I don't understand this operation.

In the evening, I left the company directly and drove home.

Seeing that I left the company early today, many senior executives of the company were surprised.

Recently, the company has developed very fast. I am so busy that I have regarded the office as my home, eating and living here.

Many people in the company have nicknamed me behind my back, calling me the "hardworking iron lady".

In my career, I am very successful. In just a few years, I have multiplied the inheritance left by my parents several times, and many bigwigs in the business world have praised me.

However, I have failed a bit in being a wife and a mother.

I owe a lot to my husband and daughter, and I have little time to accompany them.

I will go home early today. I plan to make a hearty dinner for my husband and daughter, accompany them well, and make up for my debt to them.

When I got home, Jessie had finished school.

She was wolfing down cheap instant noodles, as if she hadn't eaten for a day.

I was stunned at first, and then a little angry when I saw this scene.

I looked at the nanny at home and said in an unhappy tone: "Aunt Elsa, the child is hungry, and you give her this?"

Aunt Elsa's face flashed a trace of panic, and then she smiled and said to me: "Ms. Rosa, Jessie clamored for instant noodles after school, saying that she wanted to try what instant noodles taste like."

"Jessie, tell your mother quickly, is it you who asked for instant noodles?"

Jessie seemed to be a little afraid of Aunt Elsa, and nodded to me timidly.

Aunt Elsa smiled even more and said to me: "Ms. Rosa, you didn't call in advance when you went home today, and I haven't prepared dinner yet. You take a rest first, I'll go cook now!"

After that, she went to the kitchen to get busy.

I walked to Jessie's side, and seeing that she looked like she was starving, I felt distressed and said softly, "Jessie, didn't you eat enough at the kindergarten at noon?"

Jessie looked at me timidly and said cautiously, "I ate enough. Jessie is hungry quickly. Mom won't think that Jessie ate too much!"

Seeing my daughter's cautious look, I felt even more distressed.

I held Jessie in my arms and comforted her softly.

The company was too busy during this period, which led to my less care for Jessie, and also made Jessie a lot more unfamiliar with me. Her temperament seemed to have become much more timid and sensitive.

In the next period of time, I have to accompany her well.

At Jessie's age, it is the time when her mother needs to accompany her.

If the relationship between us mother and daughter gradually becomes estranged, or even cracks, then what's the use of earning more money?

During dinner, I chatted with Aunt Elsa about Jessie.

Aunt Elsa praised Jessie for being well-behaved and sensible, but Jessie was not happy about the praise. Facing the gentle Aunt Elsa, Jessie always showed a fearful look.

I noticed this, glanced at the busy Aunt Elsa, and held back my anger.

As night fell, when I was bathing Jessie, I saw a few bruises on her body and asked her what happened.

Jessie whispered: "Mom, Jessie accidentally bumped into it. Jessie will pay attention in the future."

Seeing Jessie's sensible and well-behaved appearance, I felt sad.

I don't want my daughter to be so well-behaved and sensible like a little adult. I want her to be as lively and naughty as other children of the same age. I want her to release the nature that children of this age should have.

Jack’s timid and cautious demeanor only deepened my feelings of guilt and distress.

As I lay beside her, reading a fairy tale before bed, my phone suddenly rang. It was Al.

"I drank too much with my clients today and couldn’t pick up our daughter."

"I heard from Aunt Elsa that you came home early from work today? Did you finish everything at the office?"

"I won’t be coming home tonight. Mr. Moore insisted on dragging me to play mahjong, so I’ll probably be staying out all night."

After a brief exchange, I hung up the phone.

Ever since Jack started kindergarten, Al and I had been drifting further apart.

With the company expanding rapidly, I established a new branch, which Al took over. He became too busy to take care of Jack, so he hired our current nanny, Elsa Grant.

From the very beginning, I never liked her. She didn’t seem like a professional nanny. When she first started working for us, she often complained that Jack’s food and clothes were too extravagant. She even made comments like, "Girls don’t need to be raised so well."

If she hadn’t been a distant relative of Al’s, I would have dismissed her right away.

But Al trusted her completely, insisting that she would take good care of Jack.

In the end, I relented.

Over the past year, my career soared to new heights, but at the same time, Jack had lost her former liveliness. She had become overly cautious, as if she were always afraid of being abandoned.

It reminded me too much of my own lonely childhood.

My parents had been preoccupied with their careers, leaving me with everything I needed—except love and attention. My childhood was far from happy.

Some say that people spend their entire lives trying to heal from their childhood, while others use their childhood to heal their entire lives.

I refuse to let Jack go through what I did.

