Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
To pay off Derek’s debts, I took the dirtiest, most exhausting job in the kitchen of our son’s elite preschool: washing dishes.
Hands that once wore multi-million-dollar diamonds were now soaked in icy water every single day, skin burned and rotted by industrial bleach and rubber gloves.
On the preschool's Family Day, I left the kitchen during my break for the first time, wanting to surprise my son.
Around him, other kids were eating artisan cakes brought by their parents. My son, Ian, was curled up in a corner, chewing on a rotting, maggot-infested apple.
My face went pale. I rushed over, but the moment he saw me, he flashed me a bright, innocent smile.
"Mommy! This is the best treat Daddy ever gave me!"
For the first time in seven years, I abandoned my shift and raced back home.
The moment I stepped inside, designer dresses lay scattered across the floor. From the master bedroom came a woman’s sultry whimper:
"Derek, baby... when are you finally buying me that diamond ring you promised?"
"Eleanor barely brings home any cash every month, and I make sure that little bastard Ian eats garbage every day. Be patient, babe. Once I save enough, it’s all yours."
I stared down at the expensive designer belt discarded by the doorway. A bone-chilling cold swept over me.
Every sacrifice I had made over these seven years was nothing but a sickening joke.
Just then, the phone in my pocket buzzed violently, then fell silent.
Over ten thousand missed calls on the screen. All from the exact same number.
Staring at those digits, for the first time, my resolve finally shattered.
I rushed back to the preschool. With the Family Day event going on, dirty dishes piled up like mountains. My lower back screamed in agony, and I was barely halfway through the sink.
Sudsy foam covered my forearms when Ian’s teacher came sprinting into the kitchen, screaming in panic:
"Eleanor! Your son just collapsed!"
My heart stopped. I ran into the classroom to find a tiny body convulsing on the floor, white foam bubbling from his lips.
The other children stood far away, pinching their noses in disgust.
Blind with panic, I threw myself onto the floor beside him, screaming for someone to call 911 while desperately trying to shake him awake.
When I looked up, neither the teachers nor the parents moved an inch.
"Eleanor, you know what today is," the head teacher said coldly. "The most influential ladies in the city are outside. If we cause a scene, we can’t afford the fallout."
"Besides, your kid is only here on a staff-courtesy pass because you work in the kitchen. He brought that food from home. The school bears zero liability."
Thunder cracked outside, the flash illuminating Ian’s deathly pale face.
I didn't have time to argue. I scooped Ian into my arms and bolted out the door.
Sour vomit spilled from his mouth, soaking my chest. He whimpered incoherently, crying that his stomach burned.
With trembling hands, I dialed Derek, praying over and over again, only to be answered by the cold, mechanical hum of an automated voicemail.
When the last bar of battery drained and the screen went black, I froze in the downpour.
My overworked arms burned with agonizing spasms. In my arms, my boy was slipping away, his breathing so faint he felt weightless.
High-society women gathered under the awning, watching the spectacle. I begged them one by one, only to be shoved aside in disgust.
"Get away from me, you filthy beggar! Don't you dare ruin my outfit! Do you have any idea what this is? This ring is from Sterling Jewels' newest private collection—the only piece in the entire city besides old Mrs. Sterling's!"
"I saw that at the private auction," another sneered. "It went for tens of millions!"
I stared blankly at the ring glistening on her finger.
Not long ago, I had seen that exact piece.
It was a sketch sitting on Derek’s desk.
I had merely glanced at it, and Derek had flown into a blind rage, banning me from touching his work for two weeks.
Sterling Jewels... Derek Sterling.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The clues had been screaming in my face the whole time, yet I had been so blindingly in love that I ignored every single one.
The Sterling family built their empire on luxury jewelry. Their limited-edition collections were rabidly hunted by every socialite in town.
I looked down at the pale scar on my ring finger.
When Derek proposed to me, he used a piece of rusted wire he had bent into a loop.
I treasured that piece of scrap metal for an entire year, refusing to take it off until the jagged edges tore through my flesh, leaving an ugly scar.
Worthless junk. Yet in exchange, it bought seven years of my unconditional devotion.
Pulling myself together, I let out a hollow laugh. Right before their stunned eyes, my knees slammed against the cold pavement.
Completely broken, I knelt before the crowd of socialites, begging them to save my baby.
Finally, unable to stomach the sight any longer, someone dialed for an ambulance.
Ian was rushed straight into the trauma unit. I collapsed onto the hospital floor, numb.
It wasn't until a nurse tapped my shoulder to demand the admission deposit that I snapped back to reality.
I borrowed her phone, biting my lip until it bled, and dialed Derek’s number.
It rang only twice before picking up.
My fingers gripped the plastic receiver so tight they turned white. My chest ached with a suffocating pain.
