immediately released his grip and looked at Gwen’s other wrist, which was wrapped in a bandage.

“When did I hurt your wrist?” Darius whispered to himself.

Gwen didn’t answer; she just shot him a cynical glance, then crouched down to pick up the scattered stack of her fake IDs from the floor before Darius could see them. However, before her fingers could reach the plane ticket, Darius’s hand had already snatched it up.

“What’s this, Gwen? A one-way plane ticket? Are you and Laina planning to go abroad?” Darius’s brow furrowed deeply, feeling an inexplicable anxiety suddenly creeping into his chest. “You’re taking my daughter away? Why didn’t you tell me about this?!”

Darius crumpled the plane ticket in his hand.

In a calm voice, Gwen said, “It’s just a vacation abroad. Didn’t you yourself ask me not to show up in front of Clara anymore? I just want to take Laina to stay and vacation there. I’m doing exactly what you asked.”

Darius fell silent for a moment. Doubt flashed across his face.

The unease in his chest wouldn’t subside, as if he sensed Gwen was leaving him forever.

“Living abroad is good for you. But you have to give me your address there. I’ll visit you both if I have free time. Once Clara’s condition stabilizes, I’ll come pick you and Laina up to bring you back home.” His voice sounded gentle as he said that.

Gwen merely responded with a fake smile. As if she would believe the man’s words.

“What are you doing here? Did you come because of Laina—” Gwen’s voice caught in her throat when she saw the pregnancy journal in Darius’s hand.

“Ah…” Darius didn’t hide the book from Gwen. “I took Clara to her prenatal checkup. Oh, while I was cleaning Laina’s room, I found this left behind.”

Darius unashamedly took a doll out of the paper bag he was carrying. He knelt down in front of his daughter and handed her the shabby rabbit doll.

“You can’t sleep without this. Uncle brought it for you. I hope Laina gets well soon.”

“Uncle….” Laina’s expression grew even more somber; her eyes welled up as she hugged the rabbit doll tightly to her chest and whispered softly. “Thank you, Uncle….”

Gwen pulled Laina’s wheelchair away from Darius.

“Come on, sweetie, we have to hurry and buy some vanilla ice cream before it runs out.”

“Yes, Mommy….” Laina’s little head remained bowed even as she walked away from Darius.

Unfortunately, the vanilla ice cream in the cafeteria was already sold out. Gwen took her daughter back to her hospital room.

“Sweetie, don’t be sad. Mommy will buy you some ice cream from the shop in front of the hospital, okay?”

Laina nodded, her tiny face not smiling. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.

Gwen stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. After Laina fell asleep, she called a nurse, asking her to watch over her daughter for a moment while she went out to buy the ice cream her daughter liked.

Gwen’s steps suddenly halted when she saw Clara talking to a doctor in the quiet hallway while handing over a rather thick envelope. Clara’s face looked perfectly normal; her eyes were clear as she spoke to the doctor.

“Here’s your payment for covering up my fake pregnancy.”

A fake pregnancy? Gwen covered her mouth in disbelief and quickly hid before Clara noticed her. She pulled out her phone to record them.

The doctor accepted the envelope of money with a smile and flattery. “Thank you, Mrs. Reeds. As your due date approaches, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll provide another baby to pretend it’s yours.”

Gwen couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hearing. All this time, she had been deceiving them with her fake mental illness.

Gwen took a breath and smiled coldly. Clara wouldn’t be able to hide her secret forever.

She stepped back to leave the place.

Crack!

Her foot accidentally stepped on a soda can near her feet, immediately catching Clara and the doctor’s attention.

Clara’s eyes widened instantly, and she rushed toward her, grabbing Gwen’s arm with a terrifying expression on her face.

“Gwen, why are you here?!”

Gwen straightened up and faced Clara. “If I weren’t here, I’d have been deceived by you pretending to have a mental disorder and being pregnant. You’re truly an extraordinary actress, Clara.”

The woman just laughed. “Right, I’m pretending to be pregnant and crazy—so what? Your husband will still be mine. Darius is so gentle and attentive to me that he’s even willing to kick out his wife and daughter. Nothing matters to him except me.”

“Why go to all that trouble to put on that act?”

“Gwen, I’ve hated you for a long time. Why is your life better than mine when you’re just a pathetic orphan!” Clara pressed her index finger against Gwen’s chest, her eyes flashing with hatred. “I want your marriage, your house, your husband, and the title of Mrs. Reeds.”

She then smiled triumphantly. “Now Darius loves me. Poor thing, your son is disabled—”

Clara didn’t finish her sentence because Gwen slapped her across the face, then grabbed her hair and slammed her face against the windowpane of a room until the glass shattered, leaving a three-centimeter-long gash on the side of her face.

“Arrghh! My face! Gwen! Are you crazy!” Clara screamed hysterically in pain.

