Chapter 1
Four years ago, I gave birth to my son, Leo, at a private hospital.
But when I woke up from the anesthesia, there was no baby waiting for me.
Instead, there was a bank card loaded with an enormous amount of money.
I stared blankly at Adrian Moretti, who was standing by the hospital room door.
"Why are you giving me money? Where's Leo?"
He avoided my gaze.
Meanwhile, Serena Vale, who was sitting comfortably on the sofa, burst into laughter.
"I gave it to you. I adore little Leo. He's practically a miniature version of me when I was young."
She lifted her coffee cup and continued leisurely, "I'll be raising Leo from now on. He'll grow up to be the most cherished child in this family."
That was when I finally understood.
Adrian had given the son I'd nearly died bringing into this world to his father's new wife.
And a bank card was supposed to make up for it.
I grabbed the card and hurled it straight at his face.
Vivian's POV
From that day on, Adrian and I had been locked in a four-year battle.
He hid our son from me.
And I did everything I could to see him.
Until the day Leo developed a dangerously high fever.
I led a group of men straight into the private estate where he was staying.
Amid the chaos, the curtains beside the fireplace caught fire.
I didn't care about anything else. I scooped up Leo, who was barely conscious from the fever, and rushed out of the burning house.
But when he woke up and saw my face, he immediately shoved me away.
"Why did you take me away from her?"
He was crying so hard he could barely catch his breath.
"If it weren't for you, Serena would have accepted me a long time ago!"
"Go away! I don't want you!"
I stared at him, stunned.
After a long silence, I finally spoke.
"Then call me Mommy one last time."
"After that, Mommy won't come looking for you anymore."
Leo blinked up at me with his big, tear-filled eyes.
"If I call you Mommy, you really won't try to take me away from Serena anymore?"
I nodded.
He hesitated for a moment.
"Mommy."
I'd suffered severe burns on my hands while carrying him out of the fire.
My palms were covered in enormous blisters, and even making a fist was painful.
I instinctively raised my hand to cover the wounds.
"Ah..."
Leo glanced at me.
"I already called you that. You're really not going to fight for me anymore, right?"
Looking at his innocent little face, I managed a faint smile.
"That's right. I won't."
Never again.
After getting my burns treated, I took Leo out of the hospital and returned to the Moretti family estate.
Adrian had already mobilized a large number of men to search for his missing son. They had practically turned the entire estate upside down.
When he saw me carrying Leo back, he froze for a moment.
But before he could say anything, Leo began struggling violently in my arms.
I had no choice but to put him down.
The next second, his little legs carried him straight toward Serena, who was standing beside Adrian.
"Mommy!"
His cheerful little voice echoed through the entire hall.
Serena immediately bent down and swept him into her arms.
"Leo! You scared Mommy to death!"
Then she looked up and glared at me.
"Vivian, why did you take my child away from me?"
Adrian frowned.
The other members of the family also began looking at me with open hostility.
"Serena is the former Don's wife! She's treated Leo like her own son and raised him all these years."
"Besides giving birth to him, what have you ever done for that child?"
"You weren't even there to watch him grow up, and now you have the nerve to come back and claim the title of his mother?"
One of them even stepped forward and grabbed me by the collar.
Adrian finally spoke in a cold voice.
"Enough."
"Vivian is my wife. I'll deal with her personally."
Only then did everyone fall silent.
But Serena's expression darkened.
Adrian personally escorted me back to our room.
The moment the door closed, his tone turned icy.
"You went too far today."
"Do you have any idea that you nearly trapped Serena in that fire?"
I sat on the sofa, staring blankly ahead.
"Leo had a fever."
"Whether he has a fever or not is his mother's responsibility. Why did you have to interfere?"
I looked up at him.
Adrian seemed to realize what he'd just said. He paused before changing his tone.
"What I mean is, everyone knows Serena has been Leo's guardian all these years. Taking him away in front of the entire family today was humiliating for her."
I stared at the man in front of me for a long time.
He was becoming more and more unrecognizable.
"Adrian, let's get divorced."
