Chapter 4

Arnold and Francine were just as shocked by Sophia's question.

"Soph! Why would Josh get that kind of illness? Has the doctor confirmed the diagnosis yet? Are you sure it's not some kind of mistake?" Francine peppered her with questions.

Although Sophia's heart was aching, she kept her composure and said, "I brought Josh here to run more tests. Once the bone marrow biopsy is complete, we'll know if the preliminary diagnosis was a mistake."

"What? H-How could this be!" Arnold exclaimed as he wrung his hands.

Phillip was frozen for quite a while, his expression pained and fraught with a mix of emotions. Eyeing Sophia, he couldn't resist blaming her. "Did you feed him something he shouldn't have eaten? He has always been such a healthy boy. Why would he suddenly—"

Before he could finish, his phone started ringing.

Sophia saw him reaching for his phone. She calmly asked, "Your beloved Roxy's looking for you again, isn't she? Since she needs you so much, we should hurry up and get the divorce settled. Then, you can spend all of your time and attention on her."

Phillip rejected the call, but after observing his reaction, Francine started believing what Sophia had said earlier.

She became quite agitated. "Phillip, are you really going to get a divorce? All those women outside are just after your money! You mustn't fall for their tricks."

After cautioning Phillip, she turned to Sophia and said, "It's normal for men to get tempted sometimes, Soph. All you have to do is appease Phillip. I'm sure he'll come back to you."

Sophia stared at Francine. As she listened to the "heartfelt advice" from her own mother, she suddenly felt as though even her closest family members were alarmingly unfamiliar to her.

Unable to keep her sadness under wraps, she blurted out, "Mom, does this mean Dad has done the same thing to you, but you managed to appease him and win him back?"

Immediately, she was slapped in the face.

Arnold had no qualms about hitting Sophia at all. "You disrespectful girl! How dare a daughter speak like that to her parents?"

Alarmed by what he saw, Joshua scrambled out of bed. "Grandpa! No hitting Mommy!"

He didn't even bother putting his shoes in before he dashed over to Sophia and stretched his arms out protectively in front of her, even though he had to crane his neck to look up at the adults in front of him.

Sophia, who'd been holding her emotions back this whole time, finally lost control over them when she saw Joshua coming to her defense. She crouched down and hugged him, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

"Don't cry, Mommy. I'll blow on it for you. It won't hurt anymore."

Cupping Sophia's face, Joshua kept blowing on her reddened cheek. Her heart melted at how thoughtful he was being.

After consoling Sophia, Joshua turned to Phillip and glared at him, his tone surprisingly mature for his age as he questioned, "What kind of a husband are you? Why didn't you say anything when Mommy got hit?"

Alas, Phillip was still so shocked by the possibility of Joshua having leukemia that he didn't react at all.

He clung to the mindset of having a child to carry on the family name and to support him in his old age. That was why he was so adamant about taking Joshua in the divorce, even though Joshua was conceived with the help of a sperm donor. After all, in the eyes of the law, Joshua was still his son.

But if this son that he wanted was gravely ill and might never recover from the illness, what was the use of claiming him?

"Don't talk to your father like that, Josh! That's very rude of you," Francine scolded, her expression stern.

However, Joshua simply eyed her for two seconds before declaring, "Hmph! I hate all of you! I don't want you to come and see me anymore! You can go now!"

Sophia picked Joshua up. Although her eyes were still red, she'd regained her composure.

"Didn't you hear Josh? He wants you guys to leave," she said, her voice hoarse.

Finally snapping back to his senses, Phillip stared at Sophia and Joshua. After a pause, he asked, "You'd still want him, even if he does have that condition?"

Sophia shot him a murderous glare and didn't even bother dignifying that question with an answer. She simply snarled, "Let's just meet in court, Phillip. I've changed my mind. If you want a divorce, so be it, but you're going to have to walk from our marriage with nothing to your name!"

How could he even ask such a heartless question?

