Chapter 3

*Thud.*

The moment Alex spoke, I dropped the photo into the box.

I frowned, looking at him:

“Why are you back so early?”

“Didn’t the teacher say you took Caleb to the old mansion to see Grandpa?”

My words caught Alex off guard.

I looked at the empty space behind Alex and immediately realized something. I called the teacher, and after my repeated questioning, the teacher reluctantly revealed the truth:

“It was… it was Mr. Thorne Sr. He took the child.”

“He told us not to tell you, and said Leo would never live with you again.”

No way!

Leo was my entire world.

I didn’t care about anything else now. I told Alex to drive me to the old mansion.

When I arrived, Leo was crying pitifully.

“I want my mom, I want to go home. Grandpa, she’s not my mom!”

Grandpa Thorne pressed Leo into Sera’s arms:

“This is your home.”

“What’s so good about that mother of yours? She’s so common, so petty. She only married Alex for his money.”

“Grandpa will get you a new mom. Sera is educated and gentle. She’ll not only be good to you, but she’ll also nurture you. You’ll have a bright future!”

I rushed forward, pulled Leo out, and hugged him, whispering reassurances.

Then I looked up, glaring fiercely at Grandpa Thorne:

“Leo is my son! No one can take him from me!”

“Grandpa Thorne, aren’t you going too far?!”

Grandpa Thorne had always looked down on me, and now he felt it was beneath him to even speak to me.

He simply looked at Alex, his face cold, and commanded:

“Get rid of her. Give her some money and send her away. Consider it compensation for her youth and for having a child these past few years.”

“If Sera hadn’t told me you two were fighting about divorce, I wouldn’t have known!”

“Let me tell you, I’ve seen countless women like her. She’s 'demanding a divorce' now, but it’s just a tactic to use the child’s custody to extort money from you, endlessly!”

Alex shot Sera a furious glare.

Then he turned to his grandfather, trying to explain:

“We’re just having a small disagreement, Grandpa. Aria isn’t like that.”

Grandpa Thorne only grew more impassioned:

“Not like that? Not like that, then why did you ‘test’ her for three years? You still doubted her, didn’t you?”

“Alex, you don’t love her, you just pity her. If that’s the case, don’t let this woman monopolize the Mrs. Thorne title. Leo stays, and you give her some money for a divorce.”

“I’m your father, I wouldn’t harm you. Listen to me!”

The bodyguards on the side stepped forward, ready to snatch Leo from me.

I looked at Alex, tears streaming down my face:

“Alex, say something!”

“These three years of marriage, am I a gold-digger or not? Don’t you know, deep down?”

“I was sincere with you, and even more so with Leo!”

Alex remained silent.

He still doubted me.

I stared at him in disbelief, my heart aching as if it had been ripped from my chest.

“You… you still don’t believe me after all this time?”

“These three years, have I spent a single penny of your money, Alex Thorne? Even when I gave birth to Leo, I couldn't afford an epidural, so I endured the pain without it. Delivering packages, cleaning offices—I literally let my dignity be trampled on for those jobs. Yet I never once reached out to you for help.”

“Alex Thorne, you truly have no heart.”

I didn't want to say anything more. I took Leo and turned to leave.

The bodyguards weren’t thugs. The child was small; if anything happened, Grandpa Thorne would surely blame them.

Just as I was about to walk out the front door.

Sera’s startled cry suddenly came from behind me.

“Oh no, Grandpa Thorne fell!”

Although I didn't like Grandpa Thorne, he was still an elder.

I held Leo and accompanied him all the way to the hospital.

I just didn’t expect that the mess he’d caused by falling would have to be repaid with my son’s blood.