My fingertips wouldn’t stop trembling. I used almost all my strength just to keep myself from losing control and standing up on the spot.

The people who had pushed me to this point… How could they be so shameless, so self-righteous?

This whole family was disgusting beyond words.

Before I could explode, Samantha suddenly reddened her eyes.

“Dad, please don’t say that.”

Her voice was soft and delicate, carrying a hint of choking sobs.

“Tara must be hurting so much inside.”

“Why don’t we do this…”

She stood up, as if she had finally made up her mind.

“I’ll drink in Dad’s place.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she downed three glasses in a row. The liquor slid down her throat, and an unnatural flush quickly spread across her face.

Lucy immediately panicked.

“Slow down, slow down. Don’t push yourself.”

Samantha shook her head, clearly forcing herself to stay composed.

“I’m fine.”

“As long as Tara can calm down.”

She poured another glass, held it with both hands, and offered it to me. Her eyes were red.

“Tara.”

“Could you give me this bit of face?”

“I know you’ve been wronged, but things have already come to this.”

“Just consider it for the sake of the child, okay?”

Randall finally snapped out of it. He grabbed the glass from her hand, his voice rising sharply.

“Are you crazy?”

“You’re already—”

He stopped himself abruptly.

The words left unsaid were more brutal than if he had finished them.

He looked down at her, his eyes filled with tenderness, his tone instantly softening.

“You don’t have to do this.”

But when he looked up at me again, all warmth vanished.

What remained was irritation and judgment.

“Tara.”

“Samantha has gone this far. Uncle and Aunt have already lowered themselves. What more do you want?”

“Haven’t you already agreed to drop the charges?”

“Why are you still putting on airs?”

“Do you enjoy watching everyone bow their heads to you?”

He stepped forward, his voice cold, like issuing a final ultimatum.

“Is drinking one glass really going to kill you?”

He knew.

He knew perfectly well.

I had just undergone surgery.

I couldn’t drink at all.

But to everyone at this table, my body, my pain, my life meant nothing.

What mattered was whether I would lift this so-called “reconciliation wine.”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

As the glass moved closer and closer, I raised my hand and knocked it away hard.

The glass shattered. Liquor splashed everywhere.

Samantha’s hand was cut. She screamed.

Before I could even react, the next second, Randall’s slap landed across my face without mercy.

I stood frozen, my ears ringing, my cheek burning.

I hadn’t wanted to cry, but my eyes betrayed me, turning red anyway.

Seven years together, and Randall had never laid a hand on me.

The first time he did, it was for Samantha.

My mind went blank. I turned, wanting only to leave.

Behind me, Randall seemed to realize what he’d done. He shut his eyes in regret, then quickly chased after me.

“Tara, I didn’t mean it. Don’t be mad.”

He grabbed me, panic finally creeping into his voice. “This is a mountain resort. There are no cars outside. You can’t leave right now.”

“Stay for now, okay?”

“Be good. Once you calm down, I’ll explain everything.”

I shook his hand off.

I looked at him, then, right in front of his eyes, pulled the plain band off my finger and tossed it into the trash. Without another word, I went upstairs.

“Tara!”

Randall panicked and tried to follow, but Samantha called out to him.

I watched him hesitate for a moment before turning back to the dining room.

Downstairs, laughter soon resumed, as if nothing had happened.

I let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. What hope had I still been clinging to with this man?

Taking a deep breath, I turned and walked toward Randall’s father’s room.

I quietly placed the pinhole camera I had prepared long ago.

When I returned to the guest room and tried to call a car to go home, I saw Samantha slip inside like a snake and shut the door with a click.

She slowly turned around. The fake fragility was gone. What remained was smug provocation.

“Tara, does it feel stifling?”

She glanced at my phone lighting up and dimming again, the corners of her lips curling slightly. Her voice was so gentle it was almost pitying.

“Were you trying to call someone to pick you up? Or looking for someone to back you up?”

“You used to have that idiot brother who’d charge in for you. But now… he’s probably gone, huh?”

“What a pity.”

She sighed softly. “Your brother really had bad luck, getting stuck with a sister like you.”

“If you’re going to spew nonsense, do it outside. Don’t stand in front of me and get in my way.” I stood up. I didn’t want to stay in the same room with her for another second.

Samantha didn’t get angry at all. Her gaze slid from my face to the bandaged hand.

“Tsk, tsk. Look at our doctor. That hand is seriously injured.”

“Aunt Jaclyn was just saying earlier—this is perfect. Now, you won’t have to show your face everywhere anymore. You can stay home and be a useless person in peace. At least that way, you’re somewhat useful.”

As if recalling something, she chuckled softly.

“Did you know? They never really liked you.”

