Before I died, my six-year-old son cried and begged his father three times. The first time, my son tugged on the man's hand, crying that I was coughing up blood. The man sneered. "So she's finally learning some new tricks. Teaching her kid to lie for her now." Then, he ordered his bodyguards to throw my son out of the VIP suite. The second time, my son grabbed the man's sleeve, crying that I was in so much pain I was hallucinating. The man frowned. "It's just a heart transplant. The doctors said she won't die." The bodyguards stepped forward and dragged my son out again. The third time, my son threw himself on the floor, desperately clinging to his father's pant leg, sobbing that I had lost consciousness. The man finally lost his temper. He grabbed my son by the collar and hurled him out into the hallway. "I told you, Chloe isn't going to die. If you come in here and disturb Evelyn's rest one more time, I will throw both of you out of this hospital." To save me, my son pawned his most precious possession—his pure gold longevity locket—to a nurse. "Auntie, I don't want to live a long life anymore. I just want my mommy to live." The nurse took the locket and prepared to transfer me to the last available private room. But my husband's first love, Evelyn Vance, had someone hold her pet poodle and blocked the door to the room. She smiled sweetly. "Sorry, little boy. Your daddy was worried I'd get bored without my dog, so this room is reserved for my puppy." To make room for Evelyn's dog, my hospital bed was pushed out into the cold, drafty hallway. As the door to the private suite closed, my son still held the locket he had just taken off his neck. He pounded his small, bruising fists against the heavy door, over and over again. "Auntie, please give the room back to my mommy!" "Auntie, Leo is begging you, please open the door!" My son's childish, desperate voice echoed down the long hallway, but it couldn't reach Evelyn, who was busy playing with her dog inside. The louder my son cried, the more amused she seemed to get. "Good puppy. We ignore dirty things." My son's voice slowly grew hoarse. This was the boy who used to cry for a hug if he so much as scraped his knee. Now, he just wiped his bloody, bruised knuckles on his shirt. With tears streaming down his face, he screamed with pure hatred: "You bad woman! I bought this room with my locket! You have no right to use it for a dog!" "You bad woman!" His voice was so raw it was barely audible, his accusations filled with a heartbreaking fragility. I lay on the cot in the hallway, my tears mixing with the blood pooling in my mouth. I'm sorry, Leo. Mommy couldn't protect you. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. The door to the suite never opened. My son stumbled back to my bedside, his eyes swollen and terrifyingly red. "Mommy, I'm sorry. Leo is useless. I let the bad lady steal your room." "Mommy, I'm sorry." I could feel my life slipping away. I knew I was dying. But I was so afraid of scaring my Leo. Using the last ounce of my strength, I forced a smile and whispered weakly: "Leo, Mommy is a little cold. Could you go find a blanket for Mommy? Just for a little bit?" He froze for two seconds, then frantically wiped his tears away and nodded vigorously. "Okay! Leo will go get one right now!" "Mommy, you have to wait for Leo to come back! You have to wait!" Watching his tiny figure disappear down the hall, my eyes slowly fell shut. Leo, I'm sorry. Mommy can't wait. When I opened my eyes again, I had become a spirit, hovering right beside my son. My son was smart. He knew home was too far away, so when he spotted an open door to a standard ward, he ran straight inside. Lying in the bed was a young woman. Her husband was carefully tucking her in, smoothing out every wrinkle in the blanket. Next to them sat a little boy, maybe five years old, holding a cup of warm water and sweetly calling her "Mommy." For some reason, seeing them made Leo want to cry again. But he knew he couldn't cry. He had to borrow a blanket for his mommy. The young couple was startled by his sudden appearance. The man gently brushed the dirt off Leo's clothes, his voice soft: "Hey buddy, do you need something? Where's your mom?" Leo nervously picked at his fingers, gathering his courage. "Mister, my mommy is sick. She's really cold right now. Could I please borrow a blanket?" "I can trade you my gold locket for it. Please help my mommy, okay?" The man paused, then immediately pulled an unopened blanket from the cabinet and handed it to Leo. "Take it. I hope your mom feels better soon." Maybe it was because he had suffered so much abuse tonight, but faced with a stranger's kindness, Leo suddenly lost his words. He clutched the blanket tightly, bowing over and over again. "Thank you, Mister. Thank you, Miss. Thank you so much." The man waved his hand, stopping him. "No need to thank me. We didn't buy this blanket." "The CEO who built this hospital, Mr. Sterling, gave one to every patient's family to celebrate his wife's successful surgery today." "Look, it even has a picture of him and his wife printed on the bag." "If you really want to thank someone, just wish Mr. Sterling and his wife a long, happy marriage." Leo froze. The image of Julian Sterling throwing him out of the hospital