When Holly found the private room, it looked like a storm had hit it. Only Shane sat at the head of the table, waiting for her. He stubbed out the cigarette and walked toward her.

"Shane, where's Aaron? What did you..."

Before she could finish, Shane clamped a hand around her throat and slammed her against the wall.

He clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. "Holly, did you set me up? When did you figure out who I am? What do you want?"

He felt like a stranger she had just met. Cold crept from her scalp to her toes.

"Shane, I should be asking you that! Why did you come after me? Why did you lie to me?"

She hated him. He had ruined her and Aaron. He was such a jerk!

To trick her, he had even had someone forge a marriage certificate. It was fraud. He had pretended to be poor, then betrayed her while they were "married".

But she had no power to stand toe-to-toe with him, and she didn't even dare question him.

Shane let out a short, cold laugh and released her. "I'll pay you. Aaron stays with me. Just name your price."

There was no apology or explanation. Only a flicker of pity in his eyes.

Holly lifted her chin. "No! You never wanted me to keep Aaron in the first place! I won't hand him over!"

In their second year of marriage, Shane hadn't seemed happy when Holly got pregnant. He smoked through the night in the living room.

At dawn, he told her to terminate the pregnancy, coaxing and pressuring her. But she refused.

"Aaron is a Lockwood. Can you afford to give him the life and education he deserves?"

Holly knew she couldn't win a direct fight, so she softened her voice and pleaded, "Shane, even if you plan to take Aaron, give him time to adjust. He had food poisoning today and still has a fever. Can we sit down tomorrow and talk this through?"

It worked. His eyes softened. He gave in and told the driver to take them to see Aaron.

As she was leaving, he stopped her. "What Tess and I have isn't something you can break, if that's what you're thinking."

Holly paused but didn't look back.

On the way, she hired someone to dig into Shane and Tess' past.

At his coming-of-age party, Shane was kidnapped. Tess risked her life to save him.

Cornered and desperate, the kidnappers opened fire. Tess stepped in front of him, and because of that, she was torn apart by 99 pellets, destroying any chance she had of becoming a mother.

It was devotion—no doubt about it.

Holly stopped clinging to hopes that wouldn't come true. She decided to ask Wren to move quickly and take Hayley and Aaron away from this city.

Shane had settled Aaron in a spacious apartment. Holly was surprised to see clear signs that Shane had been staying there, yet there wasn't a single trace of another woman.

She wore a frown she couldn't hide. Aaron, by contrast, was delighted.

That night, Aaron peeked out from under the covers. "Mom, does this mean we can live with Dad from now on?"

Her throat tightened. "If not, will you be sad?"

Aaron nodded, then quickly shook his head and hugged her tight. "I'm happy as long as I'm with you. But I'll be even happier if Dad is there."

Holly kissed his forehead, the ache in her heart growing sharper.

"Sorry, Aaron. I'm going to let you down," she thought.

...

The next morning, Holly didn't see Hayley and assumed she had gone out for groceries. She didn't think much of it.

Hayley, who couldn't swallow the humiliation, had gone to resign. She was going to tell Tess everything and demand justice for Holly.

At Tessmont Manor, Hayley was still rehearsing what to say when she stopped outside the study.

The door was shut. Soft sobs drifted out, mixed with the rhythm of skin meeting skin.

"You jerk! How could you have a child with her?"

"Tess, it was an accident. I was drunk when I touched her. I even got a vasectomy for you. I never thought she'd get pregnant."

Shane's voice came in broken gasps, thick with restrained desire.

Hayley's eyes went wide. She pressed a hand to her chest and stumbled back, but the voices kept ringing out.

"I won't forgive you! Let's get divorced!"

"You little devil, I knelt all night. Have mercy on me. You like Aaron, too, don't you? I'll bring him back. Don't worry. I'll take care of Holly and make sure she never shows up in front of you again."

The sobs were swallowed by kissing, replaced by breathy sounds that flushed Hayley's face.

"Does it feel good, Tess? I'm dying on you. That night, I only touched Holly because I thought she was you.

"From now on, Aaron will be ours. You lost the chance to be a mother to save me. I'll make it up to you with a child, alright?"

"It's not enough," Tess said as she panted.

Shane chuckled hoarsely. "Where isn't enough? Here? Or here?"

"You're awful!"

"Alright, I'll give you another ten percent of Lockwood Corp. I'll give you all of me, too."

Staring blankly, Hayley fumbled for her phone. She had to tell Holly what they were plotting.

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe, and her vision blurred.

The phone hit a step with a dull thud and clattered down the stairs. She stumbled after it, but her foot slipped, and she tumbled all the way to the bottom.

Just then, her phone rang. It was Aaron's sweet voice singing a nursery tune. "I love to hug my grandma. She loves to hug me, too..."

But she couldn't hear it anymore.

