The moon outside hung faint in the sparse night sky. Lying in bed, Elena felt as though all the strength had been drained from her body.

The wound on her foot still hadn't healed. Every small movement sent waves of sharp, bone-deep pain through her.

Her phone buzzed softly.

It was a message from Tiffany, her words full of the girl's liveliness and sweet charm.

[Pretty sister, are you home yet? Daddy says you mustn't get your wound wet, or it will hurt when it gets inflamed.]

[I miss you! Once you're better, can I come play with you?]

A long-lost warmth welled up in Elena's chest—tender, steady, and pure.

She smiled and sent back a playful sticker.

But just as she set her phone down, the bedroom door slammed open.

Maya burst in, crying, and flung herself into Elena's arms.

"Mommy, I have a fever... I feel awful."

"I don't know if it's because the rash isn't gone yet, but Aunt Hillary gave me some medicine."

"It's really hot... can you blow on it for me? Maybe taste it first to check the temperature?"

The rare show of closeness stunned Elena.

After all, this was her own flesh and blood. Her heart immediately softened.

The moment she took a sip, an unbearable itch spread through her body.

Her hand shook violently—the bowl slipped, shattering on the floor.

Instantly, both children's expressions changed. They shoved her to the ground, triumphant smiles lighting their faces.

Maya glanced at Aaron, smirking viciously.

"Aunt Hillary said this medicine would make her embarrass herself in front of everyone!"

Hillary sauntered in, eyes sweeping over Elena as her hands fumbled with her clothes.

Smirking, she spat, "Don't bother struggling. This drug is potent—just one sip is enough to make you live wishing for death, yet unable to die."

"That medicine is called Love Thread Wrap. Even the purest, most virtuous woman will be consumed by uncontrollable desire under its effects, lost in illusions, at the mercy of whoever administered it."

She gestured casually, and several burly bodyguards entered, their eyes fixed on her for orders.

"From now on, they'll be the ones getting close to you. Tell me—by the time Jackson returns from the hospital, how many rounds will you have endured?"

The drug's effects burned hotter and hotter, pain and shame twisting through Elena. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

As the men advanced, Elena gritted her teeth, grabbed a nearby vase, and smashed it. She pressed a jagged shard on her own neck.

"Hillary, if you dare let them touch me, I'll drag you down with me!"

Outside, the roar of an engine cut through the night—Jackson was back.

Elena slashed her arm in several places, forcing herself to stay lucid as he approached.

"Take me to the hospital! Maya drugged me!"

Jackson caught the flicker of guilt in both children's eyes—and for the first time, he roared at his daughter. "Maya! Come here!"

The girl burst into tears, her voice sharp with panic.

"Daddy, she's lying! I don't know anything—she took the wrong medicine herself and now she's blaming me!"

Hillary's face softened into a mask of empathy as she pulled Maya into her arms, gently stroking her back.

"Jackson, don't get angry. Why don't we run a test and see who's telling the truth?"

The private doctor arrived quickly. The results on the floor showed everything was "normal."

Enraged, Jackson stormed back in, his grip closing like iron around Elena's throat.

"Maya and Aaron are your own children! Why do you keep framing them over and over again? What's your goal?"

"You're just jealous of Hillary—unhappy with how I treat her, aren't you?"

Fury boiling over, he ordered the ancestral whip to be brought from the family shrine.

"Elena, you think too highly of yourself! Remember this pain—it will keep you from ever making another mistake. I won't have the Sullivan family's name stained by you!"

Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. The barbed whip lashed down again and again, ripping through flesh.

Her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds, every breath thick with the taste of blood.

She couldn't hold on any longer.

The world went dark—she collapsed and passed out.

When Elena opened her eyes again, the acrid scent of disinfectant stung her nostrils.

Murmured voices drifted into her ears.

"Mr. Sullivan, per your instructions, we've removed Madam's uterus. From now on... she will never be able to have children again."

The private doctor withdrew.

Tears welling up in her eyes, Hillary covered her mouth, and collapsed weakly into Jackson's arms, her voice trembling with guilt.

"Jackson, this is all my fault. If only I had watched the children more closely, they wouldn't have argued with Elena. She wouldn't have suffered such irreversible damage from the whipping... I've ruined her."

Jackson's frown eased. Wrapping an arm gently around her waist, he murmured in comfort.

"Hillary, you're still, as kind as ever. You don't have to take everything upon yourself. If anyone is to blame, it's Elena herself. She brought this upon herself."

From the side, Aaron and Maya chimed in in perfect unison, wrapping their arms around Hillary's legs like obedient little angels.

"That's right, Aunt Hillary! Mom already has the two of us. Why would she want to have more children with someone else?"

No one knew how much time passed. The four of them began laughing together, their voices light, and left hand in hand.

Elena stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes and chest aching with a deep, dull pain. She forced herself to accept the reality—her womb was gone.

Strangely... this time, not a single tear fell. Only a crushing heaviness sat in her gut, as if her organs themselves were aching.

Days slipped by.

While she was recovering, Aaron and Maya made a rare appearance at her bedside.

"Stop pretending. Did you see how happy Dad and Aunt Hillary are together? You've delayed them for seven years—always faking illness, playing the pitiful victim, clinging to our family like some beggar."

Elena's chest tightened. Her voice was hoarse as she replied, "I don't know who's been filling your heads with this poison, making you hate me as if I were your mortal enemy. But the truth is—seven years ago, that drunken night was a trap set by your Sullivan family. I was a victim too. If I hadn't gotten pregnant with the two of you by accident, I would never have married Jackson!"