room flashed through his mind. Followed immediately by the memory of Julian putting him on his shoulders, running and laughing across a grassy field. The tears he had been holding back suddenly flooded out. "I know. I'll make sure to thank... Mr. Sterling." My ghostly heart ached worse than when I was on the operating table. Looking at the deadness in my son's eyes, I thought about the past. Truthfully, Julian Sterling used to love me and our son very much. When Leo was born, Julian stayed awake for three days straight just trying to pick the perfect name. He bought out entire toy stores just for Leo's birthday. When I caught a simple cold, he would hold Leo and read him silly fairy tales so I could rest. But all of that ended the day Evelyn Vance returned to the country. Using her heart condition as a weapon, she framed me and my son over and over again. She played the helpless, fragile victim, manipulating Julian's pity. She even tricked Leo into putting a caterpillar on her bed, triggering a fake heart attack just as Julian walked into the room. Since that day, everything changed. In the ward, the man nodded approvingly and asked: "By the way, where is your dad? Why isn't he with you?" Leo lowered his head. His tears dripped onto the plastic wrapping, landing right on the printed photo of Julian and Evelyn smiling happily together. His voice was so quiet it was barely a whisper: "My dad... he's dead." After saying goodbye to the kind man, Leo hugged the hard-earned blanket and ran back toward the main hospital lobby. The moment he stepped into the hall, he crashed right into Evelyn, who was holding her poodle. She scowled, a flash of pure disgust crossing her perfectly made-up face. "Get out of the way, you little bastard." "Do you know how expensive this dress is? Even if I sold you, you couldn't afford to dry clean it." "You're just like your mother. Absolute trash." Her face darkened. Completely ignoring the bruises already covering Leo's forehead, she raised her foot and kicked him hard in the chest. The unexpected kick sent Leo flying backward, slamming into the hard tile floor. The blanket tumbled out of his arms. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled forward to grab the blanket, but Evelyn stepped her stiletto heel squarely onto his small hand. She ground her heel into his fingers, looking down at him with venomous eyes. "Listen to me, you little bastard. If you ever dare to run to Julian with that pathetic, crying face again, I will have someone throw you and your cheap whore of a mother out onto the street." "Do you understand me?" Her eyes were filled with such malice, it looked like she wanted him dead. I ground my teeth together. A wave of rage and heartbreak so immense it felt like the ocean threatened to drown me. I reached out, fighting like a madwoman to shove Evelyn's foot off him, screaming at her: Let go of my child! If you have a problem, take it out on me! Don't you dare touch my son! I screamed until my spirit felt like it was tearing apart, but Evelyn couldn't hear a word. She stood there, relishing the sight of my son's face turning red from the agonizing pain, and pressed her heel down even harder. Leo's arm began to spasm uncontrollably, but he refused to cry. He looked up, his red, swollen eyes glaring fiercely at the glamorous woman above him. "My mommy isn't cheap. My mommy is the best mommy in the whole world." "You're a bad woman. I won't let you hurt my mommy." With that, Leo lunged forward and bit down hard on Evelyn's ankle, thinking she would pull her foot back. Already enraged, Evelyn completely lost it. She kicked her pointed heel violently into Leo's fragile stomach. "You little bastard!" I screamed in horror, throwing my ghostly body over my son, desperately trying to shield him. But he phased right through me, crashing heavily into the wall. He coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. Yet he still refused to cry out loud. He stubbornly reached his small, trembling hand across the floor, feeling blindly. "Blan... blanket..." "Mommy needs her blanket..." Not satisfied, Evelyn dropped her poodle, stomped over to him, and raised her hand to strike his face. "Evelyn?" Julian's voice, filled with disbelief, suddenly echoed through the lobby, freezing everyone in place. The deadness in Leo's eyes suddenly sparked with life. He opened his torn, bleeding lips and called out softly: "Daddy..." Julian started to walk toward him, but Evelyn quickly spun around and intercepted him. "Julian! I was just looking for you." She subtly signaled her bodyguards to block Leo from Julian's line of sight, then threw herself into Julian's arms with a sweet, fragile smile. Julian sensed something was wrong. He frowned. "Evelyn, was that Leo on the floor? Did you hit him?" Evelyn's eyes darted nervously, and tears immediately spilled down her cheeks. "Julian, I'm so sorry. You weren't here, and Leo... I don't know who put him up to it, but he ran all the way to my room and cursed at me for so long." "I didn't want to hold it against him, but just now, he intentionally rammed into me again." "You know I just had major surgery. The doctor said..." Julian's expression darkened. The suspicion in his eyes quickly morphed into blazing anger. "Chloe is really becoming