Emergencies

Moreover, the fact that he chose Sophia of all people was beyond me.

Sophia was the daughter of a housemaid at Clark Residence. Sophia had once tried to seduce William when he returned to Clark Residence. He immediately flew into a rage and kicked her out.

Later, William brought her back to be his secretary and explained, "Sophia's mother has been working at Clark Residence for years. She even came to my mother for help, so I had no choice."

I expressed my understanding at that time, but I never imagined that they had been married for seven years and had a six-year-old son.

The sound of water in the bathroom gradually stopped.

I quickly wiped away my tears, exited the chat, marked the message as unread, re-enabled the Read Receipts option in the settings, and put the phone back on the table.

When William saw me still sitting in the living room after coming out of the bathroom, he was a little surprised. "Honey, are you tired? You seem a bit down."

Although I was disgusted with him calling me so intimately, I couldn't expose everything yet. Thus, I replied, "I'm fine. Just feeling a little tired."

When he didn't notice anything unusual about me, he picked up his phone to check. After he read the text, he smiled and said, "Get some rest then. Something came up at work again, so I'll have to go."

Then, he went out and didn't come home all night.

…

Since the marriage certificate I had with William was fake, I didn't even have the right to sue Sophia for the return of our marital property.

Even so, I would still fight to reclaim every single thing that belonged to me. I carefully counted my shares again and contacted other shareholders to sell them at a low price.

The next morning, I went to the company to check the records of the rehabilitation device project after the secretary told me William wasn't in the office. I kept the evidence of Sophia switching to a cheaper supplier and pocketing the price difference on my phone.

'This was the smart rehabilitation device development project that my father valued most before he passed away. That was why I pushed through and kept myself updated with its progress for several months even when I was pregnant.

'Yet, I never imagined that William would immediately hand over the project to Sophia after it gradually got on track,' I thought, my hand trembling as I held the phone.

They had ruined the project my father cherished like his own life. To make matters worse, I felt powerless to even protect it.

After I got home, William sent me a message saying he had to go on a business trip for a few days. I couldn't care less and immediately booked a flight to Stomvale for three days later.

Just as I put down my phone, a heartbreaking cry suddenly came from the nursery.

I turned around, rushed into the nursery, and saw that Emmy was covered in a widespread rash. She was breathing rapidly, and her face was turning bluish-purple.

I was so overwhelmed with fear that I trembled as I rushed her to the hospital. By the time we arrived, I felt like I had been through hell and back.

After a series of examinations, the doctor came out with the report, his expression grave. "Your daughter has an acute severe allergic reaction, which has caused laryngeal edema. Her life could be in danger if she doesn't receive treatment."

My lips trembled as I cried, "Doctor, give her the best treatment there is! I don't care what you must do, but you must save her!"

"Emergency treatment for allergies requires specific allergy relief medications and expert consultation. Our pharmacy doesn't have much stock of these special medications," the doctor explained solemnly.

I completely broke down in tears and begged the doctor again and again to find a solution.

A moment later, a nurse rushed over.

Her face was filled with apparent sympathy as she spoke, "I'm sorry, Ms. Johnson. Mr. Clark's son's pet dog wouldn't eat, so he had all the hospital's specialists and emergency medications transferred to the VIP ward."

Her words came as a blow, shattering my last shred of reason. After I handed Emmy to the nurse, I rushed to the VIP ward on the top floor.

I kicked open the ward door and saw that the dog didn't look sick at all. In fact, the Golden Retriever was lying on the carpet, full of energy, and gnawing on a bone. Meanwhile, Ethan Clark, the son William had with Sophia, teased it with a treat.

My heart ached terribly, and I couldn't help but roar, "Give my daughter the medicine!"

Who Exactly Is the Wife?

Sophia's expression was filled with triumph as she said smugly, "It breaks William's heart to see Ethan feeling sad, so he has ordered that all medical experts and medicines in this hospital must be reserved for Ethan's dog. As for that liability of a daughter you gave birth to, I don't care if she dies."

I didn't have time to waste words with her. I rushed over and forcibly grabbed the allergy relief medication from the medication cart next to me.

"Don't you dare!" Sophia screamed and stomped in anger. "Security! There's a lunatic here! Get her out of here right now!"

My arms were restrained the next second. I kept staring intently at the medicine bottle, which was a stone's throw away, as I frantically tried to break free.

Meanwhile, Sophia looked at me. Suddenly, she sneered. After that, she slammed the container of allergy relief medication hard onto the ground and crushed the pills with her heel.

"I'd rather destroy these pills than give them to that bastard!" she remarked viciously.

I was burning with rage as I was getting dragged out of the ward. "Emmy is William Clark's daughter. He won't let you off the hook if anything happens to her!" I shouted.

The hospital director, who was alerted by the commotion, immediately frowned and demanded, "Who exactly is Mr. Clark's wife?"

Sophia unlocked her phone and showed the digital marriage certificate between her and William. "It's me, of course. She's just some unknown prostitute trying to get close to William!"

As soon as these words escaped her lips, the voices of the onlookers pierced the air like needles.

"Holy moly! Are all prostitutes this bold and aggressive now? She even dares to come to the man's lawful wife directly!"

"The daughter of a prostitute should just die!"

It killed me listening to them curse Emmy.

As I thought of how her face had turned bluish-purple, I swiftly fell on my knees before Sophia and begged, "Please save my daughter."

Then, I called William, my hands shaking all the while. The moment the call went through, I yelled into the receiver, "William! Emmy is having an allergic reaction! Get the hospital to give her medication right away! If not, she'll die!"

