Chapter 6

Her wound, still tender from the medicine, throbbed with a dull ache. Olivia just wanted to rest, not get into another fight, so she took the bowl of fish soup and took a sip.

But as soon as she swallowed, it was like shards of glass tore through her throat, slicing it twice with brutal force.

It hurt like hell.

Her face twisted in pain. She wanted to ask Ethan to call a doctor, but even moving her throat was unbearable. Talking was out of the question.

Ethan frowned when he saw her like that.

Ethan shot Olivia a look of impatience. "Why are you making that face? Is the fish soup really so awful?"

"I can't cook, so I had the maid make it," Vanessa said, holding out a spoonful for Ethan to try.

After tasting it, Ethan's expression hardened as he turned to Olivia. "The soup's fine, neither too salty nor too bland. Even if you can't stand Vanessa, that's no excuse to treat her this way."

"This is Vanessa's kindness. Today, you're drinking every last drop, no excuses," Ethan ordered.

Olivia shook her head desperately, reaching for her phone to type a message, but Vanessa "accidentally" lost her grip on the bowl, spilling the scalding fish soup all over Olivia's wrist.

Ethan grabbed Vanessa and hurried her out to get her burn treated.

As Vanessa left, she shot Olivia a taunting look over her shoulder. Olivia instantly realized, Vanessa had slipped fish bones into the soup on purpose.

Following Ethan's orders, the bodyguards forced the whole pot of fish soup down Olivia's throat.

The soup was scalding hot and full of hidden fish bones. By the time they were done, Olivia's mouth was blistered from the heat, and her throat was shredded and bleeding from all the bones.

It took the doctor four hours to remove all the fish bones from Olivia's throat.

"No spicy food or alcohol for the next six months. If you don't take care, you might lose your voice for good," the doctor warned.

Olivia spent a few more days recovering in the hospital, and only returned to the Sterling Estate once she was able to walk again.

As she passed the guest room, Olivia saw the bed piled high with all the latest designer dresses. Every time Vanessa came out in a new outfit, Ethan watched her with that soft, loving look in his eyes.

Olivia calmly looked away and went back to her room.

She was straightening up her vanity when Ethan walked in, holding a dress. "There's a charity gala tonight. Vanessa wants to go, but this dress is too loose at the waist. You know how to sew, right? Can you fix it for her?"

Olivia knew Ethan would bend over backwards for Vanessa. If she said no, he'd just make her do it anyway.

So she nodded.

"What's with the nod? Are you mute or something? Can't you just say yes?" Ethan frowned, clearly annoyed by Olivia's attitude.

Her throat was torn up by the fish bones. How could she even speak?

Olivia took the CT scan out of her bag and tried to hand it to him, but just then Vanessa called from outside, and Ethan walked out without even looking at what she was holding.

He didn't bother to notice anything in her hands.

Ethan, worried his mother might get suspicious, brought Olivia along to the charity gala too.

The gala was a fundraiser for seriously ill children. Vanessa dropped 25 million dollars on a traditional painting, and the crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

After the auction, the staff invited Vanessa up for a group photo.

With a beaming smile under the spotlight, Vanessa held up a sign that said "Show More Love to Seriously Ill Children." Out of nowhere, the two delicate straps on her dress snapped.

The entire dress fell straight off her body.

"Ah!" Vanessa screamed, dropping to the floor and desperately hugging herself, completely exposed.

Ethan rushed onto the stage, quickly wrapping his coat around Vanessa. He barked at his secretary to wipe every single shot of Vanessa's dress disaster from the cameras. No trace left behind.

Olivia's right eyelid twitched, and a sense of dread crept over her.

Sure enough, not even five minutes later, the bodyguards showed up and hauled Olivia straight to the lounge.

Vanessa was still trembling, her eyes red and streaming with tears. Ethan was beside himself with worry for her. The second he saw Olivia brought in, he didn't hesitate. He slapped her hard across the face.

Olivia's ears were ringing, and she could taste blood in her mouth.

"Olivia, didn't I warn you not to go after Vanessa? I asked you to fix her dress, and you just had to mess with it out of spite, deliberately sabotaging it so she'd be humiliated in front of everyone!" Ethan snapped.

Olivia had only adjusted the waist of the dress. As for why the straps broke, Vanessa was the only one who knew the real reason.

Most likely, it was Vanessa who suggested Olivia fix the dress in the first place.

She'd orchestrated everything for this very moment.

Olivia couldn't speak at all. Her throat was ruined, and she was just exhausted, inside and out.

She knew trying to explain was pointless; Ethan would never believe her anyway. So she just sat there, numb, waiting for him to punish her.

"You think staying silent will get you off the hook?" Ethan snapped, his anger boiling over. He barked at the bodyguards, "Strip her down and lock her in the hotel's cold storage. Let her reflect on her actions in there!"