a terrible mother." "Your body is already weak. If his little tantrums caused any complications, I swear I'd make them pay." I stood right in front of Julian, screaming, desperately trying to explain. No! Leo didn't do anything! Leo is a good boy! Evelyn is lying to you! Leo must have heard him too. Fighting through the agonizing pain, he forced out another cry: "Daddy..." The word had barely left his lips before a bodyguard clamped a hand over his mouth. Julian stopped, turning his head slightly. "Was that Leo calling me?" Evelyn's face twisted into something ugly for a split second, before she put on a brave, long-suffering smile and gently let go of Julian's arm. "Go be with Leo, then. I'll be fine." "Even though he was the one who caused my heart attack last time, almost making me lose you forever..." "He's just a child. I forgive him." Her words instantly extinguished any hesitation in Julian's eyes, replacing it with cold resolve. He scoffed coldly, turning away from her and striding toward the elevator. "If his mother refuses to discipline him, then you can teach him some manners for me, Evelyn." "A piece of jade is useless until it's carved. If we don't teach him a lesson now, Chloe is going to ruin him permanently." "I'll wait for you upstairs." Watching him walk away, Leo's struggles became frantic. Evelyn walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face, again and again. His cheeks were completely swollen, his lips split open, blood streaming down his chin. But no matter how hard she hit him, he refused to let go of the blanket. Evelyn wasn't finished. She dragged her long, sharp acrylic nails violently down the side of his eye. "You little bastard. You're just as pathetic as your mother." I went completely insane, trying to choke the life out of the monster beating my son. But I was nothing but air. I fell to my knees, weeping, slamming my spectral head against the floor in a desperate kowtow. I begged Evelyn, pleading with her to spare my child, to remember he was only a little boy. But it was useless. I was so full of hatred. I hated that I died so early. I hated that I couldn't protect my own flesh and blood. The brutal beating only stopped when Evelyn's poodle let out a sharp bark. "Oh, baby, did mommy scare you?" She stroked the dog's smooth fur, her voice sickly sweet. Then, as if she was finally bored, she ordered the bodyguards to drop Leo on the floor. She raised her foot, stepping heavily onto his bruised, purple face, looking down at him with fake pity. "See? Even your daddy doesn't want you." "So pathetic." The elevator doors slowly slid shut. Leaving my son's tiny, battered body curled into a tight ball on the freezing tile floor. I knelt beside him. Even though I knew it was impossible, I tried over and over again to scoop him into my arms. It was useless. Completely useless. The hospital doors were locked for the night. Without Julian's explicit orders, no one in this building dared to help my child. The blood around Leo's mouth had started to dry. His eyelids fluttered, but he couldn't find the strength to open them. The only sound was the faint crinkling of the plastic bag wrapped around the blanket he held tightly against his chest. The gold longevity locket was gone. The only proof it ever existed was a faint red indentation around his neck—a reminder that he, too, was once a deeply loved, cherished child. I don't know how long I knelt there, or how long I cried. I only knew my chest hurt so much it had gone completely numb, and I had no tears left to shed. Just as I thought the nightmare was finally over, Julian came back down. The sharp clack of his custom Italian leather shoes echoed across the lobby floor. He walked to the center of the room, looking at Leo's motionless body, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Are you done putting on a show?" "Is this how Chloe taught you to beg for sympathy?" "Do you honestly think playing the victim is going to make me go soft?" "Keep dreaming!" Every cold, venomous word out of his mouth felt like a knife stabbing repeatedly into my already dead heart. I wanted to scream at him: Are you even human?! What gives you the right to assume the worst about my child?! He's so good, he's so well-behaved, he's so... A continuous stream of ghostly tears fell, landing silently on Leo's face. I don't know if it was my imagination, but his eyelashes fluttered. Julian was still spitting cruel threats. But when Leo didn't react at all, a flicker of unease finally crossed his face. He took a step forward, walking slowly toward his son. "Leo?" "Why aren't you answering me?" "I see right through you. Stop pretending." Julian's tone grew heavier with every word, his pace quickening. Just as he was about to reach him, Leo's hand twitched. Julian stopped dead in his tracks. The panic on his face instantly vanished, replaced by the furious indignation of someone who thought they had almost been tricked again. He pulled out his phone, snapped a few photos of Leo's back, and texted them to my phone. [Chloe, you've really outdone yourself. Playing the victim wasn't enough, now you're making your kid lie for you!] [Fine. If you want to use him as a prop, let's see who caves first!] After sending the text, Julian turned around. He hesitated