The atmosphere inside the spacious house changed instantly into absolute ice. Victoria froze in complete shock and pure fear as she stared at him. She was completely stunned by his sudden appearance inside her secure fortress. Her expensive wine glass slipped from her trembling fingers and shattered across the polished marble floor."You belong in a filthy sewer with the other diseased rats." Jason clenched his fists aggressively on the armrests of his medical wheelchair. "You are a crawling maggot who ruined my entire perfect life."Jason trembled violently with suppressed hatred and explosive anger as he looked at Alex. He blamed this single man for everything that destroyed his legs and his future."You are a spineless caterpillar who will never become a beautiful butterfly." Alex looked at Jason with eyes devoid of any human emotion. "You will spend the rest of your miserable life crawling on your belly. Keep your stupid mouth shut before I tear out your tongue and feed it to the

"We can finally buy you all the beautiful dresses in the world." Margaret smiled greedily at the young child."I just want to go play outside in the sunshine." Emma looked out the large glass window."You will play in the private gardens of wealthy estates." Margaret clapped her hands together with sheer excitement."Money does not instantly fix every broken piece of our lives." Sophia kept her posture stiff and deeply unapproachable.This sudden wealth feels like a perfectly crafted dangerous trap.As Sophia sat back down beside Emma's bed, she ignored her mother completely. She talked softly with her daughter about going to the park soon."Mommy, I need to ask you a very important question." Emma looked down at her small fingers."You can ask me absolutely anything in the world." Sophia leaned closer to the hospital bed."Is Alexander my real father?" Emma looked up with innocent and highly curious eyes.The question completely caught Sophia off guard. The words struck her chest lik

"Mommy, please do not fight with grandmother in this room." Emma pulled her warm hospital blanket up to her chin. "The loud yelling is making my head hurt very badly."Emma just wanted everyone to be peaceful and happy together."I am very sorry for raising my voice, my darling." Sophia immediately softened her posture and approached the small bed. "Nobody is going to fight anymore. You just need to focus on resting and getting your strength back completely."Sophia would never let anyone disturb the delicate healing process.Margaret watched the tender moment with a completely twisted sneer. She viewed Sophia's gentle nature as a fatal weakness. In the brutal jungle of high society, only the ruthless predators survived. Margaret firmly believed she needed to be the vicious tiger protecting their new territory.Margaret must take total control of this massive restaurant operation."I am going down to the cafeteria to get coffee." Margaret smoothed out the wrinkles in her faded wool co

Victoria snapped her head around, her eyes widening in complete, stunned disbelief as she stared at her paralyzed son. She had fully expected him to oppose Alex with the same fiery, uncompromising hatred that filled her own chest, yet he appeared strangely willing to consider surrendering the absolute truth."Are you losing your tiny, fragile mind, Jason?" Victoria grabbed her son’s shoulder, shaking him slightly. "You are bowing your head to a servant, an uneducated beast who ruined your body.""We no longer have a single choice in this matter, Mother." Jason pushed her hand away with a cold, exhausted movement of his arm. "Look at the floor. Look at our broken security guards outside. We are no longer sitting in a position of strength, and pretending otherwise will not change the reality of our defeat."Jason realized that they were completely trapped like mice by a cat."You are a spineless, cowardly earthworm!" Victoria shrieked, her voice cracking with pure emotional betrayal. "I

Sophia paused, a folded shirt in her hands. "Mad about what, baby?""About the man who comes to see me."Sophia's fingers tightened on the fabric. She placed the shirt into the bag without looking at Emma. "I'm not mad. I just want you to be careful around people you don't know.""But I do know him." Emma's voice was quiet but certain. "He feels like someone I've always known. I just never met him before."Sophia's jaw clenched. She zipped the bag shut and forced her expression into something neutral. "Emma, we talked about this.""I know. But Mama, he was really nice to me. He rubbed my hair and told me everything would be okay. And it was. Everything got better after he came."The words landed somewhere deep inside Sophia's chest and stayed there, throbbing. She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came. Instead, she busied herself straightening the blanket around Emma's legs, even though there was no reason to.It was in that stillness that the door opened.No announcement. No k