Yet, among all the bustling people in the vast household, the little boy seemed explicitly fond of his quiet older sister, Angelica Lee. Perhaps it was because she was the only one who rarely approached him, making her a fascinating mystery to his toddler mind. Whenever his eyes caught sight of his older sister sitting in the living room, his face would instantly light up with pure joy, and he would happily waddle toward her at top speed with his tiny, chubby arms stretched wide open.

Unfortunately, Catherine Lee never allowed him to complete his journey. Every single time the boy tried, she would sprint forward and immediately carry him away to the opposite side of the estate. She acted as though Angelica Lee were an active, lethal threat to his existence. As though her own brilliant daughter were capable of murdering her little brother.

And then, that catastrophic incident happened. Without warning, Derek Lee was suddenly and violently poisoned.

The entire Lee Family dynasty instantly descended into complete, screaming chaos. The convulsing child was rushed straight to the emergency room under a heavily armed escort. Teams of elite doctors and frantic nurses worked around the clock, utilising every piece of medical advancement to save the young master’s life.

Unfortunately, they failed miserably. Because Derek was still only a fragile two-year-old toddler, his small body was simply too weak to combat the toxicity. The poison had aggressively spread through his tiny organs far too quickly for modern medicine to intercept. By the time the lab technicians finally discovered the exact chemical cause, the boy’s heart had already stopped beating. It was already too late.

Upon hearing the crushing pronouncement of death, Catherine Lee completely broke down. That was her son. Her golden boy. The precious child she had carried inside her womb for nine gruelling months. The child she had loved and protected so fiercely from imaginary threats. She collapsed heavily onto the sterile hospital floor, crying uncontrollably as heartbroken, animalistic sobs echoed loudly through the long corridor.

Not long afterwards, a pale Angelica Lee and the supreme head of the Lee Family arrived at the hospital wing. They had only just received the emergency notification at the corporate headquarters and, without wasting a single second, had rushed over immediately.

The exact millisecond Catherine Lee’s tear-stained eyes saw Angelica Lee walking calmly down the hall toward her, something inside her grief-stricken mind snapped completely. She abruptly surged to her feet. Before anyone in the corridor could even register her movement, she strode directly toward her daughter with terrifying speed.

Smack!

The sharp, brutal sound of a slap echoed violently against the hospital walls. The strike was delivered with such unhinged force that Angelica Lee’s head was whipped violently to the side, her long hair flying across her face. Several nearby nurses jumped back in sheer shock, gasping.

The entire corridor instantly fell into a suffocating, dead silence.

A bright red, angry handprint quickly began to bloom on Angelica Lee’s pristine, pale cheek. Yet, she did not shed a single tear. She did not raise a hand to cover her throbbing skin. She simply stood perfectly still, maintaining her rigid posture.

"Murderer!" Catherine Lee screamed hysterically, her voice cracking as she pointed a violently trembling finger directly at her daughter’s face. "You killed him! You brutally murdered your own younger brother!"

Catherine Lee’s eyes were entirely bloodshot, and her features were twisted into a horrifying mask of absolute grief and raw, unbridled rage. At that exact moment, she looked entirely insane.

Richard Lee, Angelica Lee’s father and Catherine Lee’s shell-shocked husband, finally reacted to the outburst. He rushed forward, wrapping his arms around his wife’s waist and pulling her back before she could charge forward to strike Angelica Lee a second time.

"Catherine! Stop this!" Richard Lee shouted, his own voice thick with grief. "What on earth are you saying right now?!"

"Let me go! Let me at her!" Catherine Lee struggled violently against his iron grip, kicking her legs as tears streamed down her face. "She killed my Derek! She poisoned her own younger brother because she was too greedy! She did not want him to grow up and inherit the position of heir!"

Richard Lee stared down at his hysterical wife in complete, utter disbelief, his jaw slack.

Meanwhile, Angelica Lee slowly and deliberately raised her head. Her expression was a completely blank, unreadable void. She did not offer a defence, nor did she scream back. She simply looked at her unravelling mother in absolute, chilling silence.

"What kind of unmitigated nonsense are you spouting in a public hospital?" Albert Lee, the head of the Lee Family, narrowed his eyes.

A deep, booming, and fiercely authoritative voice suddenly cut through the emotional chaos like a guillotine. Everyone in the corridor turned around instantly.

Albert Lee, the supreme patriarch and head of the Lee Family, was staring directly at Catherine Lee. His weathered expression was dark, imposing, and radiating a dangerous aura. Even though his voice had not been raised to a shout, the sheer, crushing weight of authority within his tone immediately silenced the entire hallway. His sharp, predatory gaze remained fixed entirely on Catherine Lee, pinning her to the spot. Even in her highly hysterical, grief-maddened state, she instinctively grew quiet, trembling under his penetrating, judgmental stare.

Catherine Lee forced herself to swallow her sobs, desperately trying to steady her erratic breathing enough to articulate her thoughts. Her face was still utterly drenched in tears, and her entire frame was visibly trembling from the volatile combination of raw grief and uncontained anger.

"Father... "It must be her. It has to be." Catherine Lee’s voice quivered violently as she looked at the patriarch.

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