Chapter 2

Clara looked up at Luther, her expression calm. "Not busy keeping your little mistress company anymore?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, Monica, who had just rushed over, turned pale with panic. She pulled Clara aside and dropped to her knees.

"Clara, it's all my fault. I'm the one to blame. Please don't hold it against Luther. I was the one who seduced him."

Luther frowned and shoved Clara aside, pulling Monica into his arms. "Don't take this out on her. Monica stayed away from me for three whole years just so you wouldn't have to suffer. She could only catch glimpses of her own son through your social media posts. She's had it hard enough already."

He had already decided Clara was deliberately making things difficult for Monica, even before she could say a word. She swung her hand and slapped him across the face.

"She can't see her son because she's a mistress who gave birth to a bastard! What about me, then? What about my child and me?"

Monica burst into even louder sobs. "Don't say that about Sean. He's just a child. If anyone's at fault, it's me. Don't take it out on them."

"Of course, I'm taking it out on you!" Clara snapped, grabbing Monica by the collar. "You were my only friend! How could you do this to me?"

Monica had always bought the same things as Clara. She used to insist that they were best friends, so everything they ate, wore, or used had to be the same.

Back then, Clara took it as a sign of how close they were. She never imagined her best friend would want the same things, even when it came to her husband and child.

"Enough! I was the one who fell in love with Monica!" Luther confessed. "I bought the house across the street so I could see her every day. Every time you went for a prenatal checkup, I told you I was away on business. The truth was, Monica was all alone in another city, and I wanted to keep her company.

"My body and my fortune are yours, Clara, but my love belongs to her."

Clara bit her lip as tears streamed down her face. "I don't want any of it, Luther. Since the two of you can't get enough of each other, why don't you just spend the rest of your lives together?"

Monica pushed Luther aside and grabbed Clara's hand tightly. "Clara, I never meant to break you two up. Sean is sick, and I only came back to see him. Can you please forgive me?"

Monica's grip hurt. Clara was just about to pull away when Monica suddenly fell, cracking her head against the floor. Blood immediately trickled from the wound.

Clara was stunned, knowing she hadn't even used that much force.

"How could you push her, Clara?"

Luther ran over and shoved Clara aside with all his strength. She lost her footing and tumbled down the stairs, slamming her head against the glass railing in the hallway.

He was too busy carrying Monica away to get her wound stitched up instead of checking on Clara. Shards of broken glass sliced into Clara's hands, blood trickling out from the wound..

Her vision faded in and out as darkness crept in around the edges. She lifted her head and found Sean standing on the stairs, watching her.

"Call… for help…"

Sean stared at her silently before shaking his head. "I'm not your son. I'm Ms. Spencer's son! You stole Mommy's place! Why should I save you?"

Clara watched his little figure run away. Darkness swallowed her whole, and she lost consciousness.

She couldn't remember how she had been rescued. She vaguely remembered Luther holding her hand tightly as he gently wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Clara, why do you always refuse to back down? You were like this then, and you're like this now."

Then came a series of tender kisses from him, each one landing on the top of her head. She tried to struggle, but she couldn't open her eyes, no matter how hard she tried.

By the time Clara finally came to, she was back at the villa.

Her throat was painfully dry. She forced herself to her feet and made her way to the table for a glass of water. Meanwhile, her phone vibrated faintly on the tabletop.

She knew what that meant. The security camera on her robot vacuum had detected an error in its cleaning route. Something must've blocked its path.

Clara opened the live feed, only to find Monica's bra and Luther's suit jacket lying right there on the screen. The camera was shaking. She knew exactly what was happening behind it.

Before she could close the feed, their conversation left her blood running cold.

"Luther, if only I were younger, my bone marrow donation could've helped Sean live longer. I heard that younger donors are more likely to be a good match. If only there were a child around Sean's age who could donate to him…"

His deep voice soon followed. "I never intended to put your health at risk in the first place. That's why I had Niamh's sample taken and tested against Sean's. I'll pick her up in a bit."

Niamh…

That was the name Clara had chosen for her daughter when she was pregnant. She had always planned to name her that if she had a girl.

How could Luther be so heartless? Was he going to sacrifice their daughter just because of what Monica said?

The surveillance footage was already three hours old.

With no time to lose, Clara sent another message to that person. Before she could even finish typing, a new message from them popped up.

"My people just arrived at the orphanage, but Luther has already taken your daughter to the hospital."