On the day of our daughter Rosie's third birthday, my husband, Gideon Davidson, tied her hands and feet.

Then he threw her into the zoo's venomous snake exhibit. All because his beloved mistress had been kidnapped.

Without hesitation, he blamed me.

No questions. No doubt. Just rage.

He grabbed me by the throat, his fingers digging in, his voice shaking with fury.

"I warned you," he shouted. "Don't lay a finger on her. But you dared to ignore me."

Gideon didn't stop there as he said with each word like a blade.

"In that case, let your daughter suffer the consequences of what you've done to her!"

With a sharp wave of his hand, the snakes were released.

Dozens of pythons slithered from every corner, writhing across the floor until they reached Rosie, coiling around her tiny body and circling her completely.

Terror crushed the air out of my lungs. "No! Rosie!"

I dropped to my knees, trembling.

My forehead repeatedly hit the ground as I lay flat on my face, begging.

"Gideon, I was wrong. I was wrong! Rosie is still a child. She's only three! She's terrified of snakes. Please, let her out! I promise I'll stay far away from you and Sabrina from now on. I'll never bother her again!"

But Gideon just sneered at me.

"This is just the beginning," he said, voice laced with venom. "Since you hurt the person I care about most, then I'll watch the one you love suffer too."

I stared at him, disbelief ripping through me like glass.

My scream echoed across the exhibit. "But she's your daughter, too! How can you be so heartless?!"

Gideon didn't flinch. Instead, he turned toward the woman beside him, Sabrina Lewis, and gently wrapped an arm around her waist, his new love interest, as if to emphasize his betrayal.

He smirked, his eyes icy and contemptuous as he stated, "So what? I've already found someone better."

And with that, without a backward glance, Gideon walked away.

I turned to look at Rosie and instantly recognized the snake clamped to her neck. A banded krait.

I was paralyzed with horror, my mind quickly overwhelmed with fear and regret.

My body reacted before my brain could catch up. I broke into a run, slamming into Gideon before he could reach the exit.

"Rosie's been bitten!" I cried, my voice cracking with desperation. "That's a venomous snake! Please, please get her out now! There's still time to get her to the hospital…"

I clutched the hem of his sleeves and with raspy breaths, I said, "Gideon, I'm begging you. Please, I'm begging you…"

His response?

A brutal kick that sent me sprawling to the floor.

"Emily, drop the act!" Gideon snapped. "I replaced those snakes with toy ones long ago. Where the hell would the poison come from?"

——

Emily's POV

Gideon's kick had landed directly on my C-section scar, where I'd given birth to Rosie three years earlier. The pain ripped through me, white-hot and blinding.

Despite my body trembling uncontrollably, I couldn't stop. Half-crawling, half-collapsing, I threw myself at Gideon's feet again.

"N-no… It's real poison," I gasped. "I know that snake. It's deadly. If she isn't taken to the hospital within the hour, she'll be in danger!"

I looked up at him, my eyes wild with desperation, as I reminded, "Don't you remember what today is? It's Rosie's birthday! Are you really going just to stand there and watch her die?"

For a split second, his eyes flickered, and the ice in his stare thawed.

Gideon knew how much Rosie had looked forward to this day, and how excited she'd been to visit the zoo with her dad.

But who would have thought he'd end up throwing her into the venomous snake exhibit?

He hesitated as his foot twitched like he was about to move.

But right then, Sabrina clutched her stomach and collapsed in Gideon's arms.

"Emily…" Sabrina's voice came softly and frail.

"You knew I had a scare from the kidnapping the other day," she whimpered. "I almost lost the baby. And now that Gideon finally had a moment to spend with me, you make up a lie about your daughter being bitten, just to tug at his heartstrings and win him back. Isn’t that right?"

The air stilled.

Gideon's face darkened like a storm front. He shoved me hard, his rage boiling over.

"Emily, have you lost your damn mind? You'd lie about Rosie's life to compete for my attention? You're insane!"

Gideon's voice dropped, but it was sharp enough to cut as he said, "I'm warning you, if I ever hear you cursing our daughter again, don't blame me for what happens next!"

