Chapter 4

"What does your company have to do with me?" I set the pen down. "Weren't you the one who said I'd received a share of the company's profits, so it wasn't like I worked for free? Since it was just a one-off transaction, I'm under no obligation to keep authorizing the use of my work."

Samuel stared at me for several seconds. "We can negotiate. How much money do you want?"

"I want a divorce."

"I can give you anything but that." He was still convinced that I was simply attempting to get more compensation out of him.

That certainty exhausted me more than any insult ever could.

Mom abruptly clutched her chest. When I caught her, Willow gasped. "My bracelet's missing!"

She felt all over her wrists and pockets before fretting, "It was left to me by my grandmother. It was still on my wrist just a moment ago!"

Layla immediately sprang to her feet. "Did you drop it in the room?"

Everyone searched high and low, but her bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Willow looked at the canvas bag beside the couch. It belonged to Mom.

It contained her medical records and post-surgery medications. We hadn't had a chance to unpack it since she came home from the hospital.

Willow hesitated for a moment before asking, "Could it... be in that bag?"

Mom was caught off guard. "I never touched any of your belongings."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Willow said softly. "Mrs. Fischer and I were sitting on the couch together earlier. Perhaps it accidentally caught on something in your bag. We won't know until we take a look."

I tucked the bag behind me. "You have no right to go through Mom's belongings."

Layla sneered. "We're just going to take a quick look. It's not like it'll kill you. If she seriously didn't take it, what's there to be afraid of?"

Mom was so anxious that her breathing began to tremble. "Let them check, Janice. I didn't take it!"

She reached for the bag, but I refused to let it go. While we tussled over it, the zipper of the canvas bag was yanked open, spilling pill organizers, medical records, and hospital bills all over the floor. A silver bracelet, tangled around a bag of medicine, tumbled out.

The living room plunged into pin-drop silence. Layla was the first to break it. "Well, look at that. It was in there."

The last bit of color drained from Mom's face. "It wasn't me! I didn't..."

Willow picked up the bracelet and hurriedly explained, "It probably fell into the bag by accident. Mrs. Fischer, you just had surgery. It's totally normal for you to be forgetful."

Even though she sounded like she was helping Mom out, her words only reinforced the suspicion that Mom had taken her bracelet.

I looked up at Samuel. "We have surveillance cameras in here. Check the footage."

His brows knitted together. "We've found the bracelet. Let's not blow this out of proportion."

"I said, check the surveillance footage."

"Willow's willing to let this go. What more do you want from her?"

A derisive chuckle escaped my lips. "Mom's the one being framed. Since when does Willow get to decide whether to let this matter go or not?"

Mom's body suddenly swayed. The heart rate monitor on her wrist began blaring.

She clutched her chest and slowly slid down the wall. I dropped to my knees and called out to her.

Samuel was about to rush over, but Willow abruptly clutched her wrist. The clasp of that bracelet had somehow torn open her wound.

Layla hurriedly stopped Samuel. "Willow's bleeding! Check on her first."

I looked up at Samuel. "Call an ambulance for Mom."

He pulled out his phone, while Willow leaned against his shoulder. Her face was as pale as a sheet of paper. "I can't breathe, Samuel… I think I'm having another panic attack."

Samuel supported her. "Rowena has you, so I'll be rushing Willow to the hospital first."

I planted myself in front of the door. "Willow barely scraped her skin!"

"Severe panic attacks can induce shock. You don't know what you're talking about, so don't jump to conclusions," he said calmly. "The ambulance is already on its way. There's no point in me staying here."

As Mom lay on the floor, her breathing grew fainter. Willow, on the other hand, clutched his lapels, whimpering that she was scared.

Five years ago, when I fell unconscious with a high fever, Samuel had rushed me to the hospital. He'd stayed by my side all night.

When I came to, his eyes were bloodshot as he told me, "No matter what happens from now on, I'll never let you face it on your own."

I'd clung to that promise and made excuses for him for five long years. However, I'd finally run out of excuses.

I stepped aside. "Go ahead."

Samuel took one look at me. "I'll come back and have a proper conversation with you once Rowena's condition stabilizes."

The moment the door clicked shut, the ambulance sirens drew near. Mom was rushed into the emergency room.

The doctor explained that since she was still recovering from surgery, the emotional distress had triggered a severe cardiac arrhythmia. Fortunately, she'd been brought to the hospital in time.

I waited outside the emergency room and pulled up the surveillance footage from home. Willow had deliberately stuffed her bracelet into the canvas bag while Mom wasn't looking. Mom hadn't so much as laid a finger on Willow.

I saved the footage and sent it to Mr. Smith, along with the patent certificate, five years' worth of design drafts, and the divorce agreement.

…

At 2:00 am, Samuel finally texted me. "Willow's condition has stabilized. Stop using your mother's illness to force me into a divorce. Let's talk after you calm down."

I left him on read.

When the nurse wheeled Mom out of the emergency room, I took off my wedding ring and placed it in the envelope with the divorce agreement.