for a long moment, but ultimately walked away without looking back. Once the lobby was completely silent again, Leo forced his eyes open and let out a series of ragged coughs. Every cough brought up more blood. It wasn't until a bright red drop landed on the plastic bag he was holding that he jolted awake. He struggled to his feet, carefully hugging the blanket to his chest, and smiled through his split, ruined lips. Then, stumbling and dragging his feet, he made his way back to the hallway where my bed was. When his hand touched my freezing cold skin, he froze. Then, using the very last of his strength, he unfolded the blanket and draped it over my body. "Be a good girl, Mommy. With the blanket, you won't be cold anymore." With that, he collapsed, losing consciousness. The next morning, an intern doctor walking by let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed through the entire hospital. "Someone help! We have a deceased patient over here!" Hearing the commotion, Julian irritably pushed his way through the gathering crowd. "What is everyone crowding around for? If you wake Evelyn up, I'll have all of you—" His words died in his throat. He saw the woman lying dead on the cot, and the little boy draped over her body, his breathing terrifyingly shallow. All the color drained from Julian's face. "Ch... Chloe..." He whispered my name, then shoved the crowd aside and sprinted to my bed. Looking at my pale, stiff corpse, completely devoid of life... Julian's heart violently seized. His hand trembled violently as he reached out, trying to check if I was still breathing. But as his hand brushed against Leo's bruised, purple face, he flinched. Almost instinctively, he scooped Leo into his arms. His eyes were bloodshot as he screamed at the stunned crowd: "Doctors! Where are the damn doctors?!" The crowd erupted into chaos. Several doctors and nurses quickly pushed their way through, leading Julian toward the emergency trauma unit. He carefully placed Leo's unconscious body onto a gurney. Floating above them, I finally let out a sigh of relief. Watching the sheer, unadulterated panic on Julian's face, I couldn't help but find it hilarious. Wasn't this exactly what he ordered? He had every chance to save his son last night. My heart ached with a suffocating pain. I leaned down, gently kissing my son's forehead, my ghostly tears falling onto his cheeks. Leo seemed to feel them. A faint, barely audible murmur slipped from his lips. "Mommy... isn't cold..." Hearing those words, Julian looked like he had been struck by lightning. He stumbled backward, barely managing to keep his balance. He grabbed the lead doctor by the collar, roaring in his face: "You're a doctor, aren't you?! Isn't your job to save lives?!" "How could a massive hospital like this just stand by and watch a patient die in the hallway?! Do you even deserve to wear that coat?!" The doctor went pale. He opened his mouth, stammering in sheer terror: "M-Mr. Sterling... yesterday, you were the one who ordered us not to treat Ms. Foster." "You said... you said Ms. Vance needed us more, so you transferred the entire surgical staff to her wing..." Julian froze. The memories came flooding back. Because I had refused to consent to giving Evelyn my heart, he had flown into a rage and ordered his bodyguards to drag me to the hospital by force. Before they pushed me into the operating room, I was strapped down to the bed. I had screamed in terror: "Julian! You have no legal right to harvest my organs! This is murder!" "Evelyn isn't even sick! She's lying to you!" He thought I was just making excuses. So, right in front of me, he gave the hospital director his final orders. "After the surgery, no one is allowed to check on her without my permission." "I want to see if losing a heart is really enough to kill her!" Julian squeezed his eyes shut in pure agony. He looked at the dried blood caked around Leo's mouth. Then, the image of my freezing, lifeless body lying on that hallway cot flashed before his eyes. A tidal wave of panic and catastrophic regret swallowed him whole. "I... I didn't want her to die..." "I just... I just wanted to teach her a lesson. I just wanted her to behave..." "Right. I just wanted her to be obedient. It's not my fault... It's not my fault..." Julian collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head in absolute torment. What a phenomenal actor. Standing right beside him, that was the only thought in my mind. Why do men always facilitate a tragedy, watch it unfold, and then look at the horrific aftermath and say: "It wasn't my fault." Was it my fault? My fault for meeting him. My fault for believing he would give me a happy life. My fault for bringing such a sweet, perfect boy into this world with him. An ocean of regret threatened to drown my soul. I hated him so much. The doctors finished their initial assessment. Seeing the horrific, jagged lacerations and deep bruising covering Leo's face, they immediately ordered him transferred to the ICU. Outside the ICU. Julian stood behind the glass window, staring at the child inside, whose life was currently entirely dependent on ventilators and monitors. He looked like he had aged ten years in a single day. My soul was inside the ICU, hovering right next to my son's pillow. The