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.

His Choice

When his gaze settled on Sophia's cage, Emmy suddenly stopped crying in my arms and just stared at him wide-eyed like an abandoned kitten.

"I choose…" he spoke, his voice extremely hoarse. "I choose Sophia and Ethan."

The moment the kidnapper removed the dagger, I heard the sound of my heart shattering.

Emmy's lips twitched, and she burst into a heart-wrenching wail.

"Deal," the kidnapper opened the cage on Sophia's side. Just as he and his group were about to take Emmy and me away, William suddenly broke free of the restraints like a madman, rushed over, and hugged the iron cage. "Wait! I choose them! I choose Heather and Emmy!"

"Too late," the kidnapper sneered and walked to the corner with the cage.

As we passed by William, I clearly saw the crimson rage in his eyes and the fleeting smugness on Sophia's lips.

After some time, police sirens suddenly sounded from outside the warehouse.

I held Emmy and curled up in a corner, trying to shield her from the chaos. As soon as my nerves relaxed, I fainted.

…

When I woke up again, the smell of disinfectant made me cough violently.

The light reflecting on the white ceiling was so bright that it made me dizzy. However, I ignored the IV needle in my wrist and swiftly threw back the covers to get out of bed and hug her when I heard Emmy's babbling.

Alas, William held me back.

I shoved him away in a fit of rage and roared, "Fuck off!"

William's facial expression darkened. "I know you're angry, but Ethan was too scared at the time. Besides, Emmy is fine," he said.

"Yes, a six-year-old boy could get scared. Yet, it never occurred to you that a baby like Emmy could get scared too?"

I was so angry that I grabbed the glass from the bedside table and smashed it on William's head. "Give Emmy back and get out of my sight, along with Sophia and Ethan!" I demanded.

"Can't you be a little more sensible like Sophia? You just had to make a big deal out of nothing!" he complained, his tone laced with slight irritation.

After that, he slammed the door and left, leaving the room in complete silence.

Before I could even recover from my anger, Sophia pushed the door open and came in. I remained in my seat. By the time I looked up, my eyes were completely devoid of emotion. "Was it fun staging the whole kidnapping scene?" I asked.

Sophia raised an eyebrow upon hearing my question. "It's fun, of course. Thanks to it, I'd managed to mess with you and your daugther," she replied, openly admitting to it.

"I wanted to show you that he only cares about Ethan and me now and that you don't stand a chance against me. Leave, and don't ever show your face in front of us again. Otherwise, I can't promise that bastard of yours won't be missing an arm or a leg next time."

Suddenly, Sophia sighed and added, "Actually, I used to think he loved you, too.

"The first time we had sex was an accident. He gave me a lot of money and threatened me that he would have me killed if I dared to take it to you. He was only willing to accept me after I found out I was pregnant.

"You know how men are. Love is a fleeting thing to them. He may have loved you before, but now he loves my son and me."

Just before I boarded the plane with Emmy in my arms, I got a text from William.

'I have some urgent business to take care of at the company, so I'll be home late. When I get back, we'll apply for Emmy's birth certificate and Social Security number. Heather, I love you.'

I scoffed, blocked William's number, and texted his archnemesis. 'I'm off.'

The reply came almost instantly. 'Heather, I'll be waiting for you.'

As the plane flew through the clouds, I bent down and kissed Emmy.

"William, your daughter is about to call the person you hate the most 'Dad' in the future," I muttered to myself.