‘Miles, five years ago, you left me this way. Now, I’ll say goodbye to you the same way.’

The next morning, Miles hurried back.

But the first thing he did wasn’t to check if I had a fever, but went straight to the study and checked his safe.

I watched his back and let out a cold laugh.

Didn’t he say he wasn’t afraid of me finding out? Then why was he so nervous?

Just then, the police suddenly showed up at the house.

They only left after confirming multiple times that the overseas call wasn’t from a scammer.

Miles was puzzled. “Eliza, those overseas numbers under surveillance belong to criminals. What exactly are you trying to do?”

I was still searching for an excuse when he pulled me into his arms, comforting me.

"Alright, if you're in trouble, just tell me directly. Those people are desperate criminals. They're capable of anything."

His boundless indulgence made me sick to my stomach.

He knew full well how ruthless they were, yet for Rosalie’s sake, he still made the call that led to my daughter being taken.

I clenched my hands tightly, but my face remained as admiring as ever.

"Miles, having you is truly a blessing."

Miles brought out a bottle of medicinal wine and gently massaged the bruises on my hand. "I specially went to the countryside yesterday to seek this from an old traditional doctor."

I glanced at the label. It clearly stated that it was produced in Golden Industrial Park.

I didn’t expose his lie.

Yesterday, a message about him and Rosalie booking a hotel room had been sent to my phone.

They had only checked out this morning.

After applying the medicinal wine, he took out a dessert. "It’s from that hotel you love."

Opening the box, I saw it was indeed my favorite strawberry flavor.

This hotel's desserts were exclusively for VIP guests.

It seemed that yesterday, they had also gone to the suite I had booked.

The box, originally holding four small cakes, now had only two left.

Rosalie couldn’t have overlooked something like this. Which could only mean she did it on purpose to disgust me. She wanted to show me that I was only worthy of her leftovers, either the cake and the man.

The nausea in my stomach churned even stronger. I pushed the cake away.

"I'm not hungry."

Miles's expression changed dramatically. Panicked, he immediately called the family doctor to give me a full check-up.

It was only after confirming that I was fine that the deep furrow in Miles’s brow finally eased.

"Eliza, get some rest. I'll go make you some porridge."

As soon as he left, I threw the cake straight into the trash.

Not long after, a commotion erupted downstairs.

I stood by the window and looked down. There was Rosalie, her face full of panic.

Like a frightened rabbit, she threw herself into Miles’s arms.

Miles stiffened in surprise and glanced back toward my direction, but his hands didn’t let go.

I didn’t know what Rosalie said, but his expression quickly turned to fury.

Moments later, they both appeared at my door.

The moment he stepped in, Miles slapped me across the face.

"What were you thinking, contacting overseas fugitives to kidnap Rosalie? When your daughter was kidnapped back then, Gibran refused to pay. That wasn't her fault! If I had known you were this kind of person, I never would have married you!"

I couldn't dodge in time and was slapped to the ground.

The vase behind me shattered and I fell onto the scattered glass shards.

Through the tears in her eyes, a hint of triumph flickered across Rosalie’s face.

That’s when I realized that her brother worked at the police station. Of course, he would have known about the overseas call in advance.

She had already gotten what she wanted, marrying Gibran. Yet, she still wanted to have Miles all to herself.

Miles glared at me with fury, demanding that I apologize to Rosalie.

All those fake affections finally unveiled their cold and true nature at this moment.

I didn’t explain. Instead, I stood up and dialed the overseas number right in front of Miles.

"Eliza, why are you calling me at this hour? Do you need something urgent?"

Miles’s cousin’s voice came through the phone.

Both of their expressions changed instantly.

I hung up and looked at them. "It was just an international call. What exactly are you so afraid of? What’s wrong? Do those kidnappers also offer contract killing services? You seem to know a lot about them."

Miles's face turned awkward. "I-I only heard the mercenaries mention it last time when I went to rescue someone."

I touched my swollen face. "Then asking Rosalie for an apology isn’t too much, is it?"

But Miles hurriedly stepped in front of Rosalie. "Eliza, Rosalie was frightened too. You shouldn’t be so relentless. I’ll buy you a handbag later. Let’s just forget about this."

