Sadie's POV

Powerless, I dropped to my knees in front of him and begged him in the most humiliating way possible.

But his hand only clamped around my jaw like a steel trap, his teeth grinding in fury.

“If you want that little bastard to live, then tell me where the hell you took Jewel?”

“I don’t know! I swear I don’t know, please,” I answered truthfully, begging.

Yet a loud slap exploded across my face. My left cheek burned, and all I could hear was a high-pitched ringing in my ear.

“You liar!” he spat. “Surveillance from the kindergarten shows a woman dressed exactly like you taking her into a car. Her name tag was also found outside your bedroom. And you’re still pretending you’re innocent?”

I shook my head desperately, tears flying. “It wasn’t me! I swear, it wasn’t!”

I then turned my head and saw Mick’s tiny chest rising slower and slower.

Panicked, I pushed myself up and rushed toward the operating room.

“Mick! Don’t be scared. Mommy’s taking you home.”

I cradled his ice-cold body in my arms, whispering that same sentence over and over like a prayer.

He was still wearing the soccer jersey of Denton’s favorite team. I gently kissed his pale little cheek, and my warm tears fell on his soft skin.

Just yesterday morning, Denton had him perched on his shoulders, playing pretend knights.

But now, Denton coldly said, “He’s not my son. Melanie showed me your old pregnancy records. You were already pregnant before we got married. And that kid isn’t premature; he was full-term. You just made up that whole preemie lie to cover up your past.”

His words hit harder than any slap. For a moment, I forgot to cry.

Every accusation, about kidnapping Melanie’s daughter, about Mick’s parentage, was a lie. All of it.

Three months ago, I had been carefully planning our anniversary trip. I even booked two tickets to Paris.

Yet he never showed up.

Mick and I waited outside Disneyland the entire night. But only the fireworks lighting up the empty sky accompanied us.

I still remember, I was wearing the same outfit shown in that kindergarten footage. But the next morning, I was mugged on the street and lost the entire outfit while protecting Mick.

When I finally got home, he wasn’t there either.

Later that night, I saw him on Melanie’s Instagram. That same cold man I married was smiling under the Paris night sky, with the Eiffel Tower glowing behind him.

That was when I realized he had chosen Melanie over me.

But we were in love once because Mick was the proof of that.

Seven years ago, Denton was a powerful and feared genius in both the legal and underground business world, while I was just a broke computer science student, bartending to pay my tuition.

He claimed it was love at first sight.

Every day, he brought me gifts and begged me to marry him. I rejected him 99 times because I knew deep down, we were from two very different worlds.

I wasn’t worthy of his billion-dollar life. And more importantly, I didn’t want to live a life tied to blood and darkness.

Until one night, I was drugged, and he showed up and saved me. He held me as he cried, apologizing over and over. For seven days straight, he publicly announced he was cutting ties with the underground world just to convince me he could give me a simple, happy life.

When Mick was born prematurely, I watched him cry as he stood over the incubator. He swore he’d protect us, no matter what. He even said he’d give his own life to save our son.

Back then, he was the perfect husband and father.

But everything started to fall apart the day Melanie returned.

She weaseled her way into every part of our lives. She made Denton used to missing all our important moments. She planted the idea that Mick wasn’t his child. She even twisted the story of Denton’s father’s accidental death, blaming me.

And the most terrifying part was that he believed her.

I once offered to divorce him. I thought maybe, just maybe, we could part ways peacefully.

But he only wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger, smiling softly. His voice slithered like a snake against my ear.

“Darling, did you really think you could fool me and walk away unscathed? A blood debt must be paid in blood. Isn’t that right?”

Sadie's POV

So now, he was really going to drain his own son’s blood?

The irony was almost too much to bear.

To make matters worse, I came too late.

Mick’s body was already growing cold, and his heartbeat was so faint I could barely feel it.

At this point, there was no room left for arguing. Nothing I said would matter anymore. All I wanted now was for my son to live.

I picked Mick up and ran for the door, but Denton’s tall frame blocked my path.

“If you want to save him,” he said, “then tell me where you hide Jewel.”

I glanced up at him, but said nothing. Instead, I bit my lip and kept my head low, quickly scanning for any possible escape route.

Just then, one of his men burst into the room.

“Boss, we found her,” he reported, shooting me a quick glance. “Miss Jewel was discovered at an abandoned warehouse. Looks like she fainted from the shock.”

Without warning, Denton kicked at me and roared, “You tried to kill her!”

I instinctively wrapped my arms tighter around Mick to protect him. But the force of the kick knocked me to the floor, and my knees slammed hard into the cold tile. The thud echoed through the room.

Then I felt a rush of wind behind me, a fist, maybe, but it stopped just an inch away from my body.

“I’m gonna bring Jewel home first,” he growled. “If she’s missing so much as a strand of hair, I’ll carve out that bastard’s heart and give it to her as a transplant.”

With that, he stormed out.

Seizing the chance, I scrambled to my feet and ran with Mick in my arms, heading straight for my car.

Even though we were in a hospital, I knew better than to trust this place as it belonged to Denton. If they had no problem draining a six-year-old of his blood, I wasn’t about to risk what they’d do next.

