Chapter 4

After we brought the two kids back to the villa, life went back to normal.

During the day, Andrew and I had to go to the office. Besides Olivia, only two helpers stayed home to cook and clean.

Olivia was supposed to be the housekeeper. But all she really did was boss the other two staff members around and spend the rest of her time with the kids.

At the office, I checked the villa's security cameras and saw Olivia hovering over her precious boy all day. She tossed Sophie into the crib and let her cry until her voice went hoarse, never even looking at her. She wouldn't give Sophie any formula, either, like she was afraid Sophie would take her son's share.

Even when Sophie had a dirty diaper, Olivia ignored her. She let Sophie sit in it for a long time before giving her a half-hearted wipe.

I even saw her reach out and pinch Sophie on purpose, just to make her cry louder.

She hissed, "All you do is cry. You're ruining my son's luck, you little jinx!

"If it weren't for my boy, I'd strangle you right now, so you don't end up fighting him for the family fortune."

That was when I realized my softness before had been a complete betrayal, a real failure to Sophie.

Watching Olivia on the video, gritting her teeth in anger, I decided it was time to teach her a hard lesson.

If she didn't care about my daughter, then her son would pay back every bit of pain Sophie had suffered.

*****

That night, a panicked scream suddenly came from the guest room where Olivia and Ryan were staying.

Hearing his son scream, Andrew jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room.

After calming Sophie down beside me, I walked out of the room at my own pace.

"Andrew, something's wrong with Ryan!" Olivia cried.

Looking helpless, she held Ryan, whose little face was purple, in her arms. "He was fine just a minute ago, but after his formula, he suddenly got like this."

"Why are you freaking out? He probably just choked a little on his milk. Pat his back, and he'll be fine. No need to make a big deal out of it," I said, staying calm.

I walked downstairs slowly, took Ryan from her arms, and gave him a quick check. "Kids are tougher than you think. Just comfort him for a bit, and he'll be fine."

With that, I started pacing the room with Ryan in my arms, acting like I didn't even notice how panicked they both looked.

As Ryan's face turned even more purple, Olivia kept signaling Andrew, panic written all over her face.

Seeing Ryan struggling, Andrew couldn't sit still. He reached out for the baby. "Babe, something's really wrong with Ryan. Let's take him to the ER now."

I gave him a sharp look and pulled my arm away. "Seriously? What do you know? Who rushes to the hospital in the middle of the night? That's just asking for trouble.

"He's just cranky. Calm him down, and he'll be fine."

I gave Olivia a pointed look. "I'm paying you to take care of the kids, not to make my life harder. If you can't even handle a baby, pack your things and leave. Got it?"

Olivia wasn't thinking straight anymore. When she saw Ryan struggling to breathe in my arms, her motherly instincts kicked in. She completely lost it and lunged at me.

"Give me the baby!" she screamed.

I never expected her to go this far, so I was caught off guard. When she rushed at me, I just hugged Ryan tighter, acting on instinct.

Olivia grabbed a handful of my hair, her face wild with panic. "Give him to me now!"

I yelped in pain as she yanked my hair. Before I could even react, she grabbed my wrist and twisted it hard.

The pain made me loosen my grip, and Olivia snatched Ryan, whose face was already purple, out of my arms. She slammed her shoulder into me, knocking me onto the floor.

My head hit the wooden armrest of the sofa with a sickening thud. The next thing I felt was blinding pain, and then everything spun.

Andrew didn't even look at me. Blood dripped from my forehead as I lay there. The two of them didn't bother to change clothes. They just grabbed Ryan, who was almost black in the face, and rushed out the door.

I watched their headlights disappear into the night, stood up, and brushed myself off, even though there was nothing on me. Then I waved to the maid, who had been standing nearby nervously. "I'm heading to the hospital. Look after Sophie for me."

The new maid nodded respectfully. "Yes, Ms. Sterling."

I patched up my wound, changed into clean clothes, and drove slowly to the city's hospital.