For His Mistress, My Husband Made Me Strip on Dark Web

Chapter 4

Audrey didn't hold back. The force of her slap sent Megan sprawling to the floor, and a red handprint quickly appeared on her cheek.

Marcus's furious shout rang out from the staircase.

"Audrey! How dare you hit Megan?"

He rushed downstairs and pulled Megan protectively into his arms.

Noah cried, "Daddy, that bad woman hit me first. Mommy only hit her because she was protecting me."

Only then did Marcus notice the bloody scratch on Noah's cheek. Shock and pain flashed across his face.

Before he could say anything, Megan began sobbing in his arms.

"Mr. Prescott, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Noah didn't want me to tutor him, so he tore up all my documents. I never imagined Mrs. Prescott would raise him to behave this way."

Marcus finally noticed the scraps of paper scattered across the floor.

Noah's face flushed with panic. "I didn't do it!"

Nora stepped forward. "Sir, I saw Noah tear them up. He called Miss Shaw a shameless mistress and said he couldn't stand her."

Nora had failed to warn Audrey when Marcus approached the study, and now she was lying to protect Megan.

Megan had clearly bought her off.

"That's enough," Audrey snapped. "This is a family matter. Stay out of it."

She held Noah close and turned a cold stare on Marcus.

"Noah never touched those documents. Megan framed him. Think about who has the most to gain from this, Marcus. Don't make me believe you've completely lost the ability to think for yourself."

Megan looked up at Marcus with tearful eyes. "I know Mrs. Prescott doesn't like me. If she says Noah didn't do it, then he didn't. We should just forget about it. I never should have caused such a scene. I'll apologize to Mrs. Prescott."

Her hand suddenly shot toward the shattered cup on the floor. She grabbed a jagged shard and dragged it across her wrist.

This time, she cut deep enough for blood to pour from the wound.

Marcus immediately pulled the handkerchief from his breast pocket and pressed it firmly against her wrist.

He looked down at the sobbing woman in his arms before turning a furious gaze on Audrey.

"Audrey, did you do this?" His voice was frighteningly calm.

Audrey stared at him. "What exactly are you accusing me of?"

"You had Noah destroy Megan's passport, visa, and acceptance letter because you wanted to ruin her future," Marcus said, carefully stressing every word. "How else would a 4-year-old know which documents mattered?"

"You could check the security footage instead of blindly taking your mistress's side!" Audrey trembled with fury.

"You mean the cameras?" Marcus's expression darkened. "You turned them off yourself. You knew there would be no evidence, which made it easy for you to frame Megan."

The color drained from Audrey's face.

Audrey had been drunk 1 month earlier when Marcus tried to sleep with her in the living room. At his request, she had switched off the security cameras.

"The garden cameras should still have a clear view of the living room," Audrey said, forcing herself to think through her anger.

Marcus stared at her, and the last trace of warmth gradually disappeared from his eyes.

"Enough. You clearly planned all of this in advance. You wanted to destroy Megan, and you taught Noah to lie for you."

His accusation suddenly made everything fall into place.

That night, Marcus had taken advantage of Audrey's drunken state and pressed her into the sofa while murmuring every promise she had once longed to hear.

"Audrey, I love you more than anything. You're the most important person in my life." Then he had whispered, "Turn off the cameras. I don't want them recording you like this."

Marcus had deliberately persuaded her to disable the surveillance system, and Megan had known about it.

It had all been planned to leave Audrey with no way to defend herself.

The realization sent a crushing pain through her chest.

No enemy could have wounded her as deeply as the man she had once loved.

'How did I ever give my heart to a monster like Marcus?'

A mocking smile curved his lips.

"Audrey, if you can't teach our son right from wrong, then I will."

At his command, two men restrained Audrey while another dragged Noah in front of Marcus.

Marcus crouched until he was at eye level with his son.

"Noah," he said in an almost gentle voice, "I want you to tell the truth. Did you tear up those papers?"

Noah shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks. "No, Daddy. I didn't do it."

Marcus let out a disappointed sigh.

"You're still lying." He rose to his feet. "Noah, Daddy can forgive you for making a mistake, but I can't forgive you for lying. Your mother has taught you badly."

He turned to the bodyguards and ordered coldly, "Teach him a lesson. Let him go once he admits what he did and apologizes. We're going to the hospital."

The bodyguards dragged Noah away to punish him while Marcus carried his sobbing mistress out of the house.

Audrey lunged toward her son, but two other bodyguards forced her to the floor.

They didn't release her until 30 minutes later.

Noah lay curled up in a corner. His fingers were swollen and purple, and dried tear tracks stained his cheeks.

"Noah!"

Audrey dropped to her knees and gathered him into her trembling arms.

He slowly opened his eyes. His voice was weak and hoarse. "Don't cry, Mommy. It doesn't hurt."

"Mommy is taking you to the hospital right now."

Noah shook his head. "Don't go, Mommy. I don't want Daddy to get angry again and hurt you."

Audrey went still.

After everything her son had endured, he was still more worried about her than himself.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Noah." Her voice trembled. "Mommy was the one who made a mistake. I trusted the wrong person."

Noah rested his head against her shoulder and spoke barely above a whisper. "I'll be good from now on, Mommy. Will Daddy like me then?"

Audrey's tears splashed onto the floor.

"Noah, you should never have to beg anyone to love you. From now on, you need to love yourself first."

Noah didn't respond.

His face had turned alarmingly red, and his injured hand suddenly went limp. He had lost consciousness.

Terrified, Audrey carried him to the nearest private hospital, Prescott Medical Center.

"Someone help us!"

People hurried through the emergency room, but no one stopped.

