Chapter 2

"You'll pay for turning Anna into a liar!"

With that, Sophie ignored me completely and hurried to position the rescue cushion beneath the dog.

Another violent gust from the typhoon roared through the air. The dog fell from the tenth floor and landed safely on the rescue cushion.

Anna was not so lucky. The howling wind sent broken branches and flying debris slicing across her body, leaving countless bloody cuts. She whimpered in pain. She had always been terrified of getting hurt. I could not imagine how much pain she was in, or how frightened and helpless she must have felt.

It was as if an invisible hand had wrapped around my heart and was squeezing with all its strength. Even breathing hurt.

"Sophie! Wade's dog is safe now. You can save Anna, can't you?"

"Alright, I'll..."

Just as Sophie seemed ready to agree, a flash of malice crossed Wade's eyes. The next second, he broke into tears again. "Sophie... I think Dobie's back leg is broken. Can you drive him to the hospital?"

Sophie had never been able to stand seeing Wade upset. Sure enough, the moment she saw him crying, she chose him again.

"My fellow rescue workers will be here any minute," she said calmly. "Tell Anna to hold on a little longer."

Without another glance at us, she turned and hurried away, taking Wade's dog to the hospital. I watched her disappear into the distance. My vision blurred with tears, and whatever warmth remained in my heart vanished.

To her, our own daughter was not even as important as a dog's broken leg.

I wiped away my tears and dragged the rescue cushion into position myself, hoping I could catch Anna. However, I was not a trained rescuer. No matter how hard I tried to line it up, I was still a little off.

Anna crashed onto the ground. Blood spread across the pavement in an instant. Her asthma attack had become so severe that her face had turned a frightening shade of bluish purple.

Sobbing, I scooped my blood-covered daughter into my arms and flagged down a cab to the nearest hospital.

However, when we arrived, I could not find a single doctor willing to treat her.

Finally, a young nurse could not bear to watch anymore. She quietly pulled me aside. "Mr. Robinson, don't waste your time looking. Before you got here, Ms. Lynch had already called every doctor away. They're all treating Mr. Jenkins' emotional support dog. The dog's leg needs surgery."

The nurse's words shattered the last bit of hope I had left.

Choosing the dog over Anna had already been unforgivable. However, Sophie had even abandoned our critically injured daughter and pulled every doctor away to treat Wade's dog?

The Sophie I used to know would never have done that. She loved Anna more than anything.

Once, Anna accidentally nicked her finger while trimming her nails. It was nothing more than a tiny cut, yet Sophie had insisted on taking her to the hospital immediately to have it treated.

However, everything changed after Wade came into our lives.

When Anna cut her hand, Sophie acted as if she had not even seen it.

When Anna had asthma attacks, Sophie no longer worried over her. Instead, she accused her of pretending to be sick and called her dramatic.

The love and tenderness she had once given to Anna and me now belonged entirely to another man.

Today, for that man's dog, she had destroyed Anna's last chance to survive.

I bit my lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Anna's face had gone deathly pale, and her tiny body kept growing colder in my arms. With each passing second, I could feel her slipping further away, and a wave of panic crashed over me, leaving me utterly helpless.

"Anna, don't fall asleep. Stay with me! I'll find a doctor. I promise!"

I asked the nurse to stay with Anna while I ran toward the room where Wade's dog was being treated.

The moment I got there, I grabbed one of the doctors by the arm. "Doctor, my daughter is dying! Please, you have to save her!"

The doctor gently pulled his arm free, his face full of helplessness. "I'm sorry, Mr. Robinson. Ms. Lynch paid us a great deal of money to treat Mr. Jenkins' dog. I can't leave. You'll have to find another doctor."

A crushing sense of helplessness washed over me.

Wade strolled over with a smug grin. "Elliot, Sophie isn't here. She went to buy Dobie some toys, so I'll just say this directly. You've seen it for yourself. In Sophie's heart, Dobie and I are what matter most. Right now, every doctor in this hospital takes orders from me."

Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, Wade spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the floor and flashed me a vicious grin.