Joanna burst through the hospital doors and headed straight for the blood transfusion department.

She had barely rounded the corridor when a gut-wrenching wail stopped her in her tracks.

Denise Sullivan was on her knees, clutching a doctor's hand and refusing to let go.

Paddy leaned against the wall nearby. He sensed someone watching and looked up. The moment he saw Joanna, his expression turned to ice.

Before Joanna could react, Denise had already charged at her and slapped her across the face.

Denise's eyes were bloodshot. She seized a fistful of Joanna's hair and held on tight.

"You vicious woman, how dare you show your face here! It wasn't enough to spread lies about what happened at the police station and frame my daughter—you had to drag her name through the mud online too, calling her a bully, saying she tried to buy someone off with a million dollars! She has her pride! How is she supposed to live with people talking about her like that?"

Pain seared across Joanna's scalp. Her thoughts scattered. She struggled to pull free, trying to explain.

"I didn't—"

"Enough."

Paddy stepped forward and pried Denise off her.

Joanna steadied herself and met Paddy's cold stare. The words left her mouth before she could think.

"Paddy, it wasn't me—"

"Joanna, when did you become like this?"

His voice was thick with disappointment.

"Are you so desperate for money that you'd stoop to something this low? A million wasn't enough—you had to get greedy and demand twenty-eight million?"

"Do you have any idea that because of you, Lola tried to kill herself?"

Joanna stared at him, frozen.

All these years, he was the one who knew exactly where every penny she saved went. He was the one who knew she never kept anything for herself—that every dollar she scraped together was so those children at the orphanage could live a little more comfortably.

And now the person who knew her best had said the words that cut the deepest.

"Paddy, after all these years, is that really what I am to you? Someone who'd do anything for money?"

Paddy frowned. His lips parted, as if he wanted to say something.

The emergency room doors swung open.

Lola was wheeled out, her face white as paper. The moment she saw Joanna, tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Joanna..."

Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'll pay the twenty-eight million. Just please stop dragging my name through the dirt... I really can't take any more..."

Joanna listened to those words—so carefully wrapped in victimhood, so precisely aimed to destroy—and clenched her fists.

"I didn't do any of it. You're welcome to investigate."

"I have something urgent to deal with right now. I have to go."

She turned to leave.

Several bodyguards stepped forward immediately, blocking her path.

Paddy's voice came from behind her.

"You made a mistake, and you need to own it. You owe the Sullivans—and Lola—an explanation."

Joanna drew a deep breath and turned around.

"Paddy, Director James was attacked. She needs a blood transfusion urgently. I have to get to her right now—"

He hesitated.

He knew better than anyone what that orphanage and its director meant to her.

Joanna would never lie about something like that.

She saw that flicker of hesitation in his eyes and seized it like a lifeline.

"Paddy, I'm begging you. Let me give blood first. After that, you can do whatever you want with me."

Her eyes were rimmed red, but she fought with everything she had to keep the tears from falling.

Seeing her like that, something complicated stirred in Paddy's chest.

Neither side would yield. Then a poised, elegantly dressed older woman walked over.

Lillian Floyd glanced at Joanna, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"Joanna, I always thought you were a sensible woman. I never imagined you'd turn out to be such a liar."

"I had the admissions checked. There is no director among tonight's patients. Not a single one."

Joanna's pupils contracted. "That's impossible—"

Lillian cut her off and turned to Paddy.

"I told you from the start. Women like her put on an act at first—pretending money doesn't matter to them—but give it enough time and the mask always slips. Now do you finally believe me?"

Lillian had never once shown Joanna a kind face. But every single time, Paddy had shielded her. He never allowed his mother to say a single word against her.

He had even moved them both out of the Floyd family estate to spare Joanna from the hostility—the two of them squeezing into a small one-bedroom apartment together.

But this time, Paddy said nothing.

His silence hurt more than any words could have.

In that moment, Joanna heard something inside her shatter completely.

Paddy's voice was flat, utterly devoid of emotion. "Take her home. I'll deal with this later."

The bodyguards closed in. They seized Joanna, and no matter how she struggled, they dragged her back to the Floyd residence.

She was hauled to the ancestral hall. The head housekeeper stood before her, his voice cold.

"Mrs. Floyd has given her orders. As a daughter-in-law of this family, you've made a grave mistake and must be punished accordingly. Since her son can't bring himself to do it, she'll give the command herself."

"Thirty lashes. Afterward, solitary confinement in the cellar."

The whip came down on her back, splitting skin and flesh.

She clenched her teeth and didn't make a sound, but consciousness began slipping away from her.

