Chapter 7 A shame

Victor gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. He thought, 'Blocked? Perfect. Serena, you really went all in this time!

The stench of disinfectant in the hospital made Victor feel suffocated, and seeing Leon hooked up to an IV with his face so pale only made his chest tighten with frustration.

After finally getting Leon to fall asleep, Victor rubbed his sore shoulders and stood up, ready to head home and grab some clean clothes.

"Serena, get out here." Victor slammed the front door open, furious, ready to demand why Serena left without saying a word.

But what greeted him was complete silence. The empty house showed no trace of life.

Victor's heart dropped. He quickly strode into the bedroom and opened the door. Serena's clothes and makeup products were all gone. Only an empty

closet and bare bed remained.

Victor clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall, his knuckles cracking loudly. He pulled out his phone and dialed Serena's number again, but it still went straight to voicemail.

"Damn it," Victor growled and threw the phone hard onto the bed. He stormed out and drove straight to the company.

"Where's Serena?" Victor snapped.

The receptionist jumped at the anger in his voice. "Mr. Powell, Mrs. Powell already resigned."

"Resigned?" Victor couldn't believe it. "When?"

"She submitted her resignation a few days ago. Everything's been processed today."

"A few days ago?" Victor shouted. "Who gave her permission to resign?"

"It was approved by HR. Mrs. Powell submitted the request, and once the paperwork checked out, it was cleared."

"Where is she now?"

"I'm sorry, we don't know."

Victor stood frozen. He forced himself to stay calm and thought, 'Right now, Leon is what matters most.'

A few employees walked out of the elevator and happened to catch a glimpse of Victor's furious figure storming off.

"Hey, did you see that? Mr. Powell looked really pissed just now. I think he's looking for Serena."

"Yeah, I saw it. But Serena resigned days ago. How's he only finding out now? Aren't they married?"

"Seri's design skills are top–notch. If it weren't for taking care of the kid and Victor, she should've gotten the design director role a long time ago."

"It's a shame. Such a talented designer just up and left like that."

Right then, the design director stepped out of the elevator and overheard them. She sighed and said, "To be honest, with her ability, she should've taken over my position long ago." Back in the hospital room, Leon's soft sobs echoed faintly, Victor's chest tightened. He pushed the door open and stepped in quickly.

Leon lay in the hospital bed, his face flushed with fever. The tiny hand attached to the IV was gripping the blanket weakly, his pillow soaked in tears.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry" A young nurse was trying to soothe him in a gentle voice, but it clearly wasn't working–Leon just cried louder.

"Daddy, Daddy," Leon mumbled,

Seeing this, the fire in Victor's chest flared up again. He thought, 'Serena, how can you be so heartless? Leon's this sick and you're still busy throwing a tantrum.'

He rushed to the bed and scooped Leon into his arms. "It's okay, Leon. Daddy's here."

Leon clung tightly to Victor's neck. His cries slowly quieted, "Daddy, where did you go? I was scared," Leon sobbed.

Victor stroked his back, feeling sorry for Leon. "I just went to get some clothes. I'm sorry for leaving you alone."

The nurse, seeing Victor had returned, was about to leave.

"Miss, wait." Victor stopped her. "Can I borrow your phone for a second? Mine's broken."

The nurse hesitated for a moment before handing over her phone.

"Thank you," Victor said repeatedly, then quickly turned away to dial a number.

After a few rings, Serena's voice came through. "Hello?"

"Serena, what the hell are you trying to do? Leon's sick," Victor growled through clenched teeth the moment the call connected.

On the other end, Serena's fingers tightened slightly around the phone, then her cold voice came slowly. "Since Leon's sick, take good care of him."

Victor was stunned. "Are you even his mom? He's sick, and you just walked away like it's nothing?"

Serena said, "Since Leon loves Eliza so much, let her take care of him."

Hearing the faint sarcasm in Serena's tone, Victor froze. 'Ellie?' he thought.

In that instant, he understood exactly what Serena meant. "Serena/you-"

Before he could finish, Leon's complaints rang out beside him. "You wretch, it's all your fault I got sick. Ellie's way better than you. I hate you."

Victor swallowed his fury and spoke into the phone, "Serena, you'd better come back right now or else-"

"Or else what?" Serena cut him off. "Victor, stop threatening me. We're divorced." With that, she hung up.

The busy tone on the other end made Victor's face twist with rage. 'Serena, you're really something else,' he thought.

It was a long moment before he took a deep breath and picked up his own phone, dialing another number. "Hi. Yes, I need a caregiver. The most professional one you've got."

Only after arranging for Leon's care did Victor slump down in the chair by the hospital bed, completely drained.

Back then, whenever Leon got sick, Serena was the one who took care of everything. Now, Victor finally realized just how exhausting it was to look after a

sick child.

The next day, Eliza showed up at the hospital room with a gift basket after hearing that Leon was sick. She stood at the door, looking worried. "How's Leon doing?"

Seeing how worn out Victor looked, she felt bad for him. "Vic, you have take care of yourself too."

Victor forced a small smile, "

fine, just a little tired. Ellie, why are you here? You're still recovering–I told you to rest."

"I'm okay. I heard Leon was sick and got worried, so I came to check on him." Eliza walked over to the bed and gently stroked Leon's face.

Then she turned to Victor.

Mrs. Powell? I haven't seen her."

Victor shook his head. "No idea. And I don't care. She blocked me."

A dark glint passed through Eliza's eyes, and her brows quickly knitted together. "How did that happen? Did Mrs. Powell misunderstand something? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have moved in."

Victor reached out and gently held her shoulders to comfort her, saying, "It's not your fault. This has nothing to do with you."

Eliza lowered her head, looking guilty. "Maybe Oliver and I should move out soon. Vic, we can't keep causing you trouble."

Victor's eyes rested on her slightly bowed head. "Ellie, this isn't your fault," he remarked, holding her hand with concern.

Eliza sighed, "But Vic, I don't want to come between your family. Maybe I should stop seeing you altogether."

Victor suddenly panicked and gripped her hand tighter. "Ellie, don't say that. Serena's the one who kept going after you and even pushed you down the stairs. She crossed the line."

Eliza lifted her head, her eyes filled with tears. "But-"

Victor cut in, "No buts. You're not going anywhere. I want to see how much longer Serena plans to keep acting like this."