Picking up my son from school, a Porsche sent my son flying twenty-five feet through the air. Little Leo was covered in blood, his tiny hand still clutching a newly bought superhero action figure. I held him, kneeling on the asphalt and begging strangers to call 911, but the woman who caused the crash didn't even get out of her car. She leaned against the driver's seat to touch up her lipstick, then dialed a phone, her voice sickeningly sweet and soft: "Mr. Sterling, I messed up and I'm so scared. Please come save me..." Three minutes later, two black town cars blocked off the intersection. Six bodyguards in black suits surrounded me and Leo. I screamed that my child was coughing up blood and would die if he didn't get to a hospital. The lead bodyguard expressionlessly blocked even the approaching ambulance. "My boss gave instructions. Nobody leaves the scene until liability is determined, including the injured." I lunged forward like a madwoman, but my arms were pinned back by guards on either side. The woman finally stepped out of the car, clicking over in her stilettos, and crouched down to glance at Leo. "The kid doesn't even look that badly hurt." She tilted her phone away and whined into it: "Mr. Sterling, the other party is trying to run a scam. You have to back me up." "Don't be afraid." A familiar voice came through the other end of the line, terrifyingly calm. "I'll handle it. Stay in the car." Leo’s lips were already turning purple. Grabbing onto the last thread of hope, I cried out that name at the top of my lungs. "Victor Sterling! The one who was hit is Leo!" ...... The other end of the line fell silent for a second. The woman sneered and abruptly hung up the call. The flat beep-beep-beep tone sounded deafeningly harsh on the noisy street. She shoved her phone into her designer bag and looked down at me from above. "What are you screaming about?" "Don't think that overhearing Mr. Sterling's name means you can cozy up to him." "Mr. Sterling is a very busy man. When would he have time to know a ghetto scammer like you?" My eyes split wide with fury as I stared at her. "He is Victor Sterling's biological son!" "You hit him, and Victor will never let you get away with this!" The woman acted like she had just heard the most ridiculous joke, covering her mouth and giggling. "Oh, what a great story." "Before you try to pull a shakedown, you should check who you're dealing with. Is Mr. Sterling someone you can just spread rumors about?" Hanging up the phone, Victor felt a twinge of doubt. He dialed the family nanny’s number to check on things at home. "Martha, have my wife and the young master come home yet?" Martha had been playing mahjong all afternoon and was on a winning streak, refusing to quit, so she wasn't home yet. She lied without missing a beat: "The missus and the young master are watering flowers in the greenhouse." She had no idea that this single lie would become a death sentence for the young master. Victor breathed a sigh of relief and tossed his phone aside. He felt even more annoyed by the frantic voice at the end of that call earlier, muttering a curse under his breath about common gossips. "Let me go!" I mustered every ounce of strength to break free from the bodyguard's grip, throwing myself over Leo. Blood kept surging from Leo’s nose, staining the white button-down shirt on his chest. He struggled to open his eyes, his tiny hand trembling. "Mommy... it hurts..." My heart felt like it was trapped in a meat grinder. "Leo, don't be scared, Mommy is here. The ambulance is right outside." I looked up, screaming at the top of my lungs at the bodyguard. "Move! The ambulance is right behind you!" "A human life is on the line! Weren't you raised by parents too? Do you have no hearts?!" The lead bodyguard stood like an unfeeling wall of stone. He looked at me coldly. "Mr. Sterling's orders. Ms. Vance was startled. Until Mr. Sterling's private attorney arrives, nobody is allowed to disturb the scene." "The ambulance can wait. Ms. Vance's rights cannot be compromised." The surrounding crowd couldn't take it anymore. Several young men rushed forward, pointing at the bodyguard and cursing furiously. "Have you lost your humanity?!" "You hit someone and won't help, and you're blocking the road? This is murder!" "Let's all push through, clear the road, saving the kid comes first!" The crowd started shoving the bodyguards. The lead bodyguard’s eyes chilled as he unclipped a collapsible baton from his belt. A dull, heavy thud. The guy in the front took a strike to the shoulder, screaming as he stumbled