Chapter 2

The day after we got back home, we had a visitor.

It was Sophia.

She was wearing tight yoga clothes and carrying some fruit.

"Emily, I heard you guys went on a beach vacation. I came to see Cleo."

She smiled as she handed the fruit to the nanny, but her eyes kept glancing upstairs.

James was in his study on a video conference.

I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room with a blanket over my legs.

"Are you here to see Cleo, or to see James?"

Sophia froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed.

"Emily, you're so funny. I'm Cleo's dance teacher, of course I'm here to see Cleo."

She walked over to me, looking down at me from above.

Her eyes shamelessly examined my legs.

"What a shame. I heard Emily used to be a principal dancer?"

"Now those legs... they look like two dead branches."

She squatted down and pressed hard on my knee.

"Can you feel that?"

I looked at her, expressionless.

"Take your hand off."

Not only did Sophia not let go, she pressed even harder.

Her sharp nails dug into my flesh, leaving a deep crescent mark.

"Don't be mad, Emily. I'm just curious."

"Mr. Smith is such an excellent man. Having to look at your lifeless face every day must be so frustrating for him."

"If I were you, I would've ended it all somewhere already, instead of dragging others down."

Footsteps came from the stairs.

Sophia pulled her hand back like she'd been shocked and threw herself onto the floor.

James had just reached the top of the stairs.

"What's going on?"

He rushed over and helped Sophia up from the floor.

Sophia bit her lip pitifully, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's okay, Mr. Smith. It was my fault... Emily might be in a bad mood and pushed me."

"I don't blame Emily. After all, with her condition, it's normal for her to have a temper."

James turned to look at me, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Emily, have you lost your mind?"

"Sophia came here out of kindness to see you, and you actually pushed her?"

I suddenly felt like I'd seen this scene before.

Three years ago, that secretary did the same thing.

Acting all high and mighty in front of me, playing the victim in front of him.

"I didn't push her."

I explained calmly.

"You're still making excuses?"

James pointed at Sophia's scraped elbow.

"Sophia is injured! Look at yourself right now. You're acting like a shrew!"

"Apologize to Sophia right now!"

I didn't say anything, just stared at that wound.

That little scrape—what was it compared to my broken spine?

"I said apologize!"

James raised his voice and grabbed my wheelchair armrest, shaking it hard.

I almost got thrown out.

"Daddy! Why are you shaking Mommy's wheelchair!"

Cleo ran out of her room, holding a stuffed doll.

A glimmer of hope rose in my heart.

Maybe Cleo still cared about me after all.

The next second, Cleo threw the doll in my face.

"Bad Mommy! You bullied Ms. Brown!"

"Ms. Brown teaches me to dance and buys me candy. She's the best teacher in the world!"

"I won't let you bully her!"

The doll hit me in the eye. It hurt.

I closed my eyes, and tears finally started flowing.

This was the daughter I risked my life to bring into the world.

This was what I got after enduring humiliation for three years.

Seeing me cry, James didn't soften—he became even more disgusted.

"Why are you crying? Acting like we're the ones bullying you."

"Since you don't want to see us, we'll leave."

He put his arm around Sophia's shoulder.

"Come on, let's take you to the hospital to get that bandaged, and we'll take Cleo out to eat."

"Thank you, Mr. Smith. You're so good to me."

Sophia smiled through her tears and shot me a challenging look.

Cleo cheered and hugged James's leg.

"We're going to eat yummy food!"

What a harmonious family of three.

The door slammed shut.

In the huge villa, I was left alone.

With nothing but silence all around.

I raised my hand and wiped the tears from my face.

From a hidden pocket in my wheelchair cushion, I pulled out a mini voice recorder.

Everything that just happened was recorded.

I took out my phone and dialed a number.

"Hello."

"Is the agreement ready?"

"Good. Tomorrow afternoon, same place."