?Chapter 1693:


    At the time, Gillian had known immediately that Adide had chosen that elegant woman as her “mother.” She had retreated into the darkness and stood still, watching from afar. Only after the stranger had guided Adide away did Gillian finally break down, her body trembling as sobs tore from her chest.


    In that instant, a horrifying realization had struck her — she might nevery eyes on her child again.


    Gillian understood her own condition all too well. She had no means to pay for surgery, nor any way to cover the relentless medical expenses. Bound by crushing poverty, her future was already decided. All she could do was wait for the inevitable — and if she died, Adide would be left behind, which was a far crueler oue.


    Life in the slums was a ruthless, unrelenting battle where danger waited at every corner. Had it not been for her parents’ protection, both she and her daughter would have suffered unspeakable horrors long ago. Under open skies, women might still find traces of mercy. But the slums were a sunless pit ruled by chaos, where women existed only as targets.


    Gillian had noticed the stranger’s refined clothing and gentle manner. With every ounce of her being, she had wanted to believe this woman would give Adide the life she deserved. When sheter saw the missing-person notices bearing Adide’s face and learned her daughter was living inside the estate of Lionesspaw’s richest magnate, that discovery had finally allowed her heart to rest.


    Yet knowing where Adide was only deepened the ache. She couldn’t stop herself from going there in secret. Even crouching near the estate gates all day without catching a single glimpse of her child, simply being close was enough — reassurance that Adide was safe, that she hadn’t been abandoned. Watching how gently they treated her filled Gillian with a quiet sense of peace.


    Crossing paths with them today had been pure coincidence. She had followed discreetly, never imagining it would lead to this.


    Gillian stared at the beautiful woman lying still on the bench, fear wrapping tightly around her heart. She stretched out a trembling hand, desperate to check whether the woman was breathing — but before her fingers could touch skin, the woman’s eyes flew open, a sharp, knowing smile curving her lips.


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    She had stepped straight into a trap. There was no time left to flee.


    “Caught you.” Christina’s voice was low and cold as her hand snapped shut around Gillian’s wrist, locking her in ce.


    Already weak and overwhelmed, Gillian folded forward as violent coughing wracked her body. Momentster, her vision blurred, darkness surged in, and she copsed unconscious onto the ground.


    Christina froze briefly, then surged forward to catch her. She checked Gillian’s condition at once, her expression darkening. This was no act. The woman waspletely out.


    Later, at a hospital, Gillian stirred. As awareness returned and she found Christina seated beside her bed, panic crashed through her and she bolted upright in rm. She couldn’t afford to be here.


    “Don’t move. You’re ill,” Christina said, her tone firm and absolute.


    She studied the woman carefully. Gillian was striking, and Adide looked exactly like her — especially those brilliant emerald eyes that gleamed like cut jewels.


    “I… I can’t pay for this.” Gillian’s voice faltered as her head dropped, shame keeping her from meeting Christina’s gaze. Adide was her responsibility, yet she had forced that burden onto a stranger.


    “Don’t think about the cost. Focus on recovering,” Christina said. “Don’t make your daughter worry.”


    “I can’t owe you any more,” Gillian whispered, her voice heavy with humiliation.


    “Don’t confuse this with charity,” Christina replied evenly. “I refuse to let that child lose her mother so early in life.” She had already ordered a background check. Gillian was gentle, clean-recorded, and deserving of help.


    Gillian kept her head lowered, unable to respond. It took a long while before she managed to speak again.


    “My treatment will cost too much. You put up those missing-person posters because you don’t n to take her in permanently, right? I don’t need treatment. Please use that money on my daughter instead.”


    With those words, Gillian swung her legs off the bed and dropped to her knees on the floor with a heavy thud, bowing before Christina.


    “Please… I have nowhere left to turn. I can die — it doesn’t matter. But my daughter is still so young.”


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