However, that time, for the first time in my life, I argued back.

“No! I am not giving up my baby no matter what! Even if I have to raise this child alone, I will never get rid of him!”

I tried to run away in tears. During the struggle, I lost my footing and fell down the stairs.

When I woke up, I lay in a hospital bed.

The baby was gone, and Ethan was not there.

There was only one message on my phone. He said an important overseas meeting had come up and that he would be away on a business trip for a few days.

Back then, I believed something serious must have happened for him to leave me alone at the weakest and most painful moment of my life.

I finally understood the truth.

He had not left because of work. He had gone home with Olivia and their child so he could tell the world that she was his rightful wife.

The realization cut through me like a blade. My chest tightened, and tears blurred my vision.

I wandered back to Stormbay in a daze. I did not go home. I went straight to the immigration office. I wanted to transfer my identity registration back across the ocean and withdraw the savings I had spent years building through work.

After the employee entered my information into the system, she looked up at me with suspicion.

“Ms. Quinn, the Crownland ID card you are carrying is fake. Your official identity registration has always been tied to your overseas citizenship. All these years, you have only stayed in Crownland on a tourist visa.

“And this bank card does not belong to you either. The account holder is a woman named Olivia.

“In other words, if you want to withdraw any money, you will need her permission.”

My mind went blank.

On my first day in Crownland, Ethan had handed me that local ID card. He told me he had arranged long-term residency for me so I would not have to worry about visas. I never doubted him.

The bank card?

The gallery’s finance department gave it to me during my second month of work. It was supposed to be my payroll card.

I had lived carefully for years, saving every penny so I could have a little security of my own.

I thought that if Ethan ever stopped loving me, at least I would not be left with nothing.

Ethan knew better than anyone how much stability and that job meant to me. I could not understand why he would do that to me.

I stumbled out of the office in a panic, flagged down a cab, and rushed to the art gallery where I had worked for five years.

The gallery owner was a gentle middle-aged local woman named Cooper.

She had always treated me politely. When I burst into her office, she was organizing a collection of award-winning artwork from previous years.

In the past, she never allowed me to look through those files. She always said artists should not be influenced by outside opinions.

This time, I ignored all manners and pulled the folder from her hands.

The moment I saw the name listed under the awards, my breathing froze.

Olivia.

Every award-winning painting I had poured my soul into for five years, every sleepless night, every ounce of effort and passion…

The final signature on all of them belonged to Olivia.

My knees nearly gave out.

“Sophie, why are my payroll card and all the competition entries registered under Olivia’s name?

“The copyrights to those paintings, the awards, the recognition… they all became Olivia’s? Then what was the point of all my hard work these past years?”

Sophie gave an awkward laugh and avoided my eyes.

“Ms. Quinn, this was arranged according to Mr. Ferguson’s instructions from the beginning.

“Ms. Lynch is family to him. Registering everything under her identity made management easier and avoided trouble. It also saved her the effort of creating artwork herself.

“We are a small gallery. There are many things we cannot decide. Please do not make things difficult for us…”

As I listened, the last trace of hope inside me shattered.

So this had been Ethan’s plan from the beginning.

Everything I had, everything I worked for, had been turned into a stepping stone for Olivia. I had been foolish enough to feel touched by his fake devotion and to make excuses for why he kept delaying our marriage.

I spun around and rushed out of the gallery. I needed to hear the truth from him myself.

By the time I reached the company building, I ignored the secretary’s panicked attempts to stop me and walked straight toward the CEO’s office.

“Daddy, I want ice cream!”

The childish voice made me freeze.

Inside the office, Ethan sat behind his desk with a little boy, about three years old, resting in his arms.

Olivia, dressed in an expensive designer gown, leaned against his shoulder and spoke to him with a soft smile.

I already knew about the child after seeing the photo at the cemetery.

Seeing them together in person still hit me so hard that it felt like my heart stopped.

Olivia noticed me first. Her face turned pale as she stood up in a hurry, which caused the child in her arms to shift unsteadily.

Ethan sensed something was wrong and turned around. Shock flashed through his eyes. Then he stepped in front of Olivia and the boy in a protective way.

“Why are you here?”

I forced a smile, but it faded before it even formed. My eyes burned with tears.

“You are right. I should not have come. Interrupting the happy life of your perfect little family of three. How unnecessary of me.”

Ethan’s brows tightened, and irritation filled his voice.

“Vivian, what kind of scene are you making now? Do you have to ruin a good day before you feel satisfied?”

Olivia stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

“Ethan, do not be angry at Ms. Quinn. She misunderstood things. I will explain everything to her.”

“I was not talking to you.” I gave Olivia a cold look.