My body was covered in glass shards, blood seeping out from countless wounds. Yet the man who once teared up over the slightest scratch on me now acted as if he couldn’t see a thing.

I let out a cold laugh, about to speak, when Rosalie suddenly started crying.

"Miles, Eliza must still hate me for taking Gibran from her. That’s why she set me up. It’s fine. If she just wants to vent, I’ll kneel and bow to her. It’s just… I finally have a child now and I really can’t handle any more stress. Please, Eliza, have mercy."

She had barely bent her knees before clutching her stomach and collapsing to the side.

Miles immediately scooped her up, shooting me a vicious glare before carrying her away.

I had no idea how much time passed until the maid, Lily, rushed into the room, gasping in shock.

"Madam, you're bleeding so much!"

Only then did I snap back to reality, finally registering the pain radiating through my body.

Lily hurried to call Miles, but I stopped her. "There’s no need. He knows about my injuries."

Miles knew Rosalie was lying. Yet he still defended her without hesitation. Just like five years ago, when he kidnapped my daughter for her sake.

It didn't matter. Soon enough, I would disappear just as he had always wanted.

The family doctor came to treat my wounds. But halfway through, he was called away by Miles.

He held the phone with a troubled expression. "Mr. Prescott, I… I don’t specialize in prenatal care..."

From the other end of the line, Miles’s furious roar was so loud that even I could hear it.

I told the doctor to go, then tended to my wounds myself.

The shards in my back were removed by Lily.

By the time my injuries were taken care of, all the bodyguards in the house had been called away.

Even my daughter, Clara, had been taken with them, leaving only me behind.

Danny, who had always been by my side, repeatedly reminded me, "Even though there’s no one here, the villa’s security system is very advanced. Please, don’t go outside."

Watching as all twenty-something bodyguards headed toward the hospital, I finally opened the text message on my phone.

[I already entered the country. Are we still meeting at the dock?]

I replied, [Come to the house,]

Then I deleted the message.

Back then, Miles had hired them to kidnap someone. But later, fearing loose ends, he had them silenced.

During the shootout, things went wrong. My daughter was the one who ended up dead.

Now, the Black Sea Gang was under the control of the former leader’s illegitimate son. Miles had been on guard against their revenge ever since, which was why he was so paranoid.

At the hospital, Rosalie sent me a picture, one of Miles feeding her chicken soup.

Outside her room, bodyguards stood in a tight formation.

She sent another message.

[How does it feel to be abandoned again? Not bad, right? I just mentioned that seeing you put me in a bad mood and Miles left you at home. He even said you’d be useful as a distraction.]

I ignored her and called Miles, but he hung up on me.

Hours passed before he finally sent a message.

[Be good and stay at home. I’ll come back when I’m done.]

Not a single word about why all the bodyguards had been sent away.

Before long, the Black Sea Gang stormed into the house and the security system's alarms blared loudly.

It must have already sent an alert to Miles’s phone, yet there was still no response from him.

I glanced at my phone, chuckled, then tossed it aside and lit the villa on fire. "Let’s go."

One of the gang members blocked my way. "Didn’t you say Miles’s daughter would be here too?"

I threw him a paternity test report. "Send this to Miles. He’ll pay 40 million to keep it quiet."

"This is also the real reason your gang was wiped out back then. How you use it is up to you."

"And didn’t Rosalie also hire you to kill me? Prepare a fake body and send it over to her. That should bring your total earnings close to 60 million, right?"

Only then did the Black Sea Gang take me to the car.

It wasn’t until we were out at sea that Miles finally sent a message.

"Eliza, stop messing around. Turn off the security system. I’ll be back soon."

How ridiculous. He hadn’t even checked the security alerts.

He was so sure this was just one of my tantrums, another trick to get his attention.

But it didn’t matter. Soon, the entire villa would be up in flames. And the Black Sea Gang’s ransom letter would be in his hands.

I tossed my phone into the sea.

Then, I watched as the Black Sea Gang hacked into the hospital’s surveillance system.

Inside the hospital, the police and Miles’s secretary had just arrived.

Both parties were visibly anxious, speaking over each other in their haste.

"Mr. Prescott, your wife has been kidnapped by a pirate syndicate."

"Mr. Prescott, it seems your wife has discovered that your daughter isn't biologically hers."