Chapter 2

"Henry, Nancy, I'm your real mom. It took me a lot of effort to bring you into this world," Madeline said, forcing herself to stay calm so she wouldn't frighten them. "I never wanted to leave you. You were taken from me."

However, before she could finish, another apple hit her in the face.

Henry kept a cold expression. His voice was young but steady. "Even if you gave birth to Nancy and me, you're not our mom. Our mom is Olivia."

Nancy chimed in right away, "We don't want you as our mom. You hurt my mom. I hate you."

Madeline's chest tightened with a sudden pain.

She didn't understand how things had ended up like this. They were supposed to be her children.

She tried to explain, but before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door. "Hello, we received a report that someone here is causing trouble."

Two police officers in uniform stepped inside, with several doctors trailing behind them.

"It's her. She's mentally unstable. She hurt my mom and tried to take my brother and sister away," Henry said, pointing at Madeline with a calm but determined expression.

Madeline's eyes widened in shock.

She couldn't believe her children would turn her in to the police.

She said, "They are my children. I'm not making a scene. I can prove it with a DNA test."

"Madeline, can you stop? How could they possibly be your kids? Everyone knows the babies you delivered were stillborn," Edward said, his voice turning cold.

He turned to the police. "My wife has been having some mental issues because of what happened with the children. Could you please take her away?"

"Edward, that's not true," Madeline called out.

She barely moved before the doctors rushed in and restrained her.

She yelled, "Let me go. I'm not causing trouble, and I'm not insane. These are my kids."

Nobody listened to her.

She was dragged out of the ward while Edward had his arm around Olivia, soothing her. One of her children was hugging Olivia, while the other was trying to make them laugh.

Madeline's eyes stung sharply, and tears kept running down her face.

She was his wife and the mother of his three children, but everyone was turning against her.

The doctors dragged her straight into the treatment room and strapped her down, securing her hands and feet so she couldn't move.

"Let me go. I'm not insane, there's nothing wrong with me," Madeline shouted.

"If that's true, then why are you trying to take someone else's children?" one of the doctors retorted.

"They're my children," Madeline screamed.

Suddenly, electric shocks kept hitting her head, and Madeline started thrashing. "It hurts. Let me go."

Nobody cared. They stood there, watching with cold expressions.

"She gave birth to stillborn babies, and now she's trying to snatch someone else's kids. No wonder that kid said she needed shock treatment. She's lost it."

"Her husband also says she's got mental issues. What bad luck to be married to someone like her."

"Give her a few more rounds, and she won't dare make a scene again."

When the shock treatment was over, Madeline lay on the table, staring blankly. Her wrists were covered in marks from the straps, and her nails had broken from gripping the bed too hard, blood still dripping out.

It turned out her own child had told them to do this, and Edward had let it happen.

How ridiculous.

She thought if that was what they wanted, she'd let them have it.

She was done with Edward and those kids.

*****

The day Madeline was discharged from the hospital, she didn't head back to Perry Manor. Instead, she asked Linda to meet her at a café.

"Are you sure you want a divorce?" Linda asked.

"Haven't you always wanted me gone? Now that I'm leaving, shouldn't you be thrilled?" Madeline said calmly, taking a sip of her coffee.

Linda smiled. "I am. I'm only surprised you actually want to leave. After all, money, cars, and houses couldn't make you walk away all these years. Now you're asking for it. That's a real surprise."

Madeline lowered her gaze slightly.

All these years, Linda had confronted her countless times, both openly and behind the scenes, humiliating her again and again. Each time, she endured it because she believed Edward loved her, and she couldn't give up.

Now it all felt like a joke. Everything she had done felt pointless.

"I expect the divorce papers to be signed in two days," Madeline said.

Linda's eyes darkened. "Sure."

After saying that, Madeline stood up to leave.

Linda suddenly said, "If the babies you had weren't all stillborn, I would have liked you. Too bad. The Perry family can't accept a woman who can't have children."

Madeline froze for a second, watching the traffic outside the window, sneering.

All these years, she had lived with that label hanging over her. She thought Edward loved her, but it was all fake.

The children she thought had died were actually alive, but none of them recognized her as their mother.

*****

After leaving the café, Madeline took a cab back to Perry Manor. Standing in the room she once thought of as home, she felt a wave of suffocating pressure rise inside her.

She looked at the soft carpet by the couch. Every time she had hurt herself from slipping or falling, Edward felt bad, so he had soft carpets put down all over the home.

She would lie there, and Edward would rub her ankles for her.

He'd always say, "Don't go to Perry Manor anymore, Madeline. They don't treat you well. I don't want you to be upset."

Back then, she truly leaned on him. Even though she was always ignored, she went to visit his family often, and she believed that they would finally have a healthy baby.

She walked upstairs slowly and opened a box. It was a gift Edward had given her before.

Inside was a pearl necklace. He'd given it to her when she was expecting their first child.

Back then, he held her close and said, "Madeline, thank you for bringing our baby into the world. This necklace is perfect for someone as precious as you."

Later, the baby didn't survive. He didn't blame her; he only said it might not be the right time.

There was also a photo album full of pictures from when they had started dating. In every photo, Edward was smiling softly, his eyes full of tenderness.

He used to hold her hand and walk all over the city with her, and whenever someone upset her, he would protect her.

Madeline let out a bitter smile.

She started to wonder if all that kindness had ever been real.