From the moment Holly woke up, a heaviness pressed in her chest, the kind that told her something bad was about to happen.

She had to leave Havenport with Aaron and Hayley before things spiraled further out of control.

Right then, her phone rang sharply, slicing through the uneasy quiet. She picked up the phone, every nerve on edge. "Hello, Wren."

"Holly, I've erased all your and your mother's records, but there's an issue. Aaron's information isn't registered under your name, so I can't process it."

Her stomach dropped. After giving birth, Shane had been the one to handle Aaron's birth registration. A thought struck her like ice.

"I need Aaron's birth registration to cancel it. Holly, is he registered under your ex-husband's name?" Wren asked.

Holly's heart sank. If Aaron really was registered under Shane's name, things were going to get complicated.

"So, you need Aaron's birth certificate to cancel it?" she asked, trying to steady her voice.

"Exactly. But hurry. I've already expedited the immigration paperwork. If the old identities aren't deleted in time, it'll get messy."

"Got it."

She hung up and paced the living room, her mind racing.

Just then, her eyes landed on the locked study door. Without hesitating, she called a locksmith. Claiming her child had lost the key, she easily convinced him to open it.

The study was decorated in the same sterile gray tones as the rest of the house. Beneath the massive rosewood desk sat a matte black titanium safe.

Holly took a deep breath, knelt, and stared at the combination lock.

She had a phenomenal memory—she'd passed every section of the bar exam in one sitting. The date of Tess' birthday, which she had seen on the divorce file during the trial, flashed in her mind.

9-6-0-5-1-3.

The next second, the safe swung open.

She skipped over company documents and went straight for the personal files, where she found a marriage certificate and a birth certificate.

The marriage certificate came with a photo of Shane and Tess, both smiling blissfully.

It was nothing like the one she had—Shane's face had been stiff in their wedding photo. He said he hated taking photos.

In fact, he hadn't hated taking photos at all. He had only hated being in one with her.

Holly opened the birth certificate and saw Aaron's name printed clearly on it.

Shane was so heartless. He had registered Aaron under his and Tess' names.

Holly's chest ached so sharply she almost couldn't breathe.

There was no time to think. She quickly snapped a photo and sent it to Wren, then carefully returned every document to its original place.

Minutes later, her phone rang again. Thinking it was Wren, she said when she picked up, "Wren, do you need anything else..."

"Ms. Stanwick," a doctor said, his voice urgent. "Your mother's been in an accident. It's serious. You need to come to the hospital right away!"

"What? What happened?"

"She fell down a slope and has internal bleeding, along with complications from hypertension."

A slope?

Holly didn't have time to think. She grabbed Aaron and rushed out the door.

When Holly saw Hayley lying in the hospital bed, the room seemed to spin around her. She burst into uncontrollable sobs.

She covered Aaron's eyes. He asked innocently, "Did Grandma forget to take her medicine again?"

The doctor stepped out of the operating room with a heavy sigh. "We did our best."

Holly's knees buckled. She collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

Her father had died when she was a child, and her mother had singlehandedly raised her through years of hardship. Before she could finally live for herself, she was gone—dead in a foreign city.

If only Holly hadn't chased Shane to Havenport, none of this would have happened. Hayley would still be alive.

Holly hit her chest with her fists, her heart already shattered beyond repair.

Aaron gently wiped away her tears with his small hands, then wrapped his little arms around her neck. "Don't cry, Mom. Grandma will get better soon!"

The poor child didn't understand that Hayley would never wake up again.

...

When Holly sorted through Hayley's belongings, she realized the phone was missing.

Doubt crept in. Hayley never liked climbing hills. How had she fallen from a slope?

The neighborhood was flat. The only slope nearby was the hill leading to Tessmont Manor.

The chill drained every drop of warmth from her body. Without hesitating, she called the police. "Hello? I want to report a crime!"

...

The police quickly took over the case.

The coroner began the autopsy and soon gave a preliminary report. The injuries didn't match a fall from a slope but looked like those from a staircase. Surveillance footage confirmed Hayley had been heading toward the hillside villa.

Holly knew the answer already, but she needed proof.

Just as the investigation began to close in, it was abruptly shut down. The police ruled it an accident and brushed her off, saying there was no further evidence.

A kind female officer pulled her aside and whispered, "Ms. Stanwick, you've offended someone you shouldn't have. Let it go. Let your mother rest. Don't bring more trouble on yourself."

Holly understood what she meant. In Havenport, the only man with enough power to silence the police was Shane.

Wiping her tears, Holly took a cab straight to the villa. She needed the truth. Otherwise, she'd never forgive herself.

She screamed Tess' name outside Tessmont Manor until her voice broke, but Tess never came out. Instead, two bodyguards shoved her to the ground.

Just then, her phone rang. She answered it, only to hear Shane's furious voice on the other end. "Holly, what are you doing? Your mother's death has nothing to do with Tess!"

