Chapter 35 Turning Point
Back at the hospital scene, when Harry’s wife was admitted.
“I forgot to pray for Aunty,” Little Olivia said, stopping abruptly in the hallway.
“Miss Smith, you can do that on your next visit,” her bodyguard reminded her gently.
But Olivia shook her head.
“I’ll be back. Please wait for a while.”
Without waiting for approval, she sprinted back toward the ward.
…
Meanwhile inside the ward.
“Look at her… She was growing up so well, and I have limited time left,” Alicia’s mother whispered weakly. “All our efforts will be wasted. She’ll take over Smith’s corporation, and our child will always be beneath her.”
Olivia, who had just reached for the curtain, froze. Her hand hovered mid-air.
Was the woman talking about her? What did she do wrong?
But then Harry spoke, and Olivia’s world cracked.
“I won’t let that happen. She won’t live long enough to take anything away. Everything will go exactly as we planned.”
His tone held confidence… and cruelty.
“And you’ll be there to claim the position of the president’s wife. So stop talking about dying. I am the Smith that's meant to lead with you by my side and our daughter as the princess.”
Olivia clamped both hands over her mouth to stop herself from gasping. Her tiny feet moved backward silently, one step at a time.
Behind her, she still heard Alicia’s mother murmur,
“Then you’d better kill her fast,”
before they shifted into discussing her illness.
Olivia was young, but she was not foolish. She knew immediately that telling her parents would destroy their relationship with Harry forever. So she kept it buried in her heart… and never returned to the hospital until Alicia’s mother had passed away.
Her parents never knew what happened, but they respected her refusal to visit.
Just as she expected, the attempts on her life began exactly a year after Harry’s wife died.
It started harmlessly, children her age riding bicycles into her path, trying to knock her down. When they were caught, the terrified kids confessed that someone had paid them. They even handed over the money to Olivia’s guard.
The CCTV footage revealed a hooded man speaking to them earlier.
Her parents increased her security immediately. Two guards now stood by her side at all times. They became wary of any child near her.
Surprisingly, Olivia didn’t look shaken. She would stare blankly at her parents, like a doll, while they examined her for injuries. When they asked if she was hurt, she’d simply say she was fine.
But the attempts grew more dangerous as she grew older.
Her parents began giving her self-defense training. They never would have escalated it to advanced weapons, if Olivia hadn’t shown a disturbing eagerness to learn more.
She said nothing about what she had heard. She simply followed orders, trained diligently, and held her ground as the future heiress of Smith Enterprise.
She proved to Harry, again and again, that his daughter would always be behind her.
Alicia could have grown up simply as an innocent cousin with unfortunate parents… if Olivia hadn’t once caught her smirking from a corner during one of the attempts on her life.
And then there were her so-called friends.
A group of girls who mocked her, whispering that she couldn’t survive a day without her “dogs” her guards watching over her.
Did they get away with those insults?
Of course not.
Olivia would look them in the eyes and recite every dark secret about their families, the kind of painful truth that made them retreat instantly. Her words were sharp enough that passersby often judged her instead, labeling her rude and cruel.
She used to care. She truly did.
But she grew out of that. By ten years old, she stopped caring entirely about what people thought. She spoke her mind, pushed fake friends away, and banned Alicia from visiting her parents’ mansion with her pretentious sympathy.
People called her spoiled.
She proved them right.
If they couldn’t handle that, they could simply disappear from her sight.
…
Back in the present
Tears streamed down Emma’s cheeks as she slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body trembled. She had passed out on the floor, alone, all night. The pain had been so unbearable it felt as though she were being torn apart in pieces until she finally slipped into darkness.
It was better now, but morning had already arrived. She had been unconscious the entire night. She hadn’t even been able to call Max as she planned.
“Welcome back, Emma William,” Honey said softly. “I sent a text to your parents saying you don’t want to be disturbed.”
Emma didn’t react to the message. Her eyes lifted to the small fluffy bunny floating nearby.
“Can I hold you?” she asked, tears still falling.
Honey blinked. “Me?”
Emma nodded weakly.
“Boohoo! Host has lost her mind,” Honey squealed, darting to the edge of the bed to hide, leaving only her head poking out.
“No, I’m fine,” Emma said quietly. “I’m just used to having Nemo around when I feel like this.”
Her heart dropped when Honey vanished, only for the bunny to reappear suddenly in her arms.
“One minute,” Honey grumbled, but stayed there.
Emma clung to the soft fur, exhaling shakily.
“That girl… had it worse than I do,” she whispered.
Her chest tightened painfully. She genuinely felt for Olivia.
She struggled to feed her family, yes but Olivia had grown up knowing someone wanted her dead.
And that person was her own uncle.
It must have scarred her deeply.