“Country background, weak family, stubborn personality, and still insisting on clinging to Randall’s future. In their eyes, someone like you isn’t even qualified to be a daughter-in-law.”

She stepped closer, superiority dripping from her tone.

“But I’m different.”

“The Hendershots has liked me since I was little. They’ve always believed I’m the one who truly belongs by Randall’s side.”

My breathing grew heavy. My whole body began to tremble.

Samantha looked as though she had been waiting for this moment. She slowly rested a hand on her abdomen.

“You still don’t know, do you? This child inside me—”

She smiled lightly, absolute confidence in her voice.

“Randall is very satisfied.”

“He said this is the child that should be born. The one everyone has been waiting for.”

“As for that clump of flesh of yours that got taken care of like a dog—”

“To put it bluntly, it’s a good thing it was never born.”

“After all, even if it had been, it would’ve just been an unacknowledged bastard.”

Her tone was casual, but every word was poison.

“And your brother.”

“Honestly, if he really dies, it’d be cleaner.”

“A family like yours just drags people down. One less burden would actually make things easier.”

She tilted her head, as if sincerely thinking it through for me.

“Look at you. No child. No hand. No future. And soon, no brother holding you back—”

At that moment, I couldn’t hear anything anymore.

The world dissolved into a sharp, piercing hum.

I lost all control.

I raised my hand and slapped Samantha across the face with all my strength.

A sharp slap cracked through the room.

The next second, the expression on Samantha’s face changed abruptly.

She sucked in a sharp breath, her body tilting toward the window as if pulled by momentum. She clutched my wrist tightly, swaying on the edge, looking as though she might fall from the height at any moment.

“Randall! Help!”

She screamed, her voice shrill and full of terror.

“Tara is trying to push me down! She’s trying to kill me!”

My pupils shrank. My mind went completely blank.

Before I could even react, the door was kicked open.

Randall stormed in. Without a second of hesitation, he grabbed me and violently shoved me aside.

I crashed hard onto the floor. My back went numb on impact, my vision darkening in waves.

“Tara, have you lost your mind?!”

His voice exploded with rage, as though years of suppressed fury had finally found an outlet.

“You actually dared to lay a hand on Samantha?!”

Samantha immediately collapsed into his arms, trembling all over, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

“Randall… I was just trying to explain things to her. She suddenly hit me and said I deserved to die…” Her sobs broke apart. “I was so scared…”

Randall lowered his head to look at her. The pain and tenderness in his eyes were almost overflowing.

But when he lifted his gaze to me, every trace of warmth vanished, leaving only cold disgust.

“Apologize.”

His tone was icy, absolute.

“Apologize to Samantha. Now.”

I pushed myself up from the floor. My throat was tight, but my voice came out unnervingly steady.

“Why should I apologize?”

“She cursed my brother to die. She said I deserved to lose my hand, deserved to never have children—”

“That’s enough!”

Randall cut me off sharply, impatience written all over his face.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

“You did something wrong. You apologize.”

Cold spread through my entire body, but I stood straight.

“I did nothing wrong.”

Randall looked at me, the corner of his mouth twitching. His eyes were dark and bottomless.

Right in front of me, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“John.”

His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

“Remove Nik’s ventilator.”

In that instant, my world collapsed.

It felt as if my blood reversed course. I froze in place, unable even to breathe.

“Randall!”

I screamed until my chest tore apart. “Are you insane?! Do you know what you’re doing?!”

He ended the call and looked down at me from above, his calm more terrifying than anger.

“This is the price for disobedience.”

“Attempted murder is still a crime. I’m teaching you to respect life.”

I didn’t hear another word after that.

I stared at his phone, my voice shattered into something barely human.

“Don’t remove the ventilator…”

“Please… don’t…”

The call had already been cut off, clean and final.

Randall looked down at me, his gaze as indifferent as if he were staring at a dog pinned by the throat.

“Now,” he said, “you can apologize.”

“Kneel.”

“Apologize to Samantha.”

“As long as she forgives you, I’ll have them put the ventilator back.”

In that moment, dignity, pride, and self-respect were crushed into dust.

I knew him too well. If Randall said it, he would do it.

He truly did not care whether my brother lived or died.

The sound of my knees hitting the floor was dull and deafening.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault.”

I bowed again and again, my forehead nearly touching the ground. My voice shook uncontrollably as tears slammed down.

“Please… spare my brother.”

“I’m begging you… please…”

Samantha said nothing.

She stood there, looking down at me from above.

After a long moment, she slowly pressed a hand to her stomach, her face turning pale.

“Randall…”

“My stomach hurts.”

“Will the baby… be okay?”

Randall’s expression changed instantly.

He no longer spared me a glance. He scooped her up in his arms, panic and concern flooding his voice.

