Chapter 4
I thought I was already numb to pain, but Maisy’s words hit me like a bolt of lightning.
I stared at her in disbelief. A chill ran down my spine, making me feel sick to my core.
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I shoved her away with all my strength.
But Maisy had planned this. The moment my hands touched her, she crushed the hidden blood pack in her pocket. Then, she tumbled backward, rolling down the stairs in a perfect performance.
“Brad! Help me!”
Her scream instantly alerted Bradley.
The moment he saw Maisy lying in a pool of blood, he completely lost it. He didn’t even bother keeping up the act. He shoved me aside without hesitation and rushed straight to her.
“Alice Campbell, are you out of your damn mind?” he roared before scooping Maisy up and rushing out in a panic.
The force of his shove sent me stumbling against the table. My stomach slammed hard into the corner.
Suddenly, I started laughing. But as the laughter continued, tears began to fall.
Bradley, oh Bradley. They said when a person was in love, even if they tried to hide it, their eyes would always give them away.
How had I not noticed before? Every glance he gave Maisy was filled with a love so deep, hidden beneath a calm façade.
If I hadn’t already gotten rid of this child, his shove just now might have cost me my baby’s life.
That night, I barely slept. I knew this wasn’t over.
Sure enough, Bradley’s assistant Jacob Carr showed up at the house first thing in the morning. He wanted me to go to the hospital to see Maisy.
Jacob told me that Maisy had a miscarriage.
What a joke. She had told me herself that she was infertile. So how the hell could she have a miscarriage?
When I walked into her ward, I saw Maisy’s smug expression and Bradley’s helpless yet indulgent gaze. At that moment, I knew that she had staged the whole thing.
And as always, she did it just to make my life miserable.
Bradley knew she was acting, but he willingly went along with her act.
Not long after, Dad and Keira arrived, having rushed back from their trip after hearing the news.
The moment Dad walked in, he strode straight up to me and slapped me across the face. The slap came fast and hard. Instantly, the metallic taste of blood spread in my mouth.
As soon as Maisy saw them return, she immediately burst into tears and wailed, “Dad! Mom! My baby is gone!
“The doctor said I can never have kids again! It’s all Alice’s fault! I’ve forgiven her so many times for everything she’s done to me, but this time, she took the most precious thing from me! She has to pay!”
Everyone knew my hands were my life. Without them, I couldn’t paint.
She was suggesting to cripple my hand!
Sensing the danger, I immediately turned to leave, but Dad was faster. Before I could reach the door, he had already ordered the bodyguards to lock it shut.
“Go get some boiling water!”
I panicked and tried to break free, but their grip was too strong. I could only watch in horror as the bodyguard approached with a kettle of scalding water in hand.
“No! Stop! Please! Maisy was never pregnant to begin with! How could she have a miscarriage? She staged this whole thing herself!”
I screamed until my voice was hoarse, but Dad’s expression remained cold and indifferent. He was really going to ruin his own daughter’s hand for the sake of his stepdaughter.
Just as I was about to lose all hope, Bradley finally spoke.
But he only glanced at me with a frown. “Alice is pregnant. Just ruin her right hand.”
At that moment, every last shred of hope I had shattered.
When Daniel Campbell—the man I once called my father—forced my hand into the boiling water, he ceased to be my father forever.
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
My face burned red as I bit down so hard on my lip that I tasted blood. Eventually, the agony became too much, and everything went dark.
When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.
Bradley was standing nearby, talking to the doctor. He seemed to be asking about my condition.
“Doctor, is the baby okay?”
The doctor’s head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. “What baby? She has terminated her pregnancy.”
