Chapter 1: Chapter 1

“Doctor, how is my child? Please tell me, how is he? Ignoring the wounds on her body and the blood on her face. Annie Sanders staggered over with her battered body as soon as the light in the operating room dimmed.

I’m sorry. We did our best, the doctor replied.

Those few words hit Annie like a ton of bricks. She rushed into the room in disbelief, only to see the cold, lifeless body on the surgery table.

“No!” Trembling, she embraced the small body in her arms, but the little one would never respond to her again as in the past.

“You’re one lucky gal, Annie. You and your son should have descended into hell together, but you managed to survive.” Xenia Yates, clad in a striking red gown, strolled in elegantly.

“What do you mean?” Annie’s gaze shot up, her pupils constricting abruptly. The car crash wasn’t *an accident?”

Xenia folded her arms, smirking, “Can’t grasp the plain truth? Fine, I’ll break it down for you, I orchestrated the person who rammed into you both with the car.”

“How dare you!” Annie’s fury surged, attempting to lunge at Xenia, but her battered body toppled to the ground instantly, the searing pain from her injuries engulfing her. Gritting her teeth, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid Jeremy will seek revenge?”

Xenia leaned down, sighing. “You’re so pitiful. Even in this mess, you’re still holding on to illusions about Jeremy. Ever considered if he didn’t green–light this, how could I pull it off?”

‘No… That can’t be… Annie persisted, “Terence is his son!”

Xenia chuckled, “Oh, come on, haven’t you noticed yet? Terence looks nothing like Jeremy at all.”

“What?” Annie’s eyes widened in shock.

Whispering in her ear, Xenia disclosed, “You’re still clueless, huh? On the night of your wedding. Jeremy spent the whole night with me. And I specially arranged several guys to keep you company. How was it? They served you quite well, didn’t they?”

‘It’s impossible. Even though I was drunk, I knew there was only one man there, so I would assume it was Jeremy, Annie thought in disbelief.

Xenia twirled her hair and added casually, “You know? Each time that little bastard calls Jeremy daddy, he just wants to strangle him.”

‘Bastard?‘ Annie’s throat went dry as the truth sank in. “No wonder he never wanted to hold Terence…

“Oh, I almost forgot. Jeremy and I are engaged. Only I could have Jeremy’s baby.” Xenia caressed her bully casually, beaming with satisfaction.

Amie raised her head, her bloodshot eyes staring intently at Xenia, the bestie she had trusted and treated as a sister Yet Xenia stole her husband and orchestrated her child’s demise, stripping her of everything “Why are you looking at me like that? You think you’re innocent? Without you, perhaps the Sanders. family would have been just fine now, Xenia jeered.

Annie stiffened. “Nonsense!”

Xenia sneered, “Jeremy never fancied you from the start. He married you solely for the Sanders family shares. Those obstacles in your family? Well, they ought to be dealt with.”

Memories darted across Annie’s mind like fleeting clouds. Since getting mixed up with Jeremy, the Sandess family seemed to have provoked a malevolent force–her brother’s tragic demise, her mother’s plunge from a building, Mira’s disappearance, Terence’s car crash, her father reduced to a mere shell…

Annie’s head buzzed, her eyes too dry to shed tears, brimming with boundless regret and hatred. I was a fool. I loved the wrong person, causing misfortune for those who truly cared for me.

“Don’t give me a chance, or one day, I will make you repay everything you did today, twofold.” Xenia’s voice dripped with venom.

“Well, that day ain’t comin‘. You’re gonna die on the operating table due to delayed rescue.” Disgusted, Xenia waved for a few people in white coats to come in. “I’m sick of looking at her face. Give her a little ‘cosmetic surgery: Remember, no anesthesia–I want her to feel the agony till death!”

“Got it,” replied a white–coated folk.

Sharp scalpels sliced through Annie’s face, each incision feeling like torture. She writhed in pain, numb but resolute to keep her eyes open. Her nemesis was thriving, but she had lost it all. She didn’t even know who her child’s father was. It was all too much to bear and too hard to swallow. As her final breath loitered, she caught a glimpse of an unexpected figure.

“I’m still late.” The man’s captivating eyes softened from their usual cynicism. He raised his slender. hands and gently shut her eyes that had stared open to the end. “Rest in peace, Annie.”