Audrey grabbed a passing nurse. "Please call a doctor! My son needs help!"

The nurse glanced at the unconscious child in Audrey's arms and impatiently pulled her arm free.

"Stop making a scene. Every available doctor has been ordered to the private wing today. No one can treat you."

"Not a single doctor is available? That's impossible! This hospital employs hundreds of them!" Audrey's voice shook.

"There's nothing I can do." The nurse rolled her eyes. "The CEO of Prescott Group personally brought in an important patient. She made a shallow cut on her wrist and keeps threatening to kill herself, so every doctor has been ordered to remain on standby outside her room. Anyone who disobeys will be fired and blacklisted from every major hospital in the city."

Audrey immediately knew who the patient was.

Marcus had gone that far for Megan.

Still carrying Noah, Audrey hurried to the office of a doctor she knew.

"Dr. Collins!" Audrey rushed toward him. "Dr. Collins, it's me. Please examine my son's hand. I'm begging you."

Robert Collins was one of the leading specialists at Prescott Medical Center.

He had been preparing to leave, but his expression changed the moment he saw the unconscious child in Audrey's arms.

"Mrs. Prescott, it isn't that I don't want to help. Mr. Prescott ordered every doctor to report to the private wing. Anyone who treats another patient will be fired immediately."

"Please," Audrey begged. "Noah's hand was badly injured, and now he's unconscious. You have to save him."

"I have a family to support." Robert looked away. "I'm sorry. From the swelling, the nerves in his fingers may already be damaged. He could be left with a permanent disability. You need to find another doctor as soon as possible."

He gave Noah one last look, shook his head, and walked away.

Audrey stood frozen as a terrible chill spread through her body.

People nearby began whispering.

"Isn't that Mrs. Prescott? Why is she carrying a child? Wait, that's Mr. Prescott's son. So the woman in the private wing isn't even his family?"

"I heard Mr. Prescott is having an affair. Apparently, he abandoned his wife and son for his mistress."

"Marrying into money isn't always the blessing people think it is."

Audrey barely heard them. All she could see was her son.

"Noah, Mommy won't let anything happen to you."

She called Marcus.

The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered.

"Marcus, I'm downstairs. I was wrong. I shouldn't have confronted Miss Shaw." Audrey's voice sounded almost unrecognizable. "Noah's hand is bleeding. He's unconscious and has a high fever. Please send one doctor downstairs. I'm begging you."

Megan's crying came through the phone.

"Mr. Prescott, no one in the Prescott family wants me. What's the point of staying alive? Just let me die."

"Don't say that!" Marcus's voice turned frantic and tender. "As long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you."

Then he spoke to Audrey.

"Audrey, Megan's condition is serious. You need to wait."

"You expect us to wait?" Audrey nearly screamed. "Noah can't wait!"

"Audrey." Marcus lowered his voice and spoke with suffocating calm. "Noah only got hit a few times. Children recover from bruises in a few days. Megan cut her wrist, and she could die. Noah has you, but Megan has no one. Wait until I've dealt with this, and then I'll come downstairs."

The call ended.

Audrey stared down at her unconscious son.

Marcus had once told her that he had built this hospital for her.

Yet now, when she desperately needed it, she couldn't find a single doctor willing to help her child.

The injuries might have damaged the nerves in Noah's fingers and left him with a permanent disability.

Meanwhile, Marcus's mistress had thrown a tantrum over a shallow cut, and every specialist in the hospital was standing outside her room to make sure it wouldn't leave a scar.

The sheer injustice of it was almost unbearable.

All of this was happening because Audrey had no power.

If the Prescott fortune belonged to her, no one would dare treat her child this way.

She wiped away her tears and stopped begging Marcus. Instead, she called every doctor she knew.

Her heart grew colder with each refusal.

Marcus had already ordered all of them to stay away.

The 10th doctor finally agreed to come, but he needed 30 minutes to reach the hospital.

Audrey was carrying Noah toward her car when her phone vibrated.

A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.

Unknown number: [Please wait in the hospital lobby for 1 minute. A doctor is on the way to treat your son.]

Audrey's hands shook as she typed a reply.

Audrey: [Who are you?]

The answer came almost immediately.

Unknown number: [I'm someone who's admired you from afar.]

At the same time, Megan rested against Marcus in the private wing and spoke in a soft, fragile voice.

"Mr. Prescott, Noah was hurt too, but you brought every doctor here for me. Mrs. Prescott must hate me now. I'm so scared. Maybe you should send the doctors downstairs."

The coldness Marcus had shown Audrey vanished as he held Megan.

"Don't be afraid. No one can hurt you while I'm here. I already spoke to the bodyguards. Noah's injuries are minor. Audrey is exaggerating them because she wants me to feel sorry for her."

Megan lowered her eyes to hide her satisfied smile.

She had already bought off Marcus's bodyguards. Once Noah was out of the way, taking Audrey's place as the woman of the house would only be a matter of time.

Marcus continued holding Megan, but his thoughts drifted back to Audrey.

Even though Noah was his son and deserved treatment, Marcus saw this as the perfect chance to humiliate Audrey. He believed she might finally learn her lesson.

Ever since his first affair, Audrey had grown distant and devoted all her attention to their son. Marcus wanted her to understand that her husband's affection mattered more than anything else.

As long as Marcus favored her, Audrey could remain the wealthy wife everyone envied. Without his favor, she was nothing.

He had never intended to replace Audrey as his wife.

Marcus had no idea that a world-renowned doctor, someone even the Prescott family couldn't summon, was already on his way to treat Audrey's son.

Someone far more powerful than the Prescott family had sent him.