Chapter 5

Emily POV

I froze, my voice trembling:

"Aiden, what... what are you saying?"

Chase stood to the side, looking a bit guilty as he turned his head away and said quietly:

"Aiden, aren't we being... a little too harsh..."

"Dad was so worried when she got hurt that day. If we don't drive her away, what if she steals Dad from Mom?"

Aiden's words stabbed into my heart like a knife.

Before I could speak, James rushed forward, yanked me aside, his eyes filled with hatred that seemed ready to devour me:

"Emily, you actually dared to kidnap the children! You evil woman!"

Xanthe also held the children tightly in her arms, crying and shouting at me:

"If you have a problem with me, come at me! Why hurt my children!"

"I didn't, it was..."

"Enough!"

James cut me off sharply:

"I've been too lenient with you, that's why you've become so reckless! Someone come! I'm going to punish her!"

......

A wooden rod as thick as an arm whistled through the air, striking my back heavily again and again.

I could clearly feel the muscles in my back trembling, spasming, as if they would tear apart any second.

It hurt... every part of my body screamed with pain.

But worse than the physical pain was the pain in my heart.

I remembered a time when I accidentally ruined a family dinner. Gemma was furious and wanted to beat me, but James stood in front of me.

Later, he took 80 strikes for me, yet still covered my eyes, afraid I'd be scared:

"Don't be afraid, Emily. Whatever hardship comes, I'll bear it for you."

But now, he covered Xanthe's eyes and stood aside, looking at me as coldly as a stranger.

The two children gathered around:

"Good! She deserves it for trying to steal Dad and destroy our family!"

A mouthful of blood spilled from my mouth.

I couldn't hold on anymore. I closed my eyes and passed out.

When I opened my eyes again, the wounds on my back still sent piercing pain through me. Every movement felt like being torn apart.

The room was pitch black. I could only faintly hear laughter from upstairs.

I lay silently on the bed, breathing with difficulty.

These were the children I'd longed for day and night, yet for Xanthe's sake, they were willing to take my life.

It wasn't until the station director called that I realized I'd been unconscious for three days.

Today was the day I was leaving.

I forced myself up through the pain and walked out step by step.

Before entering the airport, I took out my phone and started a live stream:

"I'm the woman you all say deserves to die, but I never gave birth to stillborn babies. They were all taken by my husband and given to Xanthe."

"They're brother and sister in public, but secretly they're in this together. I've been blamed, humiliated by the Smith family. I wanted to get my own children back, but they blocked me at every turn. Now I'm tired, too exhausted to fight anymore. I just hope that through death, I can get justice for myself."

At the same time, the butler rushed into the room with his phone:

"This is bad! Ms. Johnson is live streaming!"

James paused, his hand holding the storybook frozen. He put down the two children and took the phone.

On the screen, a figure leaped forward, jumping straight down from the rooftop!