Holly had nothing to fear. "Shane, I regret ever meeting you! Have you forgotten what you said when you knelt in front of my mother? You swore you'd love me and cherish me for life!

"Look at you now! My mother is dead, and you didn't show up! Now, you're even trying to hide the truth!"

His tone hardened. "My patience is running out. Keep this up, and you'll never see Aaron again!"

Her last sliver of strength left her, and she fell to her knees.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she muttered to herself.

Aaron was all she had left to live for. Without him, she had nothing.

As she stumbled down the hill, a middle-aged woman in a housekeeper's uniform stopped her.

"I only worked with your mother for a day, but she was very kind." She pressed something into Holly's hand. "Take care of yourself. This is all I can do."

With that, she hurried off.

Holly slowly opened her hand. It was Hayley's phone.

A murder case tied to Shane shot to the top of trending searches online.

The post only disclosed that the victim had started working at Tessmont Manor before dying under strange circumstances. It ended with a cryptic teaser that there would be a real-name livestream at 8:00 pm to speak for the victim.

The post already had over a million likes.

A juicy scandal in a wealthy family, topped with a mysterious death, was just the kind of drama Havenport loved to gossip about.

Meanwhile, in the Lockwood Corp building, an expensive crystal decoration shattered into pieces.

Shane paced his office in a fury. "Find Holly immediately! Pull down every post about the Lockwoods online now!"

Tess, sitting on the couch, looked rattled. "Shane, it really wasn't me. After you left, I had someone take her to the hospital, but I never thought she would jump out of the car..."

Shane pulled Tess into his arms to soothe her. "Alright. I'll handle it. Don't worry. Holly is just a nobody—I don't believe she can stir up any real trouble!"

"Will I be dragged into this? I'm scared..."

He kissed her forehead and said firmly, "You won't."

...

Holly hadn't expected the post to blow up like that. She was thrilled, but worry crept in. Would Shane see it? Would he stop her?

She was holed up with Aaron in a small motel. As long as she got through the livestream tonight, she wouldn't be afraid of anything.

At 8:00 pm, Eldora City time, Holly went live as promised. Beside her laptop sat the evidence she had prepared and an audio recording. Once the recording went public, the whole world would demand justice for her, and she would no longer have to fear Shane.

She took a deep breath, held up her ID, and began the livestream.

"I'm Holly Stanwick. I'm filing a real-name report against the Lockwood family..."

Just then, her phone rang. It was Shane. She declined the call, but he kept calling.

Then, a message popped up. "If you don't want anything to happen to Aaron, end the livestream now!"

A link followed, apparently to another livestream. Dread rose in her chest as she tapped it open with shaking fingers.

Aaron's small face was streaked with tears. He was tied to a chair, crying for his mom.

Before the livestream, Aaron had said he wanted ice cream. She had been drafting her speech, so she handed him money.

They were in the motel lobby, so she hadn't thought much of it.

At that moment, a senior superintendent entered her livestream, and a major news agency began mirroring it. Viewers spiked to 100 thousand in seconds.

Shane called again, and she picked up.

"Holly, do you think you're right? Have you thought about Aaron?"

Her voice shook. "What do you want?"

He let out a cold laugh. "Aaron's life is in your hands. You have three minutes to shut it down! If you don't, don't blame me for what happens! Three minutes, starting now!"

"Are you insane? Aaron is your son!" she screamed, a memory flashing of Shane holding Aaron with a warm smile.

"You have two minutes left!"

Holly closed her eyes as tears fell onto her script. Memories of her mother's 20 years of hard work filled her mind.

"Please, don't push me any further, Shane... You're so cruel!"

"One minute left!" His voice stayed cold.

A piercing cry clenched her heart. She snapped her eyes open to see Aaron hoisted high as the plank beneath him slid away to reveal a massive crocodile pit.

The hungry reptiles gaped their jaws, green eyes fixed on the little boy as he was lowered toward them.

"Mom, help me!"

Holly felt as if she were being flayed alive, the pain beyond bearing.

She yielded.

"Shane, let Aaron go..."

She hit "End" on the livestream with over a million viewers.

Shane waved his hand, and Aaron was safely lowered to the ground.

Half an hour later, Aaron was brought to Holly.

Shane's voice coiled in her ear. "Holly, don't try anything like that again. Tess didn't kill your mother. And this is Havenport. You'll never get out from under my hand!"

He glanced at the script on the table and let out a cold laugh. Then, he tore it apart, sending white fragments fluttering through the air before they scattered across the floor.

"Know your place!"

Holly no longer had the strength to fight him. She locked her arms around the child she had just gotten back.

She finally saw it clearly—Shane's heart belonged only to Tess. She and Aaron didn't weigh an ounce to him.

Holly had backed off, but Tess clearly wasn't done with her.