Silent Dreams Never Die — Author: John Miller 377
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Hearing her daughter’s complaints, Scarlett felt a fresh wave of helpless anxiety.
Soon, the taxi pulled up at the hospital entrance. Scarlett, with Vanessa still clutched in her arms, rushed inside, barely pausing to throw cash at the driver before hurrying straight to the Emergency Department.
As a pediatric surgeon herself, when the nurses wheeled Vanessa into a trauma bay, Scarlett followed right in.
A series of examinations and X–rays followed. The results came back clear–no broken bones, no visible trauma.
Fearful of missing something subtle, Scarlett asked the nurses to run a full blood panel and check Vanessa’s vitals.
All the tests came back normal.
Vanessa, listening to the doctors talk, kept up her complaints. “Mommy, my tummy really hurts. And my head is pounding.”
Scarlett turned to look at her daughter on the gurney. Vanessa’s cheeks were pink, her eyes wide and alert. She didn’t look like a child in distress at all.
In that moment, putting the pieces together, a suspicion dawned on Scarlett. Vanessa was putting on an act.
Playing along, Scarlett put on a grave face and addressed the ER physician. “Well, if all the scans are clear, I suppose we’ll need to proceed with a more invasive exploratory procedure.”
The doctor looked puzzled. “What did you have in mind?”
“An exploratory laparotomy,” Scarlett said, her tone deliberately clinical. “We’ll have to open the abdominal cavity to visually locate the source of the pain. It’s the only way to be certain.”
Before the doctor could express his surprise, Vanessa bolted upright. “No! Mommy, I want to go home! Now!”
That reaction confirmed it for Scarlett. She turned back to the medical staff, her expression softening into one of embarrassed apology. “I’m so sorry for the trouble. Please, give us a moment alone.”
The doctors and nurses filed out, leaving mother and daughter in the quiet, sterile room.
Once the door clicked shut, Scarlett’s posture changed. She looked directly at Vanessa, her voice
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Chapter 377 Vanessa’s Painful Deception.
low but firm. “Why the act, Vanessa? Why the lies?”
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Vanessa, seeing she’d been caught, dropped the pretense. Her face scrunched into a defiant scowl. “It’s none of your business.”
The hostility in her tone took Scarlett aback, but she pressed on. “Did something happen at school? Were you fighting with another child again?”
Vanessa jutted out her lower lip. “No.”
“Then who was spitting at people?” Scarlett asked, her voice rising slightly. “And who was calling other kids bastards?”
“You’re so annoying,” Vanessa shot back, her voice dripping with disdain. “Just stop.”
Scarlett felt her patience snap. “Right now,” she said through gritted teeth, “I have half a mind to put you over my knee.”
Vanessa didn’t flinch. Instead, she leaned forward, almost taunting. “So do it then.”
She even tilted her head, presenting her cheek. “Go on! Hit me!”
Seeing such brazen defiance, Scarlett’s hand moved before she could fully think–a sharp, stinging slap across Vanessa’s cheek. The sound echoed in the quiet room.
Vanessa froze, stunned. Then, as the shock wore off, a loud, wounded wail burst from her. “Waaah!”
Simultaneously, her small fist shot out and struck Scarlett hard in the abdomen. “You’re a bad mommy! A bad, mean mommy!”
The blow was sudden. Scarlett initially just registered the impact.
A second later, a sharp, nauseating pain bloomed deep in her core, stealing her breath. She couldn’t suppress a pained gasp.
Hearing the sound, Vanessa stared blankly for a second.
But seeing the genuine pain on Scarlett’s face seemed to please her. Her tears stopped abruptly, replaced by a cold, hard glare. “I wish you were dead.”
A chill ran down Scarlett’s spine. “Who taught you to say something like that?” she demanded sharply.
Vanessa pointed a trembling finger right at her. “You did! You taught me!”
Blind anger surged through Scarlett. Her hand rose again.
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Chapter 377 Vanessa’s Painful Deception
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This time, Vanessa was ready. She ducked nimbly out of reach.
Scarlett, having thrown her weight into the swing that didn’t connect, stumbled forward off- balance.
The edge of the hard hospital gurney caught her squarely in the same tender spot Vanessa had
hit.
She straightened up slowly, already breaking out in a cold sweat from the pain.
Vanessa watched, not a trace of remorse in her eyes. Instead, she climbed to her knees on the bed, drew her foot back, and kicked out–aiming once more for Scarlett’s stomach.
The connection was weak but precise. Scarlett doubled over, a wave of weakness threatening to buckle her knees.
At that exact moment, the door to the trauma bay swung open.
Before Scarlett could even see who it was, Vanessa scrambled off the bed and flew across the room, throwing herself into the newcomer’s arms.
Vincent caught her, lifting her up. Vanessa immediately framed his face with her hands, her voice a masterpiece of wounded innocence. “Daddy! The bad mommy hit me!”
Vincent’s gaze shifted from his daughter’s tear–streaked face to Scarlett, who was still hunched over, pale and breathing heavily.
After a heavy pause, his voice was flat. “Why would you hit her?”
The question, so devoid of context, sparked a bitter laugh from Scarlett. “I’m starting to regret ever having her.”
The “her” was unmistakably Vanessa.
Vincent heard the bitterness. “What’s the point of saying things like that?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.
His calm demeanor only stoked Scarlett’s fury. “If I had known my own daughter would turn out like this,” she said, her voice rising, “I would have done anything to avoid bringing such a cruel, spiteful child into this world!”
The words were harsh, cutting. Vincent’s frown deepened. “That’s enough. She’s just a child.”
Seeing him immediately take Vanessa’s side, shielding her from any consequence, Scarlett could only shake her head, a sarcastic, weary smile touching her lips. “You keep protecting her like this, Vincent.,One day, you’re going to live to regret it.”
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Awakened Housewife: Ignore Betrayer’s Begs
Chapter 378 Waking in Damian’s Care
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