Chapter 1

"Save the one on the left!" The color drained from Elise Blake's face when she heard Samuel Holt's decisive voice. "Mr. Holt… did you perhaps not hear me clearly?" the rescue captain asked cautiously. "There's another person on the right. If we move the stone slab on the left first, the middle slab will collapse and crush the one on the right…" "Will that person die?" The man's voice was cold and unfeeling. "Well…" The captain did his best to remain professional, but Samuel's standing in Jorvania was far too high for him to offend. "They won't die, but their right hand might be beyond saving…" "In that case, save the one on the left," Samuel ordered. "I'll be sure to reward you handsomely." Elise's heart instantly shattered into a thousand pieces. Every month on the 15th, she would come to Harmony Chapel to pray for her husband, Samuel, and their son, Lucas Holt, as demanded by her mother-in-law, Lynette York. The weather forecast had warned of a snowstorm, and she hadn't planned to come. However, Lynette had the bodyguards escort her here. As she finished offering her prayers, the blizzard hit hard, and Harmony Church collapsed, burying her under the rubble. By sheer coincidence, Samuel's first love, Zara Yarwood, had just returned to the country and was trapped under the same ruins as her. Elise had called him repeatedly, and he'd declined each call. Before her phone died, she received a curt message. Samuel: "I'm busy right now." Yet, when Zara called, he picked up right away. As soon as he learned that she was trapped, he deployed a rescue helicopter. Samuel only had eyes for Zara. He didn't even look in Elise's direction. Even when the rescue team explained that saving the person on the right wouldn't affect the one on the left, he still insisted on rescuing the person on the left first. "Samuel…" Elise looked up with teary eyes. Her fingers dug into her bloodied palms, and her whole body trembled. "Do you have any idea how important my right hand is?" Samuel took one apathetic look at her, as if he didn't recognize her voice or simply didn't care, and told the rescue captain, "If you can't save her, I'll take over." The sliver of hope in Elise's eyes died completely. "Is that El?" Zara asked weakly. "Sam, since it's safe for me, save El first… Her right hand is important. I'm alright…" Before she could finish, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. "Zara!" Samuel immediately ordered her rescue. Then, he carried her out in his arms and left without a backward glance. The moment he left, the slab in the middle gave way. Elise's pupils dilated. She had nowhere to run. Her right hand was crushed beneath it, and the excruciating pain made her black out. … When she came to, she found herself in a hospital. Her right hand was wrapped in thick bandages, and she couldn't feel a thing. As soon as she thought of the suffocating feeling of being trapped under the rubble and how Samuel had walked away without sparing her a glance, she curled up on the hospital bed, trembling uncontrollably. "Are you awake, Mom?" Elise froze when she heard her son's voice. The storm inside her slowly quieted. Wiping her tears away, she found Lucas sitting by the coffee table, looking at her with wide, innocent eyes. Elise sniffled and hastily got out of bed. She walked up to him and wrapped her left arm around him. She no longer expected anything from Samuel. She had no one left in this world but Lucas, the only person bound to her by blood. Elise wanted to find comfort in his presence, so she asked, "Did you know, Lucas? I went through something really dangerous today. My right hand—" "Mom." He struggled and pushed her away. "Don't touch me. You're messing up my protection charm!" That was when she noticed he was sitting there making a protection charm. Her heart softened. "Did you write that because you knew I was in danger, Lucas? Are you trying to protect me?" "No," he responded. "It's for Zara. She just came back, and she's already injured. Maybe the guardian angel doesn't know her yet, so I'm making one for her. The guardian angel will protect her then!" Elise's expression stiffened. She couldn't believe that her son was worried about Zara, not her. "Oh, you always bring back protection charms you make yourself when you go to the chapel every month, right, Mom? Can you help me make one? I just can't get it right, and if it's not perfect, it won't work!" With that, he shoved the pen into her right hand. Pain instantly shot through her arm, causing her to break out into a cold sweat. "Can't you see my right hand is injured, Lucas?" Her voice trembled. "I see it. Will your hand be all better today, Mom? I'm in a hurry!" he urged. Elise's blood ran cold. She was at a loss for words, and she was in too much pain to reason with him. "Are you alright, Mrs. Holt?" Wanda Reyes, the housekeeper, rushed in, helping Elise back to bed and calling for a doctor. After inspecting her hand, the doctor advised, "You need to take very good care of your right hand. If it suffers another injury, you might struggle with even the simplest things." Wanda thanked the doctor, but when she turned around, Lucas was gone, as was the thermos of chicken soup she'd left on the table. "I'll go find Mr. Lucas and be right back, Mrs. Holt!" Elise sat on the bed stiffly, her face ashen and her gaze unfocused. After Wanda left, she rose to her feet, walked to the coffee table, picked up the pen, and followed after them. When she rounded a corner, she heard Wanda's voice. "Where are you going, Mr. Lucas? You should be with your mother." "I'm taking this soup to Zara." "But I made that for your mother." Wanda took his hand. "Come on, let's go back." "I don't want to!" Lucas clutched the thermos. "If my dad hadn't made me come here, I would've been with Zara right now. He said if I didn't come, my mom would hate her. That's the only reason I came. Now that she's awake, I'm going to see Zara!" With that, he took off. Worried, Wanda had no choice but to chase after him. Elise let out a derisive chuckle and clenched her left hand, crushing the protection charm in her palm. She could still use that hand—though not as well as her right, but still well enough to make a protection charm. Elise had gone after Lucas with it because she was afraid he would throw a tantrum, and she'd wanted to coax him. However, it seemed as though that wasn't necessary anymore. She spun on her heel, tossed the protection charm into the trash, and walked back to her ward. Then, she heard Zara's gentle voice. "Have you checked on El, Sam? Is her right hand alright?" It came from her phone, which was charging on the nightstand. When she approached it, she realized it was connected to a call with Lucas. His smartwatch was linked to her phone and set to auto-answer in case she was too busy to pick up. Samuel's low, magnetic voice came through the speaker. Yet, the words that rolled out of his tongue pierced straight through her heart. "Her right hand isn't important." Elise's face blanched. Of course… She'd spent the last six years at Hilltop Manor, making her life revolve around her husband and son. In his eyes, there was nothing she needed her right hand for. All of a sudden, she burst out laughing, though it didn't reach her eyes. This was the man she'd loved for ten years and the son she'd almost died of an amniotic embolism delivering. She'd even lost her uterus to bring him into the world. This was just perfect. Wiping her tears, she made up her mind and went straight to Zara's ward. "Fly away, little butterfly…" Zara was playing a game with Lucas while Samuel sat on the couch across from them and watched. The three of them looked like a happy family. Meanwhile, Elise was an intruder. Elise tightened her grip on the doorknob until her knuckles turned white. Still, her voice was calm and firm. "Let's get a divorce, Samuel."