Grandmother gently squeezed back, tears tracing the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and falling onto the pillow.

But a second later, Grandmother’s expression shifted. Her eyes widened, staring behind Clara in pure horror, and her hand began to tremble violently.

"Grandmother, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?"

Clara’s heart tightened. Just as she was about to stand up to press the call button, she was violently shoved aside. Her back slammed into the cold, sharp corner of a table, and the searing pain made her gasp for air.

Scarlett’s cloying voice rang in her ear:

"Grandmother, your granddaughter is here to see you."

As she spoke, she squeezed Grandmother’s hand with force, completely ignoring the IV tube inserted there. Grandmother shook with pain, and blood began to back up into the tube.

The woman who raised Clara quickly stepped forward, blocking Ethan’s line of sight. She covered her face and wailed, "Mother, it’s my fault for not taking care of you. I’ve let you suffer so much!"

"With my husband still in prison, if anything happens to you, how could I ever face him?"

"Get away from my grandmother!"

Enduring the pain, Clara lunged forward to push Scarlett and the foster mother away, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Sister, how could you treat me like this?"

Scarlett collapsed to the floor, clutching her chest as she began to sob. "I had an episode... I wasn't in my right mind when I accidentally hurt Grandmother. I really didn't mean it..."

The foster mother joined in, wiping away tears.

"Girlie, it breaks my heart that Grandmother fell, too."

"Are you really going to stop me from seeing my own mother-in-law? How can you be so cruel!"

Watching their hypocritical performance, Clara shook with rage. She raised her hand, wanting to slap the look off Scarlett’s face. But before her hand could land, it was caught by a powerful grip.

Ethan squeezed her wrist with enough force to crush bone before violently throwing her hand aside and stepping in front of Scarlett. He frowned, his tone heavy with accusation.

"Clara, how could you try to hit her?"

"Scarlett is more devastated than anyone about hurting Grandmother. She wakes up crying several times a night because of the guilt. Can’t you show her some compassion instead of holding onto this grudge?"

"And Mrs. Barker—she raised you for twenty years. Even if you found your biological parents, you shouldn't treat her this way. The person lying in that bed isn't just your grandmother; she is her mother-in-law, too!"

He spoke with such righteous conviction, as if Clara truly were a villain beyond redemption.

For a fleeting moment, Clara saw the man from five years ago who had protected her just like this. Back then, when Ethan learned her foster father had been peeping at her in the shower, he had charged to their house to confront him. In the struggle, he was stabbed three times, blood staining his white shirt crimson.

Even then, he had used his last breath to stand in front of her, his gaze unwavering:

"As long as I am alive, no one touches her!"

But now, for the sake of a girl playing mad, he had thrown Clara to the ground.

Clara’s heart turned cold, inch by inch. Pointing at her grandmother’s bleeding hand, she roared:

"Ethan! Look at what they did to her hand! Can’t you see?"

Ethan followed her finger, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Grandmother’s frail hand was now badly swollen. The IV needle had been ripped out, and bright red blood was oozing from the wound, dripping between her fingers and blooming into startling red stains on the white sheets.

Ethan instinctively took a half-step forward, wanting to check the injury and then comfort the distraught Clara. But before he could get close, Scarlett suddenly clutched her head, trembling as she screamed in terror:

"Why won't anyone believe me?!"

"Ethan, don't listen to Sister’s lies! How could Mom and I ever hurt Grandmother?"

"I was just holding her hand, trying to talk to her, but Sister suddenly rushed over and shoved me. I lost my balance and accidentally caught the IV tube... that’s how Grandmother got hurt. I really didn't mean it!"

Seeing her frantic state, Ethan quickly pulled her into his arms, whispering softly, "It’s okay, don't get worked up. I believe you."

Clara called for a nurse to bandage her grandmother’s hand. She pointed toward the door, her voice as cold as ice.

"Get out. All of you."

