Chapter 3

Avery wailed at the top of his lungs from the rough treatment. His cries felt like a knife gouging out my heart.

I lunged forward to snatch him back, but Craig kicked me squarely in the abdomen. My freshly stitched wound tore open instantly, and a wave of searing pain shot through my entire body. I curled into a fetal position on the floor, unable to make a sound.

Craig held Avery in his arms and looked down at me coldly. His expression was utterly livid as he demanded, "Have you been seeing someone behind my back, Althea? Whose bastard child is this?"

Drenched in cold sweat from the excruciating pain, I grit my teeth and refused to answer him.

My silence infuriated him. He scoffed before shifting his gaze toward Lyle, who had fainted on the floor. "So, you're not going to answer me, huh? In that case, you must've had an affair with this caregiver!"

He handed Avery to Verna and gestured to his bodyguards. "Castrate him."

"Don't you dare!" I tried to push myself off the ground, only to be pinned down by another bodyguard.

Fists and boots rained down on Lyle, specifically targeting his groin. Even though he had already been knocked unconscious, his body still convulsed reflexively, and the blood from the corner of his mouth pooled all over the floor.

"Stop! What you're doing is illegal!" I bellowed.

Craig calmly adjusted his cuffs, his tone dripping with mockery. "You cheated on me, gave birth to another man's child, and you dare lecture me about the law? Believe me, I can make sure you leave this marriage with nothing but the clothes on your back!"

Clutching Avery, Verna wept piteously. "Althea, please, just give me my baby back! We won't press charges, as long as our baby is safe…"

I clenched my jaw, refusing to say a word.

Before long, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor. Mom burst through the door, and all the color drained from her face at the sight of the bloody mess in the room.

"Althea! What on earth is going on here?" She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me, her voice trembling.

Craig shot a look at one of his bodyguards, and the man kicked the back of Mom's knee.

Caught completely off guard, she fell to her knees on the ground with a heavy thud. "Craig! What do you think you're doing?" she shrieked.

Craig's gaze was as cold as shards of ice. "I'm going to ask you one last time, Althea. Where's my child? If you don't speak up, your mother will be the next to be crippled!"

Mom's eyes widened in terror, and she started shaking like a leaf. "Have you lost your mind? I dare you to touch a single hair on my head! My brother, Winston—"

Before she could finish, a bodyguard slapped her hard across the face.