Looking down at my son's pale face, almost looking see-through, my whole body trembled. It took everything I had to force the key into the ignition and start the engine.

“Grandma, please, help me. Help Mick.”

My voice was broken and shaky, the sobs making it hard to speak.

“Sadie? Is that you, sweetheart? What’s wrong?” Her voice, warm and full of worry, was the first comforting thing I’d felt in days. Maybe even years.

Three years ago, I received a letter out of the blue. A suicide letter from my birth mother I had lost touch with for eighteen years. She wrote there that I wasn’t an orphan and still had a family, which was my grandmother.

Using the contact information in the letter, I found her.

For the first time, someone other than Denton made me feel loved.

When Melanie first came into our lives, I wrote to my grandmother. She offered to come and take me home. But I said no.

Because back then, Denton still gently tapped my nose and told me, “Silly girl. You and Mick are the two people I love most in this world. I’d give my life to protect you.”

So I believed him.

I gave up my career, turned down my grandmother’s offer to join the family business, and silently helped Denton behind the scenes, managing his affairs and cleaning up his messes.

And now, he wants me and Mick dead.

“Sadie, don’t panic,” Grandma said softly. “Just tell me what you need. I’ll make it happen.”

“I need the best medical team. Mick has lost too much blood. He doesn’t have much time. Also, I want new identities. For both of us. I can’t live like this anymore.”

With no hesitation, Grandma readily agreed, “Alright, Sadie. The best medical team in the world will be in place in three minutes. And I’ll have new identities for you and Mick within seven days.”

“Thanks, Grandma,” I whispered. “Please take me home in seven days as well. I’m ready to take over the family business.”

With that, I ended the call and leaned down to kiss Mick’s cheek. His skin was so pale that it broke my heart all over again, and tears spilled freely from my eyes.

“Just hang in there, Mick. Seven more days. After that, everything will be over. Mommy won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

Sadie's POV

“M-Mom…”

Mick’s weak voice pulled me out of a nightmare.

I quickly grabbed his small, icy hand and pressed it to my face.

“Mommy’s right here,” I whispered.

He tried to give me a smile, though it clearly took effort, and comforted me. “Don’t cry, Mommy. Mick’s okay.”

I then quickly wiped the tears I didn’t even notice when they trickled.

“I love you, Mom,” he murmured.

“Sweet boy. Mommy loves you, too. You’re going to be okay.”

Those three minutes waiting for help felt longer than my entire lifetime.

At 2 minutes and 48 seconds, the medical team finally arrived.

They were fast and efficient. Not a single movement wasted. In seconds, they had an oxygen mask over Mick’s face, fluids running through a line, and a blood transfusion started.

“Ms. Middleton, Mick’s condition is quite serious,” the lead doctor said. “We need to move him to a hospital with better equipment for a full evaluation. Don't worry, we’re licensed to operate globally and can use any facility without cost or delay. The best option right now is MediTrust Hospital. It’s the closest and also the best.”

At first, I hesitated because MediTrust belonged to Denton.

But Mick couldn’t survive a longer drive. And this hospital was built specifically with children like him in mind, as Denton invested one hundred and fifty million in it back when Mick was frequently sick.

Besides, Denton was off chasing after Melanie and her daughter. He wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

With that in mind, I nodded.

Half an hour later, the emergency room light finally went off.

“Is Mick okay?” I rushed toward the doctor, grabbing his hand in desperation, trying to peek into the room.

The doctor looked completely exhausted as he replied, “He’s stable now. We’re replenishing his red blood cells. If all goes well, he should wake up in about thirty minutes.”

I finally breathed again. And with that breath came the realization that I had been gripping the doctor’s hand so tightly it had turned red.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, letting go. “Thank you. Thank you for saving my son.”

The doctor offered a tired but kind smile. “It’s my job. But you should know, he still needs careful attention. He’s lost a lot of blood. It’s a serious threat to his life.”

I nodded, dazed, and a wave of guilt crashed over me. I should’ve protected him. I failed him. I was supposed to be his mother.

“What can I do for him?” I asked helplessly.

“You don’t need to blame yourself too much. What he needs now is rest,” the doctor answered.

I glanced into the hospital room. For the first time, some color had returned to Mick’s little face. But his brows were still furrowed in discomfort.

Suddenly, I remembered his favorite teddy bear.

That bear had comforted him more than anything else. More than my hugs. More than even Denton’s affection.

He also loved the sound of wind chimes and those dinosaur picture books he read every night before bed.

Maybe those familiar things could help him sleep better.

Thinking of it, I grabbed my keys and rushed back home.

But as soon as I parked in the underground garage, I caught a faint whiff of smoke.

Yet I didn’t think much of it since I had no time.

I bolted straight for Mick’s room, but when I opened the door, I froze.

It looked like a war zone.

The room had been completely torn apart and ransacked like it had been looted. Everything was gone. Even the family portrait he drew and stuck on the wall was ripped to shreds.

Then I heard her voice.

“Throw it all in the river.”

I looked down over the railing and saw her, Melanie, commanding someone to dump all of Mick’s belongings.

“Melanie!” I screamed. “Have you lost your damn mind?! What the hell are you doing?!”