Chapter 3

Liana's POV

For a moment, the room fell dead silent.

Zane's expression darkened, his features tightening as he shot to his feet.

"What are you going to do?"

Even now, his first thought wasn't our divorce—it was what I might do to Vanessa.

When he met my scornful gaze, he seemed to realize how out of line he was being. A conflicted look flashed across his face, and he let out a heavy sigh. "Lia, stop making a scene. Vanessa is carrying my child. I won't let anyone hurt her."

His expression hardened. "If you really can't stand having her around, I'll send her overseas for the rest of her pregnancy. But a divorce? Over my dead body!"

He slammed the door shut behind him.

Barely two hours later, the paperwork for sending Vanessa away started coming through on my phone, one document after another.

I stared at the long string of messages from Zane, but I didn't reply. Instead, I continued gathering evidence and forwarding it to my lawyer.

My lawyer had just finished drafting the divorce agreement and petition and sent them over. Before I even had a chance to open them, my hospital room door burst open.

Vanessa charged in, her face twisted with rage. She marched up and slapped me hard across the cheek.

"You slut! You're the one who got Zane to send me away, aren't you? You think getting rid of me will make him yours? Fine. If you want to play dirty, nobody gets off easy!"

The madness burning in her eyes sent a cold wave of dread through me, overwhelming the sting on my cheek.

A moment later, Martha Clark, Mom's caregiver, rushed in with panic written all over her face.

"Ms. Shelton, a group of people just burst into your mom's room. They took her off her life support and said they were moving her somewhere else for treatment. I couldn't stop them. They've already wheeled her out!"

Before Martha could even finish speaking, Vanessa smugly held up her phone.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I still hold the hospital shares Zane gave me years ago. That old hag has been occupying a VIP suite all these years, wasting hospital resources. As a shareholder, I couldn't just stand by and watch, so I had her moved to where she truly belongs."

Her grin widened with every single word. Then, she pulled up a photo and shoved it right in my face.

In the photo, Mom lay alone in the morgue, looking deathly pale.

Without a ventilator, her chest rose and fell so faintly that it was barely visible.

"That old hag is as good as dead anyway. So, what do you think of the place I picked—Ah!"

Before Vanessa could finish speaking, I ripped the IV needle from the back of my hand, grabbed the glass from the nightstand, and hurled it at her, my eyes burning with rage.

By the time I came to my senses, I was already pressing a fruit knife against her throat.

"If anything happens to my mom, I swear you'll pay with your life!"

With that, I grabbed my crutch and turned to go find Mom.

I had barely turned around when Vanessa seized my hand and shoved the knife deep into her own stomach.

"Stop!"

The metallic smell of blood hit me at the exact moment Zane's furious roar echoed from the doorway.

Before I could process what was happening, I was violently shoved aside.

Zane scooped Vanessa into his arms, his eyes bloodshot with rage and panic. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me? Why did you run off?"

He was so frantic that his hands were shaking.

Vanessa just laughed through her tears, stubborn and defiant. "You keep saying I owe her, right? Fine! Then I'll pay her back with my life and our baby's too!"

With that, she passed out.

I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my stomach where it had slammed against the foot of the bed. A sharp pain tore through my belly.

"Zane, my baby—"

Before I could call for help, Zane picked Vanessa up in his arms and rushed out to find a doctor, without so much as a backward glance.

Martha hurried over to help me up, on the verge of tears. "Ms. Shelton, without a ventilator, I'm afraid your mom won't last long in the morgue!"

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to push through the agonizing pain.

Then I grabbed my crutch and stumbled out toward the morgue as fast as I could.