###Chapter 1

The kindergarten bus carrying my daughter was attacked by criminals and the teacher started a live broadcast.

“It was so dangerous! Luckily, Nathan’s mom sent bodyguards and they safely rescued the children. Many thanks to Nathan’s mom!”

On the live stream, a boy named Nathan was escorted out by several bodyguards, completely unharmed.

Where was my daughter, Yuna? Frantically searching, I finally saw her climbing out of the bus.

But then I noticed a criminal lying on the ground, raising a knife toward the back of my daughter’s vest. Unfortunately, the police arrived just in time, knocked away the knife and subdued two of the attackers.

My daughter was cradled in a female police officer’s arms, crying loudly, “Daddy! Mommy!”

Blood kept streaming down her forehead and my heart shattered at the sight.

I ordered my assistant to cut short the business trip and booked the fastest return flight.

My eyes flicked back to the live stream.

Didn’t those men in black suits surrounding Nathan look exactly like the bodyguards I had sent to rescue my daughter?

And that expensive little backpack he had looked just like the high-end designer one I brought back from overseas for my daughter.

Suspicion gnawed at me, so I called my husband, Zack. He answered impatiently. “Don’t all bodyguards look the same? Stop overthinking. I’m going to pick up Yuna.”

He hung up abruptly, but unease lingered heavily in my heart.

Later, when I secretly checked the surveillance footage from the bus and our home, my heart sank even deeper.

It turned out that the backpack and other items that often went missing at home had been stolen by our daughter’s nanny.

Even my husband was hiding secrets.

As more truths came to light, I clenched my fists. If that was how it was going to be… then I gave them all a big surprise.

***

At the time, I was on a business trip abroad.

The moment I saw the harrowing live broadcast, I immediately called my husband to tell him about the bodyguards and the backpack.

Zack replied, “These kids at elite kindergartens all come from well-off families. Anyone can afford bodyguards and designer backpacks. Don’t overthink it, Honey.”

“Our daughter went through something like this and must be terrified. I need to get to the hospital to be with her. You focus on your work; I’ve got things covered at home.”

I was just about to tell him I was already on my way to the airport when all I heard was the busy signal in my ear.

Forget it, I would deal with it after I got home.

But on the plane, the more I thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

That backpack was designed by me personally. Just the diamonds forming the fox Nick and the rabbit Judy were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. How could there possibly be an identical one?

Furrowing my brow, I opened the teacher's social media again, hoping to identify the bodyguards and the backpack, but the recorded livestream had already been deleted.

Why did she delete such crucial evidence of a crime?

I immediately called the teacher and politely said I wanted the livestream replay. “Miss Wilson, I have a friend who’s a private investigator. They can help look into this.”

Miss Wilson sighed and said, “It was Nathan’s mom who asked me to delete it. She didn’t want her son to be targeted for revenge, especially since one of the attackers got away. I was in a rush and forgot to back it up. Sorry, Mrs. Clawn.”

Her words only deepened my suspicions. If Nathan’s mom truly cared about her son, wouldn’t it make more sense to preserve the evidence, cooperate with the investigation and help catch the criminals as soon as possible?

I had no time to dwell on it. Right now, getting home to care for my daughter was the priority.

As soon as the plane landed, I anxiously rushed to the Wallace Hospital. My daughter would receive the best care here, so I wasn’t overly worried.

But when I hurriedly rushed into the hospital, the scene before me nearly made me clench my fists until they hurt.

My daughter was lying all alone on a makeshift bed in the hallway.

Her pale little face was streaked with blood, tears still clinging to her eyes. She curled up in the corner of the bed like a small, abandoned animal.

Holding back my own tears, I rushed over and lifted her into my arms. “Yuna! I’m so sorry, I’m late! Mommy let you down and let you get hurt.”

After checking her head, I saw it was only a superficial injury and I finally felt a bit of relief.

Not only was my husband nowhere to be seen, but there wasn’t even a nurse nearby to care for her. And where was the nanny who was supposed to be with her?

Just then, a nurse happened to pass by. I swallowed my anger and stopped her. “Call your director, Mr. Lark and tell him I, Tessa Wallace, want to see him. Also, my daughter is injured! Send the best doctor immediately to treat her!”

The nurse looked at us with impatience, glancing at Yuna and me with utter contempt.

“You think you own this hospital? The director doesn’t drop everything just to see you. Moreover, a big client came today. Who has time to deal with this little girl? You’re just making a fuss over a tiny scratch. How ridiculous!”

With that, she walked off without looking back.

I was so furious that I laughed bitterly. Fine, let’s see exactly whose hospital this really was.

###Chapter 2

As the youngest chairperson of the Wallace Group, my career had gone smoothly over the years.

Yet in the process of building my business, I’d spent so much time away on trips that I knew I’d neglected my husband and daughter. I’d always felt guilty about it.

This time, with my daughter facing attackers, I couldn’t get to her immediately and the guilt was almost suffocating.

And now, seeing this scene at the hospital, my anger surged through me like wildfire.

With a cold, sharp expression, I dialed the director’s number.

My tone was icy. “Mr. Lark, I heard from your nurse that a big client came today, so there was no time to treat my daughter’s injuries. I want to know, what kind of important guest makes you throw my daughter into the hallway?”

Mr. Lark’s voice faltered, betraying a hint of panic. “Ms. Wallace, it’s all a misunderstanding! There’s no big client! There were just many children brought to the hospital today and it was my oversight. I’ll immediately arrange the best room for your daughter!”

He asked, “Which nurse dared to talk nonsense? I’ll fire her immediately!”

A few minutes after hanging up, my daughter was moved into a private room.

I called Mr. Lark outside and gave him a scolding. “What’s the matter? Don’t you want to be a director anymore?”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he lowered his head and explained, “Ms. Wallace, it was all Mr. Clawn’s idea. He asked us to give the VIP room to other children.”

