Chapter 500
No.1
Nathaniel Blackwood was tearing through the Montgomery manor with a hundred bodyguards.
His phone screen lit up. He read the message. A deep frown etched his face.
Ten miles away? The boy will be disciplined for this. And who is this 'Mommy'?
He slid into a luxury car. Tires screeched. He dialed a number.
"Sebastian. Cobra antivenin. My location. Now."
Nathaniel reached the cave entrance. The scene inside made his blood run cold.
Oliver wept uncontrollably next to an unconscious woman.
"Mommy... Wake up! Don't leave Ollie...!" Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Nathaniel's gaze fell on the woman. Pale. Unconscious. Stunningly beautiful, even in distress.
Isabella Montgomery. The adopted heiress.
No.2
Oliver spotted him. He sprinted over, clutching his father's leg.
"Daddy, save Mommy! She's dying! I don't want her to die!" he wailed.
"Calm down. Uncle Sebastian is bringing the serum," Nathaniel said, his voice tight.
"Too late! It's been too long!" Oliver shook his head violently. "The poison... her blood... it needs to come out now!"
Nathaniel's eyes scanned her body. The bite was on her thigh. To extract the venom... her pants would have to come off.
"Ollie. Listen. Men and women are different. Uncle Sebastian is almost here."
Oliver wasn't listening. Pure, unadulterated fear consumed him.
"Help her! Daddy, please! I just found her! I don't want to be mommy-less again! The other kids laugh! Please!"
He tugged Nathaniel toward Isabella, his words a desperate torrent.
"Oliver. Enough," Nathaniel warned, his tone turning stern.
No.3
A sudden, sharp gasp.
Oliver's eyes rolled back into his head. His small body convulsed. White foam bubbled from his lips.
He collapsed.
Nathaniel's composure shattered. Oliver's fragile health was a constant threat. Severe stress triggered these violent seizures.
Sebastian's warning echoed in his mind: Each episode risks permanent brain damage. His development is at stake.
It had been over a year since the last one...
A heavy silence fell.
Nathaniel's jaw clenched. He looked from his seizing son to the dying woman.
Defeat washed over him.
"Alright," he breathed, the word tasting like ash. "I'll help her."
No.4
He knelt at Isabella's feet. His hands reached for the waistband of her pants.
Nathaniel hadn't planned this course of action.
Yet this woman had undeniably captured his attention.
His family had spent years pushing him toward marriage.
But now...
"Daddy...Daddy..."
Oliver's cheerful voice snapped him back to reality.
Nathaniel noticed the darkening venom spreading rapidly.
It looked terrible.
Waiting for the antivenom would be too late.
No.5
He pushed all hesitation aside.
Bending down, he began sucking the poison from her wound.
Oliver watched from the ground, his eyes lighting up.
"Daddy touched Mommy! Daddy kissed Mommy! Now Daddy has to take care of Mommy forever!"
The boy's words never failed to astonish him.
...
Isabella's consciousness returned slowly.
She found herself in a monochrome room.
Elegantly furnished.
Expensive.
No.6
Where was she?
The cobra attack flashed through her mind.
She needed to treat the wound immediately!
Looking down, she realized her clothes had been changed.
She now wore an oversized white shirt that reached her knees.
Her wounds were cleaned and bandaged.
Who did this?
"You're awake?" A deep, velvety voice came from the doorway.
Isabella looked up.
A tall, muscular figure entered the room.
No.7
He wore a perfectly tailored suit.
His features looked like they were carved by a master sculptor.
He exuded an aura of power and refinement.
It was Nathaniel Blackwood.