Derek hadn't missed my calls earlier because he was busy. He just refused to take mine.
His voice came through the speaker—lazy, sated, dripping with the arrogance of a man who owned the world.
Voice shaking, I told him what happened.
The moment he realized it was me, his breath hitched, and his tone instantly curdled into pure venom.
He let out a derisive scoff. "Are you out of your damn mind, asking me for cash? You give me pennies every month. I can barely afford lunch, let alone pay for him!"
I went quiet. Clinging to the last shred of hope in my battered heart, my voice cracked:
"Fine. I get it. Your shift should be over. Just come to the hospital. Ian’s in critical condition. We’ll figure it out together."
Silence fell on the other end, but my ears caught the unmistakable rustle of sheets and fabric.
Heavy pants followed, before Derek snapped with brutal impatience:
"I'm busy. How else do you think this family survives? Don't call me again!"
The call went dead.
A sickening realization hit me like a punch to the gut—what he was doing right after hanging up, right on the bed in our room.
My stomach violently heaved. I bent over the trash can, dry-retching until tears blurred my vision.
Fate gave me no time to break down.
A surgeon came hurrying over, his face grave.
"Are you Ian Sterling's guardian? His condition is deteriorating rapidly. He needs immediate emergency surgery followed by intensive care in the specialized ICU. You need to make a decision now."
The daily rate for the specialized ICU was astronomical.
Blood drained from my face. My whole body swayed.
In that desperate second, a phone number burned itself into my mind.
I dug my nails into my palms, my sanity tearing at the seams. Under the doctor’s urgent gaze, I bit my trembling lip and dialed.
After several agonizing rings, a familiar voice answered.
Deep. Cold. Dripping with lethal authority.
The second I breathed his name, his voice betrayed a flicker of surprise—and something far more dangerous.
"...Eleanor?"I stood watching the tiny, frail figure hooked up to machines in the hospital bed, pain curling my spine inward.
Beside me, the head nurse whispered in reverent awe:
"Ma'am, this is our top VIP suite. It has the finest medical equipment in the country. You can rest easy now."
My body stiffened. Behind me came steady, deliberate footsteps.
A chilling, commanding presence enveloped the room. That familiar scent instantly dragged me back to those seven chaotic, terrifying days years ago.
Sebastian King leaned casually against the doorway, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an unreadable smirk.
"I thought our paths would never cross again in this lifetime, Miss Vance."
I caught the mockery in his tone, but my lips only tugged into a bitter smile.
"I was cast out of the Vance family years ago. I stopped being an heiress a long time ago."
"You saved Ian. That means you saved my life. Name your price. What do you want?"
A flicker of genuine amusement finally sparked in his hooded eyes. His towering frame closed the distance, backing me slowly into the corner until the cold wall pressed against my spine.
My eyes darkened. I squeezed them shut.
Years ago, when I was penniless and Derek was hunted within an inch of his life by loan sharks, I stooped so low I took the stage at an underground club, auctioning my smiles to the highest bidder.
Greedy, nauseating eyes had crawled all over my skin. Through the haze of flashing lights, a man in a tailored overcoat had walked in like a god of death. He picked me up over his shoulder and carried me out. Nobody dared breathe, let alone stop him.
I never forgot that night.
Because just weeks prior, to marry Derek, I had hurled a billion-dollar betrothal contract straight into Sebastian’s face.
Sebastian King. The heir the Vance family had chosen as my fiancé.
Back then, I was willing to destroy my entire life for Derek. I had discarded my pride and begged Sebastian on my knees.
Sebastian had stared down at me for an eternity before proposing a brutal transaction.
He locked me in his penthouse for seven straight days. It felt like pure retribution; I truly believed I would die in that bed.
Just as I felt Sebastian’s warm breath against my ear, a sudden gust of wind shattered the silence.
A violent force yanked me backward.
I opened my eyes in shock to see Derek, his eyes bloodshot, his face twisted in rabid fury.
Before I could speak, Derek’s hand swung through the air and slapped me across the face with a sickening crack.
"You shameless whore! Where did you pick up this side piece? You couldn't even wait, could you?"
Derek’s grip was brutal, the pressure threatening to snap my wrist in two.
At the same time, I felt Sebastian’s gaze drop onto my stinging cheek, his eyes turning murderously dark.
Derek shoved me behind him, glaring at Sebastian with a mocking sneer:
"And what kind of pathetic stray are you? Desperate enough to touch used trash like her? Feasting on my leftovers—doesn't it make you want to puke?"
Standing behind Derek, his venomous words felt like serrated blades piercing my lungs. I began to tremble uncontrollably.
Tears blurred my vision, and through them, I caught sight of the dark red hickey stamped on the side of Derek’s neck.
