Chapter 4

The next morning, I woke up under the nurse's uneasy gaze.

A crowd carrying smartphones packed the space outside the ward. Several livestreamers crowded the hallway, filming Aria and me.

"That's him! He took five million dollars in child support, then brought his daughter back to play the victim!"

"He blew five million dollars in five years, and now he's using a sick child to scam his billionaire ex-wife!"

"I heard he went to pawn his wedding ring yesterday, using past feelings to guilt Ms. Saunders into giving him more!"

It wasn't until I checked my phone that I realized Kamryn had posted a long statement in the early hours of the morning.

He had publicly leaked the five-million-dollar wire transfer record, overseas property holdings, luxury purchase receipts, and the video of me selling my wedding ring at the pawnshop.

The video conveniently edited out the part where Leyla bought the ring back for ten thousand dollars while refusing to give me a single cent.

The footage showed only me inquiring about the price at the counter, followed by Leyla stepping into the pawnshop with a dark expression.

At the end of his post, Kamryn wrote, "Ms. Saunders is willing to cover all reasonable medical expenses for the child, but Mr. Kirk refuses supervision, demanding cash instead. He even leveraged a wedding ring and a sick child to stage a guilt trip."

The comment section was completely vicious.

Some slammed me for being a gold-digging ex-husband using a child to scam a rich ex-wife.

Some claimed Aria was an accomplice.

Others dug up the hospital and room numbers, bringing live-streaming gear to gawk at the "billionaire's deadbeat ex-husband".

I asked the nurse to call security, but they couldn't stop the mob.

Someone shoved a lens straight into Aria's face. "Hey kid, did your dad tell you to fake being sick so you could ask your mom for money?"

Terrified, Aria shrank into my chest.

I shielded her face and shouted harshly, "She's only five! Get that phone out of her face!"

Instead of backing off, the person pressed closer, filming us. "What are you so afraid of? You're willing to use your child to play the victim but not let her know the truth?"

"Daddy isn't lying!"

Aria suddenly squirmed out of my arms and spread her arms wide to stand in front of me.

"Daddy isn't a liar! He only eats one meal a day so he can buy my medicine!"

The crowd went quiet for two seconds, but someone soon held up a phone again.

"Look at that. The five-year-old's been brainwashed."

Trembling with rage, Aria suddenly gasped as blood gushed from her nose. Her tiny body fell backward.

The monitors began to blare wildly.

Doctors rushed in to clear the ward and pushed Aria into the operating room.

I crouched outside, my hands covered in her blood.

The doctor said the severe shock had rapidly worsened her clotting levels, putting her at risk for internal bleeding at any moment.

Staring at the glowing operating room sign, I dialed Leyla's number.

It was the first time I had called her since we met again.

She picked up almost instantly. "Changed your mind?"

I suppressed the quiver in my throat. "The videos online show Aria's face and medical records. Take them down immediately."

Leyla fell silent for a few seconds. "You called me just for this?"

"I don't want money, and I don't need you to clear my name. I just need you to protect your own daughter."

"Fine."

Her reply was crisp.

Yet the very next second, a document notification chimed on my phone.

That same medical supervision agreement had been sent over once again.

"Sign it. From now on, I will pay Aria's medical fees directly, and I'll have someone suppress the media."

I stared at the agreement. "What does taking down Aria's videos have to do with whether I sign this agreement or not?"

Leyla's voice turned cold. "You've dragged this out until today just to force me to cancel the supervision and give you a sum of money you can spend freely, haven't you? Jason, I can take responsibility for Aria, but I won't keep enabling you."

"Leyla, your daughter is in emergency care, and you're negotiating terms with me?"

"I am offering you the most dignified solution possible. If you truly cared about Aria, you wouldn't risk her life just to spite me."

I gripped my phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

She always had a bulletproof internal logic.

If I begged her, I was admitting defeat and backing down. If I didn't, I was using Aria to jack up the price.

No matter what I did, I would always be that insatiable ex-husband in her .

"I'm not signing."

I hung up the phone and handed over all the secretly filmed videos and abusive messages to a lawyer for evidence collection.

An hour later, Aria was temporarily out of danger.

Upon hearing the news, the public charity hospital in the neighboring state decided to send an ambulance ahead of schedule.

"The child can't remain at the center of this storm. The transport vehicle arrives tonight. You can leave whenever you're ready."

At 3:00 am, I carried Aria onto the ambulance without saying goodbye to anyone.

…

As the ambulance sped out of the city, Leyla was still sitting in her office.

On her desk lay that supervision agreement awaiting my signature.

Kamryn served her a cup of coffee and said casually, "Once the next batch of expenses comes up, he'll come back on his own."

Leyla nodded slightly.

She didn't believe a man who couldn't even raise 20 thousand dollars would truly turn down the treatment conditions she offered.

The following day, Saunders Corp happened to host a charity live stream for a children's medical fund.

Dressed in that 126-thousand-dollar suit, Kamryn stood beside Leyla.

The host asked with a smile, "Ms. Saunders, what do you consider the most crucial principle of charitable aid?"

Before Leyla could answer, Kamryn took the mic. "Good intentions need boundaries. We are eager to help those who truly need it, but we cannot satisfy every demand unconditionally just because someone plays the victim."

Someone in the live chat brought up Aria and me.

"Has that ex-husband who brought his sick kid to scam her signed the agreement yet? He's not actually trying to use the child to force Ms. Saunders into a remarriage, is he?"

Kamryn glanced at Leyla, a confident smirk curling on his lips. "Mr. Kirk just hasn't come around yet. He'll soon accept Ms. Saunders' help for his daughter's sake."

Leyla didn't deny it.

She had already instructed the front desk to bring me straight upstairs the moment I showed up.

She had even planned that as long as I bowed my head, she wouldn't hold these past few chaotic days against me.

However, Kamryn's supervisory authority could not be revoked.

She had to make me realize that using Aria to force her hand was useless.

Halfway through the stream, the chat suddenly flooded with rapid messages.

"Everyone, go check out Jason's statement! He posted the child's emergency records and bank statements from five years ago! There's something fishy about Kamryn!"

Frowning, Leyla glanced at Kamryn.

Kamryn's hand gripping the microphone tightened abruptly as his face turned pale.

The chat scrolled faster and faster, filled with the exact same line. "Jason only received 50 bucks."

Leyla motioned for her assistant, Maia Reid, to cut the stream and grabbed her phone to open the statement.

The first image was a screenshot of a transfer record.

Five years ago, Kamryn had transferred exactly 50 dollars to me.

In the reference line sat a short string of words—child disposal fee.