Chapter 7

Eloise's eyes reddened. She was gripping the door handle so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. Her nails were even digging into the wood. Her throat was dry and raw, but her voice remained sharp. "Do you two even know what you're saying? You'd better tell the truth now!" Benjamin and Elijah were slightly shocked by her crazed appearance. They immediately hid behind Iris. "That's enough!" Sebastian barked. He stormed over and grabbed Eloise's wrist, dragging her inside the house. His grip was so tight that Eloise thought he might crush her bones. His eyes burned with rage and disgust. "Eloise, is this how a mother is supposed to act? How could you hurt your own children out of jealousy? Now, you're even threatening them and saying they're lying?" "I'm not!" Eloise shouted. Her entire body was trembling, and her eyes were red. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Sebastian froze, and he quickly loosened his grip as if he had been scalded. Suddenly, Iris said, "Sebastian, you've scared Ms. Windsor." Sebastian quickly snapped back to his senses as he looked at Eloise. His words were ice cold as he asked, "Why are you still making excuses? Eloise, they boys are ten? Do you really think they'd purposely frame you? You really don't deserve to be a mother." She didn't deserve to be a mother. Eloise's body shook as she sneered. Then, she slowly closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face and splashed onto the floor. Benjamin and Elijah suddenly burst out in tears. "Dad, the warehouse was so dark. We were terrified…" Sebastian quickly turned to soothe them. His eyes were filled with pity. "Don't be scared. I'll protect you…" "Dad, we don't want to live with Mom anymore," Benjamin said. "I don't want to see her anymore. I'm scared!" "Dad, since Mom has done something wrong, she should be punished. We should lock her inside that warehouse too!" Elijah added. Watching her twin sons chilled Eloise down to the bone. When she looked at Sebastian and saw the coldness in his eyes, her heart turned to ice. "Alright," Sebastian said. "I'll make sure she receives the punishment she deserves." With that, he grabbed Eloise's wrist and dragged her outside before pushing her roughly into his car. They drove off in silence. Sebastian radiated such a terrifying chill that even the air in the car seemed to have come to a stop. When they arrived at the warehouse in the western suburbs, he pushed her inside. "Eloise, you should reflect on your actions. Let this be the last time." Then, he locked the door, plunging Eloise into complete darkness. However, she didn't feel resentment or fear. As the overwhelming pain and anger subsided, she felt extremely calm. The warehouse was enveloped with total silence. Eloise chuckled lightly, then collapsed to the floor. That night, she dreamt about a lot of things. In her dreams, she remembered how miserable and unwell she had been throughout her pregnancy. She had vomited nonstop. During her pregnancy, she had to be hospitalized alone for three months since she had a short cervix. She had suffered nonstop as she had to keep taking progesterone injections, leaving her arms covered in bruises. Due to the large amount of injections she was taking, she had an allergic reaction, causing her body to break out in rashes. Since she was pregnant, she couldn't take the required medication for the rashes. Hence, the unbearable itch kept her up all day and night. When she went into labor, her blood pressure had spiked. She had to undergo an emergency C-section. She had even been admitted into the ICU for ten days. When Benjamin and Elijah were born, they were barely four and a half pounds. They were frail and got sick easily. However, even though she was also suffering from a fever, she was adamant about taking care of her feverish babies herself. She had risked her life to bring her twin sons into the world, and she had spent a lot of effort raising them. However, it was her sons that had… Eloise felt a sharp pain in her chest. She felt like her heart had been ripped apart, tossed to the wind, and trampled into the dirt.