The next morning, Livia kept her eyes tightly shut as consciousness slowly returned from her dream. Throughout the night, her subconscious had shown her scenes from the life she had lived as Blood Shadow. As a result, she thought she was Blood Shadow.
Livia finally opened her eyes, preparing to get out of bed and start her day. However, she was so startled to see a tiny foot right in front of her face.
‘What is this thing? Who put it here?’
Livia immediately became alert. Just as she reached for the little foot, it suddenly moved and struck her on the nose. It was only a gentle movement and did not hurt at all, but Livia was so shocked that she jumped straight out of bed. Taking a defensive stance, she planted her feet, ready for battle.
“Who’s there! Who put that death doll in my bed! How dare—”
Livia stopped shouting when she suddenly realized something. ‘This place… This isn’t my room. How…?’
Before Livia could clear her mind, the little foot on the bed moved and was pulled beneath the blanket. The next second, something seemed to shift under the covers before a little girl emerged. She sat up with tousled hair and a sleepy face.
“Mom… why are you yelling so early in the morning?” Sofia rubbed her eyes and looked at her mother in confusion.
“Mom?” Livia frowned, looking bewildered.
When she saw and heard Livia’s confusion, Sofia’s sleepiness immediately vanished. Before Livia could fully come to her senses, the little girl had already run out of the room.
“Dad! Mom lost her memory!”
Livia was still in a battle-ready stance as she slowly recalled what had happened. Turning toward the mirror, the unfamiliar yet vaguely familiar face immediately brought all her memories back.
She relaxed and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Then her eyes landed on the stuffed rabbit on the bed. It wasn’t hers, so it must have belonged to Sofia. Remembering the little girl’s expression as she ran out of the room, Livia felt a little guilty.
‘Did I scare her?’
She frowned. ‘Why was she in my bed so early in the morning? Did she sleep here? But how?’
Then she remembered that she hadn’t locked the door before going to sleep. ‘How could I have been so careless?’
She was lucky that Sofia had been the one to enter her room. She didn’t dare imagine what might have happened if it had been someone else. Especially that bastard.
‘No, no. I can’t let that happen again.’
After calming herself down, Livia stood and intended to go to the bathroom. However, she stopped when the sound of hurried footsteps drew closer. A moment later, Sofia arrived with Ethan, his face filled with concern. Axel and Colton followed behind them. They were still wearing their pajamas.
They immediately rushed toward Livia, checking her over and peppering her with questions.
Not knowing how to respond, Livia could only stand there in silence. Unfortunately, that made her look even more dazed.
“Dad will take your mother in for an examination. Stay home and don’t worry too much.”
There was anxiety in Ethan’s voice as he spoke. The way he acted raised a huge question in Livia’s mind.
‘Why does this bastard look so worried? Oh, right. He must be pretending to look like a good father in front of the children. Hah! He must be afraid they’ll find out what a piece of trash he is.’
Thinking that, Livia pulled away from Ethan. “Let go. I’m fine. I don’t need an examination.”
Ethan was stunned. He stared at Livia for a moment before saying, “You didn’t lose your memory?”
Meeting Ethan’s gaze, Livia replied curtly, “No. I even remember perfectly well what a bastard you are.”
Ethan said nothing. He glanced at the bandage on Livia’s head before walking out of the room.
“Mom… are you okay? And why were you acting so strange earlier?” Sofia tugged on Livia’s pants and looked up as she asked.
Livia had never been interested in dealing with children, much less coaxing them or calming them down. However, when she saw the concern and worry on all three children’s faces, her heart softened.
She lowered her head and awkwardly touched each child on the top of the head before saying, “Don’t worry. I’m fine. Shouldn’t you be going to school? Hurry up and get ready.”
Livia unconsciously smiled at them. The confidence in her expression made all three children nod before quietly leaving the room. Seeing how obedient they were stirred something inside Livia, making her smile grow wider.
That smile remained even after she entered the bathroom and saw her reflection in the mirror.
‘I’m smiling? Why am I smiling?’
After bathing and changing her clothes, Livia left the room and headed toward the stairs to go to the dining room on the first floor. As she drew closer to the stairs, several noisy voices could be heard below.
The voices grew clearer when she reached the top of the stairs. From there, she could see several people gathered in the living room. Besides those who lived in the Quincy family residence, Livia could also see several unfamiliar faces. From the memories in her head, Livia knew they were other relatives of the Quincy family who also hated her. Every one of them wore an angry expression.
Livia then shifted her attention to the young woman sitting on the sofa, looking fragile as she received everyone’s attention.
“Bella, did Livia really lose her mind and attack you? I heard the servants talking about it. Why didn’t you tell me?” Emma held the back of Bella’s hand, her face filled with sympathy.
At first, she had deliberately invited the other relatives to pressure Ethan into imprisoning Livia. She had discussed it with Ethan the night before, but Ethan still seemed unwilling to make a decision. That was why she had asked other relatives with interests in Quinton Corporation to come and speak with Ethan, hoping their pressure would convince him to send Livia straight to prison.
However, she had accidentally overheard two servants talking as she passed through the kitchen. They had said that Bella had been injured after Livia beat her.
As soon as she saw Bella arrive, she immediately brought her to the living room and questioned her.
Bella shook her head and smiled gently. “Aunt Emma, what are you talking about? That isn’t true. Livia cares about me. She wouldn’t—Ow!” Bella deliberately acted as if she were in pain and covered her mouth. She also tilted her face so the bruise beneath her jaw would be visible.
“Oh my goodness, Bella! Look at your jaw! It’s bruised!” Emma appeared shocked.
Seeing that reaction, Bella smiled inwardly and continued her act. “It’s nothing, Auntie. Don’t worry about it too much. Ah!”
“What is it? Does something else hurt?”
“I accidentally bit my tongue yesterday, and it still hurts.”
“Did Livia hurt your tongue too? She’s gone way too far!” Emma growled, and the people around her became angry as well.
“That woman is a walking disaster! She brings nothing but misfortune to everyone else.”
“Exactly. We have to make Ethan imprison her before she sends us all to our graves.”
Watching from above, Livia snorted mockingly as she saw how successfully Bella had convinced everyone to believe her.
‘No wonder she managed to make Livia’s life miserable. Her acting really is incredible.’
Livia then walked down the stairs. She didn’t want to get involved with those people and intended to go straight to the dining room.
Unfortunately, they saw her and immediately stopped her.
“Hey, traitor! Don’t you feel guilty after hurting Bella? Don’t you want to apologize?”
“A shameless woman like her would never apologize. She doesn’t even look guilty after betraying the Quincy family.”
“Look! She’s full of tricks. She drank poison after she was caught betraying the Quincy family so Ethan would pity her and let her avoid punishment. Now that she’s hurt Bella, she’s wearing a bandage on her head. She must be trying to get out of it again!”
“What a despicable, shameless woman!”
Livia raised one eyebrow and gave a crooked smile in response. “I thought the people of the Quincy family were intelligent and levelheaded. I never expected you to be nothing more than a bunch of idiots who enjoy spewing nonsense.”