“Do you think you’re the only one who can act crazy? I can too.” Gwen tightened her grip on Clara’s hair. “This is for my daughter’s leg. If you touch my daughter again, it won’t just be your face I’ll destroy. I’ll expose you on social media—that you seduced our teachers to get good grades and had ten abortions since college. Is that why your first husband left you? I shouldn’t have any sympathy for an ungrateful, crazy bitch like you,” she hissed coldly.

Just as she was about to let go of her hair, Darius suddenly appeared from behind her, prying his grip from Clara’s hair and shoving her until she fell to the floor.

“Gwen, have you lost your mind?!” he stared at her in disbelief as he saw a three-centimeter-long bleeding gash on the side of Clara’s face—a scar that would remain on her face forever.

Gwen’s face clenched as she pointed at Clara, “That woman is faking it. She paid a doctor to—”

“Ah!”

Her words were cut off by Clara’s scream of pain. She collapsed limply to the floor, clutching her stomach.

“Darius, my stomach hurts… she’s hurting me! She wants to kill our baby.”

The doctor assisting Clara rushed to her side. “Mr. Reeds, it’s true! I saw with my own eyes that woman go mad and hurt your wife. We have to take Mrs. Reeds to the operating room; I’m afraid… she’s having a miscarriage.”

Darius’s face was filled with worry upon hearing the word ‘miscarriage’.

He knelt down and lifted Clara into his arms. He paused for a moment in front of Gwen. “Gwen, if the baby in Clara’s womb is lost, I’ll make you pay for it.”

He walked away quickly.

Gwen’s expression was calm and indifferent. Darius would see for himself all of Clara’s lies, because Gwen had video evidence on her phone showing that Clara was faking insanity and bribing a doctor to fake her pregnancy.

With a calm stride, Gwen went to buy ice cream for her daughter.

But upon returning, she saw a group of bodyguards gathered outside Laina’s hospital room. Meanwhile, Darius was already holding Laina, who was crying.

“I don’t want to stay with Aunt Clara. I’m scared… I want Mommy….”

Gwen rushed forward to snatch her daughter. “Darius! What are you doing?! Give Laina back to me!”

Darius pulled Laina out of her reach. His gaze fixed sharply on Gwen.

“Gwen, Clara had a miscarriage today, and it’s all your fault! Clara is deeply hurt and keeps searching for her child. I’m going to give Laina to her to comfort her for a few days.”

“No! You can’t! Laina isn’t a doll you can just hand over to comfort that woman!” Gwen panicked and tried to snatch her daughter back.

Darius shoved Gwen hard toward his guards. They immediately restrained her. Gwen struggled with all her might while screaming hysterically.

Laina cried out loudly, calling for her mother.

Darius clicked his tongue coldly and said, “Gwen, you’ve already hurt Clara so badly that her face is severely injured and caused her to lose her baby.

You’re far too dangerous to be near Laina.” He then ordered his guards. “Take her to the psychiatric isolation ward. Don’t let her out until she’s calmed down and reflected on her mistakes.”

“Let me go! Darius! Please, don’t take Laina…” Gwen screamed as two burly men dragged her away.

Darius ignored her and walked away.

Gwen watched as Darius walked over to Clara, who was waiting in her wheelchair. Darius handed Laina over to the woman.

Darius didn’t even notice that Clara was hugging Laina so tightly that the little girl’s face had turned blue from lack of breath, and she was crying in fear.

They then left together. Just before walking away, Clara turned toward Gwen. Her lips curved into a triumphant smirk.

Gwen screamed hysterically, begging for her daughter to be returned to her. However, Darius kept walking without looking back even once, while the guards dragged Gwen into the psychiatric ward.

There, nurses and doctors were already waiting to lock her in an isolation room.

However, that isolation room looked more like a prisoner’s torture chamber, complete with a terrifying electric interrogation chair.

Gwen’s body was tightly strapped to the chair, while the doctors and nurses stood before her with expressionless faces.The doctor Gwen knew—the one Clara had bribed—handed a thick envelope to the other doctor.

“Mrs. Clara ordered that this woman must be driven completely out of her mind.”

The doctor accepted the money with a broad smile. “Alright, alright. Convey my thanks to Mrs. Clara. I’ll do as she commands.”

Gwen’s eyes turned red, her lips trembling with the rage and pain pounding in her chest.

Darius had locked her away in the psychiatric ward just to protect the woman he thought was fragile, who turned out to be the most venomous viper of all.

“Let’s begin.” The corrupt doctor walked toward the control panel. “We’ll start with a low voltage first. You must endure it, Mrs. Gwen.”

Click.

“Aaaaghhh!!”

As soon as the lever was lowered, an electric current jolted through her nervous system. Every muscle in her body went rigid instantly. Her head felt as if it had been struck by a thousand hammers, and her vision suddenly went blurry, filled with flashes of blinding white light.

Gwen screamed, her voice echoing through the cold isolation room.