I hadn’t eaten in what felt like forever and I was running on nothing but grit and sheer will.

Every step I took felt heavier, every glance thrown my way like a slap to the face.

Mockery filled the air, thick and suffocating. I could barely hold my head up from the shame.

I tried to rise, but my legs buckled beneath me. My vision blurred and everything turned black.

“Are you okay? Low blood sugar?”

A voice cut through the haze, gentle yet unfamiliar. A hand reached out, offering a slice of cake.

It was Laurence Astor, Amara’s childhood sweetheart, the first man she ever loved.

Eight years ago, when the Lancaster family hit rock bottom, he broke up with her and left for abroad.

Amara, devastated, agreed to marry me.

Later, when her father fell gravely ill, all their savings were drained and the company had to be sold off.

I thought we had built something real through those years of hardship.

But now I realized my son and I were the only ones who had truly suffered.

“No need. Thank you.”

I avoided his hand, forcing myself to stand through the dizziness.

And just as I regained my footing, someone kicked me from behind. My face fell right into the cake Laurence had been holding.

Laughter erupted around me, sharp, merciless, like knives slicing through flesh.

Even Amara turned to look, her expression unreadable.

I scrambled to my feet, the humiliation stinging worse than the cream on my skin and fled the banquet hall.

After washing my face, I checked my phone. A new message had come in.

It was an email with an audio recording attached.

“Amara, when are you finally going to divorce that bootlicker?”

It was Laurence’s voice.

Amara let out a soft chuckle, her tone dripping with frost.

“If I hadn’t fought with you back then, that bootlicker wouldn’t have even had a shot.”

“And you were the one who came up with the plan, making my dad fake an illness so he’d transfer everything and push for a divorce. Who knew that bootlicker would cling on like a leech, even offering to repay the debts for me? Looks like we’ll have to cook up another plan.”

My chest tightened with pain.

So that was it; she’d only married me out of spite for Laurence.

She had staged everything to keep me from coveting her family’s fortune.

It was all just a well-played act.

But what had my son done wrong?

Why did he have to be dragged into her lies and suffer for it?

I wandered back to the hospital room in a daze, the bag of chicken sandwiches warm in my hand, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

This would be the first taste of meat my son had in three long years.

After our family went bankrupt trying to save his grandfather, he had grown up far too fast, tagging along with me after school to pick up trash just to survive.

At school, he lived off plain steamed buns and bore the brunt of ridicule.

His classmates mocked him, taunted him and called him names.

Even so, with tears clinging to his lashes and bruises darkening his small face, he had looked at Amara and me, asking softly, “Dad, Mom, why did they used to call me ‘Young Master,’ but now they call me a beggar?”

My heart shattered.

I told him gently that real friends care about the person, not their wealth.

I would never forget how Amara cried as she clutched our son in her arms, her voice choked with guilt, whispering apologies, promising she’d work hard, earn money and give him a better life.

That woman, back then, was worlds apart from the one who had flaunted wealth like confetti at the hotel today.

Staring at my frail, pale son lying weakly in the hospital bed, my lips trembled. I bit down hard, but the tears still came, hot and uncontrollable.

During those three long years, her father pretended to be ill and I broke my back, working day and night, saving every cent just to give my son a birthday he could remember.

I wanted to take him to King's Fried Chicken, maybe even let him ride the carousel at the amusement park, just once.

But each time, like clockwork, the money vanished from my card, withdrawn by Amara.

She would apologize with red eyes, whispering that her father’s treatment couldn’t wait, begging me and our son to understand.

Even after he faked his death, for two more years, we were drowning in debt, barely able to scrape together rent.

Yet, through it all, my little boy never once complained.

He held his hunger like a badge of courage and would smile through the ache, saying, “Dad, didn’t you say the greatest happiness is when a family helps one another?”

“Grandpa and Mom need our help. I won’t eat King's Fried Chicken anymore.”

The King's Fried Chicken he hadn’t touched in five years.

The amusement park he never stepped foot in.

To Amara, were those just things we were meant to lose?

My son and I had been nothing more than pawns in her petty war with Laurence.

In this cruel game where I had traded heart for heart, it turned out that only my son and I had lost everything.

If that was the case, then we no longer needed her.

I wiped away the tears clinging to my lashes and pushed open the hospital room door.

The moment my son saw the chicken sandwiches I had brought, his face lit up with a bright smile.

But that joy lasted only seconds; just two bites in, his expression twisted in pain and he suddenly began to retch.

At first, I thought he had burned his mouth, but he weakly waved his tiny hand.

“Dad, I think I’m still sick. I feel nauseous and my stomach hurts.”

I quickly tucked the blanket tighter around him and turned to get the doctor.

But as I stepped into the pediatric wing, what I saw froze me in place.

Amara and Laurence were rushing in, faces pale with panic.

And trailing behind them was her father, supposedly long dead.

The three of them looked visibly shaken. Amara’s voice trembled as she clutched the doctor’s arm.

“Doctor, please, you have to save my son! He’s only five! How could he have such a disease?!”

I stood frozen as she brushed past me without a glance like I was nothing more than thin air.

The three of them stormed into a luxury VIP ward, dragging doctors along in a flurry of panic and urgency.

I returned to my son’s room in a daze. He gave me a fragile smile, trying to soothe my aching heart.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be better tomorrow!”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and gently touched his forehead; thankfully, the fever had faded.

“Okay. Then close your eyes now. Daddy’s staying right here with you.”

But barely moments after he drifted off to sleep, the door burst open with a loud bang.

