My sister's son had leukemia. Just because I didn't immediately agree to donate my daughter's bone marrow, my husband ordered them to drain my daughter's blood.

I fought desperately to save her, but my sister broke both my legs and threw me into an alley, where I suffered unimaginable cruelty.

Three years later, my sister's son's leukemia relapsed. My husband remembered me, with whom he had lost contact for three years.

He returned to our former home, only to find it covered in dust and falling apart.

He shook his head in disgust.

"She vowed to love only me forever, but just after I left for a short while, she had already disappeared. So shameless."

My sister cried as she shook my husband's arm.

"The doctor said Leo Cole's condition is very critical this time. We have to find a suitable bone marrow match right away. Now that my sister has left with her daughter, what's going to happen to my Leo?"

For her sake, my husband launched a massive manhunt, determined to drag me and my daughter back to be their source for bone marrow.

But this time, he was in for a disappointment.

Because my daughter and I were already dead.

...

Just as the private jet landed, his assistant brought him some bad news.

"Mr. Ethan Cole, your wife and daughter seem to have vanished these past few years. We can't find any trace of them, no matter how much we investigate."

Ethan's brow furrowed.

Behind him, Leo, attached to a ventilator, looked exceptionally frail and pitiful.

Sophia Miller's tears started falling instantly.

"My sister must still be mad at me. She'd rather watch my Leo die than help me out. Does she want me to die before she saves my child?"

Speeding all the way, Ethan kept sending me messages with a cold expression.

"Haven't seen you in years, and you've grown some guts, huh?

You even dare to ignore my messages now?"

"Elara Cole is my daughter too. It's my right to see her. I advise you to bring her back obediently. Don't make me come for you. Didn't you learn your lesson last time?"

When there was still no reply, Ethan, consumed by rage, sent a direct threat:

"Still so jealous. It seems it's time to impose some punishment on her."

Sophia quickly shook her head.

"I just want my sister to save my Leo. I don't want her to get hurt. Ethan, tell her I'll give her anything she wants. As long as she agrees, I'll give up everything."

Ethan put his arm around Sophia, his expression unreadable.

Soon, the car stopped at the hospital.

In the familiar ward, Ethan suddenly remembered a similar scene from three years ago.

His Leo had leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant, but I refused to give up Elara, no matter what.

Even though my own match was eighty percent, Ethan ignored it and made the final call, demanding that Elara, a ninety-five percent match, be the donor.

He said:

"I only ever do things I'm certain about."

To save his son, he had my Elara kidnapped.

During the bone marrow extraction, to stop me from causing a scene, Ethan posted fifty bodyguards outside the ward.

I cried and screamed, fighting back.

"My Elara is only five years old! She has a serious heart condition, she really can't donate! If someone has to donate, let it be me, okay?

I'm begging you."

Sophia knelt before me, crying.

"Elara is just getting a small needle prick, but it's saving my son's life

I know you hate me. Hit me, yell at me, I'll take it. But my son didn't do anything wrong, don't take it out on him."

I didn't even get a chance to speak before Ethan slapped me to the ground.

He said coldly:

"Saving Leo is Elara's duty as an eldder sister. You have no right to stop it."

That time, they took so much from Elara she was barely alive.

But that wasn't enough for Ethan.

He was furious that I resisted, making his son suffer longer. To punish me, he had them drain almost all of my daughter's bone marrow.

"I'm doing this to make you feel Sophia's pain, so you won't dare be so selfish ever again."

After that, he took Sophia and Leo abroad to recuperate, cutting contact with me for three years.

He sighed at the thought.

"Isabella Miller really knows how to hold a grudge. Finding her this time will probably take a while. It's just a shame Leo has to suffer so much more because of her pettiness."

Sophia collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

My soul floated overhead, and watching them embrace, I found it laughable.

They exhausted all efforts to find me, but they didn't know I was right beside them.

"Ethan... we... we f... found... her!"

Ethan and Sophia, who had been completely dejected, quickly perked up.

Especially Sophia, her whole body was trembling with excitement.

"Quick, tell me where she is. I'll go beg her myself. Whatever price Isabella wants me to pay, I'll accept it. As long as my Leo can get better, I'm willing to give my own life!"

Her eyes were red, and her small, pitiful frame looked even more vulnerable.

Ethan's nose was red too, and his voice grew deeper.

"I'm here. I won't let you get hurt in the slightest. I'm already being merciful by not going after that bitch. How dare she cause trouble for you?"

"Maybe the entire Cole family wouldn't allow it!"

Looking at his assistant, he said in a tone that left no room for argument:

"What are you waiting for?

Go grab them now. Every minute you delay is another minute of suffering for my Leo."

The assistant hesitated:

"But... but..."

Before he could finish, Ethan's patience had run out.

A vicious slap sent the assistant sprawling to the floor.

"Are you trying to cover for that bitch and her daughter too?

Let me tell you, anyone who gets in the way of me saving Leo will not have a good end!"

The assistant clutched his face, shakily getting to his feet, and spoke with great difficulty.

"But she... she's already dead."

