Chapter 4 Andrew is allergic.

Andrew was taken to the emergency room. Ellie, Richard, and everyone else were blocked outside; as the seconds and minutes passed, they could only pray in their hearts, hoping that he would survive this critical condition.

Amidst the suffocating and chaotic atmosphere, the Winthorpe family's butler rushed over and reported the investigation results to Brian.

"Sir, the young master is allergic to the almonds in Miss Ellie's cake."

The butler's voice was not small; everyone heard it. The result was like a stone thrown into a still lake, causing ripples on the water's surface.

"What kind of mother are you? Do you want to kill your son? Andrew is allergic to almonds; why did you put almonds on the cake? You evil woman! I want to kill you!"

Minerva screamed like a crazy woman who wanted to pounce and tear Ellie to pieces. She loved Andrew so much that she was so agitated.

Brian pulled his wife back, hugging her tightly so she wouldn't hit Ellie. Of course, Brian wasn't protecting Ellie, but because too many people were watching, he didn't want the family to lose their reputation. His eyes looked at Ellie with murderous intent, as if if Andrew didn't make it, Ellie would die.

That look made the stunned Ellie shiver. Before, she was shocked by the butler's words, but now she regained her composure and explained in a panic: "No! I didn't put almonds on the cake. Did you make a mistake?"

The butler was suspicious, so he immediately explained: "You delivered the cake, then put it in the refrigerator until it was taken out for the young master to blow out the candles and eat; only one maid touched it, but the surveillance camera in the mansion recorded it. That maid didn't do anything unusual. Therefore, the cake had a problem before it was brought."

Ellie shook her head, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably: "No, it can't be! I know my son better than anyone; I know he's allergic to almonds, so how could I put almonds in the cake? I see my son as my life; could I harm him?"

Ellie's every word and her indignant cries exuded extreme heartache.

She walked towards Richard and grabbed the corner of his sleeve, her voice choked as she begged: "You have to believe me! Richard, I won't hurt Andrew! Please believe me!"

'Slap'

The sound of a slap echoed throughout the hospital hallway.

Ellie's ears rang; she opened her eyes wide in disbelief and stared at the man before her.

Richard no longer had the image of a gentleman. Now, he looked like any other normal father, worried to the point of going crazy because his son's life was in danger. Half of Ellie's face quickly swelled up, a blinding handprint imprinted on her smooth skin. Richard was momentarily stunned; a trace of regret appeared in his heart for being so angry that he couldn't help but attack her.

But that regret quickly disappeared because in front of him was the culprit who had harmed his son. He clenched his fist, the veins on the back of his hand bulged, and turned away; he was afraid that if he looked at her a little longer, he wouldn't be able to control himself and wanted to kill her.

The slap was not only a physical pain but also a blow to the soul, creating an invisible wound in Ellie's heart. Her heart felt like it was about to shatter; a feeling of helplessness grew.

In the chaos, anxiety, anger, heartache, and despair of everyone, no one noticed Martha standing in the corner of the hallway; she observed everything that happened, the corners of her lips curled up into an evil and smug smile. After arranging her facial expression, she walked out worried and sad, pretending to make peace, easing the atmosphere.

"Everyone, don't be too angry. I believe Ellie didn't mean to hurt Andrew; maybe she just accidentally forgot, so she put almonds in while baking. Consider it: Ellie loves her son very much, so why would she forget such an important detail when baking for Andrew, leading to unpredictable consequences? It must be because Richard hasn't been by her side recently to take care of her, making her sad and depressed, which makes her unable to concentrate on baking. Therefore, Richard should also take some responsibility for this. You should care more about her."

The gentle words were in the name of reconciliation but only made the situation worse. It made people think that Ellie was angry because Richard abandoned her, so she took revenge by harming Andrew, or she harmed Andrew to attract Richard's attention, making Richard feel sorry for her and return to her.

Ellie was not stupid; even though her mind was in turmoil, she realized Martha's words were slandering her. She wanted to argue, but no one allowed it.

Minerva screamed, scolding Ellie so much that she couldn't believe it could come from the mouth of a noble lady.

She turned to Richard, he still had his back on her, not giving her a chance to open his mouth, and shouted: "Get lost!"

"Everyone is losing control of their emotions; you should leave temporarily; don't make the situation more chaotic. I'll take you home."

Martha kindly suggested.

Ellie didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and wait for Andrew, but no matter how she struggled, Martha and the butler dragged her to the car.

...

The butler drove, and Martha and Ellie sat in the back seat. The car had been gone for five minutes, and seeing that things couldn't be changed, Ellie gradually calmed down.

At this moment, Martha spoke.

"You are a failure! You took my place, married Richard, and gave birth to Andrew, but..." Martha stopped mid-sentence, her eyes mockingly glanced at Ellie, her voice lowered: "As a wife, you are not loved by your husband; as a mother, you cannot take good care of your son. Tell me, do you deserve your current position?"

Ellie's body trembled slightly; she avoided Martha, but the hands tightly gripping the corner of her skirt were caught in Martha's sight.

Martha was even more pleased; her words were even more merciless: "All you have now is what you stole from me. I should be Richard's wife, the one who gave birth to his children. You are just a rat that came out of the sewer, living off of robbing other people's lives. What you have to suffer now is your retribution."

"Shut up!" Ellie shouted.

Too much pain had piled up on her, now hearing Martha's provocative words, no matter how patient she was, she had to explode at this moment.

Her eyes were red but carried a strong will as she looked straight at Martha. This was also the first time she dared to face Martha so directly, saying the words in her heart.

"I am not your stand-in! I didn't take away your life or have anything to do with you. I am me! It was you who ran away from your wedding; it was you who chose your path. Now you come back and act like I'm the one who forced you to leave to take your place. What the fuck? At that time, I didn't even know you or Richard. I don't know why you came back, but I know your path led to your catastrophic failure, which is why you returned and unleashed your anger on me. You do this to comfort your pathetic self-esteem!"

Martha felt a strong sense of shame rising in her heart when Ellie exposed the truth. She shouted, "Enough! You have no right to judge me!" and raised her arm to slap Ellie, but Ellie grabbed that hand mid-air. She pushed Martha's hand away, her eyes like knives, warning, "I don't care what you're doing to Richard, but don't let me know that you're the one who harmed Andrew. I won't let you off!"

Ellie was sure she couldn't have accidentally put almonds in the cake because there was nothing related to almonds in her house. Therefore, she concluded that someone wanted to harm her, and the person she suspected the most was Martha because if Richard abandoned her, the one who would benefit the most would be Martha.

But right now, without solid evidence, Ellie couldn't do anything to Martha; she could only give a vague warning.