backward. The bodyguards smoothly drew their batons, forming a single file line. "Sterling Enterprises is conducting business. Bystanders, back off." "Anyone who takes another step is inciting a riot." The terrifying display stunned the crowd, forcing them backward. Tiffany leaned against the Porsche door, casually admiring her fresh manicure. "Exactly. A bunch of broke nobodies, playing the hero." "If you get hurt, Mr. Sterling can afford the payout. Can you afford the hospital bills?" She walked over to me, using the tip of her stiletto to kick the Spider-Man toy Leo had dropped on the ground. "This toy looks like it came from a dollar store. What, ten bucks?" "Tell you what. How much money will it take for you to shut up?" "A hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand?" With trembling hands, I picked up the action figure and clutched it tight in my palm. Leo’s breathing grew weaker, the rise and fall of his chest barely perceptible. I looked up, my eyes red-rimmed as I stared at Tiffany. "I don't want your money." "I'm begging you, tell them to move. Let the paramedics in." "As long as you let me save my child, I'll do anything you want." Tiffany raised an eyebrow, seemingly satisfied with my total surrender. "Anything?" I nodded desperately. "Fine." She pointed at her stiletto heel. "I got a little dust on my shoe when I got out of the car." "Get on your knees and lick it clean." "If I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll show some mercy and let the ambulance through." An angry roar erupted from the crowd. "Is this woman insane?!" "She's pure evil!" I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood, staring at my dying son in my arms. I hesitated for zero seconds. My knees buckled, and I dropped straight to the asphalt right in front of Tiffany. Chapter 2 Thud. My knees crashed hard against the paved road. The surroundings fell dead silent. Everyone stared at me in absolute disbelief. Even the cold-faced bodyguard furrowed his brow slightly. Tiffany froze for a second before letting out a piercing, shrill laugh. "Oh wow, she actually kneeled." "Guess this little bastard is pretty important to you." She deliberately thrust her foot forward, her shoe tip nearly pressing against my chin. "Lick it." "Make sure it's clean. These shoes were custom-made for me in Paris by Mr. Sterling himself. If you ruin them, you can't afford the replacement." I lowered my head, staring at the dust-covered red stiletto. Dignity was worth absolutely nothing in this moment. As long as it saved Leo, I would gladly die. I closed my eyes and leaned slowly forward. Just as my lips were about to brush the leather— Tiffany suddenly kicked upward. The sharp heel slammed viciously into my shoulder. Before I could react, I was knocked backward, hitting the ground hard. "Hahahaha!" Tiffany laughed uncontrollably, holding up her phone to record me. "Now that's a good dog." "Chat, you guys won't believe this. Ran into a scammer today, willing to throw away all her dignity just to extort cash." Ignoring the searing pain in my shoulder, I scrambled up and knelt down once more. "I did it. Can the ambulance come through now?" Tiffany tucked her phone away and pouted. "Sorry, I changed my mind. I don't want you to lick it anymore." "It's too disgusting." "You can just keep waiting for the lawyers." I completely lost my mind. "You monster!" I lunged upward, throwing myself at her like a mother lion protecting her cub. I locked my hands around her neck, pinning her against the hood of the Porsche. "Let them in! Save my son!" Tiffany shrieked in absolute terror. "Murder! Help!" Two bodyguards rushed forward instantly, grabbing my arms in a vice grip. With a violent heave, they hoisted me completely into the air. "Let me go! You murderers!" I kicked my legs out wildly. The lead bodyguard stepped up, his gaze glacial. "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." He raised a hard leather-soled shoe and brought it down with crushing force onto my right knee. A crisp crack echoed. Agony instantly shattered my nervous system. I let out a shriek, collapsing onto the ground like a broken doll. My right leg bent at a sickening, unnatural angle. Cold sweat soaked through my clothes instantly. Tiffany rubbed her neck, stalked over, and slapped me hard across the face. "Bitch! Don't you dare touch me!" "Beat her! Beat her to death, I'll take the blame!" Right then, a violent commotion erupted at the edge of the crowd. "Ram them! Damn it, I'll take responsibility if anything happens!" A heavy-duty cargo truck