He Made Me Strip, So I Took Everything

Chapter 2

The next morning, screams from downstairs woke Audrey.

She got up and hurried downstairs at once.

The living room was a complete mess.

The floor was covered in shreds: torn pages from a passport, an acceptance letter ripped in half, and visa pages cut to pieces.

Megan sat in her wheelchair, sobbing so hard that her entire body shook.

Across from her, 4-year-old Noah pressed his lips together as tears streamed down his face. His small body was trembling.

"You destroyed my passport, my visa, and my acceptance letter! All my hard work was for nothing!" Megan screamed furiously.

Noah's voice broke with tears. "I didn't... I didn't do it..."

"You're still lying! Today, I'm going to teach you a proper lesson on Marcus's behalf!"

Megan raised her hand and swung it viciously toward Noah's face.

Audrey's expression changed in alarm. Acting almost on instinct, she rushed forward and pulled Noah into her arms.

Even so, Megan's nails scratched the boy's face, leaving a red mark.

Overcome with rage, Audrey raised her hand and slapped Megan hard across the face.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you discipline my son!"

Audrey didn't hold back in the slightest.

The blow knocked Megan out of her wheelchair and onto the floor, and her cheek immediately swelled.

Marcus's furious shout came from the staircase. "Audrey! How dare you hit Megan!"

He rushed over at once and pulled Megan tightly into his arms.

Noah cried, "Daddy, that bad woman hit me first. Mommy only hit her back."

Only then did Marcus notice the scratch on Noah's face.

Shock and pain flashed in his eyes.

But Megan began wailing in his arms. "Marcus, I'm sorry. It's all my fault... But Noah didn't like you asking me to tutor him, so he tore up all my documents... I never imagined a child raised by Audrey would behave like this..."

Marcus finally noticed all the pieces scattered across the floor.

Noah's little face flushed bright red as he hurried to explain. "No, I didn't!"

Nora Porter, one of the maids, stepped forward with her head bowed. "Mr. Prescott, I... I saw Noah tear them up. While he was doing it, he said he hated that Miss Shaw was a shameless mistress."

Audrey's gaze snapped toward Nora.

It was obvious that Nora had been bought off.

Audrey snapped at her. "Be quiet. It isn't your place to interfere in the Prescott family's affairs!"

She held Noah in her arms to comfort him, then looked coldly at Marcus. "Noah didn't tear any of those things. I think Miss Shaw deliberately framed him. Marcus, think about who benefits most from this. Don't make me think you don't have a brain."

Megan looked pitifully at Marcus. "Marcus, I know Audrey doesn't like me. If she says I didn't do it, then I didn't. Forget it. I shouldn't have made a fuss. I'll apologize to Ms. Lane."

As she spoke, Megan suddenly snatched up a shard of glass from the floor and slashed her hand with it.

Blood instantly poured from the wound.

Marcus anxiously pulled the pocket square from his breast pocket and pressed it against Megan's wound.

He looked down at the sobbing woman in his arms, then fixed Audrey with a furious stare.

"Audrey, was it you?" His voice suddenly became frighteningly calm.

Audrey froze for an instant. "What?"

"Megan's passport, visa, and acceptance letter," Marcus said, enunciating each word. "You taught Noah to destroy them because you wanted to ruin her! How else would a 4-year-old know to tear up those particular things?"

Audrey looked at him in silence, her expression completely unchanged.

When Audrey first learned of his affair 4 years earlier, it had felt as if her entire world were collapsing.

Now, this accusation seemed almost laughable.

"Marcus, are you insulting my intelligence or your own?" Audrey continued, "You could check the security footage instead of accusing me to clear your mistress."

"The security cameras?" Marcus's expression darkened further. "You shut them off a long time ago. That's why you dare accuse Megan so confidently."

A memory from 3 months earlier suddenly surfaced in Audrey's mind.

Marcus had gotten her drunk and pinned her to the living room couch because he wanted to have s*x with her there.