And just like that, he turned and walked off with Sabrina without a second glance.

I scrambled to my feet, stumbling, barely upright, and rushed back into the exhibit.

My heart shattered at what I saw.

Rosie was gasping for air, her breaths shallow and strained. Her little arms had turned a deep, sickly black.

I screamed for help like a woman possessed.

But the zookeepers stood still, unmoved.

"I'm sorry," one of them said, eyes downcast. "We can't open the enclosure without Mr. Davidson's authorization…"

Emily's POV

I held back the grief clawing at my chest and, still clinging to hope, redialed Gideon's number, but he hung up without a word.

Watching Rosie's breathing grow increasingly shallow, panic overtook me.

I lost all sense of reason and repeatedly hurled myself against the glass door, once, twice, again, and again.

I didn't know how long I'd been doing it when, finally, with a sharp crack, the glass split open.

Shards exploded across the floor, slicing into my skin. But I didn't care. I scooped Rosie into my arms and bolted outside.

She stirred faintly, as if she sensed my presence.

Blood was trickling from the corner of her lips when she mumbled, "Mommy… it hurts…"

Her tiny fingers shifted, revealing a crumpled piece of paper still clenched in her hand.

“This… this is a gift… for Daddy…”

I glanced down and saw the drawing, distorted from her grip, but clear enough.

She'd drawn a man's face.

My heart cracked. I bit down hard on my lower lip to stay upright.

Holding her fragile body tightly to my chest, I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and whispered gently, "Rosie, don't be afraid. Mommy's taking you to the hospital right now."

Without wasting another second, I sprinted into the street, waving down a car and shouting for the hospital.

Moments later, I burst into the ER, desperate for help.

The doctor took one look at the snakebite on Rosie's arm and shook his head in dismay.

"Venomous snake bite? Then it's too late," he said pitifully. "The only dose of antivenom we had was just taken by some guy who worships his wife. Apparently, she got a little cut on her foot, and he wants to use it for cosmetic purposes. Said he didn't want it to scar..."

Whatever else the doctor said faded into static.

My mind went blank, like someone had detonated something inside my skull.

Right then, only one thought roared through my body:

'Save my daughter. She's only three.'

Gripping the doctor's arm in a frenzy, I screamed, "Where is he? I'll go beg him myself! If he'll give me the serum, I'll do anything—anything!"

Startled by my desperation, the doctor quickly stammered out the answer.

"The VIP wing. Top floor."

I left Rosie in the observation room and ran, two steps at a time, up the stairwell. When I flung open the hospital room door, there he was.

Gideon.

He was down on one knee, kissing Sabrina's pregnant belly.

For a moment, I stood frozen.

So this was the 'wife-worshipping maniac' the doctor had mentioned. But I couldn't afford to crumble. I need to save my daughter.

Swallowing everything, my pride and my dignity, I fell on my knees and bowed deeply.

"Please," I said, voice shaking. "I beg you. Give me the antivenom. Rosie's dying."

Gideon's brows pulled together. He looked like he might say something, but Sabrina's tears came first.

"Emily, you already hurt me once. Now you want to take the antivenom I need for my scar?" she sobbed.

Her voice trembled with mock innocence as Sabrina continued, "Is this your plan? To lie about your daughter dying just to get Gideon's attention?"

Before her words had even settled, Gideon exploded. He stormed toward me, grabbing me by the throat.

"Emily," he growled, "you're still shameless! You'll say anything for attention. Now you even dared to spread such sick lies about Rosie? What kind of mother are you, huh?"

I shook my head furiously, fighting for breath, trying to speak, "N-no… It's not like that, Gideon! Rosie is right—"

But before I could finish, he slammed me to the floor.

"Oh, you want the serum?" Gideon snapped. "Fine. Then, kneel and bow to Sabrina. Do it a hundred times, and I'll give it to you!"

I looked up at him, stunned and unable to believe what I was hearing.

His eyes held nothing. No remorse. No trace of the man I'd once known. But then I thought of Rosie's body, her arms blackening with venom.

I didn't hesitate.

I dropped to my knees and began to bow.

