<b>Chapter </b>28
Veronicaposed herself and set the children down on the ground. “What are you two doing here?”
Her gaze fell on the white paper scraps scattered on Miriam’s head. She instinctively raised her hand, but
the little girl jerked away like a prickly hedgehog, defensively backing away.
“Don’t you dare hit me!” Miriam red at Veronica with a frown.
Eleanor once told them a story about a woman who, unloved by her husband, secretly hurt her children to
gain his attention. She would either make them sick or injured just to get sympathy.
Miriam thought Veronica’s behavior now resembled that of the crazy woman from the story.
Veronica opened her mouth to say something. Yet, when she saw the wary, guarded expressions on their
faces, her words crumbled into a bitter smile.
They were afraid of her. As a mother, she couldn’t help but feel that she had failed spectacrly.
Miriam and Samuel had already entered defense mode, waiting for Veronica tosh out so they could
scream for help. Instead, they watched her walk away without another word.
The two children werepletely puzzled.
“Samuel, she really just left like that? That’s weird.”
Samuel’s eyes narrowed. “Wait… Isn’t she heading toward Ms. Turner’s room?”
Eleanor had just been discharged from the hospital and had taken on a filming job, so she wasn’t home. She was still shamelessly upying Veronica’s room.
Veronica pushed open the door, and the overwhelming scent of women’s perfume made her wrinkle her nose. The once cozy bedroom had beenpletely transformed with expensive furniture recing
everything. Even the walls had been painted with bright, glossy paint.
The only thing that remained the same was the family photo frame on the desk. However, the woman in
the picture was no longer her.
<b>It </b>was Eleanor.
She picked up the photo album when <b>a </b>small body mmed into her from behind.
<b>“</b>Mom! How can you juste in and touch Ms. Turner’s stuff while she’s out? That’s <b>so </b>rude!” Samuel shouted with righteous fury.
Veronica clutched her aching stomach, feeling a chill spread through her heart. “Sam<b>, </b>this is my room.”
Miriam followed close behind. “But aren’t you getting divorced from Daddy? <b>You </b><b>don’t </b>want <b>us </b>anymore<b>! </b>
So, you’re not part of the Tate family, and this room doesn’t belong to you anymore!”
Veronica’s chest tightened with rage. These were the two little ingrates she had devoted herself to raising
with such care for five years.
She supported herself against her waist and looked at the painting hanging on the wall.
At least Heath hadn’tpletely lost his conscience by actually giving the painting to Eleanor to take to
her film set. Otherwise, she might’ve actually gone off the rails.
Veronica moved to the painting and gritted her teeth as she stepped onto a stool, preparing to take it
down.
“Mom, stop it!” Samuel shouted, violently shaking the stool. “That belongs to Ms. Turner. You can’t touch
it!”
Miriam screamed and lunged over to grab Veronica around the waist, pulling her backward. In the
struggle, Veronica’s already sore back hurt even more. To protect the painting, she lost her bnce and
fell hard off the stool.
The ss covering the painting shattered, scattering pieces everywhere. The moment the ident happened, Samuel and Miriam both jumped back to safety.
When he saw Veronica lying among the ss shards, they were stunned with fear. Soon, Heath was drawn by the loudmotion. When he discovered Veronica lying in a pool of blood, his heart skipped a
beat.
“What happened?” he asked.
Miriam nervously nudged Samuel. Samuel didn’t dare tell the truth either, so he lied, “Mom was trying to get that painting and fell off the stool herself.”
Heath lifted her from the pool of blood and angrily threw the painting she was clutching far away. “Was one painting worth all this?”
However, all he got in response was the sight of the woman lying quietly with her eyes closed.
A wave of panic surged through him. “Veronica, if you dare die on me, I swear I’ll make sure you never see your parents again, even in the afterlife!”