###Chapter 4
When Yuna’s teacher was livestreaming, I had only seen the latter half.
Now, watching the full surveillance footage, I realized that my husband had actually been at the scene when the bodyguards arrived to rescue the children.
Outside the bus, Zack was ordering the bodyguards, “Rescue Nathan first!”
The bodyguards hesitated, holding the photo in their hands. “But our task was to prioritize saving Yuna first.”
My husband slammed a thick stack of cash in front of them. “Look clearly! I’m the one paying! I say rescue Nathan first! If a single hair on him is harmed, you’ll bear the consequence!”
Judith urged from the side. “Yes, Nathan is sitting in the second-to-last row. Hurry and get my grandson out! Don’t bother with that money-losing Yuna!”
Good grief, Zack. Just perfect!
I dug my nails into my palm until they bled, but I didn’t even notice. I was glued to the screen.
When Nathan was safely rescued, my husband practically beamed with delight.
Then, he suddenly noticed the livestream camera. As if afraid of being recognized, he quickly turned and slipped into the crowd.
At that moment, all my attention was on my daughter. I didn’t notice that he and the nanny had carried Nathan into his Cadillac and driven off.
He hadn’t cared about my daughter’s safety at all.
The video ended, the screen went dark and my stunned face was reflected back at me.
A cold shiver ran through me. I immediately grabbed my phone and pulled up the home surveillance footage.
We’d had cameras installed for years, but out of trust in my husband, I had never actively checked them.
“Oh my God…”
The assistant covered her mouth, whispering in shock and anger, her words drifting into my ears.
“How dare she bully Miss Yuna like this!”
On the screen, Judith was pinching my daughter’s delicate skin with her iron-like hands. Arms, ears, cheeks, thighs… My daughter cried in pain on the floor, begging for mercy. But Judith wouldn’t stop until she was satisfied.
The delicacies I had bought for my daughter went straight into Judith’s belly, or were stuffed into thermos containers—every last drop taken out the door. Meanwhile, my daughter had to crouch in a corner, eating cold porridge and gnawing on hard buns.
“You worthless brat! If you dare tell your mom, I’ll stab you with a needle, tie you to a tree and let you starve! Got it?”
“I-I got it… I won’t tell Mom…”
“All you know how to do is cry! Shut up! You wretched girl!”
Watching my daughter cower like a quail in the shadows, afraid to let out a sound, my chest felt like a furnace, each breath sparking with fire.
But that wasn’t all. Judith often stole my expensive clothes and cosmetics, my daughter’s toys, daily necessities and more.
Yet none of this hurt me as much as what was happening at home.
What pained me the most was my husband. There was one time when he clearly saw Judith hitting our daughter with a broom, yet he didn’t step in to protect her. He just furrowed his brows and scolded, “Go make dinner. What time do you think it is?”
Then he passed by my daughter’s tearful, pleading eyes and walked upstairs alone.
I met Zack in high school. He was a handsome, charming young man who always devoted himself entirely to me.
One year in college, we went on an autumn outing and the bus suddenly overturned, getting stuck against a tree on a cliff.
He risked falling off the cliff to save me, using his own body as support to push me out of the bus.
At the critical moment when the school bus was about to plummet off the cliff, the rescue team arrived just in time and pulled him out.
He was covered in blood, yet he held me tightly. “Tessa, although I have no money, I will love you with my life, until the day I die.”
His vow burned in my heart and still echoed in my ears.
I never imagined that people’s hearts could change. Perhaps he was no longer the same person who once loved me and our daughter with his life.
But then I thought, Judith was half of Zack’s family, so when her grandson was in danger, Zack was naturally anxious. That might be why he couldn’t properly scold her when she bullied our daughter.
I didn’t want to believe that my husband was truly that cruel.
“Ms. Wallace, I’m leaving first.”
After the assistant left, I remembered some documents were left in the car, so I walked into the garage.
I opened the car door and reached for the documents on the seat, but my eyes caught something under the front passenger seat. I froze and bent down, pulling out a sheer black stocking.
My blood ran cold.
Suppressing the surge of emotion, I shoved the stocking back in place and called Zack.
“Honey, our daughter has a high fever and misses you. Can you come home and be with her?”
Zack sounded troubled. "Honey, you know how important this client is. If I don’t take care of Mr. Sullivan properly, the company could lose tens of millions. Once I’m done, I’ll come home to her immediately. It’s late—try to get her to sleep for now.”
A faint moan suddenly drifted from the line and he hurriedly hung up. I nearly crushed my phone in my hand.
Zack… I had given you a chance.
Gritting my teeth, I dialed another number. “You wanted the Harlington project, didn’t you? Starting next week, you’ll be its top executive.”
