My heart sank, but in the next second, my daughter suddenly gasped, her face flushed, and she collapsed to the ground.

I looked at the cake, furious.

"Don’t you know she’s allergic to nuts?"

"I had no idea! Who told her to eat so quickly like a starving ghost?"

I didn’t have time to argue, quickly grabbing my daughter and rushing to the hospital.

It was late into the night before my daughter was out of danger.

She lay pale, forcing a smile as she patted John’s hand.

"Dad, I’m fine. Don’t worry."

John, perhaps out of guilt, finally agreed to accompany her to the museum the next day to film the video.

His phone rang, and faintly, I could hear a woman’s soft voice.

"John, Ben had a nightmare and can’t sleep. He’s crying and asking for you..."

John’s face changed instantly, and without thinking, he began to leave.

My daughter worriedly grabbed his sleeve, "Dad, you promised to film with me tomorrow."

John patted her head.

"I remember, sweetheart. I have an urgent matter tonight, but I’ll definitely come to the museum tomorrow."

With John’s promise, my daughter stayed up excited, planning the video shoot in her notebook.

"Mom, how about I wear a white dress tomorrow?"

"Mom, Dad’s busy. I’ll arrange fewer lines for him..."

Finally, exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, my daughter and I woke up early.

She was in high spirits, skipping along, proudly telling anyone we met, "Today, I’m going to the museum with Mom and Dad to film a video."

But when we stood at the museum entrance for three hours, waiting, the hope turned to unease and, eventually, to disappointment.

I called John countless times, but he didn’t answer.

My daughter’s health was still fragile, her face pale.

"Mom, can we go find Dad? He promised he’d come."

I couldn’t bear to refuse her, so I took her by taxi to John’s company.

"Mr. Foster isn’t here today, but he asked me to get three tickets for the amusement park today..."

I couldn’t express what I felt inside as I lowered my eyes, seeing my daughter tightly pursing her lips, eyes full of grievance and disappointment.

We reluctantly went to the amusement park, where we happened to see John riding the carousel with the little boy.

The woman beside them smiled widely, taking photos of them like a happy family.

After the ride, John picked up a cake from the ground and walked over to the woman.

"Ben loves nut cakes, and I tasted it myself; it’s delicious."

The cake he held was exactly the same as the one he had given my daughter the night she almost died from eating it.

That cake, which had made my daughter so happy and nearly cost her life, was now for the mother and son in front of me.

Grief and anger overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t hold back anymore.

My daughter’s cry rang out as she walked toward John.

The boy ran around, getting chocolate ice cream all over her.

"Watch where you’re going, do you know who I am? I’ll make you regret it!"

The boy yanked at my daughter’s braid, punching her with his fists.

I rushed up and pushed the boy away, my daughter’s carefully styled braid in disarray, her beloved dress dirty, and large cuts on her arms.

The boy, however, screamed loudly,

"Mom and Dad, come quickly! Someone’s bullying me!"

When John saw us, his face darkened.

"Are you following me?"

"Do you know them?"

I smiled bitterly in anger. "John, you promised our daughter you’d film the video today!"

"If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known that my husband had another family outside..."

The woman’s face turned pale, nearly collapsing. "I didn’t know..."

John Foster stepped in front of the mother and son. "Lena, be quiet!"

Seeing that the bystanders were scattering, Amy Green decided to close her eyes and feign unconsciousness.

John picked Amy up and walked out.

"If anything happens to Amy, I won’t let you get away with it!"

In just two days, my daughter was injured twice, and I blamed myself.

When we reached the hospital, we were told that the entire hospital had been booked by John’s company’s president.

"Mom, did Dad book the whole hospital? Why can't we get treated?"

No matter how much I pleaded, the security guards refused to let us in.

Helpless, I took my daughter home to tend to her injuries. Seeing her devastated, I hesitated but asked,

"Emma, do you want Mommy to take you away from Dad?"

Emma’s eyes were filled with fear as she clung to my neck, sobbing,

"Mom, I don’t want to be without Dad..."

Seeing her so emotional, I couldn’t bear to push her any further.

When she fell asleep, John returned, looking exhausted.

"Amy is fine. She said she won’t hold it against you for your rash behavior today. Don’t do it again."

I picked up a cushion and threw it at him.

"John, you jerk!"

"You ignore our daughter’s injury and blame me for a woman pretending to faint. Are you even human?"

He looked guilty for a moment but quickly grew agitated, scratching his head.

"It’s just a video. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

I turned and went to the bedroom to avoid waking Emma.