swelling on Leo's face had gone down slightly, and the nurses had carefully cleaned the dried blood from his mouth. But that only made the brutal injuries stand out even more. Especially the distinct handprints on his cheeks. Whoever hit him had used maximum force. Julian stared blankly at his son, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. "Julian?" Evelyn's voice, trembling with apprehension, called out from behind him. She had received the news from the hospital staff that morning. They told her a woman's body had been found in the hallway, with a six-year-old boy lying on top of her. When Evelyn heard the news, she was doing her makeup. She had snapped her lipstick right in half. Having been by Julian's side for years, she knew exactly how he operated. The man was pathologically toxic—he only ever valued what he couldn't have. In the past, that was her. But now... she was starting to panic. So, before coming to find him, Evelyn carefully applied a sickly, fragile makeup look, even layering pale foundation over her lips. She didn't stop until she looked flawlessly pitiful. Sitting in a wheelchair she had demanded from the nurses, Evelyn swallowed her anxiety and asked softly: "Julian, did you need me for something?" Julian turned around. The raw fury in his eyes faltered slightly when he saw her pale, sickly face. But then, he thought of me, and of his son lying comatose in the room behind him, and his heart turned to stone again. "Evelyn. The injuries on Leo... Did you do this?" He stared directly into her eyes, his voice dripping with dark suspicion. Evelyn's heart leaped into her throat, but outwardly, she looked utterly shocked and devastated. When she looked through the glass and saw Leo, she immediately covered her mouth, her eyes welling with tears. "Leo... what happened to him..." She reached out and grabbed the hem of Julian's shirt, weeping beautifully. "Poor Leo. Who could be so evil? How could anyone do this to a six-year-old child?" "Julian, you have to find whoever did this. You can't let them get away with it." Julian stared deeply into her eyes, his tone questioning: "Do you really mean that?" Evelyn nodded emphatically, her voice resolute. "Of course! Even though Leo and I had our issues in the past... at the end of the day, he's just a little boy." "Seeing him like this absolutely breaks my heart." "Julian... do you really not believe me?" Seeing her pitiful, tear-stained face, the suspicion in Julian's heart slowly evaporated. He looked away, turning his gaze back to his sleeping son, his eyes filling with pain. "I believe you. It's just... with Leo in this condition, I had to ask." "Evelyn, were your bodyguards with you last night? I want to question them about what happened." Evelyn lowered her eyes, a victorious smirk flashing across her lips where Julian couldn't see. Before coming down here, she had already threatened her bodyguards to keep their mouths shut. Julian wasn't going to find out anything. Thinking about the brief flash of emotion on Julian's face last night when the little bastard called him "Daddy," Evelyn felt a surge of hatred. She thought to herself, I shouldn't have held back. I should have just beaten the little rat to death last night. Then, Julian would only ever look at me. I listened to their entire exchange, my rage burning so hot I thought it would vaporize my soul. I knew Julian's brain was practically nonexistent. A few pathetic tears, and he was completely fooled. So much for the "ruthless business tycoon." While I was cursing him, Julian's phone rang. He told Evelyn to go back to her room and rest, then walked away to take the call. The moment he was out of sight, Evelyn stood up from the wheelchair. She stood at the glass window, glaring at Leo's sleeping face. A dark, twisted plan formed in her mind. "Chloe, since your son is just as annoying as you are, insisting on being a thorn in my side..." "I'm going to have to look out for myself, and get rid of him." My heart slammed against my ribs. I hovered in front of the ICU door, trembling violently. What was she doing? Was she going to hurt my Leo again?! No! Absolutely not! My baby has suffered enough! I won't let you! Seeing the malicious smile spreading across Evelyn's face, I wanted nothing more than to rip her flesh from her bones. Evelyn, oblivious to the vengeful spirit screaming at her, smoothly made an excuse to send the attending nurse out of the room. Then, she quietly pushed the door open. Phasing right through my transparent body, she walked slowly toward Leo's bed. Standing over him, she smirked. Her perfectly manicured acrylic nails traced his forehead, his eyes, his split lips. Finally, her hand came to rest on his fragile neck. "If Chloe knew what a pathetic state you were in right now, do you think she'd hate me?" Evelyn laughed out loud, her eyes shining with pure malice. "It's a shame your mother was so weak. All I did was have the surgeons take her heart out and put it right back in, and her body just couldn't handle the shock." "I guess she was always destined to die young." I gasped in pure shock, ice-cold dread flooding my entire being. What did she mean? My heart wasn't transplanted into Evelyn?! Did that mean...
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