Chapter 2

"Don't slander me! I didn't kill anyone! All I asked for was a kidney—he can survive without it!" Queenie said, shrugging it off.

She completely ignored the fact that my wound had been plagued by recurring infections ever since I donated a kidney to Zayn Chance.

Once she and Zayn left the country, my infection worsened. Countless injections and endless medications hadn't worked.

It wasn't until shortly before I died that I overheard the doctor and found out Zayn had bribed him. He had given me substandard medicine and deliberately sabotaged my treatment, weakening my body until it could no longer sustain itself. That was how I died.

Of course, Queenie didn't know any of that.

After Zayn's successful surgery, she took him on a lavish tour of the world, punishing me for my supposed selfishness.

Now, full of rage, she glared at Mom. "I suggest you call Steven immediately. Or don't blame me if I drag him to court for bigamy."

My mother, her hair white with age, choked back sobs. "I'm not lying! Steve has been dead for five years."

Queenie clicked her tongue. "You really take me for a fool! He's hiding from me out of guilt, and you expect me to believe he's dead? A selfish man like him? He wouldn't die that easily."

I would give anything to be alive. I wanted to watch Sean grow up and see more of this world, but fate never gave me that choice.

Before my mother could speak, Queenie cut her off.

Her cold gaze fell on my mother's broken leg—the one she had shattered years ago—and she threatened, "If you want the other leg intact, call Steven immediately. The moment he comes, I want him to get on his knees, apologize, and promise me this bastard child never shows up in front of me again.

"By then, if I'm in the mood, I might let you all off."

My mother shrank back in fear.

Back then, Queenie had forced me to donate a kidney by threatening my family. She broke my mother's leg, blinded my father in one eye, and drove us to the brink. In the end, I had no choice but to agree.

Even after the surgery, she didn't stop. She destroyed their careers, leaving them with massive debts.

My heart ached at the memory.

Mom sobbed and collapsed to her knees, clutching Queenie's leg. "Steve really is dead! After the transplant, his health deteriorated rapidly. Less than two months later, he was gone. You can check—"

Before she could finish, Queenie kicked her down. "Stop lying! The surgery was a success! Steven's body wouldn't have failed. And if he really were dead, why would this bastard child exist?"

She glared at Sean, whose face bore some resemblance to mine, her gaze dark and terrifying.

Sean was shaking all over, yet he still shielded my mother with his small body. "Bad woman! Don't bully my grandma! She's telling the truth! My dad is really dead!"

Queenie's disgust boiled over. She pinched Sean's cheek violently and roared, "You little liar! How dare you come near me? Do you want to die?"

Blood quickly appeared when she pinched Sean's face. I cried out in anguish, begging her to release him.

Mom's eyes were wet with tears. "Sean is your son! Don't hurt him!"

"You're rather good at making stories, aren't you? Do you think I'd believe you?" Queenie sneered.

Before she could say more, her phone rang. It was Zayn.

Queenie's gaze softened, and she answered the phone.

No one knew what Zayn said, but Queenie's voice turned gentle at once. "Don't worry, Zayn. I'll be back soon to help you look. We'll find Pudding."

Seeing her tenderness toward Zayn and her cold cruelty toward my family twisted my heart.

Zayn had always been her top priority, no matter the cost. She had pushed me onto that operating table, taking a kidney from my healthy body to save him. Even now, she still refused to leave me in peace.

After Queenie hung up the phone, her icy demeanor returned. She pointed at my mother and warned, "You have two days. If I don't see Steven by then, you'll deal with the consequences!"