Shannon strutted toward me, the click of her high heels punctuating every step. She towered over me, her eyes filled with disdain as a mocking smile curled on her lips.

“Well, well. You even brought a gift, huh? Do you really think this little trick would work? Good thing I came to pick up Dan today, or who knows where you'd be taking him!” she sneered.

I almost laughed out of sheer anger at her words. “Stop slandering me! I have photos of Dan on my phone, and I can show you his birth certificate!”

Turning to my son, I pleaded, “Dan, say something! I’m your mom!”

For a split second, Dan’s gaze faltered. He looked at me, then back at Shannon, his small brow furrowing in confusion. However, his expression soon turned cold, just like his father—distant and detached, as if he were staring at a stranger.

“Photos? Birth certificate?” Shannon scoffed. “You must be one of the help. It’s not unusual for a nanny to have pictures of the kids they take care of, is it?”

One of the preschool teachers, visibly nervous, pushed through the crowd, glancing between Shannon and me before stepping protectively in front of her and Dan.

“Mr. Jeremy often picks up Dan with Ms. Shannon. Dan even calls her ‘Mom.’ I think you’re the one here trying to kidnap him,” the teacher accused, sizing me up and down.

Then, she added in a lower voice, “Mr. Jeremy is a well-known young CEO around here. I bet you’re just after his money, aren’t you?”

These people weren’t even bothering to figure out the truth! I was Dan’s real mother!

Shannon pretended to shrink back in fear, her voice soft and full of pity. “I mean, Dan’s father is the CEO of a listed company, a successful man… I can see why women would fantasize about being his wife. But trying to kidnap his child? Really?”

I laughed bitterly. Fantasize about a man who married into my family? What a joke.

Without another word, Shannon hurried to load Dan into the back of the car.

I lunged forward, my heart racing. “Where are you taking my son?!”

She shoved me away. “Taking your son? Ha! A kidnapper trying to play the victim!”

Her words stirred the crowd even more, their eyes on me growing harsher. I took a deep breath, fighting to keep my composure, and looked directly at Dan.

“Dan, are you really going to abandon me, your mom? Is that it?”

His lips parted as if he was about to say something, but before he could, Shannon slammed the car door shut. She whispered something to the driver, and I could see the car about to pull away.

I tried to run after it, desperate for answers, but a bystander grabbed me by the arm, holding me in place.

“Don’t even think about running! You’re not getting away. I’ve called the cops. You’re going to prison, kidnapper!”

My whole body trembled with rage as I pointed helplessly toward Shannon, my words coming out jumbled. “I’m not a kidnapper! I’m really Dan’s mother! She’s the one kidnapping my son!”

Shannon’s cold laughter cut through the air. “Look at yourself. You think a woman like you could ever get with Dan’s father, the CEO of Ziegler Industries?”

Her words ignited the fury of the crowd around us.

“Yeah, right! Someone like her could never marry Mr. Jeremy. She’s definitely a kidnapper! My cousin’s kid was taken by someone just like her. They never found him. Poor boy.”

“Kidnappers like her deserve to die!”

My hands shook as I fumbled to pull out my phone, hoping Jeremy could clear my name.

Before my hand could even reach the phone, Shannon slapped it away. "What do you think you're doing? Trying to call your accomplices, huh?"

Her sharp voice cut through the air like a knife, stabbing painfully into my ears.

The crowd around us jeered, their voices rising in a chorus of insults and accusations, crashing over me like waves. I hadn’t even fully processed what was happening when someone grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it straight at me.

Pain exploded in my cheek as the rock struck me, and I felt the warm trickle of blood slide down my face.

I struggled to lift my head, using every ounce of strength I had left, and screamed, "Shannon Sinclair! I am Jeremy’s wife! I’m the mother of our son, Daniel!"

Hearing her name, Shannon froze for a moment, then let out a shriek. She lifted her stiletto heel and kicked me square in the face.

"Oh, really? You even know everything about us! This must be a part of some criminal ring!

"Let’s do the right thing today! Stand up for all the families who’ve had their children kidnapped!" she shouted again.

Before I could react, a few burly men pinned me down, holding me in place. Shannon picked up a metal pipe from somewhere and slowly began walking toward me.

With a loud crack, the pipe slammed into my back. The pain was so bad that it nearly knocked me out. My thoughts spun as a single question echoed in my mind: how could Jeremy bring this woman into our lives, into our son's life, after just a month of my being away?

At that moment, a middle-aged man snatched the pipe out of Shannon’s hand.