She couldn't pass out. She still had to save Mrs. James.

When it was over, they dragged her to the cellar.

Her body was a ruin of wounds. She struggled to her hands and knees, then crawled to the door and pounded against it.

"Open the door... please..."

A wrenching cramp tore through her lower abdomen, wave after wave. Joanna looked down. A pool of blood had gathered beneath her.

Her vision darkened. Joanna collapsed.

The door burst open.

Someone rushed in and scooped her into their arms.

She forced her eyes open and saw a face.

"Paddy...?"

When Joanna woke, the wounds on her back had already been treated, wrapped in thick layers of gauze.

The door opened. Percival walked in carrying a glass of water, and when he saw she was awake, he crossed quickly to the bedside.

"Don't move. You're hurt."

Joanna looked at him. The memory of that night flashed through her mind, and she instinctively edged away.

Percival was quiet for a moment. "The baby's gone. When did you find out you were pregnant?"

Joanna's hand trembled. She lowered her head and didn't look at him.

"A little over three months."

Percival's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression hard to read.

Three months. The timing didn't quite add up.

He was about to say something else when the door swung open.

Paddy stood in the doorway. The moment he saw Percival, his brow furrowed tight.

"What are you doing here?"

Percival's lips curved into a smile that held no warmth.

"If I hadn't come, she would've died in that cellar and nobody would've known."

Paddy's gaze shifted to the figure on the bed.

Joanna was propped against the pillows, her face white as paper, her lips completely drained of color.

Something slammed hard against the inside of Paddy's chest. "What happened?"

The next second, he watched Percival reach over and tuck the blanket more snugly around her. An inexplicable wave of irritation surged through him.

He strode forward and yanked Percival's hand away.

"Hands off." His voice dropped cold. "She's your sister-in-law. Show some respect."

Percival looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"She's your wife, Paddy. Mom had her whipped and locked in that cellar. Did it never occur to you to send someone to look after her?"

Paddy froze. "What? I only told them to bring her home and wait until I dealt with it. Who gave them permission to touch her?"

Percival let out a short, derisive laugh, gave Paddy a mocking pat on the shoulder, and walked out.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

Paddy stood beside the bed, looking at Joanna. Something he couldn't name churned inside him.

"Joanna, don't worry. I'll make sure this—"

"Is there something you need?" She cut him off. Her voice was soft, but there was nothing warm in it.

Paddy pressed his lips together.

"Lola's out of danger, but the backlash online hasn't died down."

"I need you to record an apology video. Admit the necklace was a fake, that you got greedy and tried to extort more money."

Something finally rippled behind Joanna's eyes. She repeated his words slowly.

"You want me to record an apology video?"

Paddy rubbed the bridge of his nose, visibly agitated.

"Lola had the necklace appraised afterward. The necklace and the certificate were both fakes."

"Asking you to apologize isn't exactly asking too much."

Joanna almost laughed at the absurdity.

"I'm not doing it."

Paddy's expression darkened.

"Fine. But the land the orphanage sits on? I'll have it seized immediately."

Joanna's eyes stung.

"Paddy, you've held those children in your arms. They all called you 'big brother.' Can you really do that to them?"

Paddy's jaw tightened. "Joanna, my patience has limits."

Joanna managed a smile that looked worse than crying. The last thread of feeling she'd held for him snapped and dissolved into nothing.

"Fine. I'll do it."

She eased herself upright, took the phone from him, and began recording.

"The necklace was fake. I just… wanted to squeeze out more money."

"I'm sorry, Lola. I'm sorry, everyone. I was wrong."

Before he left, Paddy delivered one final ultimatum.

"Joanna, if you'd just listened sooner, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this. You brought all of it on yourself."

After he was gone, Joanna dragged herself out of bed and rushed to the hospital to see Mrs. James.

But when she burst through the door of the hospital room, the answer she received rooted her to the floor.

"The patient didn't receive the transfusion in time. Prolonged oxygen deprivation to the brain. She's in a vegetative state."

A high-pitched ringing filled Joanna's skull.

She collapsed at the bedside and seized that ice-cold hand.

That hand had given her warmth more times than she could count.

Now it would never move again.

"Mrs. James… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

The tears finally broke free, unstoppable.

One by one, they fell onto that cold, still hand.

If it weren't for her, the orphanage would never have been targeted.

If it weren't for her, Mrs. James wouldn't be lying here.

All because she'd loved the wrong person and refused to bow her head.

She buried her face against the edge of the bed, her whole body shaking with sobs.

