Chapter 4Cruel Wife Discards Her Real Heir

The blade didn't hit Theo. It sank into Serena’s shoulder.

She had thrown herself in front of him, shielding him with her own body.

Serena turned to me, her eyes filled with a mixture of pain and profound disappointment. "Miles... I thought three years would have knocked the violence out of you. I see you haven't learned a thing. It’s time you learned how to behave."

She barked an order, and two heavy-set security guards burst into the kitchen. I fought, screaming her name. "Serena! Where is my mother? Tell me where she is!"

Her expression flickered with something strange, but her voice remained cold. "Throw him in the basement. No food, no water for three days. Let him rot until he remembers who owns him."

The basement was a damp, windowless void. My back throbbed, and the hunger began to gnaw at me within hours. I lost track of time. I hallucinated my mother’s voice, her gentle hand on my hair.

But I couldn't die here. Not yet.

I felt along the walls in the dark until I found a rusted ventilation grate. I used every ounce of my remaining strength to pry it open, the jagged metal slicing my palms. I crawled through the narrow, dusty shaft and out into the cold night air.

I spent the next twenty-four hours walking. I visited every high-end care facility in the tri-state area until I found the last one on my list.

The nurse at the front desk looked at me with pity as she checked the records. "I’m so sorry, sir. Your mother passed away a year ago due to complications after her medication was discontinued for non-payment. We contacted the family representative, a Ms. Serena Victor. She requested immediate cremation and handed the remains over to a Mr. Theo Victor."

I stood frozen, a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I had suffered in that hellhole for her. I had let men beat me and break me, all to keep my mother safe. And Serena had let her die like a discarded bill.

The phone on the desk rang. The nurse looked startled, then handed it to me. "It's for you. A woman."

Serena’s voice came through the line, sharp and commanding. "Miles, how dare you run away? I’ll explain everything about your mother when you get back. Now, stop being dramatic. I’m not even charging you for the stabbing. I’m taking Theo to my grandfather’s heir-apparent ceremony. Get back here right now and watch the baby."

I listened until my vision blurred with tears. Then, I wiped them away and looked toward the city skyline.

"Serena," I whispered to the empty air. "I am going to take everything from you."