LOGINOtto clapped Gideon on the shoulder. "The sleeping medication given to my son was ordered by Rayne. She instructed the caregiver to do it. Your cousin isn't the innocent, guileless person you think she is."He said nothing more. Turning away, he stepped into the elevator and let the doors slide shut.As the elevator descended, the full weight of it settled over him. A shadow had fallen across the friendship he had once cherished most, leaving behind a strange unease he could not put into words.Over the years, nothing had ever come between him and Gideon, least of all love or women. Their bond had always run deeper than that. It was a friendship rooted to the bone, built on unspoken trust and the instinctive understanding of two people who saw the world the same way.Now, all of it was gone. Everything felt unrecognizably different.If he hadn't once believed so completely in Gideon's character, if Gideon hadn't insisted again and again that Rayne was someone he had practically ra
It was Otto. He had gone back to the car and sat there for a long time before finally asking his assistant to change his flight.Rayne's screams echoed in his head the entire time. He couldn't bring himself to believe that a mother would actually give her newborn sleeping pills simply because the baby's crying had interrupted her sleep. Could there really be more to it?After a long silence, he returned to the hospital. As he reached the ward and was about to push the door open, voices drifted through the narrow gap.Rayne and Wendy were talking about the baby. Wendy's voice was sharp with fury, while Rayne answered in a casual, unbothered tone. Every word landed like the crack of a whip across his chest.He looked through the glass at Connor lying in the hospital bed, his gaze lingering coldly on the child. Then he slowly released the door handle he had been gripping, turned, and walked away without a sound.As he passed Lucille's ward, he noticed the door was open. It was almost
Rayne and Wendy locked eyes. The instant their gazes met, something sparked between them, like a current snapping into place.Wendy's fury melted into a grin. "How did I not think of that? Yes. That's exactly where we hit them. Lucille dared use her schemes to burn down our villa. We'll use her own weapon against her...""Burn Midnight Splendor to the ground!" Rayne finished the thought in perfect sync, and they slapped their palms together with a sharp crack.Wendy felt as though she had discovered an entirely new continent. Her eyes shone with excitement. "I love it. This plan is completely viable. We just need the right cover, something they can never trace back to us."Rayne drew a cold finger across her throat. "Simple. We pay someone on the inside to do it. Money talks. When the police investigate, they'll find an employee dispute. I'll have someone look into it right now and find out if there's any internal conflict we can exploit."Wendy nodded firmly. She had been holding
Lucille couldn't help teasing, "What, are you waiting for the hospital director to come have you arrested?"Joanne laughed. "Right now? I'd like to see who'd dare."Lucille raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's some confidence. Let me guess. Did you reconnect with a powerful old flame while you were in Asthrala?""Oh, get out of here." Joanne gave Lucille a mock-offended shove, but there was something deeper beneath her playful tone. "You and I have been through years of hardship. Things are finally starting to turn around."Lucille heard it and realized she didn't need to ask another question. She already knew the answer.She nodded, the weight of everything they had endured over the years washing through her all at once. "Mom. For the rest of your life, you don't have to endure anything for anyone else. You don't have to keep burying everything until it turns into breast cancer."No one in this world is ever going to treat us that way again. Everything this world has put us through,
Lucille did not know whether to laugh or cry.'How did my mother make one trip to Asthrala and come back more energized than I am, talking even more recklessly? Unless…' A bold suspicion surfaced in her mind, but she kept it to herself. That wasn't the time.Rayne's earth-shattering wail drew every doctor, nurse, and security guard in the hospital, along with Rayne's mother.Wendy rushed over in a panic. She saw her daughter collapsed on the floor, sobbing, then turned to Lucille and Joanne standing shoulder to shoulder. Her eyes immediately reddened.Wendy jabbed a finger at Joanne's face and screamed at the top of her lungs, "How dare you, Joanne! You hit my daughter, didn't you?! Do you two have any respect for the law? I'll have you both arrested tonight!"Where is your hospital director?! Get him out here right now and have him call the police! This woman is being charged with assault! The corridor cameras don't lie. She isn't walking away from this!"She wore an expensive f
Hearing the commotion in the corridor, Lucille walked to the doorway and looked outside.She saw Rayne half-crawling, half-running after Otto, who never looked back.He left her with nothing but the cold, unwavering sight of his retreating figure. Without a single glance in her direction, he stepped into the elevator and disappeared.Rayne collapsed onto the floor, sobbing so violently that she looked as though she had completely fallen apart. She looked like a woman abandoned by the entire world.The commotion drew everyone in the VIP ward into the corridor. Doors opened one after another as curious faces peeked outside.Aware that every eye was on her, Rayne forced herself together. She staggered to her feet, pulled her baseball cap low, and tugged her mask over her face. After making sure no one could recognize her in such a wretched state, she started walking.She had taken only three steps when her gaze met a pair of icy, unblinking eyes.Rayne froze. She instinctively took
After the examination, Lucille remained asleep.The doctor stood in the hospital room and explained her condition to Gwen. "The patient's body is severely depleted after childbirth. She has already suffered a major hemorrhage and undergone emergency treatment, so she is highly prone to hypoglycemia
Grace rushed out of the room in a panic and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Earthquake? Was that an earthquake?"Nancy ran out as well, clutching the crying baby. She had heard the crash, panicked, and bolted for the door barefoot, her handbag still in her hand. She had not even stopped to put on
Lucille drove back to Blossom Court, the villa she shared with Gideon.When she pushed open the front door, Grace Lewis, the elderly housekeeper, and Nancy Wells, the maternity nanny Lucille had hired, were playing with the baby.The moment they saw how pale she looked, both women were startled."Ma
Inside the banquet hall, Lucille kept her eyes fixed on Gideon.He looked flushed and in high spirits as he moved from table to table with Rayne, raising his glass and offering toasts. "My buddy Otto is overseas right now on a confidential infrastructure project. He won't be back for a year, so I'l







