Alexander Blackwood stood frozen.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to say.

The man who could negotiate billion-dollar contracts.

The man who could make entire companies change direction with a single sentence.

The man who never showed weakness in front of anyone.

Was standing beside my hospital bed…

Unable to understand who I really was.

—Elena Shen?

He repeated my name like it was something impossible.

I looked at him calmly.

—Yes.

A pause.

—That was always my name.

Vanessa’s face became pale.

She looked at Alexander.

Then at the old man standing beside me.

The same man who had just called me “Miss Shen.”

Because everyone in the business world knew that name.

The Shen family.

A family whose influence existed long before Alexander Blackwood built his first company.

A family that could move markets without appearing in the headlines.

And I…

was the daughter they had spent years searching for.

But Alexander never knew.

Because I wanted him to love Elena.

Not the heiress.

Not the wealth.

Not the connections.

Just me.

The woman who cooked dinner for him.

The woman who waited for him.

The woman who believed love was more valuable than power.

How foolish I was.

Alexander looked at the divorce agreement in his hand.

Then at the check.

Then at the children’s hospital bracelet on my wrist.

His expression changed.

—You knew all along?

I smiled.

—Knew what?

His voice became lower.

—That you were…

He couldn’t finish.

I helped him.

—Rich?

Silence.

—Powerful?

Another pause.

—Someone who could have destroyed your company in one day?

His face tightened.

Because that was the truth.

But I never did.

Not once.

Even when Vanessa appeared.

Even when people laughed at me for being an ordinary wife.

Even when Alexander’s family looked down on me.

I protected him.

I protected Blackwood Group.

And he repaid me by calling our children a burden.

Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.

—Alexander, don’t listen to her.

Her voice trembled.

—She hid her identity. She lied to you.

I turned toward her.

—Interesting.

She stopped.

—You accuse me of hiding something?

I looked at her stomach.

—While you hid a pregnancy until you were sure Alexander would abandon his own children for yours?

Her expression changed.

Alexander looked at Vanessa.

For the first time, suspicion appeared in his eyes.

—Elena…

I interrupted.

—Do you know what is funny?

I held the two-hundred-million-dollar check.

—You thought this was proof of your generosity.

I tore it in half.

Then slowly dropped the pieces onto the bed.

—But to me, it was proof.

Nobody moved.

—Proof that the man I married was willing to put a price on his own children.

Alexander’s face turned white.

The room became silent.

Then the doctor entered.

—Miss Shen.

He looked at me.

—The twins have been transferred to the private medical unit. The specialists are preparing treatment.

I nodded.

Alexander immediately turned.

—Transferred?

The doctor looked confused.

—Yes.

—Where?

I answered.

—Home.

His eyes moved back to me.

—Home?

I looked at him.

—The Shen Medical Center.

That name alone made everyone understand.

The best neonatal specialists.

The most advanced equipment.

A place where money was never the problem.

The only problem had been whether I could reach it in time.

And now I could.

Because I no longer needed permission from anyone.

Alexander took a step forward.

—Can I see them?

I looked at him.

The same man who had not asked if they were alive.

The same man who said they would bring shame to his family.

Now he wanted to see them.

How predictable.

—Why?

His expression broke.

—Because they are my children.

I laughed softly.

—Are they?

He froze.

I repeated his own words.

“Two useless people.”

“Defective babies.”

“A burden.”

His lips trembled.

—Elena, I was wrong.

Those words.

Those simple words.

Should have made me happy.

Years ago, I would have forgiven everything for hearing them.

But now…

They were too late.

—You were not wrong, Alexander.

I looked at him.

—You were honest.

He stared at me.

—You showed me exactly who you were when you thought I was powerless.

The old man beside me opened a folder.

—Miss Shen, there is one more matter.

I nodded.

He placed several documents on the table.

Alexander looked at them.

His face changed.

Because the documents were not about the divorce.

They were about Blackwood Group.

—What is this?

The old man answered calmly.

—The investment contracts that kept your company alive for the last five years.

Alexander’s hands shook.

—No…

I looked at him.

—Yes.

A pause.

—The reason Blackwood Group survived every crisis was because of Shen Capital.

His eyes widened.

—You funded us?

I nodded.

—Not you.

A cold silence.

—Your company.

Alexander stepped backward.

Because suddenly he understood.

The empire he thought he built alone…

had been standing on my support.

And the wife he discarded…

had been the person protecting everything.

His phone suddenly rang.

He answered.

After a few seconds, his expression completely changed.

—What?

A pause.

—No, that’s impossible.

He looked at me.

Then at Vanessa.

The color drained from his face.

He ended the call slowly.

—The board…

His voice was barely audible.

—They want an emergency meeting.

I said nothing.

Because I already knew.

The moment Alexander divorced Elena Shen…

he didn’t just lose his wife.

He lost the protection of the Shen family.

And now the world was about to discover something even worse.

The woman he abandoned with two premature babies…

was the only person who could save his company.

But I had already made my decision.

This time…

I would not save him.