Chapter 4

But just when I was about to ask for a divorce, Nathan was diagnosed with acute leukemia.

The doctor said the best option was a bone marrow transplant.

I got tested for a match immediately.

I wasn’t one.

Just when I was drowning in despair, Wendy turned out to be a match.

In that moment, she became my last hope.

For Nathan’s sake, I had no choice but to give up the idea of divorce.

She donated bone marrow twice for him, and both procedures went well.

Nathan’s condition gradually stabilized.

Then one day, Blake showed up with a little boy who had just turned one.

That was when I finally understood why Wendy had spent more than half a year “on business” at an overseas branch last year.

She had gone there to give birth to his child.

Blake even brought in some so-called spiritual advisor, who declared that the boy was the Calloway family’s once-in-a-century lucky star—the chosen child destined to bring the family prosperity for generations.

The entire Calloway household treated that boy like a prince.

Blake said the room he was staying in had a negative aura and decided he wanted my master bedroom instead.

Wendy let him force me out and into a storage room.

Then he said Nathan’s room had the best natural light and should be turned into a playroom for his son.

I stood there and watched the staff throw away Nathan’s favorite toys and picture books one by one.

That was the moment I finally snapped.

I rushed forward and tried to stop them.

“You are not touching my son’s things!”

The security team in that house had all been hired by Wendy to protect Blake and his child.

At Blake’s command, they pinned me to the floor.

He sat on the couch, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Ethan Sullivan, if you want me to leave your son’s room alone, fine.

“Lick my shoes clean, and I’ll tell them to stop.”

“In your dreams.” I glared at him and spat the words out. “You piece of trash. You’re going to rot in hell.”

The second I said it, something slammed into my head.

A picture frame.

Then a hard slap cracked across my face.

My cheek swelled instantly.

Wendy stood over me, eyes cold and empty.

“Have you lost your mind, Ethan Sullivan?

“Blake’s son is the treasure of the Calloway family. How dare you talk about them like that?”

There was a time when even a minor cold would make her worry herself sick over me.

Now she was hitting me for another man.

After that, life for Nathan and me in the Calloway house became worse by the day.

At Blake’s instruction, the housekeeper served us spoiled food.

The storage room we were forced to sleep in was tiny and dark, and in winter there wasn’t even any heat.

One night, Nathan shook me awake in the middle of the night, crying softly.

“Daddy... I’m hungry.”

I went to the kitchen to see if I could find him something to eat.

Blake caught me.

He started shouting and accused me of stealing from the house.

That night, it was ten degrees below freezing.

Wendy ordered the guards to lock me outside in the garden.

They left me there all night.

I was so cold my skin turned purple.

Over and over, I told myself the same thing:

Just hold on a little longer. Once Nathan gets better, everything will be okay.

The doctor said that after one more transplant—a third bone marrow procedure—Nathan had a real chance to recover.

For that hope alone, I gritted my teeth and endured every humiliation they put me through.

But I never imagined Wendy would hit me with something even crueler.

The day before the surgery, I noticed the household staff packing suitcases.

A terrible feeling rose in my chest, and I went straight to Wendy.

Her tone was as casual as if she were commenting on the weather.

“Blake wants his son in preschool in Silverpine. And the company needs to expand overseas anyway, so we’re moving there tomorrow.”

A chill shot down my spine.

“What about Nathan’s surgery tomorrow?”

She answered lightly, “I already found a suitable donor for Nathan. The surgery will go ahead as planned.

“Don’t worry. Once I’ve settled the overseas business, I’ll come back and spend time with you both.”

I immediately called Nathan’s attending physician to confirm it.

But the doctor told me the surgery had been canceled.

And there was no new donor.

I lost it.

I demanded, “Why did you cancel the surgery? Are you trying to kill Nathan?”

She only looked more irritated.

“Ethan Sullivan, can you stop being so dramatic?

“You just don’t want us to leave, so now you’re making trouble on purpose.”

To keep me from interfering with her moving abroad with Blake, she had Nathan and me locked in the basement wine cellar...

And right then, my phone ringing dragged me out of the memory.

I thought it was my daughter calling so I could tell her a bedtime story, so I answered right away.

But the voice on the other end was Wendy’s.

Shaking. Unsteady.

“Ethan... they’re saying Nathan is gone...”