Chapter 2

What caught us by surprise the most was that Dorothy would also choose to end her life that very day.

Brian was consumed by remorse, but he somehow convinced himself that Joy and I conspired to sabotage the seven-year pact he'd made with Dorothy. He even blamed us for her death, and later on harbored deep resentment toward Joy and me.

To punish us, he staged a car accident to feign his disability and tormented us for the next three years. He also brought home another woman who bore a striking resemblance to Dorothy, as our family doctor.

And now, because Aurora's face looked uncannily like Dorothy's, he believed her every word, even though the truth was spelled out before his eyes. He insisted that Joy was merely faking her illness to deceive him and was now demanding I kneel in the rain for ten hours.

I was consumed with rage.

But before I could even voice my indignation, Joy's right hand began to seize up. Her face turned purple, her teeth clenched tightly, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

I cried out in panic, "It's a febrile seizure! It can get deadly! We need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible!"

Brian also panicked. He was just about to call the ambulance when Aurora sighed and said, "You must be really close with your daughter, Mrs. Harrell. I can't believe that she would actually mimic those seizures she saw on TV just to get you out of your punishment.

"Whatever. We'll just pretend that I never saw through any of your lies."

By this point, Joy had already lost consciousness, but Brian didn't even bother to look at her. Aurora's manipulative words swayed him immediately, and he blindly trusted her twisted version of the truth instead.

He immediately put his phone away and cocked his eyebrow at me in extreme displeasure.

"I can't believe that you taught our daughter all those bad habits of yours. If you don't get up right now, Joy Harrell, then I'm locking you up in the basement!"

However, the only response he got was Joy's rapid, ragged breathing. He flew into a huge rage and told his bodyguards to drag her away and lock her up in the basement. He then dragged me out into the rain and forced me to my knees.

He warned the bodyguards sternly, "If she doesn't stay here kneeling for the next ten hours, then nobody is ever getting released, even if they're dead!"

"No!" I yelled. "Aurora is lying! Joy is really sick! She needs to be sent to the hospital immediately!"

I kept screaming in the rain until I was hoarse, but Brian just turned up the music in the living room until it drowned everything out.

The rain pelted on my face until I could barely even open my eyes. My knees throbbed, and the cold wind blew at me until I was a shivering mess. But none of these could compare to the searing pain I felt in my chest.

Brian had never once believed me. And now, he didn't even care about our daughter's life anymore.

I kept struggling against my constraints, but the bodyguards behind me held me firmly down, letting go only after the ten hours were up.

I dragged myself into the basement and stumbled down the stairs. I saw that Joy had been thrown onto the floor like a broken ragdoll, her body burning like a furnace and completely unconscious.

I let out a loud wail of dismay, but everyone in the house, including the house help, just looked at us with cold eyes.

I knew it was no use asking them for help, so I gathered Joy into my arms and ran out into the rain to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible.

We lived in a villa district far from the nearest hospital. Fortunately, we ran into a kind passerby who gave us a ride.

The hospital was very noisy, and Joy somehow drifted back into semi-consciousness. She clutched me with her tiny hand and said, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I was wrong. I'll never go to the amusement park again… I'll never eat cookies from the floor again…"

Her voice continued growing weaker, and my heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest.

A nurse then reminded me to go to the counter to settle the insurance and payment deposit, but I didn't have a penny to my name.

Back then, Brian had arranged with every employer I ever had to deposit all my wages and earnings straight into his account to ensure his punishments toward Joy and me were fully effective.

As the nurse repeatedly urged me to make the deposit so that Joy could be treated sooner, I had no choice but to take off my wedding ring.

It was a diamond ring that Brian had personally crafted for our wedding. I had once cherished it so dearly that I couldn't bear the thought of pawning it off for money, even when Joy and I were starving and scavenging through trash for food.

But now, I could no longer care less about it.

I didn't have much longer to live anyway, and my only wish now was for Joy to live a good life.

After I was done with the payment, I realized that only one nurse was coming to us to administer an IV drip to Joy. No doctors were to be seen anywhere.

When I anxiously pressed for an explanation, the nurse offered me an awkward smile and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, madam, but a VVIP's friend just got injured, and all of the doctors have been summoned there."