Chapter 2

Once Gregory finished laughing, he paraded the marriage certificate through the crowd while everyone looked on in confusion.

Before long, the onlookers burst into laughter.

"These two aren't just shameless homewreckers—they're frauds too!"

"I thought there would be a plot twist, but they came out with this? That's hilarious!"

I refused to believe it. I stepped forward and snatched the marriage certificate back, only to find that the contents had been replaced by nothing but children's doodles.

Dad's eyes went wide. He took it from me and examined it over and over. Completely shaken, he murmured, "I've kept it locked in my desk drawer this whole time; I never even touched it. How did it end up like this?"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Your mom has another copy. Call someone to bring it over right away!"

Dad had barely pulled out his phone when Gregory tore it from his hand and hurled it to the floor. Then, he kicked both of us, hard.

"You're still putting on a show, are you? Let me show you what a real marriage certificate looks like!"

He pulled out his own marriage certificate, flaunting it at us before waving it toward the crowd. "Look at that—the official city hall seal. Now that's the real deal."

We slumped to the ground.

He loomed over us, his eyes full of contempt. "It's bad enough that country bumpkins like you have never seen a marriage certificate, but you actually tried to pass off a drawing as one? You must have escaped from a psych ward."

I hadn't gotten a clear look at his marriage certificate, so I asked to see it again.

Gregory sneered and slapped me across the face. "Trying to get a better look so you can forge a fake? Don't think I don't know what you're up to."

Dad clutched his marriage certificate and suddenly pressed a hand over his lower body, his face contorting with pain. "Elias, my wound is hurting again."

Seeing this, Gregory spat gleefully. "Serves you right! An old man like you taking pills to try and sleep with my wife? I bet you've made yourself impotent from all those pills!

"Do you have any self-awareness at all? Who do you think you are? You aren't worthy of being associated with the Ashford family! I don't think you have many days left. You'd better start planning your funeral."

Dad's chest heaved with rage.

Worried his wound might tear open, I quickly urged him to take deep breaths and relax. I turned around, forced down my anger, and said, "There has to be a misunderstanding. There's no need to curse my dad like that."

With Gregory here, not only was Dad unable to get his follow-up exam, but the stress was putting him at serious risk of another episode. I reached for my phone to send a message, only to find there was no signal.

Gregory brandished a signal jammer with a triumphant smirk. "No matter who shows up today, neither of you is getting out of here!"

With that, he grabbed a scalpel from a nurse's tray and lunged toward Dad's lower body.

My heart lurched as I threw myself in front of Dad. A sharp pain tore through my arm. The blade missed my vital organs, but the cut was deep enough to expose bone.

Hearing my scream, Dad kicked the scalpel away and yelled at Gregory, his voice trembling with fury. "Elias is the only child of the Keller family! If you lay another hand on us, you'll regret it!"

Gregory spat a thick glob of phlegm in Dad's face. "The old one is sick, and the young one fakes injuries. I'll teach you both a lesson right now!"

He grinned viciously and raised the blade again.

Just then, a voice cut through the air. "Who is making such a ruckus here?"