A sudden surge of feral rage consumed me. I ripped my wrist out of his suffocating grip.
"Derek Sterling... all these years, is that really what you thought of me?"
Derek blinked, momentarily stunned by my tears, but my defiance immediately sent him over the edge.
"Eleanor, where do you get the nerve to question me? When the mob was hunting me down, where the hell were you during those critical days? You think you have the right to talk to me about love?"
Seeing me freeze, disgust dripped from his sneer.
"You were so cold-blooded, so heartless. The only reason I married you was because nobody else wanted you. I just bought myself a free maid."
Sebastian’s brow furrowed, his jaw tightening with lethal disgust.
Derek took Sebastian’s silence as agreement. He snatched a fistful of my hair, dragging my face inches from his, spitting:
"See that? Look at him! Nobody wants you except me!"
I clenched my jaw until my gums bled. Catching Sebastian’s lethal expression from the corner of my eye, I gave a faint, almost imperceptible shake of my head.Derek dragged me out of the hospital and shoved me all the way back to our rental.
His face was thunderous, opening his mouth to lecture me, but my stomach violently heaved. I scrambled to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet bowl.
I threw up until my vision blurred. Days of running on empty, combined with pure exhaustion, made my limbs throb. My eyelids weighed a ton; I could barely push myself off the tile floor.
Eventually, Derek’s heavy footsteps approached.
He hauled me up by my collar and dumped me onto the mattress. When I opened my eyes, I saw dried, crusty stains on the sheets that weren't mine. My stomach twisted violently, and I coughed up a thread of blood.
Derek casually poured a mug of water. I turned my head away, but he clamped his hand over my jaw, prying my mouth open and dumping the liquid down my throat.
"Quit acting like a saint. Aren't you dying for me to treat you like a wife? What are you pretending for now?"
Derek had never taken care of anyone in his life. The mug was filled with boiling water straight from the kettle.
The scalding liquid tore through my esophagus. A strangled, agonizing shriek ripped from my throat as if a red-hot iron rod was churning my insides.
I curled into a fetal position, using every ounce of strength to shove him away, but it was like pushing a concrete wall.
After forcing the boiling water down, my face was ghost-white. The blistering burns rendered me completely mute.
Derek lowered the mug, scoffing as if he had just seen through a pathetic dramatic act.
"Drama queen."
He climbed onto the bed, wrapping an arm around me. After staring at my battered face for a second, he muttered coldly:
"Eleanor, the only thing you have going for you is this face. Keep your legs shut and stay away from other men. You hear me?"
I passed out from the excruciating pain.
The shrill ringing of my phone jolted me awake the next morning.
I had overslept. Panic seized me, and I sprinted toward the preschool for my shift.
The kitchen was as hectic as ever, but my thick rubber gloves were gone.
The head cook barked orders impatiently, so I had no choice but to plunge my bare, blistered hands straight into the greasy wash basin.
My mind was entirely on Ian in the hospital. By the time I felt the searing burn, the harsh industrial detergents had already corroded my skin down to the raw flesh.
Bloody water swirled in the sink. I turned pale, the delayed shock of pain hitting me in waves.
Suddenly, a small boy sprinted into the kitchen, clapping his hands and laughing:
"Bad lady who stole my daddy! You get what you deserve!"
A thunderbolt struck my skull. I nearly collapsed, my bloody hands instinctively grabbing the boy’s shoulders.
Frightened by the blood, the kid burst into deafening, theatrical wails.
Teachers poured into the kitchen. Seeing the boy in tears, they instantly turned on me with venom:
"Are you insane?! Do you have any idea who this is? This is the heir to the Sterling family! He's worth hundreds of millions! If you lay a hand on him, you’ll pay for it with your life!"
By the time I was dragged into the principal's office, my head was spinning.
A glamorous woman sat comfortably in the leather executive chair. Beside her, the usually pompous principal was bowing and scraping like a servant.
The woman smirked at me, tenderly pulling the spoiled boy onto her lap. He stuck his tongue out at me as she spoke in a smooth, dripping drawl:
"I’m a reasonable person. This trashy woman’s son goes to this school with my boy. Drag him here to get on his knees and apologize to my son."
The voice was unmistakable.
It was the exact voice I had heard coming from my bedroom yesterday.
My entire body went rigid. Blood dripped from my raw, chemical-burned fingers onto the floor.
"Ma'am... Ian is sick," I rasped through my scorched throat. "He can't leave the hospital. I can apologize in his place..."
She cut me off with an irritated flick of her wrist, barking at the muscular bodyguard behind her:
"Go. Drag that little bastard out of the hospital. My son is royalty; he won't swallow this disrespect."
My breath seized. Ian was hooked up to life support. Ripping him out would kill him.
Seeing the guard move, I lunged forward, throwing my body in his path.