suddenly roared to life, plowing straight into the black town cars blocking the street. Crash! The massive impact blasted a wide gap through the blockade. The burly truck driver leaped out of the cab, brandishing a massive wrench. "Even if I go to prison today, I won't watch you animals kill a kid!" The crowd completely erupted. Dozens of pedestrians swarmed forward, using their bodies to break the bodyguards' line. "Hurry! Get the medics in!" Paramedics sprinted in with their emergency kits. They slapped an oxygen mask onto Leo and loaded him onto a gurney. "The boy has lost too much blood, his pupils are starting to dilate! He needs surgery immediately!" Dragging my broken leg, I dragged myself across the pavement, clutching the edge of the gurney. "Doctor, save him... please..." The paramedic, with red eyes, helped me climb into the ambulance. The moment the doors slammed shut, I saw Tiffany furiously dialing her phone in a rage. "Mr. Sterling! They beat me up! And they took that little bastard to St. Jude Medical Center!" "You have to get revenge for me!" The deep, ruthless voice of Victor Sterling came through the speakerphone, ringing clearly in my ears. "Don't worry, I'll handle it." "St. Jude Medical Center is wholly owned by Sterling Enterprises." "I promise you, no doctor in that city will dare lift a scalpel today." Chapter 3 The ambulance tore wildly through the evening rush hour. The piercing sirens couldn't drown out the frantic hammering of my heart. Leo lay on the stretcher, his face as white as a sheet of paper. The lines on the cardiac monitor grew flatter and flatter, the alarm sounding like a death knell. "Blood pressure is still dropping!" "We need a transfusion right now! Call the St. Jude blood bank, prep O-negative blood!" the paramedic roared into his radio. I gripped Leo’s freezing little hand tightly, my tears splashing against the back of his fingers. "Leo, just hold on a little longer, we're almost at the hospital." "Didn't you want to watch the superhero fight monsters? Mommy will take you tomorrow." Leo’s eyelashes flickered faintly, but he lacked the strength to open his eyes. Fifteen minutes later, the ambulance barreled through the front gates of St. Jude Medical Center. The emergency doors were thrown wide open, but not a single nurse with a gurney came out to meet us. A suffocating dead silence permeated the massive ER lobby. The paramedic froze, then jumped out of the vehicle and yelled, "Where is the trauma team?! Bring a gurney!" No answer. Just a few young nurses hiding behind the front desk, keeping their heads down, terrified to look at us. Dropping a curse, the paramedic dragged a gurney out himself. Together, we wheeled Leo toward the trauma rooms. Right as we reached the entrance, a middle-aged man in a white coat blocked our path. It was the Chief Administrator of St. Jude. He was sweating profusely, his eyes darting away nervously. "Stop. You can't enter the trauma rooms." The paramedic grabbed the administrator by the collar. "Are you out of your mind?! This child has internal bleeding, he will die if he doesn't have surgery right now!" The administrator forcefully broke the doctor's grip, lowering his voice. "This is a direct order from the top!" "Mr. Sterling personally called and instructed that until liability is determined, all medical resources at St. Jude are completely locked down." "The blood bank is chained shut, and every surgical chief has been ordered into an emergency meeting." "I have a family to feed! I can't defy Mr. Sterling's orders!" I felt like I had been struck by lightning. Victor, are you truly this heartless? To vent your anger on your little mistress, you're willing to cut off an innocent child's lifeline! Dragging my broken leg, I dropped heavily to my knees in front of the administrator. "Director, please, I'm begging you, save him!" "He's only five years old!" "If you save him, I'll be your slave for the rest of my life!" The administrator turned his head away, refusing to meet my eyes. "Ma'am, please don't make this difficult for me." "In this city, crossing Mr. Sterling means death." "You better take your kid to another hospital. Maybe you still have time." Another hospital? Getting to the nearest major trauma center from here would take at least half an hour without traffic. Leo didn't even have five minutes left! Desperate, I pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking violently as I dialed Victor's number. First ring: Declined. Second ring: Declined. I kept redialing like a madwoman. Finally, the call connected. "Victor