Her eyes reddened at once. She lowered her head with the pitiful expression of someone too wronged to defend herself.

The little boy saw her expression and wriggled free. He wobbled toward me on his short legs.

“Bad lady! Do not bully my mommy!”

He was small and did not have much strength. The moment he pushed me, he lost his balance and fell to the floor. His lips trembled as he prepared to cry.

Olivia gasped and rushed over. She pulled the boy into her arms. When she looked at me again, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Ms. Quinn, if you are angry, take it out on me. He is only a child. How could you hurt him?”

Ethan walked over and pulled Olivia and the boy into his embrace. When he looked at me again, every trace of warmth in his eyes had vanished.

“Vivian, enough. Arguing with a child? Have you lost your sense of boundaries?”

I stared at the way he protected them, and all I felt was cold disbelief.

Back then, when the Ferguson family went bankrupt, everyone abandoned them like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Olivia, his fiancée at the time, had been the first to break off the engagement. She took money and married overseas. She even helped outsiders suppress the Ferguson Group and push Ethan into ruin.

Me?

I gave up my future and left my homeland to follow him across the ocean to Stormbay when he had nothing.

We lived in a basement apartment. We survived on cheap instant noodles soaked in hot water. I stayed beside him as he climbed back up step by step.

However, after all those years together, I still could not compare to a childhood sweetheart.

At that moment, every question I wanted to ask felt meaningless and pathetic.

“Fine. You are compassionate and loyal. You want to take care of her and her son. I will not stop you.”

I placed the payroll card in front of Ethan.

“Give me every cent I earned from my paintings and exhibitions over the years. After that, we will owe each other nothing.”

Ethan froze for a moment before his expression darkened even more.

“It is only money. As long as you stay with me, you will never worry about food or a place to live for the rest of your life. Why are you so obsessed with this? Olivia is raising a child on her own. Treat it as helping her and let this go.”

He pulled a checkbook from his drawer and tore out a check. “How much do you want? Fill it in yourself. Stop making a scene.”

“I do not want your charity.” I did not take the check. “I only want what belongs to me. My copyrights, my awards, my recognition. I am taking all of it back.”

Ethan lifted his eyes toward me. Something cold and dangerous settled inside them.

“You would not dare. Do not forget, everything you eat and everything you own was given to you by me.

“Half the business world in Stormbay answers to me now. If you insist on turning this ugly, do not blame me for forgetting our past.”

My whole body stiffened.

In that instant, my heart turned completely icy.

I had seen Ethan’s ruthless side many times in business, yet I never imagined he would use that same cruelty against me.

The tension in the room grew sharper by the second. Olivia suddenly cried out in panic. “Ethan, something is wrong. His asthma is acting up.”

Ethan’s face changed at once. He grabbed the child and hurried toward the door without looking at me again.

As he passed me, he called for security.

“Throw this lunatic out. Do not let her step into this company again.”

I stood frozen, watching the three of them disappear down the hallway while every ounce of strength drained from my body.

The guards dragged me outside and left me on the street. I stared at the city I had lived in for five years. For the first time, it felt unfamiliar.

Only one thought remained.

Leave.

The sooner, the better.

I returned to the house Ethan and I had lived in for five years and packed my things in a hurry. I wrapped my parents’ belongings carefully and placed them deep inside my suitcase.

When I dragged the suitcase to the door and opened it, two police officers stood outside.

“Do not move. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

I froze.

“My name is Vivian. I have lived here for five years, and I am packing my things to leave.”

One of the officers pulled out a copy of the property ownership documents and held it in front of me.

“The legal owner of this house is Ms. Lynch. She reported that you entered her home without permission and attempted to take valuable property. You are suspected of theft.

“Please cooperate with the investigation and come with us.”

The world spun around me.

I never imagined that even the house I lived in for five years belonged to Olivia.

How many things had Ethan been hiding from me?

No matter how desperately I explained, the officers still treated me like a thief.

During the struggle, my suitcase crashed onto the floor. The officers dragged it across the ground until it burst open, scattering everything inside.

My parents’ photo frame hit the floor. Glass shattered everywhere and scratched the picture beyond recognition.

My mother’s treasured bracelet fell out and snapped into two pieces.

“That is mine.”

I tried to bend down to pick it up, but the officers held my arms tightly.

“Do not touch anything. Until the investigation is complete, all of this is considered stolen property.

“Come with us.”

I could not defend myself at all.

At the police station, they followed procedure, took my statement, and then called Ethan to confirm my identity and ask about the situation.

“Mr. Ferguson? This is the local police department. We have a woman named Vivian here who is suspected of stealing property belonging to Ms. Lynch. We would like to verify her identity with you, along with some related details.”