Chapter 3

In the dining room, Claire was forcing spoonfuls of steaming oatmeal into Anson's mouth. She pinched his arm whenever he refused, causing his pale, delicate arms to be covered in several red marks.

"Get away from him!" I rushed over and scooped Anson into my arms, feeling his hot skin the moment I touched him.

I pulled open his collar and saw that his back was already completely covered in a dense layer of red hives. "Who permitted you to feed him oatmeal? He's allergic to oats!"

Anson sobbed softly and burrowed deeper into my embrace, his face flushed with distress. "I-It hurts so much, Mommy…"

I lifted Anson into my arms and turned to leave, but Claire immediately stepped in front of the door and blocked my way. "Where do you think you're taking my son? Robert and I aren't allergic to oats, so how could he possibly be allergic to them? Did you feed him something you shouldn't have today, Winona?"

Ashton squirmed uncomfortably in my arms, his breathing starting to quicken.

I was so frantic that my voice was trembling. "Get out of the way! Anson needs to go to the hospital right now!"

Claire spread her arms to block my path, her eyes brimming with tears as if she were the victim in the situation. "I used to respect you and give you a pass before because you looked after my son for five years, Winona.

"I never expected you would deliberately ruin my son like this, teaching him to hate his parents and feeding him food he's allergic to. What are your intentions, Winona?"

Robert hurried into the dining room, catching everything Claire had just said. He looked completely furious as he barked, "Didn't I just tell you to stop causing trouble, Winona?

"You ought to know that taking over Jensen Group from Uncle Joshua is very important to me! I don't have time to deal with your tantrums right now, Winona!"

Anson, who was lying in my arms, suddenly began to cough violently, his tiny body racking with spasms.

I couldn't hold back anymore and yelled at them. "Your Uncle Joshua is my husband and Anson's father! Joshua will absolutely destroy you if you stay in my way and keep Anson from getting to the hospital!"

Claire acted all delicate, saying meekly, "You can say whatever you want to us, but please don't go around repeating that crazy talk to anyone else.

"Robert has been working so hard to get control of Jensen Group, so if Joshua ever finds out that you're using his reputation to lie to everyone, he might take his frustration out on Robert."

Robert's expression grew visibly more grim as he stepped forward to block my path. "I've obviously let you get away with way too much. If I don't teach you a lesson right now, you're just going to keep spouting whatever crazy nonsense that pops into your head, Winona!"

He yanked Anson out of my arms and roughly pushed him toward Claire. "You take the kid!"

Anson fell hard against the edge of the coffee table with a heavy thud. He slumped limply to the floor and remained entirely motionless.

"Anson!" I shrieked in absolute agony, throwing myself over him.

Claire rushed ahead to grab Anson, blocking his face to keep me from seeing his condition. She then leaned close to me and murmured in a tone audible exclusively to the two of us, "I've known for a very long time that Anson isn't my child, Winona."

She then completely ignored my terrified look and looked up at Robert, who was coming over to drag me away, and said, "You should have a proper talk with Winona, Robert. I'll take good care of the child."

I went completely cold as everything suddenly clicked—the reason Claire had harbored no compassion whatsoever for Anson from the outset was that she had long since known the truth.

Anson's face had already turned faintly blue. He still forced himself to speak out when he saw me being held back by Robert. "L-Let go of Mommy, you bad man!"

Robert, provoked by Anson's remarks, got up and kicked him, yelling, "You bastard! Who are you calling a bad man? I'm your father!"

Anson rolled across the ground a few times, spat out a mouthful of blood, and then stopped moving entirely.

Robert still wasn't satisfied, raising his foot as he intended to kick Anson again.

I threw myself forward to hold his leg, yelling, "Please stop kicking Anson!"

Robert kicked me away in annoyance. "Get out of my way! I'm going to teach him a lesson today! I'll let him know who his real father is!"

He was just about to kick Anson when the door slammed open from the outside with a loud bang, and a chilling voice rang out. "I'm his real father!"