"I'll save you, Mrs. James… I'll find a way. I promise I'll find a way…"

The next second, her phone rang. Joanna answered, and Mandy's sobbing voice came through the speaker.

"Joanna, a bunch of people came and smashed up everything at the orphanage. I'm so scared…"

When Joanna arrived at the orphanage, the front gate hung wide open. The yard was destroyed—furniture overturned, walls spray-painted, glass shattered across the ground.

The children were huddled in the corner. When they saw her, they rose to their feet one by one.

Dick Driscoll was the first to charge at her. He shoved her hard with both hands.

Joanna stumbled back two steps. The wounds on her back slammed against the wall, and she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth.

"You've got some nerve showing up here!"

The other children surged forward, surrounding her.

"You killed Director Mom! Why didn't you go donate blood last night? Why?!"

Fists rained down on her. Joanna didn't dodge. She only lowered her head and murmured.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything!" Dick screamed, eyes rimmed red.

"Director Mom won't wake up! We don't have a mom anymore!"

"Get out! Get out right now! We don't want to see you!"

Joanna knelt there, looking at the hatred in those children's eyes, and felt her heart shred itself apart.

They shoved her out of the orphanage, pushing and kicking until she lay on the ground outside, battered and bleeding. A white Porsche was parked right in front of her.

The door opened, and Lola stepped out.

She wore a pale coat, her makeup flawless, a smile curving her lips.

"So? How does it feel, being hated by the very children you've always loved and protected?"

"All I did was let them know what kind of person you really are." Lola tilted her head. "Don't tell me you can't handle it already?"

Joanna pushed herself to her feet and fixed her gaze on the woman before her.

"What do you want?"

Lola narrowed her eyes, stepped closer, and lowered her voice.

"If you get on your knees right now and kowtow to me, I might convince Paddy to withdraw the complaint and let the orphanage keep its land."

"What do you say? If you refuse, these children will be taken away tonight."

Joanna clenched her jaw and slowly sank to her knees.

Her kneecaps hit the ground with a dull thud.

Joanna bent forward, pressing her forehead to the earth.

She had barely completed one when Lola frowned.

"Too slow."

She flicked a glance at the bodyguard beside her.

The bodyguard stepped forward, seized the back of Joanna's head, and slammed it into the ground.

Crack.

Her forehead struck concrete. Blood welled up instantly.

He held her down, smashing her head against the ground again and again, blood spattering with each impact.

Ten times. When it was over, Joanna lay flat on the ground, a gash split open across her forehead, blood smeared across her entire face.

She struggled to lift her head.

"Now... are you satisfied?"

Lola glanced down at the blood on the toe of her shoe, wiped it off with a tissue, and tossed it onto Joanna's face.

Just then, Lola's phone rang.

Her eyes lit up. She answered on speaker.

"Paddy?"

"Hey, babe." Paddy's voice came through, warm and gentle. "Are you free right now? Let's go pick out a wedding dress."

Lola smiled, looking down at Joanna sprawled on the ground.

"I'm free. I'll be right there."

She tucked the phone away and crouched down, meeting Joanna's eyes at her level.

"Did you hear that?" Her voice was soft, almost conversational. "In three days, we're getting married. Someone like you, squatting in my place, clinging to my man for all these years. It's made me sick."

"Now it's time for you to disappear for good."

A deafening boom erupted from somewhere behind them.

Joanna whipped her head around. The orphanage was engulfed in flames, fire clawing at the sky.

She scrambled to her feet and staggered toward the blaze.

Lola watched her disappear into the inferno, her lips slowly curling upward. Then she turned and climbed back into the car.

Inside the burning building, the smoke was so thick Joanna couldn't keep her eyes open.

She kicked open door after door, shoving children toward the exit.

In the very last room, she found Mandy, curled up in the corner.

Joanna rushed over and scooped her up. A burning beam crashed down onto her back. She grunted and dropped to her knees but held the child tight against her chest, shielding her with her own body.

Gritting through the pain, she crawled toward the exit, inch by inch.

"I'm getting you out of here..."

Mandy sobbed against her neck, her small voice barely a whisper.

"Joanna, I know you're not a bad person... You've always been like a mom to me..."

Joanna's eyes burned with tears. She held the child close and dragged herself out of the fire.

The moment she collapsed on the ground outside, her phone rang.

"Ms. Winfield. All shares and assets under your name have been fully transferred. You are now the company's largest shareholder."

The tension that had been holding Joanna together finally released. She dialed another number.

"Get me the best legal team in the country."

"Lola set fire to the orphanage, and I'm going to personally send her to prison!"