“Come on. We’re going to the hospital.”

I lunged forward like a madwoman, clutching desperately at the hem of his clothes.

“Randall! Call them—”

“Please, make the call first!”

“Tell them to put the ventilator back… please!”

He flung me away without hesitation, his eyes colder than ice.

“Reflect properly on your mistakes.”

I slammed to the ground.

All I could do was watch as their figures disappeared through the doorway, the world falling silent around me.

I collapsed onto the freezing floor, my fingers shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone.

“Please… anyone… save my brother.”

I unlocked the screen in a panic, my fingers randomly tapping through my contacts. I didn’t even see whose name it was before the call went through.

Each ring felt like a hammer striking my heart.

The next second, the call connected.

“Hello?”

The familiar voice broke me completely.

“Senior—”

“They’re pulling my brother’s ventilator…”

“Randall has lost his mind. He really wants to kill my brother…”

My words came out broken and incoherent.

“Can you help me say something… please, ask the hospital to spare him…”

“I’ll agree to anything. I really can’t hold on anymore…”

“Tara.”

My senior’s voice lowered.

“Calm down and listen to me. I’m here. Your brother will be fine.”

I heard him rapidly instruct his secretary to contact people for help, then he said quietly, “I’m not by your side right now, but you can use Erwin anytime.”

There was a trace of gritted teeth in his voice.

“I’ve already sent Erwin to pick you up.”

“He’s nearby. He’ll be there soon.”

“You don’t need to do anything. Just stay where you are and wait for him.”

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt blocked. Only a faint, broken breath escaped.

“Really… nothing will happen?”

“I promise.”

His voice was firm.

At that moment, the tension holding me together finally snapped.

My phone slipped from my hand. I slid down along the wall, tears pouring out uncontrollably, my sobs tearing free.

My consciousness began to fade, my ears filled with nothing but my own frantic breathing.

Before everything went dark, I heard his urgent voice through the phone.

“Tara, hold on a little longer.”

“Erwin will be there any second.”

But I couldn’t hold on to anything anymore.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already daylight.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds in thin strips across the bedsheets. For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I was or what day it was. My whole body felt hollowed out, even breathing dull and painful.

A note sat on the bedside table.

The handwriting was clean and decisive. Erwin’s.

It read: [Your brother is temporarily stable. I stayed with you all night. There’s an urgent matter at the company. I’ll be back as soon as I finish.]

Something inside my chest seemed to lift slightly.

I threw off the blanket and got out of bed, barefoot, heading straight out.

I needed to see my brother immediately.

Only by seeing him lying there, still breathing, could I truly relax.

But the moment I pushed open his hospital room door, it was empty.

My heart sank violently.

My voice changed as I grabbed a passing nurse and asked where he was.

Startled, the nurse stammered, “A pregnant woman just had massive bleeding and urgently needs a transfusion. The blood bank doesn’t have enough supply. Your brother’s blood type matches, so he was taken for a transfusion.”

My head buzzed.

I nearly screamed out of control. “He’s a patient! He’s the one lying in a hospital bed. What right do you have to take blood from a patient?!”

The nurse turned pale. “It was an order from above. We’re just following instructions.”

It had to be Randall.

I didn’t even have time to put on my shoes. I turned and ran toward the operating room.

I was running too fast. The hallway blurred and darkened before my eyes.

Thankfully, I made it in time.

I forced myself in front of the gurney, the wheels screeching as they stopped.

I threw myself forward, gripping the edge with both hands until my knuckles turned white, my voice trembling beyond control.

“He can’t give blood…”

My words were chaotic, my breathing ragged, my vision darkening.

“My brother is sick. If he gives blood… he’ll really die!”

The next second, a brutal force struck from the side.

Someone seized my wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like my bones would shatter.

I let out a muffled cry of pain, forced to let go as I was violently flung aside.

Randall burst out of the operating room, his face terrifyingly dark, violent fury surging in his eyes.

“What are you making a scene for?!”

His voice was cold and final, without the slightest hesitation.

“This is what your brother owes Samantha.”

Randall stood beneath the light, staring at me coldly, as if he were judging a criminal.

“If it weren’t for your bullying, how could Samantha have been frightened like that?”

“She nearly miscarried just now. Do you have any idea?”

When he said this, his voice was thick with barely suppressed anger—yet there wasn’t a trace of hesitation.

“Now we’re only asking your brother to donate a little blood. What’s the big deal?”

What’s the big deal?

I looked at the man before me—the man I had loved for seven years, the man I had compromised for again and again, forgiven again and again—and suddenly he felt terrifyingly unfamiliar.

That was when I finally lost control.

“Randall, are you even human?”

My voice trembled, but every word was bitten out hard.

“That’s my brother. He’s still sick. A blood transfusion could kill him!”

