Chapter 6

Steven Anderson drank until he was completely unconscious.

As the party wound down, Sophia Reed helped Steven into the car, intending to take him home.

But before they could drive off, Steven suddenly grabbed her wrist with surprising force.

“Sophia, you’ve had a long day. Go home and get some rest,” he said, his voice hoarse but steady.

“But I... I want to take care of you,” Sophia stammered, her cheeks flushing red. Her lips parted with a soft whimper. “I’ve been out of the hospital for so long, but you’ve barely spent any time with me.”

Her slender fingers trailed up his chest, her face leaning in close to his.

Steven’s stomach churned violently. The next moment, he turned his head and vomited, the foul mix of bile and alcohol splattering all over Sophia’s face.

The stench soaked into her hair and dress.

“I’m sorry,” Steven muttered, furrowing his brows in pain. “You should go home and clean up. Don’t worry about me.”

Embarrassed and frustrated, Sophia clenched her fists.

After hesitating for a moment, she opened the car door and left, not forgetting to remind Steven’s father to ensure Steven got home safely.

But there was something she didn’t know:

Steven could hold his liquor remarkably well. Even an entire table of sake hadn’t been enough to completely knock him out.

And his father didn’t know either.

Mr. Anderson helped Steven to bed, wiping the vomit from his face with a damp towel while muttering softly to himself.

“I know you’re happy, but you didn’t need to drink like your life depended on it!”

“With today’s engagement, the hospital’s funding from the Reeds is locked in for at least the next decade. All my efforts to win them over have paid off.”

“I’m getting old, son. My health’s deteriorating. I don’t have many years left to look after you. Seeing you settle down and build your future... your mother would finally be at peace.”

Steven’s eyes snapped open.

“Don’t mention my mother!” he roared, his voice sharp and filled with venom.

“You have no right to talk about her!”

He sat up abruptly, his movements swift and purposeful—nothing like a drunk man.

Mr. Anderson froze in shock, stumbling back onto the chair beside the bed.

“What a joke,” Steven said, his laughter cold and bitter. “You love bringing her up, don’t you? The woman who died because of you?”

“You knew she had a heart condition, but you insisted she get pregnant. And when it came down to the final moments, you chose to save the baby instead of her.”

“I wouldn’t have been born motherless if it weren’t for you!”

Mr. Anderson’s face turned ashen, his trembling lips unable to form a coherent response.

“How... how did you find out?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Were you afraid I’d learn the truth?” Steven sneered. “You schemed to let my mother die so you could take her inheritance and dowry for yourself. Every move you make is for your own benefit, but you dress it up as noble sacrifice. Doesn’t it make you sick?”

Steven didn’t wait for an answer.

“You’ve been using me to cozy up to the Reeds. When you found out Sophia needed a heart transplant, you started looking for a match. You knew exactly who Ginger was from the start.”

Steven reached over and unlocked the drawer by the bed, pulling out a stack of papers. He tossed them onto his father’s lap.

They were my bloodwork results, taken after I fainted and was admitted to the hospital for low blood sugar. The report confirmed I shared the same rare blood type as Sophia.

“My mother died waiting for a heart donor,” Steven said, his voice sharp. “You were so sure I’d support organ donation because of what happened to her. And you were equally sure Ginger loved me enough to agree. So, in the three minutes I stepped away, you sent in a prearranged hospital volunteer to trick her into signing the donor card.”

It all came flooding back to me.

That day, the volunteer had told me: “As the daughter-in-law of the hospital director and the wife of Dr. Anderson, it’s only fitting for you to support medical advancements.”

I had thought it was Steven’s idea.

But it wasn’t.

He hadn’t known.

In fact, he was the one standing up for me now, demanding justice.

Beside the bloodwork was another report—a DNA test.

“You knew,” Steven said, his tone icy. “You knew Ginger was the youngest daughter the Reed family abandoned. They left her at an orphanage because she was born deaf in one ear.”

I instinctively touched the hearing aid I wore. It had long since become a useless decoration.

I had forgotten so much, confused my memories. I thought Steven was the one who made me sign the donor card. I didn’t remember how he spent sleepless nights finding the perfect hearing aid for me.

I only remembered his cold words, not the quiet love hidden beneath them.

“Eat less greasy food—it’s bad for your heart.”

“Don’t ride roller coasters or do anything too intense.”

He always said these things with a stern face. I thought he was just annoyed with me.

But now I understood.

Steven had been worried I might have the same heart condition as Sophia—or worse, that I might die suddenly like his mother.

He told me that if I gave birth to the child, he’d give me a large sum of money. I thought it was to send me away, but it wasn’t. It was compensation—a way to protect me from his father’s schemes and the Reeds’ ambitions.

Steven must have seen through his father’s plans long ago. He wanted to get me out of that abyss.

But he hadn’t expected Sophia to strike first.

For the first time, Mr. Anderson’s expression cracked, his usual arrogance replaced by fear.

Steven let out a hollow laugh.

“The Reeds abandoned their own daughter. You killed her to gain their favor. But I was her husband—I won’t abandon her.”

“So tell me... what do you think I’m going to do?”

Steven’s laughter grew wild, unhinged. I felt a pang of worry and rushed toward him.