Regardless of whether Joshua was sick, he was still the child she gave birth to, her most precious baby. Why would she ever not want him?

Amid the tension, Phillip's phone started ringing again. This time, after glancing at the caller's name, he took the call.

"Yes, Roxy?" he said into the phone, his expression changing completely as he walked away without hesitation.

"I told you that you shouldn't have spent all those years studying!" Arnold glowered at Sophia before running after Phillip. "Oh, Phillip…"

Francine also started chewing Sophia out again. "Look at how you've taught your son. He has no manners at all! Go on, then. Be stubborn and willful. Your perfectly happy family was ruined because of you!"

Once they were gone, Sophia let out a relieved exhale. Relaxing a little, she continued to clutch Joshua tightly. He was her only family now…

"Don't be sad, Mommy. I'll always be with you."

"Yeah, and I'll always be with you, too, Josh…"

Sophia felt a rush of gladness as she kissed Joshua on the cheek and made a silent promise. It didn't matter what kind of sickness he had, how much it would cost to treat him, or the lengths she had to go to help him get better. She would do everything in her power to save him.

After coaxing Joshua to sleep, she grabbed her phone and started looking up the divorce procedure. She wanted to prepare herself first.

When she heard a knock on the door, she looked up and saw Christa.

"Is Josh asleep? I'm on my lunch break, so I came over to check on you two," Christa stuck her head in and whispered.

Not wanting to wake Joshua, Sophia got up and signaled for them to talk outside.

After she'd stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind her, Christa finally asked her, "Why isn't Phillip here? Isn't he worried about Joshua being sick? From the way he usually acts, I thought he liked Joshua very much."

Sophia had gone through too much since yesterday, and she hadn't had time to tell Christa the whole story yet. However, she didn't plan on hiding the situation. After all, she would need Christa's help with Joshua's medical treatment, too.

Thus, after gathering her thoughts, she filled Christa in on everything that occurred yesterday and today.

Christa didn't even hear the whole story before she blew her top. "What the hell? I can't believe how much of a bastard Phillip is! How could he have the nerve to do this to you? He was the one who pursued you in the first place, but now, he's…

"And those parents of yours! You know, I'm starting to doubt that you're their biological daughter. What kind of parents would belittle their own daughter and spend all their time sucking up to their son-in-law instead?"

Sophia smiled faintly. Only she knew just how bitter this situation made her feel.

After venting her anger, Christa quickly calmed down and asked, "So, what do you plan to do now?"

"The priority now is to get a proper diagnosis for Joshua. If he really has leukemia, I'll do whatever I can to ensure he gets the treatment he needs. My second priority is to start looking for a job. Otherwise, I'll be at a disadvantage in the custody fight. And finally, I need to find myself a divorce lawyer," Sophia stated.

Christa nodded along, saying, "Now that's the Sophia I know. She's not the type who lets messy situations—and trashy guys—keep her down. She always has a clear idea of what she wants and what she needs to do."

Smiling ruefully, Sophia said, "Alas, I'm just a product of my circumstances."

She would love to fall apart at the seams and give up on everything, but she couldn't afford to waste any time, not when Joshua's life was at stake. Everyone said that motherhood made women stronger, and this was something she fully understood now.

No matter how much her heart ached and how messy her thoughts were, she had to pull herself together and find the right way forward, clearing all obstacles in her path.

Christa fell silent. All of a sudden, she got her phone out. "Oh, there was something I wanted to tell you. I didn't want to do it when I thought Phillip was around, fearing that it might trigger him. But I guess it doesn't matter anymore."

"What is it?" Sophia asked curiously.

"Take a look at this." Christa pulled up a news article and showed it to her. "It was released this morning. Look at the photo of the firefighter who passed away on duty. Don't you think he looks quite familiar?"

While passing her phone to Sophia, Christa paid close attention to Sophia's reaction.