“For Samantha’s sake, you don’t even care about human life anymore?”

“Where is your conscience, Randall?!”

I was almost screaming. My chest felt like it had been ripped open alive, every breath tearing with pain.

But Randall suddenly let out a cold laugh.

There was no anger at being exposed, no shame at being condemned—only blatant impatience, like he was looking at a hysterical troublemaker.

“Enough with the nonsense. You keep talking about me and Samantha, but I haven’t even asked you yet—who was the man who took you away last night?!”

I froze. My heart clenched tightly. Instinctively, I thought he had found out about me asking Steven for help.

Randall said coldly,

“My mom said you were taken away by another man.”

“So,” he stared at me icily, “all this drama lately—breaking up, withdrawing the lawsuit, losing control emotionally—isn’t it just because you’ve got someone else outside?”

“You already planned yourself a way out, didn’t you? That’s why you dare to act so self-righteous now?”

“Tara, have you forgotten who you are?”

Sentence after sentence, pure distortion of the truth.

All my breakdowns, my despair, my resistance after being driven into a corner—he reduced it all to one accusation:

That I had cheated.

I looked at him and suddenly wanted to laugh.

But the laughter got stuck in my throat, no matter how hard I tried. In the end, all that remained was complete and utter shattering.

“I fainted.”

“If I hadn’t called for help myself, if I had waited for your parents to suddenly grow a conscience one day while I lay in your house, I might already be dead!”

For a brief moment, Randall’s expression darkened.

For that single second, I foolishly thought—did he finally feel guilty?

But it really was only a second.

Very quickly, he returned to that calm, matter-of-fact expression.

“I don’t care.”

He said it with unsettling composure, as if announcing a decision made long ago.

“Right now, Samantha needs a blood transfusion.”

“Your brother’s blood type is compatible. This is your punishment.”

The moment those words landed, my entire body went cold.

I clenched my teeth so hard my mouth filled with the taste of blood.

“Then take mine!”

“Take my blood!”

“I have a rare blood type too!”

For a brief instant, Randall’s gaze flickered. He hesitated.

But soon enough, he looked away. He raised a hand in a small gesture, his tone cold and clipped.

“In that case, take her over.”

The next second, hospital staff restrained me and prepared me for the transfusion.

The moment the needle pierced my vein, my body jolted violently. A chill shot straight up my spine.

Cold fluid flowed out through the tube, and it felt as though I was being hollowed out, bit by bit.

Halfway through, the doctor frowned and lowered his voice.

“That’s already quite a lot. Her physical condition isn’t good. If we keep drawing—”

“How much does Samantha need?”

Randall interrupted him, not even glancing at me.

The doctor hesitated.

“In theory… the more, the better. It’ll be more stable.”

“Then keep drawing.”

Randall’s voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

“Don’t stop.”

At that moment, I didn’t even have the strength to open my eyes.

Cold spread through me. My vision blurred in waves. The sounds around me felt muffled, as if filtered through water.

As my blood was drained away bit by bit, my consciousness collapsed inch by inch with it.

Just as I was about to pass out completely, a hand suddenly covered mine, gripping my palm.

Randall lowered his head, his voice pressed low.

As though he were granting me the last scraps of tenderness.

“This is the last time, Tara.”

“Once we get married, everything will get better.”

“Just endure it.”

I kept my eyes closed.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t even have the strength to answer.

Because at that very moment, the last remaining fragment of feeling I had for him shattered completely.

As soon as the procedure ended, Randall immediately went to attend to Samantha.

I was pushed into a ward and slept for an entire day.

When I woke up again, there was no emotion left in me—only a firm resolve to repay everything in kind.

Three days before I left, behind Randall’s back, Erwin and I successfully sent my brother abroad and transferred him to an extremely private hospital.

Two days before I left, I retrieved the surveillance footage that had previously been installed in the Hendershots household.

The recordings clearly captured the affair between William and Samantha’s mother—and even accidentally recorded them talking about their illegitimate child outside the marriage.

I anonymously sent the video to everyone in both the Hendershots and Massrys, and simultaneously forwarded it to several reporters.

On the morning of my final day, I posted a scheduled thread on the hospital’s internal forum.

I wrote in detail how, as an ophthalmologist, my hands—the very hands I relied on to survive—had been systematically destroyed.

And how there was a certain type of eye surgery that, at present, only I was capable of performing in the entire country.

At the same time, I submitted to the court all the evidence regarding my lawsuit against Samantha’s father, as well as proof of Randall’s intent to endanger my brother’s life.

During those three days, Randall stayed by Samantha’s side the entire time, accompanying her through her pregnancy stabilization.

If he had spared even a little attention for me, things would never have gone this smoothly.