"Die, bitch!" she screamed.
Venice shrieked and ducked behind Hadi, who was barely able to stand.
The knife came down again and sank into Hadi's arm.
Venice clung to him, screaming that he had to protect her, for their baby's sake.
But those words only seemed to drive Jade further into frenzy.
She clawed and slashed wildly, trying to reach Venice, leaving Hadi caught in between, getting cut, scratched, and bleeding.
"Caught you!" Jade laughed hysterically as she grabbed Venice's hair.
Venice cried out, her scalp burning. Through blurred vision, she saw her friends huddled in a corner, trembling, crying, but not one of them moved to help.
"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Hadi wailed, his voice cracking. "Where the hell is the ambulance?! I'm a Keir! Grandma, where are you?!"
"Ahhh!"
Venice screamed as the knife plunged into her thigh.
Desperate, she scrambled, grabbing whatever she could and slammed it into Jade's face.
The fork dug into Jade's cheek.
Jade screamed in horror, convinced her face was ruined.
In a burst of rage, she kicked Venice in the stomach, sending her curling in pain.
And then, sirens.
Police and paramedics stormed in, dragging the three of them out of the wreckage and into ambulances.
With so many witnesses, and with Hadi's identity as a Keir exposed, the incident exploded across the news within hours.
Without the old matriarch shielding him this time, the story spread like wildfire.
The before hospital incident resurfaced online. Venice, already rumored to be a mistress, was now entangled in yet another scandal, this time far more violent, with Hadi at the center.
Netizens devoured it eagerly. This wasn't the usual "wife versus mistress" drama.
This time, both women were the other woman.
----
Shin had just finished a meeting when his phone rang.
The moment he answered, Ellis spoke urgently. "Hadi's in the hospital. I heard he got stabbed. Go check on him and clean up the nonsense online."
"I didn't beat him," Shin replied flatly.
"I didn't say it was you. Just go."
"I'm not his father."
"But you're the current clan head," Ellis snapped. "I'm stuck in an important negotiation. I can't leave."
"And he doesn't have a brother, a mother, or a wife?" Shin said, utterly indifferent.
Silence.
Then Ellis sighed. "Your aunt just left for vacation yesterday, and Hiro isn't answering his phone—"
"Then contact his wife," Shin cut in, ending the call without hesitation.
Why should he care about Hadi?
The only time he'd personally visit that idiot was if he felt like beating him.
On the other end, Ellis cursed under his breath.
Normally, Elder Madam Keir would have handled everything immediately. But this time, no one was there to clean up the mess.
In the end, he decided to contact Serenity.
Upon learning about Hadi's situation, she laughed as if she had just heard delightful news.
"Serenity, I know you two often have your issues, and it's my son's fault for getting involved with this woman. But you are still his wife. Someday, he'll come out of this and become a better husband. This is not something to laugh about, so handle it accordingly," Ellis said, displeased.
"Yes, yes, Father-in-law. I understand," Serenity replied nonchalantly, still unable to wipe the smile off her face.
Ellis gave a few more reminders before ending the call.
----
At the hospital, two of Venice's friends remained as her companions. Although they had clearly heard the exchange between Jade and Venice, the latter was still their stepping stone to meeting wealthy young masters, so they didn't mind pretending to be concerned friends.
When the police questioned them, the two exchanged glances and promptly pinned the blame on Jade.
They claimed she had proudly declared herself Hadi's woman and had attacked Venice out of jealousy.
When Venice regained consciousness, she found herself in a hospital room with her parents by her side. Linda's eyes were red from crying, while Nolan looked visibly stressed.
"Mom…?"
"You're awake? How are you feeling?" Linda forced a smile.
Venice felt muddle-headed for a moment, but as her memory returned, she abruptly sat up.
"Jade… she tried to kill me!" she screamed.
"Don't worry. We'll definitely sue that crazy bitch for what she did!" Linda said angrily.
"Now tell us exactly what happened. Who stabbed Hadi Keir? Was it her?"
Venice trembled as fear and hatred surged through her. As she recounted the events, her father suddenly interjected.
"Obviously, she wanted the child you're carrying gone, and you just let her! With so many people there, and you were out with your friends… how could no one help? What about Hadi?"
Venice froze. Let her? What did he mean?
Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.
The slight bump… was gone.