Maybe it was time to slow down and refocus on what truly mattered—my daughter.

Just as these thoughts filled my mind, Elsa suddenly pushed open the bedroom door, walking in with a glass of milk.

Jack, who had been listening intently to my story, suddenly shuddered.

I didn’t know if it was because of the abrupt intrusion—or something else.

My expression darkened as I snapped, "Why did you come in without knocking?"

Elsa blinked in surprise before blurting out, "There’s no outsider in the house. Why do I need to knock?"

Was she really treating my home as her own?

I gave her a cold stare and said in a firm voice, "Learn the rules. This is not your house."

"Without my permission, you are not allowed to enter mine or Jack’s room whenever you please. Do you understand?"

A flicker of displeasure crossed her face, and she muttered, "Fine, I got it."

She then placed the glass of milk on my bedside table and added, "Jack always drinks milk before bed. She won’t be able to sleep without it."

With that, she left, her expression dark.

I watched her retreating figure, my irritation growing.

She had no sense of boundaries, no professionalism. I was seriously considering replacing her.

I reached for the glass of milk, smiling at Jack as I said, "Sweetheart, drink this and get some sleep. Mommy will take you to kindergarten tomorrow morning, okay?"

Jack hesitated, shrinking away from the milk. Her voice was small as she whispered, "Mom… can I not drink it?"

I frowned. "But you used to love drinking milk, didn’t you?"

Jessie hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "This milk tastes strange. Every time I drink it, I sleep so deeply that I don’t wake up—even if I wet the bed."

My expression stiffened. I lifted the glass to my lips and took a small sip. The rich, creamy taste was laced with a subtle bitterness. No wonder Jessie disliked it.

After tucking Jessie into bed and coaxing her to sleep, I picked up my phone, my face darkening. I needed to check the surveillance footage.

I had to find out if Elsa had been mistreating Jessie. There was no other way to explain my daughter’s fear of her.

The security cameras in our house had originally been installed by my parents. They had been too busy with work to care for me themselves, so they used surveillance to check in on me from afar.

Since marrying Al, I hadn’t used the system much. But when Jessie started kindergarten, I quietly turned the cameras back on—without telling Al.

I had my doubts about Elsa from the start. But since she was Al’s relative, telling him that I wanted to monitor her every move would only make him think I didn’t trust his judgment.

Still, with my workload, I never had time to review the footage. Until now.

I pulled up yesterday’s recording—Jessie’s birthday.

As I watched, my blood boiled.

Al hadn’t even been home. Jessie had spent her birthday with Elsa.

But what infuriated me the most was the cake.

Instead of the luxurious Black Swan cake I had specially ordered, Jessie had been given a cheap roadside pastry that cost only a few yuan.

On-screen, Elsa’s face twisted with impatience. "It’s just a birthday. Be grateful you even have a cake! Don’t be picky."

She sneered and added, "Your mother, that wasteful woman, throws money away on you, a useless brat."

"My grandson’s birthday is tomorrow. This fancy cake will be perfect for him."

Elsa’s voice turned sharp and threatening. "Listen to me, little loser. If your mother asks, you’d better say you ate that expensive cake. If you don’t—" her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I’ll beat you."

She grabbed Jessie’s wrist, shaking her slightly. "Now hurry up and eat, then go to bed. And don’t forget to drink your milk. If you wet the bed again tonight, I’ll string you up and thrash you tomorrow. Do you hear me?"

Jessie’s small face was frozen with fear.

My hands trembled as I watched, barely able to contain my rage.

That wicked old woman dared to treat my daughter like this?

I wanted to storm out of my room and tear her apart.

Then, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

Elsa pulled a small packet from her pocket and poured something into the milk. Then, she forced Jessie to drink it, ignoring her frightened protests and struggles.

Moments later, Jessie’s tiny body went limp in deep sleep.

As if that wasn’t enough, Elsa then crept into my bedroom and ransacked my belongings. She stuffed my jewelry, Jessie’s designer clothes, custom-made shoes, and even her expensive toys into a bag.

Finally, she picked up the untouched Black Swan cake and casually strolled out—leaving my daughter asleep on the floor.

Elsa wasn’t just abusing my child—she was a thief.

I would never forgive her.

Furious, I reached for my phone to call the police.

But suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit me. My eyelids grew unbearably heavy.

With my last bit of strength, I glanced at the glass of milk on my nightstand.

I had only taken a sip, and the drug was already overpowering me.

I could only imagine how much my daughter had suffered, drinking this poisoned milk night after night.

Darkness swallowed me before I could do anything more.