chapter one

Liliana POV

“Miss Vauxhall, your examination results are out. The results… are not very good.” My heart sank, and my lips, which had no color, turned even paler.

“Doctor, please tell me.”

The doctor sighed with regret. “At present, it is confirmed to be brain stem glioma. The exact condition still requires further pathological tests.”

“Dong!” My bag fell to the ground with a dull sound.

Brain stem glioma—I am not unfamiliar with this term. I am a medical student, and I naturally understand the severity of this cancer. Judging from the current level of medicine, there is almost no possibility of a cure.

I held my trembling hand, my voice nearly forced out from my throat. “How long can I live?”

The doctor could not bear to look at the thin, pale woman in front of him. “Miss Vauxhall, I suggest you be hospitalized for chemotherapy as soon as possible. Perhaps it can prolong your life for some time.”

Inpatient chemotherapy? I pulled my lips into a numb smile. I wanted to ask more, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through my head, followed by a wave of nausea rising in my throat. I covered my mouth and rushed out of the door before I could say anything else.

In the bathroom, I vomited a bloody substance, then collapsed onto the floor in a cold sweat, gripping the sink for support. My headache as if needles were piercing through it, waves of stronger pain surging again and again.

At first, I tried my best to endure it, but soon I couldn’t hold back. I raised my hand and struck my temples hard, trying to ease the pain in my head. But it had little effect.

Amid the intense pain, I suddenly wanted to hear his voice. If he knew I was suffering like this, would he feel even a little heartache?

That faint hope in my heart pushed me to take out my phone with trembling hands and dial the familiar number.

“Beep—”

Only one ring, and the call was mercilessly hung up.

I dialed again and again, my teeth clenched and my hands shaking. Eventually, the call connected.

My eyes turned sour. “Finnley…”

His voice was filled with impatience and disgust. “Are you done?”

The weakness in my heart, caused by illness, felt as if it had been pierced by an ice arrow. The rest of my words were stuck in my throat like cotton. I opened my mouth, stammering, “I’m at the hospital…”

I’m dying of cancer. But before I could say anything further, Finnley rudely interrupted me. “Get back before you die! Look at what your daughter has done!”

Millie?

The next second, a little girl’s voice came through the phone, crying for help. “Mom, help me!”

I shuddered. “What’s wrong with Millie, Finnley?”

“Mom, I really didn’t push Aunt Sabrina. Mom, please save me…”

His angry voice suddenly cut off my daughter’s cries. “Grab her!”

“Mom—”

The call abruptly ended, and my daughter’s final frightened scream felt like a knife carving through my heart.

I got up and ran out of the hospital.

Half an hour later, at the Vauxhall villa.

As soon as I entered, I saw Finnley sitting on the sofa with a dark expression. A doctor in a white coat beside him had just finished giving his report. When he looked up and saw me, his cold, ruthless gaze struck me like a sharp arrow.

“Why are you just standing there? Come over here!”

My face turned as pale as a ghost. I didn’t even bother changing my shoes and rushed over, asking, “What happened to Millie?”

Finnley Vauxhall was burning with anger, his eyes icy. “That’s the daughter you raised! Just like you—vicious. She pushed Sabrina down the stairs!”

“Impossible!” I was shocked and shook my head firmly. “Millie is not that kind of child!”

Finnley gaze remained cold. “Still denying it? There are witnesses and physical evidence.”

As he spoke, he stood up. Finnley had always carried an imposing, cold presence. His nearly 2-meter height was oppressive. Now, his face was filled with anger, making him seem as terrifying as a demon.

I instinctively stepped back, shrinking under his presence.

The next moment, he grabbed my chin. His dark eyes were filled with disgust and hatred. “Liliana Vauxhall, Sabrina is still in a coma because of her miscarriage. If anything happens to her, I’ll make sure you pay with your life!”

Miscarriage? My breathing stalled.

Before I could respond, my child’s cries echoed from upstairs. It was Millie!

My heart felt as though it had been stabbed. I grabbed his hand urgently. “Finnley, what have you done to Millie? I want to see her!”

He shook me off in disgust. “Since she committed such an act, she’ll be punished in the study until she admits her mistake. Only then will she be allowed out.”

My heart remained uneasy. Hearing my daughter’s cries, my eyes began to sting. I looked up and pleaded, “You know Millie has been weak since childhood. She gets a fever whenever she cries. Please let her go!”

“Let her go?”

My anxiety and worry did not seem fake—it was genuine maternal concern. Finnley  looked at me, momentarily dazed. But then he remembered—who would have thought that beneath this maternal appearance was such a cruel heart?

He stared at me with sharp, cold eyes, then suddenly curled his lips into a cruel smile. “Fine. Then the mother pays the debt. Go kneel at the door for her. When Sabrina wakes up, you may get up.”

“Alright! Let Millie go and have Aunt Sandra coax her to sleep. I’ll kneel now!” I agreed without hesitation.

I raised my head and looked at the cold man in front of me, pressing my lips together. “But Finnley, Millie is definitely not the kind of child who would do such a thing. There must be a misunderstanding. I believe her.”

With that, I turned and walked to the entrance of the villa and knelt down.

Even while kneeling, my back remained straight. My body was thin, yet my posture was like an upright pine—firm and unyielding.

Through the window, Finnley saw my stubborn figure and felt a strange irritation rise within him. He summoned a servant. “Go tell Liliana that since she wants to atone, she has no right to stay warm in a down jacket!”

It was freezing outside, and anyone would feel cold without a coat.

The servant was startled but dared not disobey, and stepped out to deliver the message.

I looked up and took off my jacket. Soon, the cold seeped into my bones. My teeth began to tremble, my entire body felt as if it had fallen into ice, and my knees grew numb with pain.

In a daze, I felt something cold on my face. For a moment, I thought I was crying—but had my tears not already run dry?

I looked up blankly and realized snowflakes were drifting down from the sky.