Joy Fang sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers trembling as she covered her face, her body wracked with an unbearable weight of guilt. The truth had crashed over her like an unstoppable tidal wave—she had sent away her own son with her own hands. For more than a decade, the motherly love she had so selflessly given had not been directed at her real child but at an illegitimate son.
"I am simply not human," she whispered, her voice hoarse with self-loathing. "Much less worthy of being Sha's mother."
Just hours ago, she had been running herself ragged, making arrangements for Lin Ken's future education abroad. She had exhausted all her resources, desperate to secure his future. And yet, deep down, she knew—she had the chance to change everything before. If only she had chosen differently. If only she had treated Yango fairly when he first returned to the Lin family, how could he have disowned her so completely now?
Her breath hitched as she suddenly lifted her head, her eyes wild with desperation. "Where's Sha Mo? I need to call him! As long as he's willing to come back, I promise to send away that child, Lin Coen, just as he asked."
There was an unmistakable urgency in her voice, as though grasping at the last strands of hope. Her daughters exchanged glances, hesitant, but Lin Xia finally broke the silence.
"Mom... we already called Emo." Her voice was soft, yet heavy with hesitation.
Joy Fang's grip tightened around Lin Xia's wrist, her eyes shining with expectation. "And? What did he say? Is he coming back?"
Lin Xia's lips trembled as she forced herself to answer. "Even when I told him you were sick, Mom... he still wouldn't come back."
Joy Fang's hands dropped limply to her sides, her face drained of color. Her worst fear had come true—he would never forgive her.
Regret and self-reproach flooded her chest, suffocating her. If only she had cherished her real son. If only she had realized the truth earlier. If only she could turn back time, she would choose differently. She would fight for him. She would make him stay.
But reality was cruel. Some mistakes could never be undone.
Tears blurred her vision, but she bit her lip, forcing herself to hold them back. She had to stay strong. She couldn't let her daughters see her like this.
"Mom, this Sha Mo is really too much!" Lin Ruan's frustration boiled over, her anger barely restrained. "I'll go find him tomorrow. No matter what, you're his real mother! And besides, didn't our Lin family raise him for a year?"
"Shut up!" Lin Xia snapped, her glare cutting through the room like a blade. "Don't forget that we, as his sisters, are also responsible for this. It's our fault too."
Tension filled the air, thick and suffocating. Lin Xia took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "Mom, don't be angry. I'll find a way to bring Sha Mo back. We're family—blood relatives. No matter how badly things have gone, I believe there's a way to fix it. Right now, the most important thing is your health."
She hesitated, then finally spoke. "By the way, Mom… there's something else I need to tell you."
Lin Xia's gaze flickered between her sisters and her mother before she lowered her voice. "Dad's latest trauma cream has been developed successfully. He told me to keep it a secret from you. I suspect he's planning something."
The room fell into complete silence.
It was as if time had frozen.
Everyone held their breath, their minds racing, trying to process the shocking news. The sudden hush was deafening—so much so that even the faintest sound, like a pin dropping onto the floor, would have been heard.
Lin Ruan was the first to break the silence. "It's… really been developed? What about its potency? Has it been tested? Does it actually work?"
"Yes." Lin Xia's expression was grave. "I saw the experiment with my own eyes. And I'm certain Dad is plotting something behind our backs. Now that he has this remedy…"
A slow, bitter smile crept onto Joy Fang's lips. "Good daughter. At least I didn't love you for nothing."
Then, her face darkened, her exhaustion momentarily replaced by cold fury. "That man, Li Jindong… I will settle the score with him when he returns. Lin Coen must be sent away."
She had made up her mind.
The moment Lin Coen was gone, she would do whatever it took to bring Yango back. Even if it meant giving him all of her Lin family shares. She had wronged her son too deeply, and if her wealth could buy his forgiveness, she would give him everything.
But Joy Fang was mistaken.
The Yango of today was no longer the helpless, starving boy locked away in his room. No amount of wealth or power would bring him back.
Lin Xia knew this, but she said nothing. Instead, she turned to her sisters, her expression serious. "Now, we have to make our stance clear. We must be united. Dad is already looking for ways to hand the Lin family over to Lin Coen."
Lin Ruan frowned. "So, what do we do?"
Lin Xia hesitated for a moment before her voice turned steely. "We have evidence of Dad's affair. That alone gives us the upper hand. When he comes back, we use it against him. If he refuses to send Lin Coen away, we strike. The evidence is our strongest weapon."
Her words were met with a collective silence. One by one, her sisters nodded in agreement. They had to fight for their survival.
Meanwhile, Joy Fang sat still, her hands clenched into fists. Memories from the past surfaced in her mind—memories she had long buried. The day she lost her son, the day Lin Jindong brought Lin Coen into their home. The excuses, the lies, the deception.
Her breath quickened as she realized something chilling.
It had been Lin Jindong's doing all along.
Back then, she had just given birth when the nurse rushed in, saying her son had been taken by the wrong family. They searched and searched, but the so-called "mistake" could never be undone. And it was Lin Jindong who had chosen that hospital. Lin Jindong who had stayed with her through it all.
Now, looking back, it all seemed suspicious.
Her hands trembled as she whispered, "It was him… It was Lin Jindong…"
She clenched her teeth, fury overtaking her sorrow. "He planned it. He made me raise another woman's child while letting my own son suffer. I was blind—blind to his cruelty!"
Her voice cracked with emotion as she thought about Sha Mo, alone, abandoned. She had allowed it to happen. She had failed as a mother.
Tears streamed down her face. The weight of eighteen years crushed her, suffocating her.
And in her mind, the words of her husband from long ago echoed like a ghost from the past—
"It's okay, Xiao Fang. We already have three daughters."