Chapter 6

Scarlett remained huddled in the man's arms, her shoulders shaking like a frightened rabbit. The foster mother stood up, reaching out to grab Clara’s arm.

"Girlie, don't be angry. It was all a misunderstanding. Let’s talk this through..."

"Don't touch me! You make my skin crawl!"

Clara wrenched her hand away as if she’d been burned. She loathed those hands to her very core.

Sensing the woman in his arms flinch in fear, Ethan stepped forward and grabbed Clara’s wrist, the pressure agonizing.

"Clara, I’ve clearly spoiled you too much!"

"Scarlett said she missed her mother, and you refuse to take care of her. I asked her mother to come and help—isn't that the perfect solution for everyone?"

He paused, then added, "Once Grandmother is discharged, we’ll bring her back. We’ll all live together as a family. Isn't that for the best?"

"Be a good girl, Clara. Stop fighting."

Before Clara could argue, the foster mother made a show of wiping her eyes.

"It’s all my fault for being useless. I didn't take good care of her back then and let her suffer. It’s only natural that she resents and hates me now."

She turned to Ethan, adopting a posture of extreme humility. "Good son-in-law, don't argue with her on our account. It’ll ruin your relationship. I’ll take Scarlett and leave right now so we’re not an eyesore to her."

This display of "reasonableness" instantly ignited Clara’s fury. The foster mother had beaten her with feather dusters until she was covered in bruises; she had made her stand in the courtyard in light clothing during the dead of winter... How could those indelible pains be dismissed as "not taking good care of her"?

Clara lost control, rushing forward to shove them toward the door. "Get out! I never want to see either of you again for the rest of my life!"

"Enough!"

Ethan threw her aside with great force. Her tailbone slammed into the icy tiles, sent a jolt of pain through her, and made her vision swim.

He looked down at Clara with disdain. "How much longer are you going to keep up this act?"

"I’ve already had someone look into it. The Barkers treated you perfectly well back then. It was your own rebellious streak that made you run away, and you fabricated that lie about Mr. Barker harassing you just to make me get stabbed three times. What kind of lies are you trying to spin now to get sympathy?"

Every word Clara wanted to say died in her throat. Scarlett wept piteously.

"Sister, Mom raised you for so long. How could you be so heartless to her?"

She leaned on Ethan’s arm, her voice softening. "Ethan, doesn't the family own a cattle farm? Why don't we let Sister stay there for a few days? Let her see how a mother cow protects her calf—maybe then she’ll understand what a mother’s love is."

Ethan remained silent for a few seconds. When he looked at Clara, his gaze was completely cold.

"Clara, you've disappointed me deeply."

"We’ll do as Scarlett suggests. Go to the farm for seven days and reflect on your actions. I’ll come to fetch you in a week."

As soon as the words left his mouth, two men in black suits approached.

"No! Ethan, you can't do this to me!" Clara managed to say before she was crudely silenced by a hand over her mouth.

She struggled desperately, but was pinned to the ground. The foster mother made a fake attempt to intervene, but her hands only rested lightly on Clara, her eyes betraying a hidden triumph.

The car jolted along the road, finally stopping at a private cattle farm in the back hills. Ethan had originally built it for her so she could have the freshest milk, but it had been neglected for a long time. The ground was covered in dried manure and rotting fodder; a pungent, sickening stench filled the air.

The foster mother held the farm manager’s hand, her eyes full of feigned concern. "The child is in poor health; don't let her get hurt."

But Clara saw her secretly slip a thick envelope into the manager’s sleeve.

The next seven days were a nightmare. Before dawn, she was splashed awake with ice water. She was forced to kneel while cleaning the pens, the stench crawling into her nostrils and making her retch. During milking time, the manager would grab her hair and force her to swallow milk; the warm liquid mixed with cow hair made her cough violently. At night, she was locked in a corner of the pen to drive away mosquitoes from the cattle.