Just then, my husband emerged from the adjacent, most luxurious VIP room.

“Honey, why did you come back so suddenly?” Zack’s eyes were filled with shock and a hint of guilt.

He forced a smile, walked over and took my hand. “I saw a child who was badly injured and I couldn’t bear it, so I asked the hospital to attend to him first. I was just about to ask Mr. Lark to assign the best doctor for Yuna.”

He was always careful about his appearance, yet several buttons of his white shirt were undone and the fabric was wrinkled.

“You’re really so caring, thinking to help someone else’s child first.” I stared at him with a mocking look.

Zack casually buttoned his shirt, pretending nothing was wrong. “Ever since we had a daughter, my sense of responsibility as a father has only grown stronger over the years.”

I was about to ask him whose child he had abandoned ours for, when suddenly the phone at his waist rang.

“Ah, it’s Mr. Sullivan from our partner company wanting to discuss something. I have to go. Thanks for taking care of Yuna, Honey.”

Mr. Sullivan? Wasn’t he supposed to be out of town inspecting sites these past few days?

Watching Zack’s retreating figure, my eyes darkened.

“Mommy… Mommy, where are you?”

My daughter’s pitiful sobs pulled me back to reality.

I hurried into the room and saw her wrapped in bandages, her face pale and thin. My heart ached.

Why did she look like she’s malnourished? But everything she ate and used should be the best…

“Yuna, recently you—”

“Mrs. Clawn, you’re back?”

The sound of small footsteps approached. I turned to see the nanny, Judith, holding a lunchbox at the doorway.

Ignoring her ingratiating smile, I snatched the lunchbox straight from her hands.

When I opened it, a surge of anger shot through me. The cold lunchbox contained only a few dry pieces of bread.

“You usually feed Yuna this? And now that she’s injured, how could you take care of her like this?”

A flicker of panic crossed Judith’s face and she quickly forced a smile. “Mrs. Clawn, Miss Yuna asked for this over the phone earlier. She said she wanted to try the taste of dry bread. Right, Miss Yuna?”

My daughter pressed against my back, clutching my clothes and timidly nodded, clearly intimidated by Judith.

Judith’s smile widened as she said, “You stay with Miss Yuna, I’ll go to the supermarket to buy ingredients and cook at home!”

With that, she turned and left for the supermarket.

I watched my daughter grab the bread and shove it into her mouth as if she hadn’t eaten for days. My heart ached. I fed her a sip of water. “Eat slowly, baby. If you want more, Mommy will have the hotel bring it to you.”

Immediately, Yuna stopped chewing, afraid I’d be angry and quietly put the bread down. “I’m full… I don’t want any more, Mommy.”

Her timid, obedient manner made me pull her tightly into my arms.

But then Yuna cried out in pain and pulled her arm back.

I quickly rolled up her sleeve—and the sight of bruises across her arm pierced my eyes with shock.

“Yuna… who bullied you?”

###Chapter 3

Yuna dodged my touch. “Mommy, I accidentally fell at kindergarten. It’s my fault, Mommy…”

Her whole body trembled as she kept apologizing.

My heart ached. I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her forehead repeatedly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Mommy didn’t take good care of you. I’ll stay with you from now on and never let you get hurt again.”

Being away from home so often, I hadn’t even noticed something was wrong with my daughter. Now I realized that my once lively and active little girl had become timid and sensitive.

Luckily, the wound on her head wasn’t serious. That evening, the doctor said she could be discharged and only needed to change the dressing later.

Back home with my daughter, dinner was already laid out.

Looking at it, every dish was something my daughter loved to eat.

Judith set the table while smiling sweetly. “Miss Yuna is always so obedient and sensible and she’s not picky about food. Such a good child!”

However, Yuna, sitting beside me, didn’t look happy at all despite the praise. In the presence of the seemingly gentle Judith, a flicker of fear shone in her eyes.

I quietly helped my daughter finish dinner, then took her back to our room and into the bathroom.

When I placed her in the bathtub, just as I feared, I found many fresh and old pinch marks all over her body, not just on her arms.

“I'm not hurt… I will be more careful next time,” she murmured, curling up as if afraid I’d scold her. My heart ached even more.

After her bath, I gave her the medication. It was then that my husband called.

“Honey, Mr. Sullivan insists I play cards with him. Looks like I’ll be up all night!”

“Mr. Lark said you’ve taken Yuna home? Is she okay? I can’t be with you tonight, but I’ll make up for it tomorrow.”

Staring out at the night, I replied calmly, “Mm, you focus on that first.”

After speaking, I hung up the phone.

The nanny was employed by Zack.

When Zack was young, both his parents had died. He said that Judith had paid for his education, which allowed him to become who he was today. So when he suggested bringing her into our home to care for our daughter, I didn’t object. In fact, I willingly offered Judith a salary far above the market rate as a gesture of gratitude for her past support of my husband.

But not long after, I realized Judith was not what I had imagined.

She secretly hid half of the king crabs and salmon I had air-shipped for my daughter. When I found out, she muttered that a little girl like Yuna couldn’t possibly eat that much.

She complained about the designer dresses I had custom-made for my daughter, saying that girls dressed so nicely and pampered like that wouldn’t have boys wanting them in the future.

She even said, “She’s going to get married anyway—why spend all that money?”

Although her words made me uneasy, I still kept her, out of gratitude for what she had done for Zack.

Now, I regretted it deeply.

After helping my daughter wash up, I leaned against the headboard and read her a fairy tale.

Once she fell asleep, my assistant quietly came in, carrying the day’s kindergarten bus surveillance footage.

When I looked at the footage on the tablet, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

A chill ran straight through my heart.