Chapter 3

Seeing my son so fearful and self-abasing, I was shocked. He was only seven years old...

As he kept kowtowing, I noticed the bruises and scars hidden under his clothes, and the marks of a dog collar on his neck.

I quickly went to help Leo up, but he started slapping himself, seemingly feeling no pain.

"Leo did wrong, Leo deserves to be punished. I'll go to the cold storage room for three hours right away!"

I slowly turned my gaze to Lucas, hoping for an explanation.

Before he could speak, Chloe rushed to embrace Leo, putting on a motherly act.

"You've misunderstood, Scarlett. Leo and I often play house like this. Sometimes I'm the servant, sometimes he is. It's just his turn today."

Trembling, I pointed at the marks on my child's neck and demanded:

"Are these injuries also part of your game? Is this how you treat my son?!"

Seeing Chloe's expression darken, Lucas pushed me away, his eyes full of reproach:

"What are you making such a fuss about! Do you have to act like a shrew? Do you think Chloe is as scheming as you?"

"Those marks are from when Chloe was drawing with Leo. They just won't wash off. You haven't been fulfilling your duties as a mother, and Chloe has been kind enough to take care of your son. Is this how you repay her kindness?!"

Seeing Leo's obvious fear of Chloe, my heart ached to the point of suffocation. I looked up at Lucas with tears in my eyes:

"Can't you see how scared our son is? How can you still think this is just a game!"

Lucas fixed his gaze on our son, observing him for a while. A flicker of doubt passed through his dark eyes.

At this moment, Chloe burst into tears:

"I thought if I treated Leo well, I could easily become part of this family. I never imagined that as an outsider, I'd never truly be accepted into the Graham family. I'm destined to be gossiped about. We shouldn't get married after all. I'm just a complete joke..."

With that, she took off her veil, stuffed it into Lucas's arms, and ran towards the bedroom, covering her face.

Seeing the bride run away, the scene descended into chaos.

But the guests' words were all accusations against me, calling me a "troublemaker" and a "jinx."

Watching Chloe leave, Lucas's brow furrowed with displeasure:

"Is this the example you set for our son? It's just a formal wedding ceremony. Do you have to turn everything upside down before you're satisfied?!"

"And the son you raised yourself, acting like he's been abused by Chloe in front of all these people. Such good acting skills at such a young age, he could be a movie star when he grows up! He'll have to thank his mother for that!"

With these words, Lucas hurried after Chloe to comfort her.

Seeing him berate me in public, my parents only beat me, cursing me for my "affair" and for not being able to keep my man.

I didn't argue anymore. I just held Leo tightly in my scarred arms, tears streaming down my face:

"Don't be afraid, Leo... Mommy will take you away soon. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

I immediately messaged my lawyer to draft divorce papers and called the person who had rescued me.

"Help me this one last time, and I'll help you bring down Graham Enterprises..."