Shaking his head with disapproval, he said, "You're too soft. When dealing with someone like her, you’ve got to…"

Without finishing, he lifted the pipe high and brought it crashing down on my legs once, twice… After three times. I could feel my bones shatter under the blows.

The searing pain was unbearable, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Are you all insane? Do you even realize what you're doing?!"

"What are we doing? We’re beating a kidnapper, that’s what!" the middle-aged man answered, his voice self-righteous as he continued to strike. "Scum like you deserves to be torn apart!"

The pain made my vision blur and darken, and Shannon’s twisted face hovered above me.

She bent down to whisper wickedly in my ear, "Is that all you’ve got? Just wait until Jeremy gets here. Then, you’ll really understand what it means to suffer."

I mustered every ounce of strength I had left and spat a mouthful of blood-tinged spit in her face. "Oh, really? Let him come. Let’s see who’s really going to suffer! I’m going to ruin his company, take everything he has, and kick him out on the street with nothing. He’ll spend the rest of his life on his knees begging me for mercy!"

My words made Shannon’s face contort in rage. What had been just a twisted expression was now a full-blown mask of fury. "You bitch! How dare you have the nerve to talk back!"

"Did you all hear that?" she screamed to the crowd. "She’s still pretending! So what do you think? Should we make sure she knows what it feels like to lose her own child?"

The crowd, incited by her words, grew even wilder. The preschool teacher, who had been watching nervously, finally spoke up, "The school has called the police. They’ll be here any minute. Maybe we should—"

"Who cares? Everyone hates people like her! The police won’t say anything!" a shrill voice called out, and others echoed in agreement.

Shannon grinned triumphantly as she released my chin, forcefully flipping me onto my back. Her stiletto heels dug mercilessly into my stomach—once, twice, three times.

“Aaah!” I screamed, the pain so intense I nearly passed out.

"Trying to kidnap my child, huh? I'll make sure you can never have another one!" she snarled, grinding her heel into my abdomen like she was trying to crush my uterus.

My shirt had been pulled up, revealing the distinct line of a cesarean scar. For a moment, panic flickered in Shannon's eyes, but she quickly masked it with a smirk.

"Oh, so you’ve had a child before, huh?" she sneered. "I bet your own kid's dead already! That’s why you'd do something so inhumane."

Anger surged within me, so strong I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Through gritted teeth, I said, "Shannon, instead of lying here, you should ask Jeremy who I am!"

“Ask?” She let out a derisive laugh. "Do you think the CEO has time to waste on nobodies like you? You just want to see him, but let me tell you, it's never going to happen."

With that, she started tearing at my clothes.

I clung desperately to what little remained, snarling, "You’re going to regret this!"

She ignored me, ripping harder, violently pulling at my clothes.

“I’ll be the one to see who regrets this!” she snapped.

Despair and humiliation washed over me, but the more I fought back, the more they seemed to enjoy it.

At that moment, Shannon pulled out a phone from somewhere, pointing it at me as she started a live stream.

"Hello, everyone! I’m here at…” she trailed off, moving the camera to focus on me, her face twisted into a fake look of sorrow. "This woman is a child trafficker! She tried to kidnap my son, who is none other than the young heir to the Zane Corporation!"

An overzealous woman nearby grabbed the phone and said outrageously, "Let me help you! These kidnappers are getting bolder by the day! Kidnapping kids right from the preschool gates!"

Shannon smiled in satisfaction as she cried out fakely to the camera, "How many children are kidnapped every year? How many families are shattered by traffickers like her? Today, we’re standing up for justice! We can’t let her hurt any more children!"

"Yeah! We can’t let her get away with it!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Strip her! Shame her!" another yelled.

Fueled by Shannon's words, the parents around me roared in anger, their voices deafening. In no time, they ripped the remaining clothes from my body, leaving me completely exposed. As if that wasn’t enough, they dragged me over to the streetlamp at the entrance to the preschool and tied me there for all to see.

Shannon grabbed my chin again, forcing my face toward the camera. "Take a good look, everyone. This is the face of a kidnapper! She had the nerve to target the son of the CEO of Ziegler Industries!"

I was consumed by shame and fury but was powerless to resist.

Suddenly, the shrill sound of police sirens filled the air, growing louder by the second. The crowd began to shift uneasily as the commotion increased. I lifted my head with effort, blood from my split lip mixing with the saliva on my chin.

However, I smiled, knowing Shannon’s reckoning had come.