Chapter 5

She also had Rh-negative blood.

She could save Daniel!

Though late-stage stomach cancer compromised blood quality, cancer cells couldn't transmit through transfusion. After special treatment, her blood could safely sustain Daniel.

The cost? This transfusion would accelerate her death.

A faint smile touched Susan Thompson's pale lips. She'd willingly die this instant if it meant saving Daniel.

Watching crimson blood flow into the collection bag, Susan felt profound satisfaction. Her Daniel would live!

The timely transfusion pulled Daniel from death's door.

But Susan, already at death's threshold, collapsed into a coma after donating 1000 milliliters.

Three days passed before she stirred.

Through the haze, she sensed someone clutching her hand, tenderly calling her name.

That voice held the same warmth from their first meeting, laced with heartbreaking tenderness - as if years of pain and misunderstandings never existed.

Susan struggled to open her eyes, longing to see that beloved face.

Instead, Nicole Capra's sinister grin filled her vision.

The tenderness had been a dying hallucination.

Their twisted history spanned ten years.

Nicole, once an orphan adopted by the Thompsons, had miraculously become the long-lost Capra heiress three years prior.

This same Nicole had kidnapped Grandma Thompson four years ago, forcing Susan to leave Andrew Lucas.

After Susan complied, Nicole still murdered the old woman and imprisoned Susan in a lightless dungeon.

"Why are you here?" Susan's voice turned glacial.

"To share wonderful news!" Nicole's beautiful face twisted grotesquely. "Susan, you're pregnant."

"What?" Susan's trembling hand flew to her abdomen. Doctors had said conception was nearly impossible.

This miracle life meant new hope - and Daniel's cure! Stem cells from the baby's umbilical cord could permanently treat his thalassemia!

As hope flickered across Susan's face, Nicole hissed:

"Too bad Andrew already ordered the abortion!"

"Liar!" Susan's fingers dug into her belly.

"That bastard fetus is dead! And that sickly Daniel Almond will follow soon!"

"I demand to see Andrew!"

Nicole shoved Susan back, grinning wildly. "Know why he terminated it?"

She leaned close, savoring each word: "Because when my baby died, I grieved. So Andrew made your child die with mine!"

Nicole remembered Andrew's fleeting anguish when doctors announced the abortion - an emotion never shown during her fake pregnancy and miscarriage.

"One more thing," Nicole's voice turned saccharine. "Late-stage stomach cancer hurts, doesn't it? Want to know how long you have left?"