He had said, "Turn off the cameras. I don't want them recording you." She had been too drunk to think clearly and remembered only that he had taken her hand and used it to switch off the cameras.

Audrey understood. He had done it deliberately.

He didn't care what the truth was. He only wanted to use this incident to put her in her place.

He had set the whole thing up.

The corner of Audrey's mouth lifted slightly, but there was no trace of a smile in her eyes.

The sight of her expression enraged Marcus even more. "Audrey, if you can't teach our child properly, I will."

At his command, someone immediately restrained Noah.

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

"Noah." His voice was almost gentle. "Tell Daddy. Did Mommy teach you to tear those things up?"

Noah shook his head as tears fell. "No, Daddy! Mommy didn't, and neither did I!"

Marcus sighed, looking deeply disappointed.

"You're still lying." He stood. "Noah, Daddy can tolerate mistakes, but I can't tolerate lies. It seems your mother has done a terrible job raising you."

Marcus said coldly, "Teach Noah a lesson. Don't let him out until he sincerely admits his mistake. Come on. We're going to the hospital."

The bodyguards took Noah away to punish him.

Marcus left as well, escorting his sobbing mistress.

Audrey lunged forward to take her son back, but two other bodyguards pinned her firmly to the floor.

They didn't release her until 30 minutes later.

By then, Noah curled up in a corner. His hand was badly swollen, and his face was streaked with tears.

"Noah." Audrey crouched, pulled him into her arms, and burst into tears.

Noah opened his eyes. His voice was small and hoarse. "Mommy... don't cry... Noah doesn't hurt..."

"Mommy's taking you away. We're going to the hospital right now."

But Noah shook his head. "Mommy... don't go... I don't want to make Daddy angry again... He'll be mean to you..."

Audrey shuddered.

Even after being hurt, her son's first thought was to worry about his mother.

"Noah, you did nothing wrong," Audrey said softly. "Mommy was wrong. Mommy trusted the wrong person."

Noah rested against her shoulder, his voice as faint as a wisp of air. "Mommy... Noah will be good from now on... Will Daddy like Noah then?"

Audrey's voice was steady. "Noah, don't beg for anyone else's love. From now on, you have to love yourself."

But her son didn't respond. His little face was frighteningly red, and his hand hung limp as he lost consciousness.

Audrey's face went pale. Carrying her unconscious son, she raced to the nearest hospital, a private facility owned by the Prescott family.

"Help!"

The emergency lobby was crowded, but the staff kept rushing past her.

Audrey grabbed a passing nurse. "Get a doctor! Save my son!"

The nurse glanced at the unconscious child in her arms and impatiently shook her off. "Why are you in such a hurry? Every hand specialist and surgical attending on call has been pulled into the VIP suite. No one qualified to operate on his hand is available."

"No specialist? How is that possible? This is a major medical center!" Audrey's voice tightened.

"There's nothing I can do," the nurse said, rolling her eyes. "Mr. Prescott brought the patient here himself. She cut her wrist, then refused treatment and threatened to harm herself again. Administration ordered every senior surgical specialist to remain on the VIP floor. Anyone who leaves without authorization could lose their job and hospital privileges."

Audrey immediately knew who the patient was. Marcus had gone this far for Megan.

Holding Noah, she found the office of a doctor she knew.

"Dr. Collins!" Audrey rushed over. "Dr. Collins, it's me. Please look at my son's hand. I'm begging you..."

Robert Collins was one of Prescott Medical Center's leading specialists.

He was about to leave when he saw the child in her arms, and his expression changed.

"Ms. Lane... It isn't that I don't want to help you. Mr. Prescott gave a direct order. Every hand specialist has to remain on standby in the VIP suite. If I leave without authorization, I could lose my position and hospital privileges."

"Please," Audrey said. "Noah's hand was injured, and he's unconscious. Save him."

"I... I have a family to support. I'm sorry. His hand has almost certainly suffered nerve damage, and without surgery he may lose some function permanently. You should find someone else quickly."

Robert looked at the child, shook his head, and turned away.