William remained silent for a moment before whispering, "Heather, stop messing around. I really am in a meeting abroad."

"William!" I shouted again, but the call was already disconnected with a beep.

Sophia, who had been standing nearby, smiled smugly and said, "You all saw that, right? I told you, this woman and her daughter always try to bluff and deceive. Not only did she scam men, but she also wanted to steal this expensive medicine."

As she spoke, she called William and complained that she was given a hard time when she brought Ethan's dog to the hospital.

William's voice on the other end of the phone changed from gentle to furious.

The hospital director, who stood next to Sophia, suddenly leaned closer to the phone and asserted in a fawning tone, "Don't worry, Mr. Clark. All the medical experts and medications will be reserved for Mr. Ethan's beloved dog. We won't let just anyone use it."

"Good," William hummed, his voice as cold as ice as he added, "I… don't have a daughter, so just take good care of my son's dog."

The phone call abruptly ended.

I collapsed to the ground, feeling as though my soul had been removed from my body.

The ward door slammed shut, cutting off everything outside.

I staggered back to Emmy's ward. I picked her up, my tears kept falling as I held her in my arms.

Once again, the phone screen lit up. It was a notification that Sophia had uploaded a new post on her Instagram feed.

There were two photos in her newly updated post. In the first one, she was smiling brightly while holding Ethan and the Golden Retriever, whereas the second one showed the money William just transferred.

There was a caption underneath that post, stating, 'Buying imported dog food for Ethan's dog.'

As I stared at the photos, I instantly felt a deep sense of disappointment and heartbreak.

In my arms, I could feel Emmy's breathing grow weaker and weaker.

"Hello, I'm a retired doctor from the hospital. I have some allergy relief medication on hand."

Thankfully, Emmy's life was saved thanks to a Good Samaritan.

Her biological father, who was supposed to love and protect her, had hoarded all the emergency resources for a dog and refused to give her any medicine.

The Kidnapping

As for the complete stranger, they left without even leaving their contact information after delivering the emergency allergy relief medication.

How ironic!

Once I got home, I summoned the housekeeper over and asked, "Who has come to visit recently?"

She hemmed and hawed for quite a while before finally voicing her doubts, saying, "Mrs. Clark, only Ms. Lopez came."

Then, she hesitantly handed me an opened sachet of hazelnut powder and added, "I found this next to Miss Emmy's baby food jar."

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine as a thought crossed my mind.

'Emmy has always been allergic to hazelnuts. Does William know Sophia wants to kill Emmy?' I thought. 'Even if he knew, would he stand up for her?'

I held Emmy tightly. At this moment, the empty villa was just as terrifying as a man-eating monster to me.

Fortunately, I would soon be able to lead a new life with Emmy.

When William returned from his "business trip," he immediately launched into a tirade. "Heather, you're being completely unreasonable right now!"

He glanced at the sleeping Emmy. His brows furrowed even more as he said, "Emmy is perfectly fine. How could you make up such lies? You really let me—"

"Let's get a divorce," I interrupted William, my voice as cold as ice.

He froze upon hearing my words. He grabbed my arm tightly and growled, "You're threatening me with divorce just because I'd criticized you?!"

I was about to expose the fact that we weren't married, but what he said next left me speechless.

"I get it. You're jealous of Sophia, aren't you?" William expressed presumptuously. "Why do you like to compare yourself to her? It's already so hard for her to raise a son alone. Can't you be a little kinder?"

His phone suddenly rang just as I was about to deliver my retort. He hurriedly left after demanding that I stay home and reflecting on my actions for the next few days.

The moment the door closed, my taut nerves snapped.

Tears streamed down my face, and the bitter taste of disappointment lingering in my mouth made the stabbing pain in my chest all the more agonizing.

Just then, my phone screen lit up. It was a notification that the equity transfer payment had been received.

I hastily wiped away my tears and breathed a sigh of relief, for I could finally take Emmy away from this mess tomorrow.

I got into a cab with Emmy in my arms at first light.

Just as I relaxed, a pungent ether smell suddenly filled my nostrils, and I lost consciousness the next second.

…

When I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was locked in an iron cage in an abandoned warehouse.

Emmy was still asleep next to me.

Meanwhile, Sophia and Ethan were inside the iron cage across from mine. She was trembling as she held her son. As for Ethan, he was crying so hard that his face was covered in tears and snot.

The warehouse door was pulled open. As soon as William rushed in, his gaze darted intensely between the two iron cages.

"Your family sure is complete," said the leader of the group of kidnappers as he played with a dagger. He scraped the tip against the iron cage with a piercing sound as he added, "I'll give you a chance. Pick a cage."

William's Adam's apple bobbed twice when he saw Emmy, who was quiet and well-behaved in my arms. Then, he turned to Sophia's side. Ethan was crying and shouting, "Daddy, save me."

"Go on! Choose!" The kidnapper pressed the dagger against Emmy's cheek. The cold metal instantly woke her up, and she burst into tears.

"Don't touch her!" William roared as he lunged forward. However, he was held down by the other kidnappers.

His gaze seemed to be torn in two, with one half fixed on Emmy and me, and the other half stuck on Sophia and Ethan.

"William, save Ethan! He's your only son!" Sophia suddenly screamed, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

Time ticked by so slowly that every breath I took felt like it was made under frozen syrup.

William's fingernails dug deeply into his palm, and beads of blood dripped down between his fingers.