The next morning, we heard clanging sounds from the kitchen, and when Emma and I came out, we saw John busy cooking, wearing an apron.

"You’re up? I made breakfast..."

The plates on the table were piled with burnt scrambled eggs.

"Emma, didn’t you say you wanted to film a video? After breakfast, Daddy will take you to the museum."

Emma, who had looked dejected, instantly perked up, taking my hand to sit at the table.

"Mom, did you hear? Daddy’s going to take us to film a video!"

She took a bite of the burnt eggs and kept nodding in praise.

"This is the first time Daddy’s made breakfast for me, and it’s delicious..."

I turned away, my heart aching. The neglected child always tries to please the one they care about.

John accompanied us to the museum. Though Emma’s script had very few lines, he remained distracted, repeatedly interrupting.

"What’s wrong with you guys? Ben finished in one take. Why are you so dumb?"

John muttered under his breath. Despite being upset, Emma smiled and tried to please him.

"One more time, Daddy. Can we try it just one more time?"

She reduced John’s lines to just one sentence, and finally, the filming was done.

Emma felt like she had completed an important task and danced around joyfully.

"Mom, I finally finished my assignment!"

John answered his phone, leaned in, and asked me where the household registry and property deed were.

I was lost in Emma’s happiness and without thinking, told him.

From that day on, John hadn’t returned home, claiming work trips.

Because of John cooperating with the video shoot, Emma had been extremely happy these days, watching the video several times every night before bed.

Soon, it was time for Emma to go back to school. I sent her to the school gate as usual.

Before I could get home, I received a call from Emma’s teacher, and I could hear Emma crying in the background.

"Mom, the school won’t let me in..."

I rushed to the school in panic.

The teacher looked confused. "Emma already transferred schools, didn’t she?"

Emma had attended here for three years and was familiar with both the students and teachers. Why would I transfer her without reason?

"Teacher, is there a mistake?"

The teacher looked at me suspiciously, "Your husband, John Foster, personally handled the transfer. Here are the copies of your household registry and property deed."

"According to the rules, each school district only allows one spot, and John gave the spot to another child. Even if Emma didn’t transfer, she wouldn’t have a spot at this school."

Emma gripped my hand in fear.

"Mom, the boy who bullied me last time... He sat in my seat, threw my backpack, and called me a bastard..."

I glared at the copy of the household registry, where Amy Green and her son’s names had been added, my eyes bloodshot.

"Emma, darling, Mommy will take care of this."

John kept hanging up my calls, finally answering out of impatience.

"Lena, what’s going on? Don’t you know I’m in a meeting?"

"John, how could you transfer Emma without my consent and give her school spot to someone else?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, and John softened his tone.

"It’s a long story. I’ll explain when I’m done with work..."

"John, get to the school right now! If you don’t come, I’ll make sure everyone knows that Amy Green and her son are the mistress and bastard!"

John panicked, "Lena, don’t make a scene!"

"Bring it on, I’m not messing with you. Amy and her son are innocent!"

Less than half an hour later, John rushed over, panting.

Afraid of my outburst, he dragged me and Emma into the car and floored the accelerator.

"Why are you doing this to Emma and me?"

John slammed his fist on the steering wheel in frustration.

"I feel sorry for Amy and her son. They’re all alone, so I just wanted to help."

"And who says a school is only good if it’s in a wealthy area? Why are you being so selfish, clinging to this one?"

"Selfish? John, if you say any school is fine, why didn’t you let Ben go to that school?"

John slammed on the brakes, "That’s impossible. That school only takes left-behind children and orphans, it’s not a good environment..."

He suddenly stopped talking and glanced at the backseat, where Emma was in tears. He softened his voice.

"It’s just a temporary measure. I’ll get more money and buy a new house, then we can transfer Emma back."

"Give Emma’s spot back right now! Or I’ll make a scene at the school!"

John panicked. "Lena, when did you become so unreasonable?"

In the middle of our argument, an out-of-control truck came barreling toward us.

The world spun, and our car was thrown out of control, crashing hard, and I lost consciousness instantly.

"Mom, it hurts..."

I heard Emma’s cry and forced my eyes open. The car had pinned Emma and me, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

Emma’s face was pale, "Mom, my leg hurts so much..."

Only John was unharmed, "Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out!"

In the chaos, his phone rang.

"John, Ben’s school opening party is about to start. Where are you?"

"Amy, I’m in the middle of something urgent..."

Amy's voice suddenly choked, "John, do you regret helping us now?"

"Forget it, I’ll give the spot back. We’ll leave tonight and never come back..."