"No… that's impossible…" she whispered.
She remembered the blood, so much blood when Jade stabbed her thigh. But what if that blood…
Venice looked at her mother, eyes wide, lips trembling. "My baby…?"
Linda avoided her gaze and looked at Nolan.
Nolan took a deep breath before shaking his head. With a heavy tone, he said, "The doctor said they couldn't save the child. You were bleeding too much, and—"
"Lies!" Venice screamed, her voice breaking. "I don't believe it! You're lying!"
Linda tried to console her, saying Jade would definitely go to prison and that she had also harmed Hadi. But Venice wasn't comforted in the slightest.
"I'm going to kill her! I'm going to kill her!" she shrieked, struggling to get out of bed, only to be restrained by her parents.
Nolan tried to reason with her, but in his mind, the loss of the child meant their path to climbing the social ladder had all but collapsed.
He didn't need to investigate to know what kind of man Hadi Keir was. Anyone in high society knew he was a womanizer. Perhaps the only reason Venice had held any importance to him was because she had been carrying his first child.
"Shut up!" Nolan suddenly slapped her.
Venice went still, staring at him in a daze.
"Have you calmed down now?"
"Nolan Zhi, have you lost your mind? How could you slap your own daughter?" Linda shouted, pushing him angrily.
Ignoring her, Nolan turned back to Venice. "If it's gone, it's gone. What else can you do? Will going crazy bring the child back? Listen to me. What matters now is making Hadi feel guilty. If possible, make him divorce his wife as soon as possible. Do you even know what's happening outside? People aren't sympathizing with you, they're making ridiculous comments about you and that Jade."
"Do you have to say that now? Can't you give her time to mourn?" Linda snapped.
Nolan glared at her, already regretting marrying such a useless woman. The only reason he had married her was because he believed Venice would marry into the Keir family and elevate his own status.
Who would have thought Hadi was nothing but trash?
Now that the child was gone, there was no telling whether he would discard Venice or actually divorce his wife. And even if he did… would he marry Venice? It turned out he had a long list of women outside his marriage. The only reason it hadn't become widely known was because his family had been pulling strings behind the scenes.
But this time… it was strangely quiet.
"Give her time? Do you even know what people are already saying outside?" Nolan scoffed. "If I go to the company and everyone gossips about me, are you going to fight them like a shrew again? With Yeri engaged to Shin Keir, and now her cousin involved with Hadi Keir, have you seen how people compare the two?"
"Yeri?" Venice's expression hardened.
Nolan turned to her. "Yes, Yeri. If you hadn't gone around spreading malicious rumors about her, would you be this infamous? It would've been fine if you'd just claimed to be her cousin, but you had to go and say all that nonsense—"
"Are you blaming her now?" Linda cut in. "Back then, you were praising her! You said people at the company were giving Klaus strange looks because of his daughter being a schemer and a gold digger. And now that things have turned, you're washing your hands of it and blaming your own daughter?!"
Venice had no energy to listen to them argue. She picked up her phone from the bedside table and opened her social media.
"Talk about a venomous snake. I remember Yeri didn't even respond or deny anything. So who's really the malicious one now?"
Replies flooded in:
"She wasn't outright slandering Yeri, but come on 'read between the lines.' She hinted at plenty during her livestreams."
"Remember when Yeri went viral for being linked with Tristan Felan? It's hilarious how Venice tried to paint her as promiscuous when she's the same. Does she not own a mirror? The jealousy is so obvious. She must've cried a river when she found out Yeri got engaged to Shin Keir, while she ended up with the Keir family's bad apple 😂"
"For those who don't know, Venice's father is Nolan Zhi. He also went viral before when his mistress and son fought his wife. Pretty sure the video is still online. It was like watching two stray cats brawl."
Venice's hands trembled as she scrolled through the comments.
Most of them mocked her, tearing her apart piece by piece.
The grief of losing her child, combined with the humiliation of being compared to Yeri, the one person she had always resented, crushed her completely.
Suddenly, she screamed and hurled her phone across the room.
It slammed against the wall, startling her parents mid-argument.
"Why?! Why is it always me?!" Venice cried hysterically. "I hate it! I hate it!"
Linda stared at her, panic creeping in. She had never seen her daughter unravel like this, like a glass sculpture shattering from the inside out.