Chapter 7

Holly was hospitalized for an entire week. On the day of her discharge, Tyler personally sent a car to pick her up. But as soon as she entered the house, she saw Nancy sitting in the living room, dressed in a silk nightgown. Holly simply headed upstairs without a word. She wasn't in the mood to involve herself with Nancy. The police had warned her to act like nothing was wrong if she wanted to get her child back safely. They couldn't risk alerting anyone. Holly was sitting in the bedroom for a while when Cody suddenly walked in with a mug. Her heart softened when she saw him. After all, he was the child she'd brought up herself for the past four years. She still loved him dearly. Upon seeing Holly seated, Cody obediently brought the mug to her. "You've been through a lot recently, Mommy. Have some water." She smiled and finished the drink without hesitation. However, she quickly realised something was wrong the next minute. Holly frowned, looking pained. "What did you make me drink, Cody?" Cody grinned mischievously. "It's nothing, just water mixed with some pills. Who told you to keep trying to make Aunt Nancy leave? She said that you'll fall sick after drinking this water. You won't have the energy to kick her out when you're sick!" Holly froze. She stared at the boy, who she'd carefully taken care of for the past four years. Her face was full of disbelief. He had actually hurt her, his own mother, over an outsider. No, she wasn't Cody's mother—Nancy was. At that thought, Holly smiled bitterly before passing out. She could vaguely hear Cody shouting excitedly, "Come quickly, Aunt Nancy! Mommy fainted!" … Holly was lying in a basement when she regained consciousness. Darkness surrounded her, and all she could make out was a faint hissing sound. She felt around and managed to turn on the light. She instantly broke into a cold sweat when she saw dozens of slick, venomous snakes slithering toward her, their blood-red tongues flickering in excitement. Frightened, Holly immediately backed off, her face pale. At that moment, Cody spoke up in his childish voice. "Are these snakes fun, Mommy?" Holly didn't bother responding. She instinctively tried for the door, but it was locked tight. There was no way to get it opened. In her panic, she slammed her forehead into something. The snakes caught the scent of her blood and immediately gathered around her. Holly was left with nowhere to run. The next moment, one of the snakes sank its fangs onto her toe. Its sharp teeth pierced into her flesh, making her sweat in pain. A second snake lunged at her, and soon the others followed. The bite marks went from red to purple, and her lips began to turn pale. At that moment, Harvey anxiously shouted, "Please let Mrs. Greyson out, Ms. Kohl! She's going to die!" Nancy smirked before crouching down to pull Cody into her arms. She then asked, "What do you think, Cody? Do you want to let your mommy out?" "No!" He turned to yell at Harvey. "Once Mommy is out, she'll kick Aunt Nancy out! I don't want her to leave!" At that, Holly's heart grew completely cold. Cody was once the only reason she was holding onto this family. But now, she no longer had to do so. Holly felt like she was about to die soon. At that moment, the basement door suddenly burst open. In her daze, she saw Nathan running toward her in a hurry. … Holly was back in the hospital again when she woke up. Beside her stood Nathan and another boy, Noel Steward. Holly stared numbly at the boy before turning to look at Nathan. Realization hit her then—her child was finally back. She broke into tears of joy, hugging Noel for the longest time. … Two days later, Nathan sent Holly and Noel off to board a plane to Ruisse. Before they left, Nathan had looked at her affectionately and said, "Go and take him away from this place. Just leave everything else to me." Holly nodded tearfully and took Noel's hand. They then boarded the plane without looking back.