"Liar!" Aaron's shrill voice cut her off. "Aunt Hillary and Grandma told us the truth. If you hadn't used your cheap tricks to crawl into Dad's bed, Aunt Hillary would've been married here long ago!"

Maya glared, her small face—so much like Elena's—twisted with pure hatred.

"Then I'll show you who Dad really cares about!"

She dragged over a stool. Aaron climbed up, reached the windowsill, and knocked over a lit candle.

The two of them bolted from the room faster than monkeys.

Flames roared to life, devouring the curtains. In an instant, thick smoke and blistering heat engulfed the room. The air reeked of burning fabric and choking soot; the fire leapt wildly, and the wardrobe and ceiling began to tremble as if ready to collapse.

Elena limped out of bed, but the door was locked from the outside. Despair washed over her.

From the hallway, the housekeeper's panicked voice rang out as she fled the spreading smoke.

"Sir! Madam is still inside—"

Jackson hesitated. After all, they had been married for seven years—he couldn't just stand there and watch her burn to death.

But before he could move—

"Let her die there!" Aaron's voice was crisp and innocent. "If she's gone, nothing will stand in the way of Dad and Aunt Hillary!"

"And if Mom is dead," Maya added boldly, "no one will force me to eat or make me take those awful lessons anymore."

Jackson froze, his expression darkening.

"Aaron, Maya—who taught you to say such things?"

Sensing the shift in mood, Hillary quickly added fuel to the fire.

"The candle was so high up. How could the children even reach it? Unless... Elena did it on purpose."

As expected, the man fell silent for several seconds. Doubt and displeasure flickered in his eyes, his handsome features growing cold and hard.

The housekeeper tried again.

"Sir, should I at least unlock Madam's door—"

"No need."

Jackson took one child in each hand and turned away with Hillary.

"If she wants to kill herself, let's grant her wish. Until the firefighters arrive, no one should open that door for her."

After being rescued by the firefighters, Elena spent several days in the hospital, breathing oxygen.

The very first thing she did upon returning to the villa was to cancel Aaron's martial arts and math olympiad classes, as well as Maya's piano and painting lessons.

With the refunded money, she bought herself a complete set of jewelry.

After the divorce, she would most likely walk away with nothing. Jewelry, however, could be carried with her—later to be sold for startup capital.

It wasn't long before one of the tutors called.

"Mrs. Sullivan, did something happen at home?"

"If Aaron and Maya quit halfway, it will really affect their future. What if they can't keep up with the other children? Would you reconsider enrolling them for the rest of the term?"

Elena's voice was calm as she replied, "No. They won't be attending ever again."

Within half an hour, the two children were notified by the butler. They stormed in, faces full of outrage.

"Mom, what right do you have to cancel our classes?!"

Maya's little face flushed red with anger, while Aaron kicked the sofa so hard the sound boomed across the living room.

"It was just a joke that day during the fire! You're an adult—are you really holding a grudge over something so small?"

Elena's tone was even.

"You didn't want to go, did you? I'm simply giving you what you wanted. Is that wrong?"

Aaron puffed up with righteous indignation, even dragging in their father and grandmother as threats.

"If Grandma finds out you've been abusing us, she'll definitely make Dad divorce you! Then Aunt Hillary will be our mom, and you'll regret it!"

Hearing the childish hostility in his voice, Elena closed her eyes, exhaustion seeping into her bones.

"Your opinion of me versus Hillary was set in stone long ago. Think whatever you like."

Maya burst into tears.

"Evil woman! When I grow up, I'll make sure you're thrown out of my house!"

Looking at the children she had raised with her own hands, Elena no longer felt sadness or anger—only a calm sigh.

"No need to wait until you're grown. I'll leave on my own."

"If you want to keep going to those classes, then whoever you want to be your mom can pay for them."

Their eyes darted hopefully toward Hillary. But she quickly looked away, guilt flickering across her face.

She would never spend half a year's living expenses on tutoring for these two little bastards.

The servants were busy cleaning the living room when Hillary's eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. A few well-timed tears slid down her cheeks.

"Elena, I'm a few years older than you, and I've always treated you like a sister. You know I had a relationship with Jackson, and you know I came back to the country with nothing. I love these children dearly, but I truly can't afford this. Must you use this to pressure me?"

Her voice grew more emotional, and when she spotted a familiar figure at the doorway, she seized Elena's hand—swinging it into her own face with a loud crack.

Smack!

That blow not only reddened Hillary's cheek, but also jolted Jackson into awareness.

He immediately pulled the "wronged" Hillary into his arms, his voice heavy with suppressed fury and pain.

"Elena, who gave you the courage to bully Hillary right in front of me?"

Hillary bit her lip delicately, tugging lightly at his sleeve like an innocent doe.

"Jackson... don't fight. This is all my fault."

Elena stared at her fake pitiful act—and suddenly laughed.

"Just now, I didn't lay a finger on her. She grabbed my hand and slapped herself like a madwoman."

Then, in front of everyone, she slapped Hillary across the face.

"This... is my slap."

"A mistress daring to be so arrogant? If I want to hit you, I'll hit you."

Jackson froze in shock, before a torrent of venom spilled from his cold, beautiful lips—calling her unreasonable, hysterical, a shrew.

"Enough..." Hillary tugged at his arm gently. "The children are frightened. We should go and comfort them."

Jackson left with Hillary and the two children, throwing two sentences over his shoulder like knives.

"If you keep acting insane, get out of this house!"

"If you don't want to take care of Aaron and Maya, there are plenty of women who'd be eager to."

When the door closed, Elena shut her eyes lightly.

Very soon, she would grant them their wish—she would leave this house forever.