The guard shoved me aside like a ragdoll. My ribs slammed into the sharp edge of the mahogany desk, knocking the wind out of me as blinding agony flared through my abdomen.
Desperate, I scrambled on my hands and knees toward the woman, tears spilling over.
I saw the cruel, undisguised malice in her eyes. But I didn't care. For Ian, I would swallow glass.
I grabbed the hem of her pristine designer dress. My bloody handprints stained the white silk.
She shrieked in horror, kicking at me frantically.
The office exploded into chaos. Just then, the double doors burst open. Derek strode in, his face dark as a storm.
"Elle!"
Hearing that tender nickname after so many years, a desperate spark ignited in my chest.
In the next second, Derek’s face twisted in disgust. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and hurled me violently across the room.
My lower belly crashed heavily into a heavy porcelain planter. A sickening, visceral agony tore through my core. I collapsed, paralyzed, unable to rise.
Derek marched straight past me and pulled the glamorous woman into his arms.
Penelope Ward buried her face into Derek’s chest, sobbing like a fragile victim.
"Derek! It’s this psycho! She attacked Leo! And her son tried to force Leo to eat trash out of the dumpster!"
"I just wanted her brat to apologize..."
My eyes stung with hot tears. I remembered Ian looking up at me in our cramped apartment, his big eyes drowning in confusion:
*Mommy, I tried to share my lunch with the other kids... why do they all hate me?*
Derek stroked Penelope’s hair, his voice dripping with honeyed warmth.
"It's fine, baby. I'll handle it right now."
My chest seized. At Derek's gesture, a bodyguard presented an iPad. The live video feed displayed Ian.
My baby boy was covered in medical tubes, his eyes shut tight, his little face as pale as paper.
Derek stared at the screen without a shred of emotion, giving a chilling command to the men on the call:
"Wake him up."
"No! Stop it!"
I screamed, clawing forward, only for Derek’s guards to pin me ruthlessly to the carpet.
My eyes strained out of their sockets as I watched the screen. The guard callously ripped the intravenous needle out of Ian’s tiny arm.
A weak, agonizing whimper escaped Ian’s lips, though his eyes remained closed.
"Mr. Sterling, needle's out, but the kid's still unconscious."
Derek tapped the armrest rhythmically. Watching me writhe in sheer agony, a sick smile touched his lips.
"Figure it out. Pour water on him, slap him—just make sure he’s awake."
I couldn't endure it any longer. I dragged my battered body across the floor, sobbing hysterically at Derek’s feet.
"Derek... please... I'm begging you... We’re a family... He is your son! He will die if you do this!"
Derek kicked me back with a cruel laugh.
"Family? When I was drowning in ten million dollars of mob debt, where the hell were you? Whoring around in some rich bastard’s bed? You cheap slut!"
I stared at him, my mind spinning.
"That ten million..."
"I paid that ten million for Derek, of course," Penelope purred, leaning deeper into Derek’s chest, cutting me off with a haughty smirk.
"I begged my godbrother for days before he finally agreed to wire the money."
"My godbrother is a monster—cold, ruthless, feared by everyone in the underworld. He only cleared your debt because of me."
"The wire transfer memo literally said: *'For Elle.'* Everyone in high society knows my nickname is Elle. Eleanor, what pathetic lie do you have left to spin?"
Derek paused, his mouth curling into a sneer of absolute mockery.
"Don't tell me you're about to claim that 'Elle' was you?"
He clamped his hand around my jaw, squeezing until my teeth rattled.
"Keep dreaming. Do you even know who Sebastian King is? What makes you think a filthy stray like you could ever catch his eye? You really think every man in the world revolves around you?"
The man for whom I had sacrificed everything... was looking down at me with nothing but disgust and unadulterated contempt.
Suddenly, a brutal, tearing cramp exploded in my lower abdomen. The world turned black, and I collapsed against the carpet, my trembling fingers instinctively reaching toward him.
"Derek... my stomach... it hurts so much... please, save me..."
Derek slapped my hand away in irritation.
"Drop the act."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Through the haze of slipping consciousness, a terrifyingly familiar baritone cut through the iPad speaker.
Penelope’s eyes lit up with wild delight.
"Sebastian!"
Hearing the name, Derek’s arrogant sneer vanished, instantly replaced by bootlicking deference.
He adjusted his cufflinks, nervously bowing toward the tablet camera.
The moment he looked at the screen, all color drained from his face as if he had been struck by lightning.
"...How is it you?!"
Before I could see the screen, warm, thick blood gushed between my thighs. A strangled gasp escaped my throat.
Just before darkness swallowed me whole, a voice roared through the room, trembling with raw panic and murderous fury:
*"ELEANOR!"*
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Watch & Promotions
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