My Territory

"Remove your dirty hands from my son, Mr. Navarro."

My voice split the silence of the corridor like a blade of ice.

Rafael, who had just leaned forward, his large hand trembling violently in the air as he prepared to touch Leo’s shoulder, froze instantly.

I stepped out from behind the shadow of the pillar.

The heels of my high shoes rang sharply, striking the marble floor with a dominant rhythm.

With one gentle pull, I drew Leo behind my legs.

Hiding him from the wild and hungry gaze of my ex-husband.

Rafael slowly looked up. The face that was usually as cold as a statue of a Greek god now looked utterly disordered.

His gaze moved from me, then returned to Leo who was peeking from behind my legs.

"Doctor S..." Rafael’s baritone voice sounded hoarse. All of his arrogance had vanished. "This child... he..."

Rafael swallowed with difficulty. His Adam’s apple moved up and down.

"His eyes..." he murmured again, as if he had lost his vocabulary.

I stood with perfect posture.

Chin raised, back straight.

I looked at the man who once could make me cry with just a single shout with a condescending gaze.

"Is there something wrong with my son's eyes, Mr. Navarro?" I asked expressionlessly.

"Who..." Rafael took one step forward, his eyes radiating tremendous shock. "Who is the father of this child?"

I sneered faintly.

"His father?" I tilted my head slightly. "He’s a bastard who has long since died rotting in hell."

"I was the one who sent him there with my own hands."

Rafael’s step halted.

The giant man’s body staggered slightly backward.

The movement was faint and subtle, but it was enough to be recorded by my eyes.

I could clearly see how his face turned pale. His eyes blinked rapidly.

He looked like someone who had just been struck hard with an iron beam, yet did not know where the blow had come from.

His subconscious recognized the pain from my curse, even though his logic refused it.

His reaction was far too big for a child he had just met for the first time.

I didn't know, perhaps it was the bond between father and child.

After all, blood is thicker than water.

I could never deny that fact.

"And if his eyes happen to resemble yours..." I continued in a joking tone. "Just consider it a very bad joke from nature."

"I'm also worried that your hot-tempered wife will think my son is your illegitimate child."

Rafael opened his mouth to reply, but a shrill voice shattered the tension between us first.

"Rafael! Why are you taking so long?"

The sound of harsh footsteps approached.

Chloe turned the corner at the end of the corridor.

Her face was flushed red, her makeup slightly smeared by tears, and her expression was filled with obsessive panic.

The moment she saw me standing in front of Rafael, Chloe’s eyes instantly blazed.

The woman lunged forward.

She raised her hand, pointing directly at my face with her bright red polished nails.

"You!" Chloe screamed rudely. "How dare you wander around here so calmly? My son is suffering in the ICU and you're chatting leisurely?"

"Are you trying to seduce my husband?"

I stared at Chloe’s trembling index finger in front of my nose.

"Lower your finger, Mrs. Navarro," I said in a very quiet tone. "Or I will break it right now."

Chloe gasped.

She stepped back half a step unconsciously, but I could see that her pride refused to lose.

"You deliberately delayed Danis’s treatment, didn’t you?" she accused hysterically.

"You fraud! You robbed millions of dollars from my husband and now you're running from responsibility!"

"And someone like you, I know you're just a scammer! You must only want to seduce my husband!"

"Chloe, shut your mouth. This is a hospital."

That wasn't my voice. It was Rafael's voice.

The man looked at Chloe sharply.

His mind was clearly still deeply disturbed by Leo's presence, and Chloe's whining must have exhausted his patience.

Chloe looked at Rafael in disbelief. "Rafael! You're defending her? This woman clearly neglected our son!"

"And she’s openly seducing you!"

"Oh! Are you also interested in this bitch doctor?"

"You two really are a perfect couple," I cut in with a soft laugh.

I smiled as if the sentence I had just heard was a joke. "Equally clueless and extremely noisy."

I lowered my head, looking at Leo who had been watching this drama with a bored expression.

"Leo, cover your ears, dear. The sound of barking dogs is not good for your growth," I said gently.

Leo nodded obediently and covered both ears with his small palms.

Chloe's face turned purple with anger. "Dogs? How dare you call me a dog! You damn bitch—"

Chloe stepped forward, ready to slap my face.

The exact same slap she gave me on the stormy night five years ago.

But this time, I was not the weak Serena.

I was no longer the little girl who would stay silent when oppressed.

Before her hand could touch my cheek, I caught her wrist in the air.

I gripped it so tightly that Chloe screamed in pain.

"Let me go!" she shrieked, struggling.

I jerked her hand downward roughly, making her body stagger backward until she crashed into Rafael’s chest.

"How dare you try to touch me in my territory," I hissed.

My eyes sharpened behind my glasses.

Without wasting time, I reached into the pocket of my white coat.

Taking out the hospital communication device.

"Security. To the main corridor of the VIP wing. Now."

It only took ten seconds before four large security guards came running.

"Yes, Doctor S!"

I pointed at Chloe with my chin.

"Drag this woman out of the VIP area. She is threatening a doctor and disturbing the hospital’s peace. If she resists, throw her onto the main road."

Chloe’s eyes widened, staring at me as if I were a monster. "You can't do this to me!"

"I pay for this hospital! Rafael, do something!"

"Buy this hospital and make her kneel!"

Rafael looked at me with a hardened jaw. The muscles in his neck tensed. "Doctor S, you're going too far."

"She is the patient's mother."

"And I am the doctor," I replied firmly, cutting off his arrogance.

"You can take that 50 million dollars back, and you can take your dying son out of this building right now."

"Losing that small amount of money will not bankrupt me either."

Rafael fell silent. He was completely cornered.

The life of his only heir was in my hands.

I stepped closer to Rafael.

So close that I could see the reflection of my cold face in his emerald eyes.

I sneered faintly.

"Remember this well, Mr. Navarro," I whispered in front of his face.

"In this hospital, your money has no power. Your status is useless. Here, I am the one in charge.."

I stepped back slowly, taking Leo's small hand.

"Drag her out," I ordered the guards, ignoring Chloe’s hysterical screams as she began to be forcibly pulled away.

I turned around, held my son's hand, and walked away leaving that chaos behind without looking back again.