I'm severely allergic to many things, so my husband buys a separate villa for me. It's supposed to be sort of a nursing home.

When my future daughter-in-law learns about this, she thinks my son is cheating on her. She breaks my bones to vent her anger.

When she finds out I'm her future mother-in-law, she caresses her belly and looks at me smugly. "I'm already pregnant with Shawn's child. Think about whether you want this child to make it into this world."

What she doesn't know is that the Ziegler family's fortune belongs to me and that Shawn Ziegler is only my adoptive son.

I had severe allergies. So, on the doctor's advice, I moved to a villa halfway up the mountain to live alone. There was even a private family doctor living there with me.

A few days ago, my son, Shawn Ziegler, told me he had finally won over the woman of his dreams. I sent a message to my husband, Derek Ziegler, on WhatsApp. I expressed my desire to meet my future daughter-in-law.

Just then, I heard the sound of the door to the villa being smashed open by a heavy object. Immediately after that, there came the cacophony of noisy talking at the entrance.

A woman with a bossy and shrill voice declared loudly, "You'd better get out of here now! I'm the future lady of this house, and anyone who dares come up against me will be taught a lesson!"

"Celine, won't your boyfriend get angry if he finds out about this? Breaking in like this doesn't seem right," someone said apprehensively.

"What nonsense are you talking about? He's been courting me for so long. Even if he finds out, he'll still do his best to comfort me and soothe my feelings," Celine Svenson retorted smugly.

I heard the commotion and decided to check it out. Over the years, I rarely left the villa because of my allergies. One time, I missed Shawn and went out to see him, only to end up hospitalized after being exposed to his cologne.

After that incident, Derek forbade me from going out without permission and replaced all the villa's staff. Whenever they came to visit me, they were extremely cautious.

Knowing how protective Derek was of me, I was sure that things wouldn't end well for this noisy group of people who barged into my house.

I assumed the intruders had already been kicked out when I reached the entrance. To my surprise, they had shoved past the housekeeper and barged inside. The woman leading them waved her hand dismissively, ordering one of her lackeys to take my housekeeper away.

I was about to confront them when the woman suddenly turned to me with a sinister expression.

She pointed at me and started hurling insults. "So there really is a tramp staying here! No wonder he keeps coming here all the time!"

Her words left me confused. No one aside from my family ever came here.

The women standing behind her glared at me with disdain. Some even rolled their eyes at me in annoyance.

"As expected of a tart. I'm sure she seduces others' husbands or boyfriends with that innocent act!"

"You shameless woman. Why did you choose to mess around with a man who already has a girlfriend? Do you have a conscience, huh?"

They continued to mock me, leaving me utterly bewildered.

Tramp? Shameless woman? Whose husband or boyfriend were they even talking about? For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.

"Who are you people? Why are you in my house?" I demanded.

"Your house? This is going to be my territory!" Celine said with a sneer.

Then, she went on arrogantly, "Who do you think you are? Even if you are living here, you're still nothing but a shameless woman who comes between other people's relationships!"

With a wave of her hand, the group of women surrounded me.

"What on earth are you talking about? You've got the wrong person. You'd better leave now, or I'll call for help," I warned.

These people were unbelievable! They barged into my house and hurled insults at me. If Derek found out, they'd pay dearly.

I was already furious as I listened to their nonsense. But Derek would be even angrier if he found out because of how much he cared about me. However, I thought Celine might have been acting out after being emotionally hurt by a scoundrel, so I wasn't planning to hold them accountable.

I opened my mouth to urge them to leave again, but Celine had no intention of listening to me. She suddenly rushed forward and kicked me.

As the violent blow struck my stomach, I collapsed onto the living room floor and lost the ability to speak for a moment due to the intense pain.

"Save it, you tramp. I'll make you meet your end sooner if you keep this up."

"How dare a shameless vixen like you try to worm your way out? You're the one who should get lost!"

"You're pushing 40, aren't you? Don't you have anything better to do at your age than steal someone else's man?"

My stomach churned in agony, and I curled up on the floor from the pain. This was the first time I had ever been hit, and I couldn't quite take the intense sensation it brought.

"You people are insane! I'm calling the police," I said through clenched teeth.

I thought that they would stop and reconsider their actions when I threatened to get the police involved. However, it only enraged Celine further. She grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me up angrily.

Celine spoke in a malicious voice laced with venom. "How dare you insult us! Oh, you're going to call the police? Do you want the cops to see a witch like you getting beaten up?"

Then, she picked up a vase from nearby and smashed it against my head. Blood began trickling down my forehead.

She signaled to the others with a glance. "Show her what happens to witches who think they can steal someone else's man!"

Before she even finished speaking, the other women had already started walking toward me. They kicked me repeatedly, targeting my head and body. It was as if they were venting their frustrations on me.

"You tramp! Who do you think you are? You butt into someone else's relationship and don't even have the guts to admit it!"

"Shawn has courted Celine for two years! She's about to become Mrs. Ziegler, and you're nothing!"

"You were asking for it by telling us to leave! Let's see who's going to be kicked out now!"

"We have to teach her a lesson for Celine. We can't let her off that easily!"

Pinned to the ground, I couldn't move. My whole body was wracked with pain. The ache in my head and my body was unbearable.

Having listened for a while, I finally understood that the woman leading the group was the woman Shawn had been pursuing for two years.

Even so, her gaze was now devoid of reason. The comments of the others emboldened her, and she became even more self-righteous in her actions.

She picked up the kettle from the table and prepared to hurl it at me.

