Chapter 440 The Child Who Never Died

Chapter 440: Chapter 440 The Child Who Never Died

Victoria’s sudden outburst made everyone turn toward her.

She had been standing quietly nearby, but now her face had gone pale. Something in her expression was so raw that even Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

Derick stared at her.

“What do you mean?”

Victoria swallowed.

“Alicia’s health has always been complicated. There are other issues we need to consider.” Her voice shook slightly. “The hospital can get the blood from another blood bank.”

No one noticed the hand hidden beneath her sleeve.

It was trembling violently.

She had never expected Alicia to throw herself in front of Rose.

She had never expected any of this.

James stared at Victoria.

The longer he looked at her, the colder his expression became.

“She’s in critical condition,” he said. “You raised her for all these years. Whether you’re her biological mother or not, you’re still the person who’s been calling yourself her mother. And now, when there’s a compatible donor standing right here, you’re refusing to let him help her?”

Grace’s expression hardened.

James didn’t stop.

“Years ago, when you were pregnant and lost the baby, everyone was told that my mother caused it. That she deliberately pushed you, that you lost your child because of her, and that you were left unable to have children afterward.”

Rose’s chest tightened.

She had never known the details.

But hearing James talk about it now, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that her mother had deliberately hurt Victoria.

Something inside her ached.

James continued, his voice low and cutting.

“The Taylor family spent years carrying the blame. They took responsibility for you and your medical care. And when you couldn’t have children, my father even agreed to let you raise Alicia.”

He looked directly at Victoria.

“After all these years, you’re telling us you won’t even let Dad donate blood to save her?”

Victoria’s face went white.

James’s words had struck exactly where they were meant to.

Ryan had been silent until then.

Now he lifted his eyes.

His voice was calm.

Almost too calm.

“There’s only one explanation.”

Everyone looked at him.

Ryan’s dark eyes gave nothing away.

“The child you lost back then never died.”

Silence.

Grace froze.

For a moment, she seemed unable to process what she had just heard.

Then she pushed herself to her feet.

Her breathing became ragged.

She stared at Victoria.

“Is that true?”

James had suspected something was wrong, but hearing Ryan say it so matter-of-factly made his stomach drop.

His expression darkened.

Rose stood completely still.

Her lips pressed together until they trembled.

If Ryan was right, then everything suddenly fit.

Victoria’s supposed miscarriage.

Her claim that Sophia had caused it.

Derick’s complete estrangement from Rose’s mother.

Sophia’s desperate attempts to defend herself.

And the child who was supposedly dead...

If that child had actually survived and been hidden somewhere, then Victoria had used the lie to drive Sophia and Derick apart.

The realization sent a cold shiver through Rose.

It meant her mother might have been destroyed by a lie that had been carefully maintained for years.

And if that was true, then the car accident that had killed Sophia—the accident everyone had believed was suicide—might have been the final consequence of everything Victoria had done.

Rose felt sick.

How could someone carry a secret like that for so many years?

Grace’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Sophia...”

She could barely get the name out.

Then she turned on Derick.

Her cane came down hard against his back.

“You actually turned against Sophia over this?”

Derick staggered but didn’t react.

“You didn’t believe your own wife. You believed her instead!”

No one in the family had ever known the full story.

Derick had refused to discuss it for years.

And Sophia had been too proud to defend herself to someone who had already decided she was guilty.

But now, after all this time, the memories came rushing back.

He remembered Sophia standing in front of him that day.

Her eyes had been red from crying, but her expression had been cold.

She had looked straight at him and asked: “I told you Victoria threw herself down the stairs. Do you believe me?”

And what had he said?

He had been furious.

He had thought Sophia’s love for him had made her irrational.

He had thought she was jealous.

He had believed Victoria had lost her child because of Sophia and that Victoria’s despair had driven her to the edge.

“Sophia,” he’d told her back then, “you’re letting your feelings for me cloud your judgment. Victoria lost her baby, and she may never be able to have children again. She’s devastated. How can you still refuse to admit what you’ve done?”

He had thought he was forcing his wife to face reality.

Instead, he’d been driving the final nail into their marriage.

Sophia had looked at him for a long time.

There had been hatred in her eyes.

Not anger.

Not jealousy.

Hatred.

And yet, even then, she’d smiled.

She hadn’t argued.

She hadn’t begged him to believe her.

She simply turned and walked away.

After that, she disappeared.

Derick searched everywhere.

For months, he refused to accept that he had lost her.

Then came the news.

Sophia had driven her car into a lake.

She was dead.

He had lost his wife.

The woman he’d grown up with.

The woman he’d loved since they were young.

The woman he’d once believed he would spend the rest of his life beside.

And for years, he had carried the guilt.

Grace had suffered almost as badly.

She had blamed Derick for what happened and eventually severed their relationship, telling him to leave the country and stay away from her.

Victoria had followed him overseas.

No matter how cold he became toward her, she refused to leave.

Eventually, after years had passed, Derick convinced himself that he owed Victoria something.

He believed that she had lost her child because of the conflict between him and Sophia.

He believed her suffering had been caused by their marriage.

So, he tried to make amends.

He gave her everything he could.

He stayed.

He took care of her.

He convinced himself that it was the right thing to do.

And now...

All these years later...

Someone had just told him that the entire foundation of his life after Sophia’s death might have been a lie.

That the child everyone believed had died might still be alive.

That the woman he had blamed for everything might have been innocent.

That his wife had spent her final days trying to tell him the truth—and he hadn’t believed her.

Derick’s face turned ashen.

He ignored the pain in his back and stared at Victoria.

His voice came out rough.

“Did you hide the child?”

Victoria’s lips parted.

“Did you lie to me?”

He took a step toward her.

“Or was Sophia telling the truth?”

His eyes were bloodshot.

“Did you fall down those stairs yourself? Did Sophia never touch you?”

Victoria’s entire body trembled.

Back then, Derick hadn’t been furious because he didn’t care about Sophia.

It had been the opposite.

He had loved her so deeply that he couldn’t bear the thought of watching her become consumed by anger and despair.

He’d wanted to protect her from becoming someone he didn’t recognize.

So, he’d lashed out.

He’d accused her.

He’d pushed her away.

And the weapon he’d used against her hadn’t been anger.

It had been distrust.

Now he understood that.

And the realization was devastating.

“Derick...”

Victoria’s face had lost all color.

She shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“No. It’s not what you think. I never meant to lie to you. I only found out about Alicia later...”

Her voice broke.

“I didn’t know at first.”

She was terrified.

Not of the accusations.

Not even of the Taylor family.

She was terrified of Derick’s eyes.

There was nothing left in them of the man who had spent years believing he owed her his life.

Only disbelief.

Betrayal.

And a rage so deep that it made her feel as though the ground beneath her had disappeared.

For years, Victoria had been able to calculate every move.

She had known when to cry, when to remain silent, when to act weak, and when to make others feel guilty for questioning her.

But this revelation had destroyed every plan she had.

If Alicia hadn’t been injured today, none of this would have come to light.

If Derick hadn’t offered to donate blood, Victoria would never have been forced to react.

And if Ryan hadn’t immediately recognized what her reaction meant...

The past might have remained buried forever.

Ryan’s single sentence had torn open the grave she’d spent years protecting.

And for Victoria, that realization felt like a death sentence.