4

Seeing Queena lying in a pool of blood, Jerome's face suddenly turned pale. “What the hell is going on?!” Little Sheila pouted and threw herself into Sandra's arms, saying tearfully, "Mom... I just wanted the aunt to take me back to my room, but she lost her balance and fell down... Wah, wah, wah, I didn't mean to..." Her tears flowed freely, her little shoulders shaking, looking both wronged and afraid. Queena lay on the ground, the excruciating pain in her abdomen nearly causing her to faint, but those words pierced her muddled consciousness like poisoned needles. She had clearly felt that deliberate push, had clearly seen the fleeting malice in that child’s eyes, but now, the other party was using the most innocent expression to shift all blame away. Sandra instinctively clutched her daughter tighter. “Little Sheila is still young; she definitely didn’t mean to...” The sound of the ambulance's siren grew louder as it approached. As Queena was carried onto the stretcher, she cast one last glance at little Sheila standing beside Sandra. The child was peeking out from behind Sandra's arms, her gaze carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smirk of triumph. The pain in her abdomen grew more intense. Before her consciousness sank into darkness, Queena felt an icy chill run through her body. When her consciousness returned, Jerome was standing by the bed, his eyes red with grief. “Queena, I'm sorry. I didn't even realize you were pregnant. I failed to protect you and the child... We'll have another one someday.” There won't be another one. Queena repeated silently in her mind. As a child, she had been kicked into icy well water by her drunk father and left there for a long time, damaging her body. Doctors had said she would likely never be able to conceive. So Jerome wouldn’t know how overjoyed she had been when she discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant. She had kept this secret, intending to surprise him on his birthday, but instead, that day had turned her life upside down. Perhaps this was her fate and that of the child. “Queena, don’t blame little Sheila either.” Jerome took her hand, gently rubbing his fingertips against the back of her hand, as if trying to appease her silently. “No one can predict accidents. She’s still young and doesn’t understand. These past few days, she’s been so scared she can’t sleep, and she keeps saying she wants to come see you.” Queena smiled softly upon hearing this: What if I said she did it on purpose?" “Bang—” The ward door burst open, and Sandra stormed in, her voice trembling with tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice. “Ms. Ross, I tolerated you pinching and hitting little Sheila behind closed doors, but why would you use such malicious thoughts to speculate about a child?” Old Mr. Powell and Mrs. Powell, who were following behind, turned pale upon hearing this. “What did you say?!” Old Mr. Powell snapped, lifting little Sheila's sleeve to reveal several bruises from pinching! Queena’s eyes widened in shock. “It wasn’t me!” “Smack!” As she spoke, a slap landed hard on her face. “You vile woman! How dare you harm such a young child!” After speaking, Old Mrs. Powell still felt unsatisfied and delivered another slap, as if she wanted to cut Queena into a thousand pieces. Queena had just narrowly escaped death and was still weak. The two slaps left her vision blurry, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Jerome clenched his fists tightly and stepped forward to block the relentless old Mrs. Powell. “Mom—” “Are you still protecting her?!” Old Mrs. Powell snapped, cutting her off. “She’s the one who harmed your own daughter! Who knows what despicable tactics she’s used behind the scenes? Our poor little grandson has suffered so much because of her.” “Sandra, you too—how can you sweep this under the rug? She’s nothing but a lowly seductress. How can we let her run rampant in the Powell Family? You’re just too kind-hearted, which is why she’s able to manipulate you.” As she finished speaking, a sudden snort of laughter came from the doorway. Everyone turned to look, and saw Spencer leaning against the hospital room door, looking casual. “The Powell family is so wealthy and powerful—they must have surveillance cameras, right? Just check the footage to see if it’s true or not.”