Chapter 5

The words had barely left her lips when the two men in black grabbed Emma and forcibly dragged her onto the stage.

“Let me go!” She struggled violently, but to no avail.

Under the malicious gazes of the crowd, she was thrown heavily into the water tank. The icy water instantly submerged her head. Before she could even breathe, the excruciating pain of her flesh being torn apart followed.

Piranhas frantically tore at her flesh and blood instantly stained the entire tank red. Before her consciousness faded, she vaguely heard the auctioneer’s cold voice from below the stage.

“Mr. Nicholas instructed that his wife be given an unforgettable lesson, to learn who is untouchable.”

James’s instructions? Emma felt ice-cold all over. Just because of Charlotte’s self-directed and self-acted drama, he was going to treat her like this?!

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she was roughly dragged out of the water tank and thrown to the ground like a rag doll.

She woke up again in a hospital, her body completely covered in bandages, every inch of her flesh bruised.

The doctor looked at her, frowning. “You’re pregnant and you still haven’t been careful. You’ve suffered such serious injuries. Where’s your husband? Did you know you miscarried?” Emma froze.

She was pregnant? She didn’t even know. After Michael’s death, she had been depressed and desperate several times. Her greatest wish in life was to have another child like Michael.

But now, before she even had time to feel joy, that little life had left her. She lay in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to even shed a tear.

That afternoon, a nurse came in to change her dressings and couldn’t help but chat, “Ms. Ryan in the VIP room next door is really lucky. I heard she was just frightened and Mr. Nicholas has been taking care of her every step of the way.”

“Yes, he even personally brought her water and medicine. Unlike this one here…” The nurse looked at Emma with pity.

Emma closed her eyes, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips.

That night, James came. Seeing Emma covered in bandages, lifeless and pale, his pupils contracted and he spoke in a hoarse voice. “Emma, Charlotte said you just fell, I didn’t expect you to be so badly injured… Children… We’ll have more in the future.”

Emma lay on the bed, not even lifting her eyelids. James was still unaware that she had been thrown into the water tank and bitten by piranhas, still believing Charlotte’s one-sided story, thinking she had just fallen.

“In the future?” There would be no future. That was what she thought to herself.

The next day, Emma had just finished changing her dressing when the door was gently pushed open.

Charlotte, wrapped in James’s coat, had a rosy complexion. If it weren’t for the hospital gown, you wouldn’t have guessed she was a patient.

“How pitiful, Mrs. Nicholas.” Her eyes held undisguised smugness and malice. “I heard you lost another child and are covered in injuries? I’m so sorry, Mr. Nicholas took care of me all day yesterday and only had time to come see you this evening.”

Emma remained unresponsive, her eyes still closed. Charlotte bent down and whispered in her ear, “By the way, you don’t know, do you? Your little one didn’t survive back then, not because the illness was too acute–”

Emma’s eyes snapped open, her bloodshot eyes fixed on her. “What did you say?”

“It was because when the little one had a seizure that day, I was in a bad mood and wanted Mr. Nicholas to go to the beach with me. He came with me without a second thought, completely forgetting that your child was still lying in the hospital waiting for help.” Charlotte became increasingly smug as she spoke. “You didn’t see it? When the doctor called via video, the child’s face was turning blue and purple. No wonder he couldn’t be saved. Don’t you think so, Mrs. Nicholas?”

The last thread of reason in Emma’s mind snapped completely. She had always believed her baby hadn’t survived due to limited medical resources. But she never imagined the truth was that James had let their child die for another woman!

She abruptly rolled out of bed and with a strength she didn’t know she possessed, grabbed Charlotte’s hair and slammed her against the wall with all her might. “Charlotte, I want you to kowtow and apologize to my child!”

Caught off guard, Charlotte screamed. Blood immediately appeared on her forehead. The commotion attracted James, who rushed over and saw Charlotte’s bloodied face.

“Stop!” He pushed Emma aside, shielding Charlotte behind him, his face ashen. “Emma, are you insane?”

Emma lay on the ground, panting heavily, her eyes bloodshot as she glared at the man and woman before her. “James, you killed Michael!”

James was stunned for a moment, then roared, “What nonsense are you spouting! Michael was terminally ill; no one could save him. I think you’ve lost your mind. Guards, take Madam back to the villa and let her sober up. No one is allowed to let her out without my order!”

With that, James carried Charlotte away without a second glance. Emma curled up in the villa room, her heart feeling like it had been ripped open.

Just then, her lawyer sent her a message: [Ms. William, your previously submitted divorce application has been officially approved by the court.]

Emma’s eyes lit up instantly. She could finally leave this place and make James and Charlotte pay the price!

She gathered her documents and Michael’s belongings, then jumped out of the second-floor window.

After hailing a taxi, she got in, snapped her SIM card and then resolutely pressed the detonator in her hand.

A massive explosion echoed through the sky. Emma looked back out the car window; the once luxurious villa was now a pile of rubble.

Amidst the billowing flames, Emma averted her gaze. The car drove into the darkness of the night. And she never looked back.