“Chloe.”

My heart sank at the name.

Not long ago, a package addressed to "Chloe" had arrived at our house. Inside was a limited-edition set from Victoria’s Secret.

I asked Liam about it. He didn’t even glance at it. He just tossed the package in the trash, his face perfectly calm.

“It’s either a mistake or some influencer trying to get attention. Forget it.”

The truth I couldn't see then was staring me in the face now.

I looked at Chloe, my voice like ice.

“You’d better wait for Liam. Let him tell you himself who the two people standing in front of you are.”

Chloe’s face grew dark.

“You conniving bitch! I knew you were after my husband. You even know his name!”

Only then did Mary finally understand. This was her son’s spa.

And the husband Chloe was talking about was Liam.

But she still couldn’t believe it.

“Miss... you must be mistaken,” Mary stammered. “I'm Liam's mother. My son... he would never be with someone like you. He can't be your 'darling'.”

SMACK!

The word was barely out of her mouth before Chloe slapped Mary hard across the face.

“You old hag! A country bumpkin like you, trying to pass yourself off as my man’s mother? You wish.”

She shoved Mary hard.

Mary wasn't ready. She stumbled backward.

“Mary!” I lunged forward to catch her.

“So this is your little game, huh?” Chloe sneered down at us. “Play the victim, claim you’re related, and then try to sue?”

Mary was coughing violently in my arms.

I saw her breathing become ragged. Her face went pale as she clutched her chest in pain.

“Mary, what’s wrong?”

Seeing her in such agony, my heart plummeted.

After we married, I’d found the best cardiologist to treat Mary’s heart condition. But the doctor’s warning echoed in my head: any severe emotional distress could trigger a fatal heart attack.

I immediately started digging through her purse.

The little bottle of life-saving nitroglycerin was in there.

“Found it!” I had just pulled out the small pill bottle.

Chloe snatched it from my hand.

“What’s this? Some new kind of drug?” She held up the bottle, a mocking smile on her face. “Faking an illness now? You even brought props?”

“That’s not a prop!” I screamed. “That’s her medicine! She’s having a heart attack!”

The crowd started murmuring again.

“These scammers are so convincing these days.”

“They even brought medicine.”

“Be careful, Miss Chloe. Don’t fall for it.”

Mary’s breathing was getting shallower.

Her face was turning from white to a deathly gray. Her hands gripped my arm.

I remembered years ago, when Liam was trying to win me over. He stood outside my family’s villa in the Hamptons for a whole weekend in a rainstorm.

That persistence won me over.

It won over my father, too.

That’s why, after we married, I brought him into the family business. I turned him from a broke nobody into a Wall Street elite.

Now I wondered. Was that all an act, too?

“Please!” I knelt on the floor in front of Chloe. “She’s really going to die! Please give me back the medicine!”

Chloe looked down at me on my knees, a sick pleasure in her eyes.

“Staff, hold her down,” she commanded. “Stop this pathetic act.”

Several employees rushed over.

I fought with all my might, trying to get that life-saving bottle back.

But they were too strong.

They pinned me to the floor. I couldn’t move.

Mary’s breathing was getting fainter.

Her lips were starting to turn blue.

“She really is Liam’s mother!” I shrieked in desperation. “She has a heart condition! She’ll die without her medicine!”

I had explained how serious it was. I thought Chloe would see reason.

But she didn’t care at all. She just mocked me.

“Liam’s mother?” She drew the words out slowly. “In cheap clothes from Walmart?”

She kicked Mary’s simple black shoes with the tip of her rhinestone-studded heel.

“I’ve seen Liam’s credit card bills. The money he spends on me in one month could buy your mother’s entire wardrobe for life.”

The crowd of rich onlookers let out a piercing laugh.

“Chloe’s right. A man on Liam’s level? His mother wouldn’t look so pathetic.”

“They’re definitely professional scammers. This must be the big finale.”

Mary’s breathing grew even more shallow.

Her fingers dug into my sleeve, her nails sinking into my skin.

“Ava…” she managed to choke out my name.

I could feel the life draining out of her.

“Please!” I screamed at Chloe. “She’s really dying!”

Chloe toyed with the pill bottle, a twisted smile on her face.

“Dying? We’re already at the climax?”

She suddenly crouched down, her face close to my ear. Her hot breath was on my skin.

