Chapter 5

"Veda!" Victoria grabbed her arm, eyes red as she shook her head. "Don't dirty your hands. I'll make him pay for this, I will."

Her priority right now was Yara.

"I just need Yara to be okay." Victoria's voice choked up. "Veda, I need to ask you a favor—help me find a place to rent, something cheap is fine. I want to bring Yara out and take care of her. A hospital is no place..."

"What do you mean, live somewhere else! Stay here with me!"

Veda cut her off. "My place is big, and it's just sitting empty anyway. You and Yara can stay here and not worry about anything. I'd like to see who dares to cause trouble!"

Looking at Veda's indignant face, Victoria felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

There were still people in this world who cared about her.

"Thank you..."

"Don't be so formal with me!" Veda glared at her, then her eyes reddened again. "Victoria, don't worry. I'll ask around for a kidney donor for Yara. And don't stress about money—I have some!"

Victoria borrowed Veda's computer and frantically sent out resumes.

Not long ago, she had been the sought-after designer Q, a design genius that major brands competed for, with people offering multi-million dollar contracts just for one of her sketches.

But now, she was mass-applying for design assistant positions that paid three thousand dollars a month.

As long as she could make money, even if it meant doing odd jobs or sweeping floors, she was willing!

For Yara, she could give up even her dignity. What did this drop in status matter?

She kept applying until three in the morning, when Victoria finally dozed off at the desk.

Nothing but nightmares.

Yara's pale little face, Aiden's cold eyes, Bianca's smug smile.

When she woke with a start, it was already bright outside.

Victoria quickly washed up, didn't even bother with breakfast, and rushed straight to the hospital.

As soon as she reached the nurses' station, she was told that Yara had woken up. Her condition was stable, and she'd been moved to a regular room.

She was awake!

Victoria's heart leaped with joy. The dark cloud that had hung over her for days finally lifted a little.

She quickened her pace, almost running toward the room.

Before she even entered, she heard Bianca's syrupy voice from inside.

"Yara, open up. I bought this especially for you."

Victoria's heart lurched, and a strong sense of unease washed over her.

She shoved the door open.

There was Bianca, sitting by the bed, holding a piece of cut cake, about to feed it to Yara.

The cake was bright yellow, giving off a tempting aroma.

It was mango!

Yara was severely allergic to mango—it could even cause shock. Bianca had been with Aiden for so long, how could she not know!

She was doing this on purpose!

She was trying to kill Yara!

"Stop!!" Victoria screamed in panic.

Her cry seemed so extreme that it startled Yara in the bed, making her flinch.

Bianca's hand froze in mid-air. She turned to look at Victoria, a flash of malice in her eyes that quickly disappeared.

The next second, Victoria had already rushed over like a madwoman and knocked Bianca's hand away.

The cake flew out and hit the floor, cream splattering everywhere.

"What are you doing!"

Victoria grabbed the trembling Yara and held her tight, then turned to glare at Bianca, her eyes full of hatred. "You're trying to kill my daughter, aren't you? You know she's allergic to mango. You're trying to hurt her!"

This vicious woman!

She'd stolen her husband, stolen her home, and now she wouldn't even spare her daughter's life!

How could anyone be so evil!

Bianca stood up and brushed the cream off her hands. There wasn't a trace of the gentleness from before on her face.

She looked at Victoria with a mocking smile. "Victoria, that's such an ugly thing to say. I came to visit Yara out of kindness and brought her something to eat. How does that make me a murderer?"

"You're still pretending?"

Victoria was shaking with rage, pointing at the cake on the floor. "Aiden knows Yara is allergic to mango, so you must know too. You did this on purpose!"

"So what if I did?" Bianca suddenly lowered her voice and leaned close to Victoria, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Victoria, who's pretending here? She's just a burden. Death would be a relief—save her from dragging Aiden down."

Death would be a relief.

Was this something an adult would say to a five-year-old child?

With a roar in her head, the last thread of control in Victoria snapped.

She got up and pulled the curtain around Yara's bed, shielding her daughter from view.

The next second, rage consumed all reason. She raised her left hand and swung it hard toward that hypocritical face.

"You evil woman!"

But the expected slap never came.

Just as her palm was about to touch Bianca's cheek, her wrist was caught tight!

Victoria looked up in shock, meeting Bianca's mocking eyes.

"Want to hit me?"

Bianca easily gripped her wrist and squeezed slightly, making Victoria's face turn pale with pain.

"Victoria, get it through your head—you're a cripple now!"

Bianca's smile was vicious. "Your right hand is useless, and your left hand has no strength. What are you going to fight me with? Hm?"

Cripple.

Those two words stabbed into Victoria's heart again.

Yes, she was a cripple.

The hands that once created priceless jewelry designs couldn't even deliver a slap now!

Was this her punishment?

Just then, familiar footsteps came from the hallway.

A gleam flashed in Bianca's eyes.

The next second, the malice on her face vanished instantly, replaced by fear and grievance.

"Victoria, don't do this. I just wanted to feed Yara something."

With a sharp cry, Bianca suddenly released Victoria's hand and dramatically fell backward.

She landed heavily in the cream and cake crumbs on the floor, covering her face and crying.

At the same time, the door was pushed open forcefully.

Aiden rushed in and immediately saw the scene—Victoria standing there with a twisted expression, her hand still raised in a striking position.

While Bianca lay on the ground in a mess, covered in filth, crying pitifully.

"Bianca!" Aiden strode over and carefully helped Bianca up from the floor, his voice full of concern. "Are you hurt anywhere? Does it hurt?"

Bianca collapsed into Aiden's arms and cried even harder. "Aiden, I'm fine. Don't blame Victoria. She's just too worried about Yara—that's why she pushed me."