Ethan's body trembled violently, and he staggered back a few steps, his face falling instantly.

"You'd better be sure about your investigation. If I find out you're lying to me, I'll make you wish you were dead."

The assistant quickly took out some documents.

"This is the death certificate from the hospital. The cause of death was surgical failure, excessive blood loss. It can't be wrong."

"The time of death was three years ago, the night after you went abroad."

Ethan seemed to remember something, and in a sudden fit of rage, he slammed his fist into the wall.

"That bitch, just to spite me, she wouldn't even save her own daughter?"

"I clearly sent her a message, telling her to come and get Elara right away. If she really wanted to save her, how could anything have happened to Elara?

She must have seen that Elara had no use to her, so she just abandoned her to go find some other guy to take her in!"

"No matter what, Elara is still a daughter of the Cole family. How dare she be so cruel!"

As Ethan said this, Sophia started to look a little uncomfortable.

I floated nearby, my invisible soul shedding tears of blood.

Back then, after the surgery, Ethan took Leo and all the specialists on a private jet and flew abroad.

My Elara was left behind in their private hospital, with no one to look after her.

He did send me a message, telling me to take Elara with some regular doctors.

But he didn't know that after the bodyguards threw me out of the hospital that day, I was dragged into a van.

In the van, the thugs Sophia sent broke both of my hands and threw me into the darkest, most chaotic alley on the outskirts of the city.

That night, I was tortured to the brink of death.

But I didn't dare to die, even after so much humiliation and abuse, even when the pain made my consciousness fade.

But I really didn't dare to die.

If I died, there would be no one left to protect Elara.

It wasn't until the sky began to lighten at dawn that those demons, having had their fill of me, finally left.

I didn't dare stop for a moment, rushing to the empty hospital, only to be met with a sea of crimson.

My Elara stopped breathing in my arms.

All night long, she suffered in pain and agony. It was only when she saw me that she finally dared to close her eyes in peace.

He was the one who had personally destroyed my Elara, yet now he was insulting me with a cold face:

"A venomous woman like Isabella doesn't deserve to have my child. I will never forgive her for failing to protect Elara."

He turned to his assistant and ordered:

"Go, prepare the tools for punishment ready. Bring all the punishment instruments to the living room. I'm going to judge her for her crimes in front of everyone!"

"Ethan, no matter how bad she is or what she's done, she's still my sister. I'm begging you, please don't be so cruel to her."

"She must have only done this because she was so heartbroken. I don't blame her. I just feel so sad... Elara is gone, and now my sister is all we have to rely on."

Sophia looked as if she had made a firm decision.

"Let me to beg her. My sister has always been competitive and can't stand to see me doing better than her. If she can just take her anger out on me, maybe she'll give in. As Leo's mom and your partner, this is my duty. I have to go!"

She slapped herself hard twice, and tears immediately started falling.

Ethan's heart ached for her, leaving him speechless.

"Who told you to do that to yourself?

Is a bitch like Isabella really worth you hurting yourself to beg?"

"I have my own ways to make her crawl obediently to me."

He took out his phone and called the nursing home.

"Bring Isabella's mother here. I want to see if Isabella is really that tough."

I couldn't stop my mournful cry, and a flicker of a smile appeared in Sophia's eyes.

But facing Ethan, she remained pitiful and frail:

"He... Helen Davis never liked me or my mom. She always called us a family of homewreckers. When I was little, she'd beat and scold me over nothing, and now she's lost her mind and turned into a madwoman. Ethan, I'm so scared."

Ethan was unbelievably gentle:

"Don't be afraid. The pain of the past is over. You have me now, you don't have to be afraid of anything."

I was frantic in the air above. My mom was the only thing I still cared about.

But Ethan wouldn't even spare her!

He seemed to have forgotten how good my mom was to him when he was a child.

When he fought with his family and ran away to my house, it was my mom who patiently talked him through it and helped him resolve his issues.

Later, when he wanted to start a business and couldn't get support from his family, it was my mom who gave him the startup capital.

Even when his investment failed and he was too scared to let his family find out, it was my mom who covered his losses.

Later, when Sophia and her mother drove my mom to depression, he cried and told me he would stand by my side and get revenge for her.

But somewhere along the way, he became their protector instead.

He held Sophia, his expression full of pity and affection.

"This is a perfect chance to get revenge for what you went through as a child. If Isabella doesn't come out, then her mother will have to suffer the punishment in her place."

I charged at him like a madwoman, but my soul was too light to cause any harm.

When I saw my mother again, she was in a wheelchair with her eyes closed, looking lifeless.

Sophia knelt directly in front of her:

"Helen, no matter how much you hate me, my child is innocent. Please, just help me this once. Tell us where Isabella is. Save Leo.

She kept bowing, and my mother let out a few weak coughs.

She slowly opened her eyes, and the moment she saw Sophia, my mother erupted in fury.

"You bitch! You harmed my daughter and my granddaughter! I want you to pay with your life!"

My mother struggled to get up to hit and curse at her, but before her frail hand could even touch Sophia, Ethan brutally kicked her and the wheelchair away.

