Chapter 2

The next time Ethan woke, the pain was a roaring fire in his body. A doctor stood over him, his face grim.

"Mr. Thorne, you' re very lucky to be alive. However, the damage from the accident was severe. We had to perform a complex surgery to save you."

Ethan stared at the ceiling, his mind replaying Olivia' s words. It' s their turn to repay me.

"The surgery… it has a permanent side effect," the doctor continued, avoiding his gaze. "I' m very sorry, but you will be unable to have any more children."

Just then, Olivia entered the room, her expression a perfect portrait of concerned grief. She walked to the doctor' s side, and Ethan heard her speak, her voice low and laced with false sympathy.

"Dr. Chen, you must understand. Mr. Thorne has already lost one child. You' re telling me you' re ensuring he can never be a father again. Don' t you think that' s too cruel?"

Ethan' s blood ran cold. He waited for the doctor to protest, to explain it was an unavoidable consequence. But the silence stretched on, thick with unspoken meaning.

Then Olivia spoke again, her voice dropping to a near whisper, a chillingly calm tone that was meant only for the doctor but was seared into Ethan' s memory.

"I will only ever have one child, and her name is Lily. And as compensation for his loss, Ethan Thorne will be my husband forever, devoted only to me. Now, proceed with the surgery quickly. I need to check on Lily; she and Mark must be waiting for me. Oh, and be careful. My husband is very sensitive to pain."

The last sentence was a masterpiece of cruelty, a final, mocking twist. Ethan felt a scream building in his throat but forced it down. He clenched his fists under the thin hospital blanket, his nails digging into his palms until he felt the warm stickiness of blood. Silent tears streamed down his temples and into his hair.

The loving wife was a monster. The caring mother was a murderer. The perfect family was a lie built to harvest his son' s heart. The only truth was a six-year scheme that ended in a planned car crash and a surgery designed not just to save his life, but to destroy his future.

He was wheeled into the operating room. As the anesthesia began to take hold, his mind plunged into a nightmare. He saw Liam, small and terrified, strapped to a gurney. Liam was crying for him. "Daddy, it hurts! Daddy, where are you?" Ethan tried to run to him, to scream his name, but his legs were made of lead, and his voice was gone. He could only watch as shadowy figures in surgical masks surrounded his son.

He woke up with a gasp, his body drenched in a cold sweat.

Olivia was sitting by his bed, peeling an apple with a small, silver knife. She looked up, her eyes wide with feigned concern.

"Ethan, you' re awake! You had a nightmare. It' s okay, I' m here."

He stared at her, the woman who had orchestrated his son' s murder, now offering him comfort. The hypocrisy was so profound it was nauseating. He wanted to lash out, to scream, to wrap his hands around her throat. But he remembered his vow. He had to play along.

"Olivia," he croaked, his voice horse.

"Yes, my love?" she said, leaning closer. "What is it?"

"Liam," he whispered, letting a tear roll down his cheek. "The funeral… we need to make arrangements."

Olivia' s expression softened into one of deep sorrow. "Of course. I' ve already spoken to the funeral home. We' ll give him the most beautiful service, my love. A service fit for our prince."

She continued to speak, her voice a soothing balm of lies, but Ethan' s eyes were fixed on her wrist. She was wearing a thin silver bracelet. It was a simple, handcrafted thing, with a lopsided charm that was supposed to be a star. Liam had made it for her last Mother' s Day at a craft fair. He remembered how proud Liam had been, how he' d carefully fastened it on her wrist.

"Mommy, this is a wishing star," Liam had said. "So you can wish for anything you want, and it will come true."

Olivia had kissed him, her eyes shining. "Oh, my sweet boy. I already have everything I could ever wish for right here."

Now, she wore that symbol of his dead son' s pure love while she planned her future with her real family, purchased with Liam' s heart. The sight of it was a physical pain, a constant, burning reminder of her betrayal.

He closed his eyes, feigning exhaustion. But behind his eyelids, his mind was crystal clear. He would endure her false sympathy. He would play the part of the grieving, broken husband. He would let her believe she had won, that he was hers forever, a neutered pet to serve as her compensation.

But every moment he spent in her presence would be dedicated to one single purpose.

He would find this Mark. He would find this Lily. He would uncover every single thread of her six-year lie. And then, he would destroy her, just as she had destroyed him. He would take everything from her, and he would make her feel every ounce of the pain she had inflicted upon him and his son. This was his new vow, a promise sworn in blood and grief.