“Stephen, your hand is seriously hurt. Go get it treated now!” Sophia’s face had gone completely pale.

Stephen had been at the hospital for over an hour. Blood was still oozing from the wound on his hand, but he hadn’t done a thing about it.

“It’s just a small cut. I’m fine,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“How can you be fine? You’re bleeding so much!” Sophia anxiously rushed down the hallway. “Is there a nurse here?”

A few moments later, she returned with a nurse in tow.

She turned to the nurse. “Please take him to get his wound treated.”

Stephen just stood there, blankly staring at the glowing red letters above the ER doors. He didn’t move an inch.

Sophia wiped away her tears and gave him a gentle push. “Go get it bandaged. Do you want Tess to see you like this when she wakes up?”

That seemed to get through to him.

He gave a slight nod, then slowly began to walk, following the nurse.

Naomi watched his figure as he left and let out a long sigh.

What a pair of tragic lovers they were.

Once Stephen was gone, Sophia suddenly yanked Caleb by the arm and dragged him toward the exit. “Come with me!”

She was furious. Her lips were pressed into a hard line, and her eyes were filled with anger as she pulled him outside the hospital.

The doctors and nurses who brushed past them cast curious glances their way.

“What the hell are you doing? Let me go!” Once they were outside, Caleb forcefully shook her off.

A sharp, loud slap echoed in the air.

Sophia had slapped him across the face.

“Are you insane?” Caleb shouted.

Sophia was fuming. “Insane? If you hadn’t been screwing around back then and gotten that woman pregnant, then gone soft and let that bastard be born-none of this mess would’ve happened! Do you even realize James nearly killed Stephen today?”

Caleb’s face darkened. “How was I supposed to know James would turn out like this? What’s the point of blaming me now?”

“Caleb!” Sophia pointed a trembling finger at his face. “This is all your fault! You’re the one who caused this from the very beginning, yet you act like it’s not your problem at all.”

Caleb’s eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was sharp. “Back then, Amara lied and told me she’d had an abortion. She went overseas behind my back and had the baby. What could I have done?

“I only found out after the fact that she didn’t go through with it. By the time I knew, James was already born. Did you really expect me to kill my own son?”

Sophia was crying out of pure rage. “So you just stood by and let your illegitimate son try to kill Stephen? Isn’t Stephen your real son? You brought this disaster on all of us!”

Caleb let out a cold laugh. “My fault? I begged you all to bring James into the Jacobson family and acknowledge him, but none of you would agree. You threatened suicide, and Dad threatened to cut me off.

“If James had grown up in the Jacobson family, would he have ended up involved with criminal gangs in Arcton? Would he be filled with this much hate and desire for revenge against Stephen?”

“Oh, wow! Wow!” Sophia laughed in disbelief. “So now this is all our fault? I really misjudged you. I married a total piece of garbage. Caleb, we’re getting a divorce!”

“Are you insane?” Caleb snapped with a gloomy face. “James has already been arrested, and Stephen’s still alive. Why the hell are you talking about divorce now?”

“Because deep down, you’re cold and heartless.”

She didn’t sound as hysterical as before. Her voice had calmed, but it was even more cutting. “You’re the one who caused all of this, yet you’ve completely washed your hands of it. Your past mistakes nearly cost Stephen his life.

“The Yates family was almost destroyed. And now you’re here blaming me for threatening suicide and your parents for not letting James into the family. Caleb, do you even have a soul?”

Caleb’s face was clouded, and his eyes were stormy. He said nothing in response.

Sophia looked at him, her gaze cold and empty. She said softly, “Caleb, the person James should’ve gone after… was you.”

With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.

“I…” Caleb tried to say something, but suddenly he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His vision blurred, then everything went black as he collapsed to the ground.