“Our President Lancaster is offering a high reward to anyone at the hospital willing to take a bone marrow match test! Anyone who participates will be generously compensated!”

Worried the noise would wake my son, I shot the man a glare and pushed him out into the hallway.

There stood a man in a crisp suit; he had the polished air of Amara’s assistant.

He spoke in a hurry, voice breathless with urgency.

Amara and Laurence’s son had suddenly been diagnosed with acute leukemia.

They were pouring in money and calling in favors, desperately urging everyone in the hospital to join the bone marrow testing, hoping to find a match before time ran out.

The entire hospital was buzzing with activity and patients and families were all stirred up.

Word spread quickly that simply taking the test would earn fifty thousand dollars and everyone jumped at the chance to volunteer.

Amara even dangled a sky-high offer: five million for a matching donor.

For everyone else, it was a golden opportunity: save a life and get rich.

But I simply shook my head.

“My son’s health has always been fragile. He won’t be participating.”

Besides, I had no obligation to help her child, her son, with Laurence.

She could go to such lengths for theirs, yet she couldn’t even spare a thought for the child lying sick in a hospital bed, my son.

The thought of how we had scraped by, living humbly with barely enough to get by, made my chest ache.

Amara, perhaps this was heaven’s way of punishing you for your lies and cruelty.

The assistant’s face darkened, clearly not expecting my refusal. His eyes shifted, growing cold and threatening.

“Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. You’re just a pathetic delivery guy. Offend President Lancaster and we’ll make sure you can’t survive in this city.”

With that, he gave a signal to the two bodyguards behind him.

They grabbed me and forced me toward the examination room.

Even my unconscious son was carried out against his will.

My eyes burned with rage as I struggled to save him, but pain suddenly exploded in the back of my leg.

The assistant had kicked the hollow of my knee and I collapsed to the floor.

He yanked my hair and sneered coldly.

“You and your bastard son, how could your lives ever compare to President Lancaster’s beloved husband and child?”

“I advise you not to make a scene, or you’ll alert them. After that, things won’t be so simple!”

I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. “What do their lives have to do with me? If they die, even better...”

Before I could finish, a searing pain exploded in my mouth; he had lit a lighter and shoved it straight in.

I tried to dodge, my body wracked with agony, but the two burly men behind me held me down so tightly that I couldn’t move.

The taste of burnt blood filled my mouth and the pain was so intense I nearly lost consciousness.

“That’s what you get for talking shit!”

“Daddy! Don’t hit my daddy...”

Just as I felt myself slipping into darkness, my son’s cries yanked me back to reality.

I struggled to get up and protect him, but dizziness slammed into me like a hammer.

The assistant raised his metal hip flask, bringing it down hard on my skull. A stream of warm blood poured down my face.

At that moment, his phone rang. As he answered, I heard Amara’s voice crackle through.

“Julian, how’s it going?”

Enduring the burning pain in my mouth, I gritted my teeth and roared her name.

“Amara—”

I barely managed to let out a syllable before a savage kick landed squarely on my mouth, sending me crashing to the floor, unable to say another word.

The assistant quickly reported to Amara, “Rest assured, Miss Lancaster. Everyone in the hospital is already lining up for testing. I believe the young master is blessed and will find a match very soon!”

The call ended, leaving only despair in my eyes.

Without a word, he coldly ordered the two bodyguards to drag me away.

Meanwhile, my son was hauled into the testing room.

The results came back fast; my son’s bone marrow was a match for Harrison’s and qualified for donation.

Seeing how thrilled they were to take him away, I struggled with every ounce of my strength to stop them.

“Even if it’s a match, you can’t just go straight into donation like this. You’re putting him in danger…”

Before I could finish, the assistant kicked me to the ground and the two guards began to beat me mercilessly with fists and feet.

I hadn’t eaten in two days; my body was weak and unable to resist.

My son cried helplessly as they wheeled him into the operating room. In a rush, Amara and Laurence arrived, not even asking who the donor was, only ordering the doctors to push Harrison into the room.

A doctor spoke hesitantly, “Miss Lancaster, the donor’s condition isn’t stable. Should we wait a bit…?”

Laurence interrupted sharply, “Wait? If anything happens to my son while you’re waiting, will you take responsibility for your life?”

My father-in-law added, “It’s just a bone marrow donation, not like he’s dying. Give him a bit more compensation afterward and it’s settled!”

“But we haven’t fully assessed the donor’s condition yet. I’m afraid…”

“You already did the blood test, didn’t you? That means it’s fine! Hurry up and do the surgery; my son can’t stand the pain. The sooner he recovers, the better!” Laurence’s voice cracked with emotion.

Amara wrapped her arms around him, her face a mask of pain and instructed the doctors to proceed immediately.

Under their relentless pressure and bribes, the doctor sighed deeply and entered the operating room.

Less than half an hour later, the light outside the OR flickered off.

Amara anxiously grabbed Laurence and her father’s hands, her body trembling with fear. A nurse burst through the door, panic etched across her face.

“Is there any Maximilian Prescott family member here? He passed out during the bone marrow extraction and urgently needs resuscitation!”

At the sound of the name, Amara’s face twisted in shock.

She seized the nurse by the shoulders, her grip tight and hissed, “Who did you just say?”

Following the nurse’s terrified gaze, she finally saw me, bloodied and pinned to the floor by the bodyguards.

“Miss Lancaster, it’s his son. He refused to cooperate, but in the heat of the moment, we had no choice but to use force!”