Frowning, Sophia glanced at the news before freezing in shock. According to the article, a firefighter had died in the line of duty. It was a tragedy, but what stunned her was the fact that his features looked unusually familiar to her.

"His eyes… They look so much like Josh's!" Sophia exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Right? It's uncanny, really. And if you take an even closer look, you'll find that their jaws are similar, too," Christa said as she pointed at the photo.

Sighing, she continued, "It's such a shame, really. He wasn't even 26 years old yet, and he looked like such a decent man, too. He died to save his teammate, you know. It's heartbreaking!"

Sophia stared at Lucas' photo, her heart heavy with sadness as well.

"If that firefighter had donated his sperm before, do you think he might actually be Josh's biological father?" Christa wondered.

Sophia shook her head. "It can't be such a coincidence. There are billions of people in this world, and plenty of people look alike."

"That's true…"

After expressing their melancholy over Lucas' death, the two started talking about Sophia's divorce again.

Christa said, "I'll talk to my Uncle Bertram later and ask him to help recommend a decent divorce lawyer to you."

Christa's uncle, Bertram Hudson, was a law professor at a top university and was well-connected in the legal circle.

"Alright. Thank you, Christa. I'm so glad I have you to help me."

"You don't need to be so courteous with me," Christa chided.

That afternoon, Joshua had his bone marrow biopsy. Sophia had just accompanied him back to his hospital room when Christa called.

"Soph, the best lawyer in Riverney is a man named Marcus Carter. He mainly handles criminal cases, but he's also the best at divorces. However, Uncle Bertram said he only takes on wealthy clients, those with publicly listed companies and at least 500 million dollars in assets. So…"

Christa didn't have to finish speaking for Sophia to catch her drift.

Phillip's tech company had been doing quite well in the last few years, but it wasn't publicly listed yet. Their combined marital assets didn't reach 500 million dollars either.

"I see. It's fine. I'll find some other lawyer," Sophia assured Christa.

"Wait! Although Mr. Carter is extremely selective with his clients, it's not a complete lost cause yet. After much pleading on my part, Uncle Bertram agreed to put in a word for you. Let's just wait to hear the news first."

It had to be said that Christa was certainly a great friend. Sophia couldn't be more thankful. "Alright. No matter what happens, thank you so much, Christa. Help me thank your uncle, too."

…

The next morning, Marcus returned to the hospital to visit Theresa. She broke down in grief once more after hearing that he'd be collecting Lucas' belongings from the fire station today.

After consoling Theresa and giving his instructions to Theresa's caregiver, Denise Kramer, Marcus got up and left, his sunglasses hiding the fact that his eyes were red as well.

Royce had been waiting in the corridor. When he saw Marcus, he walked up to Marcus and said softly, "Mr. Carter, Professor Hudson got in touch. He wants you to take on a divorce case."

Being in a bad mood, Marcus said curtly, "I'm not going to discuss work today. Tell him I'll get back to him after two days."

"Alright."

As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Royce carefully typed out a response to Bertram.

After a while, the elevator reached their floor, and the two men stepped in. The doors were just about to close when someone rushed over, calling out, "Hold the doors!"

Royce deftly stuck his hand out to keep the doors open.

Sophia hurried into the elevator before instinctively holding her breath when she saw two tall and stern-looking figures.

"Thank you," she said with a polite nod to Royce, who'd held the doors for her.

Having recognized her to be the mother of the boy who'd gotten lost yesterday, he smiled back at her.

The elevator descended in silence.

Sophia glanced at the silent Marcus, noting that he gave off such a cold and domineering presence. The fact that he was wearing a pair of sunglasses indoors also made him feel even more unapproachable.

She held her breath and stared at the number displayed on the panel, eagerly waiting for it to go down to one.

All of a sudden, a phone started ringing, breaking the silence.

Sophia quickly pulled out her phone. "Hey, Chrissy."

"Soph, Uncle Bertram says you'll need to wait a couple of days. The lawyer is dealing with some family matters right now, so he's on a break."