After Leandro left with Nash, Nina curled her lips into a sly smile and gave commands to the bionic robots.

“Go bring the peeping intruder at the door inside.”

“Yes, Madam!”

In the villa’s grand hall, Catherine was held firmly by the servants. Their long nails dug into her skin, sending sharp stings through her shoulders.

She gritted her teeth against the burning pain and raised her eyes to Nina.

“Did you send me that anonymous letter this morning?”

Even though she phrased it as a question, her voice was full of certainty.

At ten that morning, her phone received an anonymous message. It was a short clip.

In the video, Leandro was naked, moving slightly, his low, muffled groans mixed with the moans and gasps of a woman.

Beneath the photos were the address: Ever Crest Villa.

With bloodshot eyes, Catherine stared unblinkingly at the man in the picture, refusing to believe it, even overusing her divination powers to no avail.

After 9,999 divinations, all showed the same result. She finally accepted the bitter truth—Leandro had betrayed her.

“Indeed, Catherine, you saw it for yourself today. Leandro and Nash both like me very much. Nash even wants me to be his mother. If you’re smart, Catherine, you’d better step aside. After all, what man doesn’t love a young, beautiful body?”

Hah! Like?

“You mean ‘like’ as in playing the role of a fox spirit to seduce a married man? Then yes, I admit—I can’t compete with you.”

Catherine’s words enraged Nina. Her lips twitched, and her expression darkened instantly.

She raised her hand high—but just as it was about to fall, she paused, a teasing glint flashing in her eyes.

“Jason, give her a slap. Don’t stop until I say so.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The butler obeyed, raising his palm and slapping Catherine’s face hard.

Held down tightly, unable to break free, she endured every sting.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Her face quickly reddened and swelled, fresh blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

“You dare insult Madam? I’ll slap you to death.”

The fiery pain made Catherine’s eyes water. She looked up at the butler, who had always treated her like a daughter, and a sharp ache hit her heart.

Even though she knew this was just a bionic robot, it still hurt.

After countless slaps and when her vision began to blur, Nina finally showed mercy.

With a cruel smile, she slowly began unbuttoning her clothes in front of Catherine.

Her skin, marked with faint red bruises, was exposed to the air, revealing a raw, seductive allure.

She grabbed Catherine’s chin hard, pushing her face close.

“Even if you’re going to be a fox spirit, you should at least have the skills. What do you think, Catherine?”

“Leandro loves this body of mine—he can’t get enough, making me do it multiple times in all sorts of positions. He never gets tired of trying.”

The suggestive marks—from her neck to her chest, down to the inner thighs—were burned into Catherine’s eyes, stabbing at her heart.

A dull ache settled in her chest as she helplessly watched Nina erase all the surveillance footage inside the villa, then order the servants to throw her out at the front door.

Her phone slipped from her pocket, shattering on the ground.

“See yourself out, Catherine.”

The heavy door slammed shut in front of her.

Despite the sharp pain in her cheek, Catherine got up slowly from the ground.

With her phone broken, she had no choice but to walk back on her own.

The journey took a full five hours. The tender soles of her feet were blistered, raw, and itching.

Suddenly, a heavy rainstorm poured down. Raindrops pelted her body, cold seeping into every pore, making her shiver uncontrollably.

When she finally returned to Kennedy residence, her entire body was drenched and exhausted. Her foggy mind slipped into unconsciousness.

“Sweetheart!”

“Mom!”

When Catherine regained consciousness again, all she saw was a wash of white.

She opened her eyes and found Leandro standing by her bedside. Dark circles hung under his eyes, and a light stubble had grown on his chin—he looked like he hadn’t slept all night.

Seeing her awake, his eyes were filled with pain and worry. He gently pulled her into his arms, his voice tinged with anxiety and fear.

“Sweetheart, didn’t I tell you to stay home and wait for me? Where did you go off to? And you come back all hurt like this. Tell me—did someone bully you? I swear, I’ll make that person pay.”

Their son stood nearby, pulling at her hand with a pout.

“Yeah, Mom, why did you run off like that? You made Dad and me so worried.”

Catherine met their anxious, and caring gazes. Bitterness welled up inside her. She pressed her lips together and spoke softly.

“Yesterday, you two...”

Suddenly, her words were cut off by a sharp ringtone breaking the silence.

Leandro’s expression tightened as he glanced at the caller ID. Hastily, he hung up.

But the caller was persistent, immediately dialing again.

Nash noticed the incoming call and his eyes lit up. He anxiously shook Leandro’s hand.

“Dad, the phone.”

Reluctantly, Leandro answered.

“What’s going on? Why call at this hour?”

But instead of English, he spoke in Italian.

The sudden switch caught Catherine off guard. She instinctively looked at Leandro, only to see him exchange a knowing glance with their son.

The three then smoothly conversed in Italian.

“Leandro, can you come keep me company tonight? The thunder is so loud—I’m really scared of being alone.”

The trembling voice of a woman echoed softly through the receiver.

Leandro glanced at Catherine, realizing she didn’t understand Italian. His tense expression softened.

Recalling how Catherine had suddenly collapsed the day before, his heart tightened and he declined Nina’s request.

“I can’t make it tonight. Catherine is sick, I have to stay with her.”

Silence hung heavily in the room, the other side spoke, but Catherine couldn't hear it clearly.

Leandro’s gaze was fixed on the phone screen. His expression suddenly darkened, and his voice turned raspy.

“Be good and wait for me at the villa. No matter what, you have to hold on.”