“One… two… three…”

Each time my forehead hit the floor, pain shot through my skull.

Blood streamed down my face, tracing along my chin and staining the tile.

My vision blurred, my limbs trembling.

By the time I reached the hundredth bow, I could barely lift myself upright.

Swaying, I pushed to my feet and looked up, clinging to one last thread of hope.

"Can I have the antivenom now?"

Emily's POV

Sabrina walked toward me, smug and slow, holding the vial of antivenom between two perfectly manicured fingers.

Just as I reached out to take it, she let go.

The glass hit the floor and shattered instantly.

I stood frozen, staring in disbelief. But Sabrina leaned in, lowering her voice to a venomous whisper right beside my ear.

"Stupid woman. Why would I save your daughter? She should've died a long time ago. If she hadn't, how else would my baby be the only heir to Davidson Group?"

Whatever hope I had left was gone and snuffed out in a breath.

Something inside me snapped.

I lunged at her, knocking her onto the bed. My hands wrapped around her throat with a force I didn't know I had.

"You killed my daughter!" I screamed. "You're going to pay for it!"

She clawed at me, her eyes going wide, starting to roll back.

I used every ounce of strength, ignoring Gideon's furious shouts behind me, watching Sabrina's eyes roll back as she gasped for air.

She struggled and pleaded for help, but my mind was filled only with the image of my daughter in despair—Rosie's helpless, fading face.

All I could feel was rage, and my grip only tightened.

Then, a blast of electricity tore through me.

My body seized violently, collapsing to the ground as fresh pain erupted across my already gashed skin. The glass wounds from earlier open wider, now leaking yellow pus with the shock's flow.

I twitched on the cold floor, vision swimming.

When I looked up, Gideon was standing over me, anger in his eyes and holding an electric baton.

"Emily," he snapped, "you've lost your damn mind. You really tried to hurt Sabrina? Right in front of me? If anything happens to that baby, I swear to God I won't let you live!"

I laughed so hard my chest shook, until it felt cracked and hollow.

Through my tears, I pointed at him and choked out, "I am insane! You drove me insane! Gideon, you let our daughter die for the baby she's carrying!"

His face twisted, frowning like I'd insulted his intelligence.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'd never hurt my daughter. I told you that those snakes were fake!"

Just then, my phone rang.

I scrambled to answer it. The screen flashed with the hospital's number. I picked up immediately.

"Ma'am," the voice on the other end said, urgent and grim, "Your daughter is in full organ failure. She only has one breath left. You need to come quickly…"

The rest faded into static.

It felt like someone had carved a hole in my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even think.

I turned and bolted for the door.

Then I heard Sabrina scream. "Help!"

She turned to Gideon and yelled, "Gideon, she's coming at me with a knife!"

Before I could react, Gideon shouted, "Stop her!"

In seconds, several of his security men charged in and slammed me to the floor.

I kicked, thrashed, clawed like a wild animal, screaming from the depths of my soul, "Let me go! Let me go! I need to see my daughter. Rosie's waiting for me! She's waiting!"

Tears poured uncontrollably down my face, but all I saw was Gideon's look of pure disgust.

He walked to the tray, grabbed a syringe, and stepped toward me.

"No, please don't!" I begged, shaking my head in horror.

But the needle plunged into my arm before I could stop it. The chill of the sedative spread instantly, making the world around me blur at the edges.

As my body went limp, I heard Gideon's voice.

"She's completely lost it. Send her to the psych ward."

...

I had a dream. A long one. One that felt too soft to be real.

In the dream, I had just found out I was pregnant.

Gideon's face lit up with the pure joy of becoming a father. He pulled me into his arms, practically glowing.

"Emily, this is amazing," he said. "We're finally having a baby! Don't worry. From now on, I'll protect both of you. I won't let anything harm you ever."

Ten months later, I gave birth to our daughter.

Back then, Gideon's world revolved around us. He came home early from work every night just to cook for us. He canceled every meeting and dinner, just to be there to rock Rosie to sleep.

One time, if I had a tiny hangnail or if Rosie cried once in the middle of the night, he'd be distressed for hours.