Charlotte stared at Lena, who was kneeling on the floor, looking utterly defeated.
“Ms. Harrington, what do you think you’re doing?” Her tone was cold and mocking. “Do you really believe your knees are made of gold, that by groveling you’ll move me to pity?”
“To me, your begging isn’t worth a dime.”
Lena’s head snapped up in disbelief, eyes wide and incredulous.
The pain burning in her palms, the humiliation of kneeling—none of it could compare to the shock in her chest. “Charlotte, that’s your own son! You carried him for nine months, brought him into this world! Are you really going to just turn your back on him?”
Once, words like these might have shaken Charlotte, might have stirred up the complicated, tangled feelings she’d harbored deep inside.
But now, since the chip implanted in her body had fully integrated, those lingering attachments, those messy ties of fate, had all been cut clean. Her heart could only hold space for the people truly worth protecting.
Charlotte lowered her gaze and looked at Ryan, who stood quietly at her side. For a fleeting moment, her eyes softened.
But when she turned back to Lena, her expression was icy again. “Noah is my son, yes. I gave birth to him.”
“But from the day I signed the divorce papers, I severed all legal ties to him. And when I once knelt before him, any trace of motherly sentiment I had left died right there.”
“His life—or his death—has nothing to do with me anymore.”
With that, Charlotte didn’t spare Lena another glance. She took Ryan’s hand, and together they walked away—unyielding, resolute.
Mother and son disappeared through the restaurant doors, leaving Lena frozen in place.
She collapsed onto the cold tile floor, blood still oozing from her palm. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, pupils dilated and lifeless.
A staff member approached, hesitant, voice gentle. “Ma’am, should we call you a doctor?”
“No. Don’t bother!”
What was this little injury, compared to Noah’s life hanging in the balance?
Images of Noah as a baby flashed through Lena’s mind—how he’d nestle in her arms, tiny and soft, how he’d break into giggles after every bottle…



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