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.

Emily's POV

But everything changed when Sabrina showed up.

Gideon stopped being the loving husband who cherished me, stopped being the doting father who adored Rosie.

The dream shifted abruptly.

I heard Rosie's voice echo, pained and weak. “Mommy, it hurts so much… help me… please, help me…”

I reached out frantically, searching for her, but my hands grasped only emptiness. I suddenly woke up, the sharp scent of disinfectant burning in my nose.

As clarity returned, I tore the blanket off and stumbled out of bed, legs barely holding me upright, and ran straight for the emergency room.

I searched desperately—every bed, every corner—calling her name. But Rosie was nowhere to be found.

Lost and desperate, I didn't know what to do until I heard the nurses whispering behind the nurses' station.

"That little girl who got bitten by the venomous snake yesterday… what a shame. She could've been saved. All she needed was the antivenom."

"But in the end, she was dragged out too long. Died right there. Her face was black by the time she went…"

My heart plummeted into my stomach.

I turned and grabbed a nurse, my hands trembling violently.

"Where is she? Where's my daughter?"

The nurse jumped, clearly startled.

She hesitated, then stammered, "S-she was supposed to be in the morgue, but Mr. Davidson saw her body and said it was disgusting. He said it would bring bad luck to his wife's unborn baby, so he had her taken to the crematorium. Out back, behind the mountain…"

It was like ice filled my veins all at once.

I bolted, panic driving my feet faster than thought, sprinting for the back of the hospital, toward the mountain.

Images of Rosie's smile—bright, warm, alive—flashed through my mind. I begged for a miracle, for something, anything to still be possible.

But then, I saw her. That small, familiar body lying atop a mound of dirt.

My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground.

"Rosie!"

I crawled toward her, pulled her into my arms, and held her tight.

My hands shook as I reached to touch her face—her sweet little face, now so changed, barely resembling mine at all.

I couldn't stop it anymore. A mouthful of blood rose and spilled from my lips.

She was mine. My baby. Ten months inside me. My own flesh and blood.

How could this not rip me apart?

And just like that, she'd been killed. By her own father.

How utterly ridiculous. Cruel beyond comprehension.

I didn't know how long I stayed like that. Eventually, I wiped my tears and finished arranging her funeral by myself.

Once it was done, with nothing left inside me but a void, I made a call.

A number I'd memorized long ago.

"Hello. You've always wanted to bring Gideon Davidson down, haven't you? I can help you. But you have to promise me one thing..."

The call ended.

I held Rosie's ashes close as I took a cab back to the villa.

...

When I opened the door, the first thing I saw was the swing Rosie had loved most. Or what was left of it—shattered, dismantled, tossed aside like trash.

In its place stood a massive spinning pinwheel.

My chest heaved painfully as I clung to the death certificate, my fingers sore from gripping it so tightly.

In a haze, my mind drifted back to Rosie's first birthday party. Gideon had stayed up three nights in a row building that swing for us. He'd said he wanted to be the one to push us always.

But now, it was all gone. Now everything had changed.

I couldn't look at it anymore.

All right, I rushed into Rosie's room and selected a few of her favorite toys. I put them into the fire basin and arranged the brazier.

As I dropped each toy inside, I prayed they would bring her even a sliver of happiness on the other side.

Since her life here had been filled with nothing but pain, I was just about to burn the last toy when the door suddenly slammed open.

Sabrina stormed in and kicked over the brazier, scattering ash and embers across the floor with a single stomp.

"Look what we have here," Sabrina scoffed.

She glanced at Rosie's photo and then sneered, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"Well," Sabrina said, smug, "she's finally dead. Guess my little lie about using antivenom for scar prevention wasn't for nothing after all."

"Oh, right," she added, flipping her hair casually. "Did you know your daughter didn't even close her eyes when she died? Gideon was going to see her. But I faked a stomachache, and he had her body thrown out instead!"

She grinned at me maniacally and said, "Isn't that hilarious?"

Sabrina then clapped her hands, seemingly celebrating my daughter's death.