Terrified of what was about to happen, I shut my eyes tightly and screamed, "Wait! I'm Shawn's mother!"

The moment I said this, they all paused and looked at Celine for confirmation.

"You're Shawn's mother?" one of them asked skeptically.

Celine scoffed, unconvinced.

I lay on the floor, curled up and clutching my head. I shouted angrily at them, "Yes! I'm Shawn's mother. You broke into my house and assaulted me. Aren't you afraid that he'll come after you as payback when he finds out?"

I thought revealing my identity would make Celine stop. But the way she looked at me grew even more hostile, and she burst into laughter.

"Lying to get out of a beating now, are you?" she mocked.

"Shawn has courted me for two years and never mentioned having a mother. Do you know what's the best part? When I met his family, you weren't even there. Is it because you knew how cheap you were as a kept woman that you didn't dare show up?"

The women laughed openly without holding back.

"If Shawn's mother had still been around, wouldn't he have told his girlfriend? I think you're just a vixen who can't own up to her actions. Without a proper beating, you'll never understand what shame is!"

After saying this, Celine pressed the tip of her shoe down on my hand and twisted it mercilessly.

The pain was excruciating, and I tried to pull my hand away. Nevertheless, it was of no use. Tears mixed with the blood dripping from my head streamed down my face.

Although Shawn was my adopted son, I had raised him single-handedly. It was only in recent years that I started living alone in the villa due to my serious allergies.

Upon seeing their menacing expressions, I cautiously stepped back after getting up. Suddenly, a bracelet fell from the table.

"That's right—the bracelet!" I exclaimed inwardly.

Then, I said, "I really am his mother! Shawn said he picked this bracelet out with his girlfriend as a gift for me. You must have seen it, right?"

I held up the golden bracelet to show Celine. She didn't react, so I picked up my phone from the floor and opened WhatsApp.

"This is our family chat group," I said, pointing at the screen. The last message was sent the previous night, and it showed a voice message from Shawn.

"Hey, Mom. You're the cutest mom in the world. I had a special hair dye mixed just for you, and it's totally safe for you to use. Didn't you say you wanted to color your hair pink? I'll come over and dye it for you."

"Sure thing! I hereby declare you're the sweetest son in the world!" I had replied.

My parents rarely talked in the group—it was usually just Shawn and me.

Celine stared at the messages for a long moment. I thought she finally believed me after seeing this evidence.

"Shawn is my son. You see, I'm telling the truth!" I said, feeling relieved.

But before I could finish, Celine yanked my hair and threw my phone into my lap.

Celine snarled, "Mother and son? Don't make me laugh! You're just a shameless wench who seduces a man younger than yourself! He had lied to me, saying that the bracelet was meant for his mother. It turns out it was for you, you vixen!

"Yesterday, I asked Shawn to spend the day with me, but he said he was busy. It turns out he came here to dye your hair!"

Her grip on my hair tightened. When she saw my pink hair, all reason left her. She grabbed a pair of scissors from the table and began cutting my hair wildly. As she did that, she further aggravated the wound on my head.

The wound on my head caused a searing pain to shoot through me. I could only clutch my head and crouch in agony while wailing. Celine then kicked me hard, sending me sprawling on the floor.

My head hit the ground with a sharp thud, and pain radiated through my chest. I found it hard to breathe at this point.

As if it wasn't enough, she delivered several more brutal kicks to my chest.

Then, she pointed at the women behind her and screamed, "Don't just stand there! Help me teach her a lesson. And you… Dye your hair yourself next time!"

The pressure on my chest increased as she pressed down with her foot. I tried to escape from her by writhing my body, but it was no use. The other women joined in and pinned me down.

The overwhelming smell of their heavy makeup suffocated me. This meant that I was having an allergic reaction. I struggled to breathe as Celine retrieved a small hammer from a toolbox nearby.

"If you can't use your own hand, you might as well not have it," Celine said maliciously.

I watched helplessly as she raised the hammer and brought it down on my little finger.

"Ah!" I screamed as my finger bent at an unnatural angle with blood seeping from the wound.

Before I could process the pain, she struck my other fingers. One by one, all five fingers on my left hand were broken and twisted. I didn't even dare to move.

After much struggling, I clutched my injured hand with my other, sobbing uncontrollably as tears and snot smeared across my face.

Soon, they reached for my right hand. I hid it behind my back desperately. The pain inflicted on my hand was unreal. Of course, I didn't wish for more.

Yet, there were too many of them. In the end, they easily yanked my right hand from my back and stretched it out.

Celine stood over me, grinning like a demon from hell with the hammer in her hand.

My vision darkened for a moment, and I wished for unconsciousness to take me. But the sharp pain from my right hand snapped me back to reality as Celine smashed it mercilessly.

It became clear to me then—these women were convinced I had seduced Shawn. So, they had come here to punish me for it. Nothing I said mattered to them.

They held me down, and I stared blankly at the small hammer as it struck the joints of my fingers again and again.

By the time they were finished, all ten of my fingers were broken. They became grotesquely twisted against my palms. I was in a daze. Due to the agony, I bit my tongue so hard that it bled.

My anguished screams echoed through the living room, but their faces showed only satisfaction. They laughed and debated their next move as if deciding the punishment for a heinous criminal.

"Get a knife and cut her tendons," Celine ordered.

One of the women followed her instructions and stabbed a knife into my wrist. She made a twisting movement before moving to the other hand. Then, they did the same to my feet.

When they finally stopped, I lay motionless in a pool of blood, trembling uncontrollably. Even though my body refused to move, I couldn't stop the trembling in my arms.