Chapter 1

Miranda Payne was Ekason's most celebrated pediatric surgeon. With a scalpel in hand, she had saved countless children's lives and was praised by the media as Ekason's "guardian of children". At this moment, she was pinned against her desk. A cold gun barrel pressed hard against her wrist. The man holding the gun was her husband, Jerome Cooper. He was the heir of the Cooper family, a man who ruled both the legal and underground worlds of Ekason. Jerome wore a black suit and radiated a chilling presence. Behind him, one of his men held a tablet. The screen showed their son, Fred Cooper, being wheeled out of a hospital ward. Fred was only five. His body burned with fever. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes looked unfocused. His small face twisted in pain. "Mommy…" he murmured weakly. "Freddie!" Miranda's heart felt as if it were being torn apart when she saw him. "Miranda, you don't get a choice today," Jerome said coldly. He pressed the gun harder against her wrist. "You'll operate on Dami first, or I'll destroy your hand. Then Dami and Freddie will die together." Miranda stared at him, her eyes bloodshot. Gritting her teeth, she spoke through shaking rage. "Jerome, Freddie is your son too! He already lost a kidney and now has complications, yet you want me to save your bastard first. How can you be this heartless?" One week ago, Fred had been kidnapped after school. Miranda had dropped everything and immediately contacted Jerome to search for him. They searched for three days without finding a single trace of Fred. Just when Miranda felt utterly hopeless, he was dumped on the doorstep of their villa. She discovered that her five-year-old son had one kidney brutally removed. Miranda rushed him to the hospital and stayed by his side day and night. Despite her efforts, Fred still developed a severe postoperative infection. As she prepared to operate on him herself, the hospital director delivered another surgical order. It was for a six-year-old boy who had developed vascular thrombosis after a kidney transplant. The patient's name was Damian Cooper. The guardian column listed two names, Jerome and Madison Carline. Miranda stood frozen on the spot. Before she could process it, Jerome stormed into her office with his men. Only then had the truth become clear. The man who appeared to love her desperately and cherish their child had secretly built another family. He even had a son older than Fred. "Stop wasting time," Jerome said icily. "I will guarantee Freddie's safety, but only after you finish Dami's surgery can you personally save him." Miranda swallowed the metallic taste in her mouth, her eyes burning with restrained fury. "Jerome, tell me the truth. Is the kidney inside Damian's body taken from Freddie?" Jerome met her gaze, his eyes as cold and bottomless as an abyss. "Yes, and you should understand what will happen to Freddie if anything goes wrong with Dami." So it was true. The confirmation crushed her completely. Miranda closed her eyes weakly as hateful tears slid down her face. "Fine," she said, her voice trembling and hoarse yet unmistakably clear. "I'll do it. But you must guarantee Freddie's safety, or I have countless ways to make Damian die with my son." Jerome studied her for a long moment and finally lowered the gun. His tone softened slightly as he spoke. "Relax. Freddie is also my son. I won't let anything happen to him." He added, "Focus on Dami's surgery. Once this is over, I will compensate you and Freddie." Miranda found his words bitterly ironic. She took a deep breath and forced her shaking hands to steady before entering the operating room. Looking at the kidney inside Damian, the one taken from Fred, nearly broke her. She suppressed her agony and completed the surgery. The moment she stepped out of the operating room, Miranda headed straight for Jerome, who was waiting outside the door. "The surgery was successful," she said. "Where's Freddie? I need to see him now." At that moment, the door of the adjacent operating room burst open. A doctor from the same department ran out in panic. "Mr. Cooper," the doctor said urgently. "Something went wrong. Freddie suffered massive bleeding during surgery. We couldn't save him." Miranda staggered backward, her mind reeling. Then she rushed into Fred's operating room like a madwoman, ignoring everything else. The little boy lay under a white sheet, his body cold and stiff. He would never breathe again, never open his eyes to call her "Mommy" or ask for her hug. Miranda nearly collapsed to the floor. She lay over Fred's tiny body, crying as if her heart were being ripped apart. Overcome by rage and grief, she spat out a mouthful of blood. Before her hand could touch Fred's small face, darkness consumed her completely. When she woke again, only a doctor who had gotten off duty was beside her. "Miranda, Jerome has already gone to handle Freddie's funeral arrangements," she said gently. "You must stay strong and take care of yourself." Miranda nodded calmly and thanked her before getting out of bed and walking into Damian's VIP room. She looked at the boy's face, which bore a striking resemblance to Jerome, and reached out to remove his ventilator tube.