After hanging up, Nash furrowed his brows and quickly said in Italian, “Dad, I want to go too! Aunt Nina is scared of the thunder, and I can protect her!”

Leandro agreed, feeling the slight tremble beside him. He carefully tucked the blanket around Catherine again and raised the air conditioning temperature.

“Sweetheart, are you cold? Do you feel better now?”

The familiar scent of perfume drifted to her, but it couldn’t soothe her aching heart.

Catherine raised her eyes to meet the man’s gentle, tender gaze. Her voice trembled unconsciously.

“What were you just talking about?”

Leandro smiled faintly and affectionately stroked her hair.

“Nash’s Italian teacher was updating me on his progress. He even praised how smart our son is.”

“Yeah, Mom, the call was from my Italian teacher. She’s really nice.”

Looking at their warm, familiar faces, Catherine felt a chill running through her body.

They didn’t know she had already learned Italian a long time ago.

She understood every word of their conversation. But they still chose to lie to her.

Her heart twisted painfully, overwhelmed by helplessness and exhaustion.

“I... I want to rest now.”

With that, she turned over and curled under the covers, showing them only her back.

“Sweetheart, rest well.”

After planting a gentle kiss on her hair, Leandro took Nash and left the room.

But Catherine lay awake in bed, tears soaking into the pillowcase, dampening one corner.

In the middle of the night, Catherine suddenly developed a high fever.

Her head felt heavy and muddled, sweat soaked through her cotton pajamas, and her entire body was cold and trembling.

3:00 AM.

Enduring the unbearable discomfort, she reached out with trembling fingers and dialed Leandro’s number.

The call was answered in less than a second, but no one spoke on the other end—only the sound of rustling clothes came through.

“Leandro... I really... can’t take it anymore...”

A coquettish voice, soft and flirtatious, came clearly through the receiver, stabbing into Catherine’s ears. Then came a man’s familiar voice, husky and laced with teasing.

“Be good. Didn’t you just say you could?”

The breathless moans of desire laced with flirtation scraped at Catherine’s nerves like knives, stabbing straight into her chest.

Three full hours of torment.

Every second felt like being fried in oil, swallowed by flames—an excruciating torture that tore at her soul.

Ding.

The call ended abruptly, and a message popped up a second later.

It was a screenshot of a chat.

In the image, Nina straddled a bed in black lace bunny lingerie, her delicate figure posing seductively as she stared into the camera with sultry eyes.

[Your little bunny is waiting obediently for her master~]

Beneath the photo, Leandro’s plain black profile responded with just three curt words.

[Wait for me.]

A crushing pain spread through Catherine’s chest like a thousand tiny needles.

So that was it. He had changed his mind after seeing this photo.

Curled up under the blanket, she began to cry softly. A dull ache throbbed at her temples.

She had thought that after seeing the ambiguous marks Nina bore before, she would have gotten used to it and become numb.

But the agony still came, overwhelming and deep, seeping into her bones.

Only after the tears had dried did she force herself to close her eyes and switch off the screen.

But the relentless fever kept her awake the entire night.

—

The next morning, Leandro returned with their son—and a woman.

“Sweetheart, this is Nash's new Italian teacher. She’ll be staying with us temporarily, but she’ll move out in a few days.”

“Good morning, Madam. I’m Nash's Italian teacher. Sorry for the sudden intrusion.”

Catherine looked at Nina, whose eyes brimmed with undisguised provocation.

She didn’t take the outstretched hand.

The room fell into a brief, tense silence.

Nina lowered her eyes and let her voice tremble with apparent hurt.

“Madam, am I... not welcome here?”

Leandro paused, then spoke with a heavier tone. “Sweetheart?”

When she still didn’t respond, their son Nash scowled and stomped up to grab Catherine’s hand.

“This is my favorite teacher! Mommy, you’re a grown-up! Don’t you know how to be polite?”

The rebuke hit her square in the chest.

Catherine stared at their forcibly joined hands, then finally took Nina’s hand in hers.

“Madam, I’ll be in your care for the next few days.”

Nina’s voice was sweet and sincere—but her grip was cruel.

Her sharp nails dug deep into Catherine’s palm, drawing blood.

The sudden pain made Catherine instinctively shake her hand free, but Nina took the chance to stumble backward and crash to the floor.

“Ah! That hurts!”

Tears spilled from her eyes in an instant, her reddened gaze brimming with sorrow.

“If Madam didn’t want me to stay, you could’ve just told me. I wouldn’t have imposed. I never thought you’d dislike me this much...”

Her voice was a blend of heartbreak and grievance—three parts sadness, seven parts accusations.

Leandro’s eyes flashed with concern as he stepped forward to help her up.

He swept his gaze at Catherine and intoned coldly, “Catherine, that was too harsh.”

“Yeah, Mommy! That was way out of line. How could you push someone like that? What if she got hurt?”

Nash shielded Nina like a little lion cub guarding his own, checking her anxiously for injuries.

Their accusatory words crushed down on Catherine’s heart.

She stared blankly at the three of them, united on the same side, as the stinging pain in her palm spread through her chest.

Nash quickly brought over the first-aid kit, his small face twisted in anger.

“Aunt Nina, Mommy didn’t mean it. Don’t blame her. She’s always acting weird, fiddling with those broken things. Even the kids at kindergarten say she’s gone crazy from it.”

A wave of pressure surged in her chest. Catherine turned and walked away, forcing herself not to hear another word.

Soon... she would be gone.

She clenched her injured hand, stood up, and headed toward the backyard.

But a voice called after her from behind.

“Miss Flores.”