Chapter 4
Edmond fell silent.
Finn. That had been the name he once chose for their child.
Amelia had seen it written in his notes-it didn’t matter if the baby was a boy or a girl. He’d penned it himself, a wish for their child to grow up with strength and pride.
And now, that name belonged to Blanche’s son.
“My daughter’s name,” Amelia said quietly, “is April.”
Edmond’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The tension in his eyes softened, and he slipped back into his familiar gentle tone.
“April… That’s beautiful. Like a spring breeze. She’ll always shine by your side.”
He reached out, trying to brush her hair. “Babe, I’m heading out of town for a few days. Once I’m back, we can-”
“Work comes first,” Amelia interrupted coldly, walking away without another glance.
Back home, after rocking April to sleep, a notification popped up on her phone-Blanche had just updated her social feed.
The photo showed three hands clasped together. In the center was Finn’s chubby fist clutching a car key. A five-million-dollar luxury car… handed to a bastard child as a toy.
Meanwhile, she’d reminded Edmond three times last week to pick up imported diapers for their daughter-and he’d forgotten every time.
Amelia let out a bitter laugh, saved the post, and stored it neatly into a growing folder labeled Evidence.
April smacked her lips in her sleep, her lashes casting little fans of shadow under the nursery light. Amelia bent down and kissed her baby’s soft cheek.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she whispered. “Mommy will protect you.”
The next day, after organizing her assets and shareholdings, Amelia booked a flight to Oakland scheduled three days. later.
Ever since he noticed her starting to pull away, Edmond had been flooding her phone with messages:
[Long day with clients today-tough crowd, but I nailed it.]
[You’re working so hard, babe. I found the best pastries in South City-next time, I’m taking you with me.]
What he didn’t know was that every cent of those secretly rerouted project bonuses into Blanche’s account had already been tracked and meticulously documented in her inbox.
What he really didn’t know was that while he paraded himself as the picture-perfect husband, Blanche was busy posting cash-stuffed lingerie drawers and kiss-bruised skin on her social feed.
Amelia looked at her phone and let out a soft, mocking laugh. There had been a time when Edmond had treated her that way-like she was the only thing that mattered.
They were the envy of everyone, childhood sweethearts who grew up beneath the same old banyan tree. He once blushed and vowed, “I’ll marry no one but you.”
Chapter 4
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In college, he’d quietly driven off every guy who so much as looked at her-territorial like a wolf guarding its prey. When she had her appendix out, he stayed by her hospital bed for three days and nights without sleeping.
The first money he ever earned, he wired straight into her account, writing: “For my little princess.”
Then suddenly-sharp, panicked cries tore through the baby monitor. The nanny burst out of the nursery, hands trembling, fingers smeared with red.
“Ma’am! The baby’s leg-there’s a deep cut, it won’t stop bleeding!”
Amelia’s heart stopped cold. She sprinted inside and scooped April into her arms. Her daughter’s crying had weakened, her tiny leg slick with blood.
Amelia flew to the hospital like a madwoman. After a frantic round of tests, the doctor returned with the report.
“It’s a clotting disorder. Her hemoglobin is dangerously low. She needs a transfusion immediately.”
Amelia’s lips trembled. “Take mine! I’m her mother-use mine!”
The doctor shook his head. “Parents can’t always donate directly. And your daughter is RH-negative. We need to check
our blood bank first.”
“Then hurry and start her on coagulants!” she nearly screamed.
Even after the meds were administered, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Amelia clutched her daughter as her face paled
further, tears streaming like broken beads.
Minutes later, a nurse rushed in, her expression heavy with pity.
“Ms. Austin… the RH-negative blood we had in storage-it’s been transferred out.”
Amelia jerked her head up, eyes burning in rage. “You said you had it. What do you mean transferred?”
The nurse bit her lip, lowering her voice.
“We’re a private hospital. Mr. Robinson’s son needed an emergency transfusion earlier. The chairman ordered all the
RH-negative stock be sent to the VIP suite upstairs.”
It hit her like a thunderclap. The last of Amelia’s composure shattered.
She grabbed her phone, ready to confront Edmond-only to see a fresh post from Blanche.
[Oh dear, scraped your knee again? Luckily you’ve got Daddy-the best one in the world. Look how fast he pulled strings to get the rarest blood in the city just for you~]
Amelia saw red. She gently passed April into the nurse’s arms and turned on her heel, storming toward the top-floor VIP
wing.
When she kicked open the suite door, Blanche was lounging beside the bed, playing video games with Finn. The boy’s “injury” was barely a scrape-so minor even a band-aid was overkill.
The sight before her was like a dagger made of ice, plunged straight into Amelia’s chest.
That radiant, disgusting picture of a “happy family burned into her retinas, and the fury in her chest surged like wildfire.
She couldn’t hold it in anymore. She screamed-
Chapter 4
“Give the blood to my daughter!”