Sterling! Get your people out of the way! Let the doctors operate on Leo!" I screamed into the phone at the top of my lungs. A sweet, pretentious female voice came through the line. "Oh my, why is it this crazy woman again?" It was Tiffany. She giggled. "Mr. Sterling is currently checking the scrape on my knee, he's so worried about me." "He said that scammer kid has nothing to do with him, and told you to stop bothering us." "Oh, and Mr. Sterling also said if you dare make a scene at St. Jude, he has a hundred ways to make sure your whole family cannot survive in this city." All the blood in my body froze solid. "Put him on the phone! Let me talk to him!" "I am Clara! The child in the accident is his biological son!" Chapter 4 Tiffany gave an impatient tsk. "Are you ever going to stop? Still playing games?" "Mr. Sterling's wife's name is Clara, sure, but right now she's probably at the mansion watching cartoons with the young master." "Go peddle your cheap trash scams somewhere else." With that, she hung up right in my face. I collapsed onto the floor, my phone shattering into pieces. Despair consumed me like a black hole. Right then, the monitor by the trauma room door let out a sharp, continuous beep. Beep—— It was a blindingly straight, flat line. The paramedic froze in place. He turned around slowly, looked at the flat green line on the screen, and closed his eyes in agony. "Resuscitation failed..." He couldn't even state the time of death. Because the child never even got a chance to be saved. I knelt on the floor, completely motionless. The surrounding world seemed to lose all sound instantly. I couldn't hear the nurses sobbing, couldn't hear the paramedic cursing. My eyes were fixed entirely on the tiny body lying on the gurney. Leo’s face had turned an ashen gray. The white shirt on his chest was soaked through with blood, dried into a deep maroon. The tiny hand that had been clutching the Spider-Man toy now hung limply off the side of the stretcher. The toy had fallen to the floor with a crisp clatter. Dragging my broken leg, I crawled forward, inch by inch. I picked up the Spider-Man action figure and stuffed it back into his hand. "Leo, hold your toy." "Didn't you say Spider-Man would protect Mommy?" I pressed my face against his icy little cheek, my tears completely dried up, leaving only a dull, burning sting. ..."Why aren't you protecting Mommy anymore..." "Wake up, open your eyes and look at Mommy..." No one answered me. The entire hallway fell into a graveyard silence. Just then, the crisp sound of high heels echoed down the corridor. Accompanied by a woman's spoiled complaints. "The disinfectant smell in this dumpy hospital is so gross." "Victor, I told you I'm fine, why did you have to drag me here for a full-body check?" "The skin on my knee is practically healed already." Hearing that familiar voice, my spine instantly stiffened. I turned my head slowly. Victor Sterling wore a bespoke black suit, looking tall and imposing. He had one arm wrapped around Tiffany's waist, his face carrying a look of indulgence and mild annoyance I had never seen before. "You were hit by a car. No matter whose fault it is, checking in is the smart thing to do." "Just to make sure there are no lingering issues." His voice was dripping with gentle warmth. Tiffany leaned against his chest, letting out a spoiled, smug huff. "It's all that scammer woman's fault, she scared me half to death." "You can't let her off easy." Victor raised his head, his gaze sweeping lazily toward the emergency room. "Don't worry. Nobody crosses my people and gets away with it." He strode forward, bodyguards clearing the path ahead of him. "Move." The guards roughly shoved the nurses and doctors aside. Victor stopped about six feet away from me. He didn't look down at me on the floor, focusing instead on the paramedic. His voice dropped to freezing temperatures. "Are you the ones causing trouble in my hospital?" "Call security and throw them out." The paramedic was shaking with rage, pointing right at Victor as he cursed: "You absolute monster!" "Because of a single word from you, a five-year-old child was dragged out and left to die!" "Aren't you afraid of ghosts knocking on your door at night?!" Victor frowned, looking genuinely baffled by the accusation. "Just a scammer. Good riddance." He finally lowered his noble head, his gaze sweeping over the gurney. In that exact instant. Victor’s body locked up completely.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "568440", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel