Chapter 5

Olivia's sharp nails raked across Emily's cheek, leaving a deep bloody scratch.

Emily looked completely baffled by what Olivia said.

"What are you even talking about? I don't know what you mean. Let go of me," Emily snapped.

"You're still lying!" Olivia cried, pointing at Lucas, who lay pale and weak in the hospital bed, as tears streamed down her face.

"Lucas is only four years old. He just had a kidney transplant! How could you do something so heartless to him? You're a mother yourself!"

Olivia had always acted tough in front of Edward, but for the first time, she let him see her weakness.

Edward wrapped her in his arms, his heart aching, and gently brushed away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

"I'll take care of this. You and Lucas will have justice," Edward said.

Then he turned to Emily. The tenderness in his eyes was gone, replaced by an icy glare and deep disappointment. He was barely holding back his anger as he spoke.

"Emily, I promised you I'd make sure Olivia and Lucas wouldn't affect you or Sophie. But why can't you even show any compassion for a four-year-old child?" he demanded.

"You actually encouraged Sophie to push Lucas into the pool! If Olivia hadn't shown up in time, Lucas could have died!" Edward shouted.

Emily stared at Lucas lying motionless in the hospital bed, her eyes full of disbelief.

She encouraged Sophie to push Lucas into the pool? That was impossible!

"I didn't!" Emily protested. "Sophie's already..."

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Olivia snapped, tears streaming down her face. "Do you really think I'd lie about something that nearly cost my son his life?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Lucas' weak voice came from the hospital bed.

"Sophie, I never wanted to take Daddy from you. Please, don't hurt me... Daddy, please help me..." Lucas whimpered.

Lucas' voice cracked with tears, and Edward's anger exploded instantly.

"Sophie is just a kid. She couldn't possibly have such a cruel idea. Someone must have manipulated her," Edward said, his cold eyes locked on Emily. "Who else could it be but you?"

Edward's accusation cut deeper than any knife, slicing right through Emily's soul.

Cruel? Manipulated?

He actually thought she was capable of something so awful.

She was a mother too. How could she ever do something so heartless to a child?

Blood dripped down Emily's cheek and fell onto the floor, but she stubbornly met Edward's gaze, refusing to back down.

"I didn't do it," Emily said.

Edward's disappointment deepened.

"Emily, since when did you become this cruel? I barely recognize you anymore.," he said.

Emily gave a twisted, bitter smile, feeling a wave of sarcasm and cold disappointment spread through her whole body.

Did he not know her anymore? Or was it that the man who once loved only her now loved someone else?

The tension in the hospital room was thick enough to cut with a knife.

A bodyguard opened the door and whispered something in Edward’s ear.

Edward's face darkened as he frowned.

"Emily, where's Sophie? Why isn't she in her hospital room?" Edward asked.

Before Emily could respond, Olivia clenched her fists, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mrs. Bennett, you told your daughter to push Lucas, and she did it. Doesn't she owe him an apology?" Olivia pressed.

"And you just moved her to another hospital without telling anyone..." Olivia added.

Edward's eyes grew even colder as he stared at Emily.

"Since you sent Sophie away, you're going to apologize to Lucas for her," he said.

Even though her heart was aching, Emily refused to back down, meeting his gaze head-on.

"Why should I apologize for something I never did?" Emily snapped.

Edward stared at her bleeding cheek for a long moment, his eyes flickering with pain, anger, and disappointment. Finally, his voice turned cold as he spoke.

"Emily, I have to make this right for Lucas. Lucas is my son. No one gets to hurt him," Edward said.

"Toss her into the pool!" Edward snapped.

Emily looked at Edward holding Olivia tightly in his arms, his face cold as ice. Suddenly, she laughed mockingly.

"Edward, you're going to regret this," Emily said.

For a kid who wasn't even really his, he had Sophie's kidney removed, and she ended up dying from the infection.

For a scheming woman, he actually gave the order to punish his own childhood sweetheart, his wife.

Edward deliberately avoided Emily's lifeless gaze, steeling himself as he spoke. His voice was cold as he gave the order, "Don't just stand there. Take her to the pool!"

The bodyguards forcibly dragged Emily to the edge of the pool. Without hesitation, they shoved her in.

The freezing water surged over her, rushing into her nose and mouth.

A sense of suffocation gradually overwhelmed her.

Through the haze, Emily suddenly remembered a time in school when a boy had threatened her. Edward had broken his finger on the spot, forcing him to apologize.

He stood in front of her. "If anyone hurts Emily, I won't let them off."

But now, for Olivia and Lucas, he was the one who ordered her to be thrown into the pool.

He was the one who swore he'd always protect her.

And he was the one who shattered that promise.

Emily didn't struggle. She let herself drift down, surrendering to the cold depths.

Loving Edward was her biggest mistake.