The man's expression was icy.

"I paid for your nursing home for years out of respect for the past. Is this how you repay me?"

You're an elder, so I won't argue with you. Just tell me where Isabella is, and I'll handle your funeral arrangements."

Mom fell to the ground, blood flowing from her mouth, and I couldn't do anything but watch her suffer, clinging to life in agony.

"Isabella?

You heartless man, and you still have the nerve to say you want to see her?"

My mom looked up at Ethan, a single tear falling from her cloudy eyes.

I felt a stabbing pain in my very soul.

"Of course I need to see her. Isabella has been bullying Sophia since they were kids, and this is her chance to atone. As long as she donates her bone marrow, I'll forgive her for everything."

"But if she remains stubborn, I definitely won't be soft on her again."

Ethan stood there, looking down on my mother from his superior height.

Sophia threw herself into his arms, crying.

"Isabella doesn't have to atone, I'm the one begging her. I don't dare hope for anything else, I just want her to save my Leo."

Mom looked at them and suddenly burst into laughter.

"What goes around, comes around!

Oh, my daughter, can your soul see this? What goes around, comes around. Those who do evil will not escape retribution."

Ethan frowned.

"What nonsense are you talking about now?

I don't have much patience to wait. I'll give her three hours. If she doesn't show up to save you within that time, I'll have no choice but to make you take her punishment."

My mom laughed manically, but tears streamed down her face.

"My Isabella... she's not coming back."

"Because she's already dead."

Ethan looked up, clearly not believing it.

"Lying to me? Let's see how long you can keep this up. You'll make up any lie to avoid, won't you?"

"It's just a bone marrow donation, it's not going to kill her. Last time she said Elara was too young and she was worried something would happen, I could understand that. But what's the excuse this time?"

"Isabella is thirty years old. The doctor made it very clear there would be no side effects. But her? For her own selfish reasons, she uses death to escape and makes you take the fall for her."

"Fine. Then I'll see just how cruel she really is!"

He ordered the bodyguards to force my mom to her knees.

An assistant handed him the punishment rod. He took out his phone and started recording.

"Isabella, watch closely. Your mother is being punished because you ran away. This is all your fault!"

The punishment rod, as thick as a wrist, slammed viciously onto my mother's back. With just one hit, my mother coughed up blood.

Ethan recorded the video, his voice cruel.

"For your own selfish reasons, you'd even abandon your own mother's life?

How truly heartless."

The second strike knocked a tooth right out of my mother's mouth.

I floated beside him, begging him over and over to let my mother go.

But my soul was too light, passing through his body again and again.

Seeing that I still hadn't replied, Ethan's gaze grew even colder.

"Even after all this, you still won't give in?"

My mother looked at the impatient Ethan without a trace of fear.

"Even if you beat me to death, Isabella isn't coming back."

"Good. If I die, I can go be with my Isabella and Elara. I lost the will to live long ago."

Ethan was furious and about to strike again, but Sophia threw herself in front of my mother, crying.

"No, don't hit Helen anymore! I don't want her to get hurt. I just want to cure my Leo. I don't want to involve innocent people."

Ethan snorted, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.

"Sophia, you're always so soft-hearted. That's why Isabella bullies you over and over again."

Sophia cried with great emotion.

"I can't bear to see her suffer. Even though she really hurt me in the past and made me go through a lot, I believe I can win them over with sincerity. As long as they're willing to save my Leo, I can forgive anything."

I was going mad with hatred. It wasn't like that at all. It was always Sophia and her mother who, relying on my father's favor, pushed me and my mom into a corner time and time again.

Ethan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly laughed as if he'd thought of something.

"Isabella, you let your mom stand up for you. Because you were betting that Sophia is too soft-hearted to really do anything to her, weren't you?"

He called the doctor over directly and pointed at my mom:

"Take her to get a bone marrow match. Her daughter's bone marrow matches Leo's, so hers definitely will too."

After the doctors took my mother away, he sent me another voice message:

"If you won't donate, I'll make your mother donate for you. If you keep hiding, I'll livestream the whole thing for you."

My mom was carried into the operating room. They didn't even use anesthesia, performing the matching procedure on her while she was fully conscious.

Ethan kept sending me videos nonstop, but he got no response.

Just as my mom's match results came back, his assistant rushed in frantically, holding an old, outdated cell phone.

Ethan was very annoyed.

"What can I to do with this piece of junk?

Any news on Isabella?"

After being yelled at like that, the assistant could barely stand and dropped to his knees.

"Mr. Cole... this... this is Isabella's phone."

Ethan froze, suddenly looking flustered.

"What do you mean? Why do you have her phone?"

The assistant's voice grew quieter.

"Isabella's body has been found, in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The body... the autopsy results are back. Both her arms were shattered... and her lower body was severely torn..."

"We conducted a very thorough investigation, and the results show... Isabella died three years ago. She was severely injured, but for some reason, her death seems to have been deliberately covered up. It took us a long time to find any evidence."

Ethan's legs suddenly gave out, and he collapsed hard onto the floor.