Audrey froze where she stood, a chill spreading through her entire body.

People nearby began whispering in astonishment.

"Isn't that Ms. Lane? Why is she holding a child? Wait, is that Mr. Prescott's son? So the person in the VIP suite isn't a member of the Prescott family?"

"I heard Mr. Prescott had an affair and is with his mistress now. He drove Ms. Lane and their child out..."

"Being married into a wealthy family isn't easy."

Audrey could no longer hear them. She saw only her child.

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

She took out her phone and called Marcus. It rang for a long time before he finally answered.

"Marcus, I'm downstairs. I was wrong. I shouldn't have opposed Miss Shaw." Audrey's voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like her own. "Noah's hand is bleeding. He's unconscious and has a high fever. Let one hand specialist come down. Please..."

Megan's sobs came from the other end of the call. "Marcus... No one in the Prescott family welcomes me... What's the point of living? Let me die..."

"Don't say that!" Marcus's voice was filled with anxiety and concern. "As long as I'm here, no one will let you die."

Then he said to Audrey, "Audrey, Megan's condition is urgent. You can wait."

"Wait?" Audrey almost shouted. "Noah can't wait!"

"Audrey." Marcus lowered his voice with a suffocating calm. "Didn't Noah just get hit a few times? They're superficial injuries. Children recover from those after a few days. Megan slit her wrist. This is a matter of life and death. Noah has you, but she has no one. Wait. I'll come over after I finish here."

The call ended.

Audrey stared blankly down at her son and remembered something Marcus had once said.

He had built this hospital for her.

Yet when she needed it, she couldn't find a single specialist willing or able to treat her son.

The nerves in her child's fingers were damaged, and if she waited any longer, he could suffer permanent loss of function in his hand.

Marcus's mistress had merely thrown a tantrum, yet the hospital's top surgical specialists were gathered outside her VIP suite, treating the possibility of a scar as an emergency.

It was absurd.

All of this was only because Audrey wasn't the one holding power.

If the Prescott family's fortune belonged to her, who would dare neglect her?

Audrey gave up on begging Marcus. She called every doctor she knew, and her heart grew colder with each number she dialed.

Marcus had already warned every one of them away.

On her 10th call, a doctor she knew agreed to come immediately, but he needed 30 minutes.

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

A text from an unknown number appeared on her phone.

Unknown Number: Please wait in the hospital lobby for 1 minute. A doctor will come and treat your child's injury.

Audrey's hands trembled as she typed a reply.

Audrey: Who are you?

The mysterious number replied.

Unknown Number: An insignificant admirer.

At that same moment, upstairs in the VIP suite, Megan leaned against Marcus.

Her voice was soft and delicate.

"Marcus... Noah is hurt too, but you called every doctor here for me. Does Audrey hate me now? I'm so scared... Why don't you let the doctors go to her instead?"

Marcus held her, his voice so gentle that he seemed like a different man.

"Don't be afraid. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you. Besides, I already asked the bodyguards. Noah's injuries are minor. Audrey is deliberately exaggerating his suffering to win my sympathy."

Megan lowered her eyes, revealing a smug smile.

She had bought off Marcus's bodyguards long ago.

Once something happened to that child, her place beside Marcus would be secure.

Marcus held Megan, but his thoughts drifted involuntarily to Audrey.

Noah was his son. Even a minor injury should be treated. But this was a perfect chance to humiliate Audrey.

Audrey should have learned to behave by now.

Ever since his first affair, Audrey had treated him much more coldly and cared only about their son.

He could use this opportunity to make her come to her senses and understand that winning back her husband's affection was what mattered most.

With Marcus, Audrey was the wealthy wife everyone admired.

Without him, Audrey was nothing.

After all, he had never wanted anyone to replace Audrey as his lawful wife.

What Marcus didn't know was this:

Just outside the hospital lobby, a renowned doctor beyond even the Prescott family's reach had come for Audrey.

The doctor had been sent by someone with influence far beyond the Prescott family's reach.