Chapter 1
"James, I'm begging you, please save my mom, okay?" In the pouring rain, Emily Johnson knelt at the villa entrance, crying and pleading humbly.
A black Rolls-Royce drove out from inside. The window rolled halfway down, revealing her stepsister Sophia Johnson's face. She wore a mocking expression, "Emily, what new trick have you come up with to ask for money this time?"
"No, it's not like that!"
Emily shook her head and looked at James Smith anxiously, "James, my mom is really sick. I'm begging you, please save her, just... just for our baby's sake."
She crawled forward two steps on her knees, her belly nearly seven months along but alarmingly large.
Looking at her, James said with disgust, "What does the bastard in your belly have to do with me?"
Emily's heart went cold. She never expected that James would deny even his own child.
"Emily, you didn't actually think I'd be interested in an ugly country bumpkin like you, did you?" James sneered. "On our wedding night, I was with Sophia the whole time."
"Who knew you couldn't control yourself and slept with some other man."
Hearing this, Emily's face turned deathly pale.
Everything James had done this past year suddenly made sense.
No wonder he never came home, no wonder he treated her like trash, no wonder even when she got pregnant...
"So you've been fooling around with Sophia behind my back?" Her lips trembled.
"What do you mean by fooling around?" James frowned. "If you hadn't interfered, Sophia and I would have been married already. You stole what was hers, and you have the nerve to blame us?"
"Besides, I was just messing with you. You didn't actually think that marriage certificate was real, did you?"
Facing his barrage of accusations, Emily felt dizzy and disoriented.
She hadn't interfered with their relationship at all!
Over ten years ago, Emily was taken to an amusement park by her father, Brian Johnson, and got lost by accident.
Emily's mother fell ill because of this, and Brian naturally had an affair with Sophia's mother. More accurately, he finally dared to show his true colors.
Because the illegitimate daughter he brought back was actually two years older than her.
When Emily's mother learned this news, she became too sick to get out of bed.
It wasn't until a year ago, when Emily was found by the Johnson family, that her mother's condition improved. Later, she forced herself to take back the marriage arrangement that rightfully belonged to her from Sophia.
But Emily felt inferior and had no intention of marrying James.
It was James who came to her on his own initiative, saying he was willing to honor the engagement, and even took the initiative to introduce her to his friends.
Emily thought her life was finally turning beautiful, but she never expected...
"Emily, don't blame James," Sophia got out of the car and helped her up. "After all, what man could stand marrying an uncultured country wife?"
Emily's body began alternating between hot and cold, unable to hear clearly what she was saying.
Sophia leaned close to her ear and continued in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too greedy and taking what was mine."
"So, go die." After saying this, she pretended to stagger back as if Emily had pushed her.
"Ah... Emily, I was just trying to get you to think positively. You don't need to be so hostile toward me." She looked completely wronged.
James said angrily, "Sophia, don't bother with her, get back in the car."
Sophia did as told and got back in the car. When closing the door, she seemingly accidentally caught Emily's clothes in the door.
The car sped off, and Emily was suddenly yanked forward by a tremendous force.
"Ah!"
"Help!"
The sudden intense pain made Emily scream, but no one cared.
Like a rag doll, she was instantly dragged thirty or forty feet. The world spinning, her vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness.
...
Five years later, at the Emerald City funeral home.
Emily wore all black and focused on arranging the final appearance of the deceased.
"Mommy, come quick and look." Her little daughter Nina, wearing a cow-print jumper dress, bumped into Emily's legs.
"There's a person over there, and he seems to be moving!" She pulled Emily outside.
Seeing her stumbling along, Emily picked her up with a mixture of laughter and exasperation, "Nina, did your brother trick you again? If the people who come here could move, they'd get up and catch you."
Back then, after being dragged by the car, Emily thought she would surely die.
Unexpectedly, she was saved by someone passing by, who also became her teacher in medicine.
After barely surviving, she gave birth to triplets.
Unfortunately, the first baby wasn't breathing at birth. Only the second and third babies survived. She named her second baby Oscar, and the third Nina.
Thinking of this, Emily's eyes dimmed with sadness.
"No, it's not like that." Nina shook her little head desperately. "He's really moving!"
Nina gave Emily directions, and they soon arrived at the next room.
Oscar stood by the bed in the corner, his little face identical to Nina's but showing maturity. "Mommy, this person is moving. We can save him and collect a medical fee."
He paused and added, "This time we can ask for more, a hundred thousand dollars."
Over the years, Emily had learned some medical skills from her teacher. Because she didn't have a medical license, she only treated some elderly people in the neighborhood who couldn't afford care.
Occasionally, when she met wealthy people willing to give it a try, she would charge higher fees accordingly.
Emily stepped forward and observed carefully, finding that the man indeed still had a faint breath.
Looking at his whole body, there were multiple wounds deep enough to see bone, seemingly caused by sharp weapons.
His background was probably not simple.
Emily searched his entire body but couldn't find any identification. After hesitating for a long time, she ultimately couldn't just watch a life slip away.
She said, "Oscar, Nina, go get my medical kit for me."
"Okay!" They both answered in unison.
They quickly returned with the medical bag.
The scene that followed was somewhat bloody. Emily sent the two little ones out to play and began using needle and thread to suture the man's wounds and treat his broken bones.
After finishing everything, she noticed that the man's facial features seemed somewhat familiar.
Emily's heart skipped a beat. She quickly brought a towel to wipe the blood from his face.
When the man's face was fully exposed, her breathing stopped. His face was chiseled, with deep-set eyes, and below his high nose bridge, his thin lips were pressed tight.
He looked seventy or eighty percent similar to the two children.
Emily's mind flashed back to that night years ago, the snake head tattoo on the man's chest like a fierce beast watching its prey, ready to devour her at any moment.
Over the years, it had haunted her dreams.
She turned to look at the man's chest.
His injuries were mainly on his legs, so Emily hadn't removed his clothes.
But now...
Emily took a deep breath and directly started unbuttoning his clothes.
As the buttons came undone, the man's perfect physique gradually appeared before her eyes.
Below his firm chest muscles, his abs were clearly defined. Blood slid along the muscle lines, showing a wild beauty amid the brutality that made Emily's breath catch slightly.
Before she could look closely, the two little ones' voices suddenly came from the doorway, "Mommy, you're undressing him, how embarrassing!"
Emily turned her head to see two little heads at the door playing a stacking game, their hands covering their eyes, but with gaps between their fingers too wide to actually block anything.
Her expression stiffened, and she said helplessly, "You're peeking again."
While speaking, Emily glanced at the man's chest. There was nothing there.
She felt a bit disappointed and casually helped the man put his clothes back on.