“You’ve told so many lies just to get this bottle, haven’t you? Fine. Get on your knees. Lick up that puddle of serum I spilled earlier. Use your tongue. Lick it clean, and I’ll give you the medicine.”

I looked deep into Mary’s eyes as she lay curled on the floor.

Mary looked back at me, her voice a pained, raspy whisper.

“Don’t…”

Even in her agony, Mary didn’t want me to be humiliated for her.

Even though Liam had cheated, Mary had always treated me like her own daughter. She was always telling Liam he had to be good to me, that he could never do anything to hurt me, or she’d disown him. She insisted on living alone in Ohio just so she wouldn’t be a bother, so we could have our own life. Every time she visited, she’d bring a huge bag full of homemade apple pies.

Watching Mary’s breath fade, her face growing grayer by the second…

I didn’t hesitate. I got on my knees.

I swallowed the overwhelming nausea and humiliation. I stuck out my tongue and began to lick the cold, sticky liquid off the floor.

I shattered my own dignity. I didn't hesitate. All that mattered was keeping Mary alive.

Seeing this, Chloe pointed at me and roared with laughter.

“Hahaha, look everyone! Doesn’t this bitch look just like a dog?”

“A minute ago she was acting so high and mighty. Now she’s on her knees licking the floor at my feet!”

The clients in the spa burst out laughing, too.

“Chloe is going to make the perfect Mrs. Vance. She really knows how to put trash in its place.”

I ignored their insults. I fought back the urge to vomit and licked up every last drop of the serum.

I looked up at Chloe, my voice desperate.

“I did what you asked. Now can you give me the medicine?”

Chloe just sneered.

“You really are an idiot. You actually believed me? I was lying.”

With that, she walked over to a nearby restroom, threw the life-saving medicine into the toilet, and flushed.

“No!”

I watched the bottle vanish down the toilet. A scream died in my throat. My world shattered.

At that exact moment, Mary’s body gave a final, violent shudder. Her eyes went blank.

She weakly lifted a hand and wiped a tear from my cheek. “Ava… I’m sorry.”

Was she sorry for the humiliation I’d endured?

Or was she sorry for what Liam had done?

After those words, her hand fell to the floor.

Her faint breathing stopped.

“Mary? Wake up! Mary!”

I shook her frantically, but there was no response.

Mary was dead.

I couldn’t believe it. We had just come to try out Liam’s new spa. And we ran into this vicious woman, Chloe, who had literally tortured Mary to death right here.

I broke down, sobbing.

The crowd went silent.

Some people were starting to realize how serious this was.

“She’s… she’s really not moving.”

“Check if she’s breathing!”

An employee knelt down and shakily placed two fingers on Mary’s neck.

A moment later, he stood up, his face pale.

“She’s… dead.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

But Chloe was still fearless.

“Some old woman died from her own health problems. What’s it got to do with me?” She fixed her hair. “Besides, Liam will be here any minute. He’s a big shot on Wall Street, with connections everywhere. He’s got my back. I’m not scared of anything.”

Hearing that, the nervous employees instantly relaxed.

Seeing Chloe’s arrogance, a furious rage boiled up inside me.

A primal scream ripped from my lungs. Fueled by a surge of pure adrenaline, I launched myself at Chloe, my hands clamping around her throat.

“You murderer!” I screamed, my hands tightening. “You killed her! You!”

Chloe’s eyes rolled back in her head as she clawed at my hands.

But the employees were on me in a second.

Their fists rained down on me.

Ribs, back, cheeks. Every punch was vicious.

They beat me to the ground. I was covered in blood.

Chloe stood up, clutching her neck, her eyes filled with venom.

She grabbed a sharp metal probe from a beauty cart. The sharp tip glinted in the light.

“You bitch. No one has ever dared to touch a hair on my head. Today, I’ll show you what happens when you mess with me!”

Chloe raised the metal probe.

She plunged it deep into my thigh.

Blood spurted out. The pain was blinding.

I didn’t scream. My eyes were red. My voice was a low snarl. "You're going to die for this, Chloe. I swear to God, you will die for this!"

Chloe was furious. “Bitch! You still dare to threaten me?”

Enraged, she used me as her personal pin cushion, stabbing me again, and again, and again.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, someone in the crowd yelled:

“Mr. Vance is here!”