The walls I had worked so hard to build finally crumbled.
Tears streamed down my face and splattered onto the floor.
As soon as Oliver said those words, Czarina immediately clutched her stomach.
"It... it really hurts. The baby won't be in danger, right?"
The next second, he scooped her up in his arms and rushed out, leaving everyone with only their retreating silhouettes.
The moment they disappeared, my mother‑in‑law's estate lawyer arrived.
I took the documents from him and slipped them into my pocket.
After packing the last of my belongings, I dragged my suitcase toward the door.
Outside, a car arranged by my late mother‑in‑law before her death was already waiting. It would help erase my tracks completely.
As for my mother... She ran a small shelter in the suburbs, rescuing stray animals.
When she heard I was leaving, she immediately began searching for someone to take over.
I called to tell her to hurry, but before I could finish, someone violently knocked the phone out of my hand. Then I was shoved into another car and taken straight to Oliver's private hospital.
The moment they pinned me to the seat, a thick needle pierced my arm.
Tube after tube of blood was drawn from me until my vision blurred into darkness.
Oliver finally appeared, towering over me.
"Because of you, Czarina lost the baby."
"You secretly injured her stomach. Taking a little blood from you doesn't even begin to make up for it."
A nurse's voice trembled. "Mr. Romulo... we've drawn 600cc already."
"Continue," he ordered without a hint of mercy.
Only when the needle was finally removed was I carried into a VIP ward.
Czarina sat on the bed, biting her lips, her eyes swollen from crying.
"Why did you hurt my child?"
"You know exactly who did it," I whispered weakly.
By then, I fully understood—her so‑called illness had always been an act.
Hearing my words, Czarina suddenly snapped.
She pulled out the needle from her own hand and screamed, "Oliver, she did it on purpose! She's jealous of me—jealous enough to kill my baby!"
"And you found out, didn't you? Her mother was planning to flee with her. Isn't that running away out of guilt?!"
"This has nothing to do with my mother!" I glared at her, fury trembling in my veins.
"I don't care," she sobbed. "If Lydia did something wrong, shouldn't she be punished? Unless... Oliver, are you treating me like an outsider now?"
Her words sealed my fate.
A tablet was placed in front of me; the video began to play.
One by one, the stray animals my mother had rescued were being euthanized.
My mother broke down, screaming and begging on her knees.
"One life for another. That's how it should be," Czarina said coldly.
Then a syringe filled with clear liquid appeared in front of my mother.
If it touched her... she would end up like those animals.
The grip on my arms suddenly loosened. I collapsed to the floor, knees hitting the cold tile.
"Don't hurt my mother—don't touch her! Do anything to me, I don't care—please!"
"Oliver... I'm begging you. For the last time, I'm begging you!"
All my life, I had begged others to save my dying mother.
But never him. I never wanted to show weakness in front of him.
For a moment, a flicker of hesitation crossed his dark eyes.
I thought—naively—that he was about to relent.
But he turned his head away... And covered Czarina's ears.
The next second, someone yanked me up, and a fist—hard as steel—slammed into my abdomen again and again.
Blood burst from my mouth, splattering across the tablet screen.
On the screen, my mother looked up with tears streaming down her face.
Her eyes widened in despair. "Lydia... Mom can't drag you down anymore."
Before I could scream, she grabbed the syringe—and plunged it into her own neck.
"Mom!" I clutched the blood‑stained screen, another mouthful of blood spilling from my lips.
"Mom..."
Curled on the cold floor, a tearing pain ripped through my abdomen, spreading to every organ inside me.
A coat was suddenly draped over my body, covering the blood.
A doctor in a white coat hurried in, his expression filled with excitement.
"Mr. Romulo! It was a misdiagnosis. The equipment wasn't calibrated properly earlier. Ms. Brown did not miscarry—both mother and child are perfectly safe!"
Czarina let out a relieved laugh. "Really? That's wonderful!"
She then covered her nose. "But the smell of blood... it's making me nauseous."
The bodyguards, tactful as ever, dragged me away.
From the beginning to the end, Oliver didn't spare me a single glance.
The next day, when Czarina was preparing to be discharged, Oliver waited at the door while she changed.
At that moment, Attorney Palmer approached silently.
Oliver's expression instantly darkened. He had always held hostility toward Kendrick—he believed the lawyer had influenced his mother and caused her to leave him nothing.
"What are you here for?"
For some reason, his heartbeat quickened. Every time Attorney Palmer appeared, he brought news that changed something.
Kendrick's face remained calm as he spoke.
