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Not wanting to to invite gossip, Dad used his influence to enroll both boys in the same elite private school..
Noah, however, was the honor student representative every semester, while Jax was frequently called to the principal's office for his studies and behavior.
"How can anyone be as stupid as you? Even a pig is smarter! What other kid gets called to the principal's office twice a week?"
"You've embarrassed me in front of everyone! I'll beat you senseless!"
"Mom, I'm sorry! Don't hit me! It hurts!"
The sound of a hanger striking flesh, her furious shouts, his desperate pleas—the room was chaos.
Hearing the commotion, Noah frowned at me. "Mom, can you go stop Aunt Amber? Jax might get beaten to death."
I sighed. "If I go, she might stop for now. But after, Jax will suffer even more. Do you still want me to go then?"
Noah thought for a few seconds, then shook his head sadly. "Forget it, Mom. Let's not."
A few minutes later, a tired Amber came out holding a bloody hanger. She gulped down some water viciously and collapsed on the sofa.
"So useless. He might as well die early."
"Noah's so smart, the honor student every time. Clearly takes after his mom. I wish Noah were my son."
Then she noticed Noah standing in the corner, staring terrified at the hanger in her hand.
This time, due to my vigilance, Amber and my husband hadn't had the chance to brainwash Noah. Naturally, Noah didn't think he was Amber's son, nor was he corrupted by them.
Seeing how frightened Noah was, I comfortingly patted his head and told him to go to his room to sleep.
Amber, also afraid of truly scaring Noah, quickly hid the hanger behind her back.
After Noah went upstairs, Amber looked at me pretentiously. "Sis, did I go too far? That little brat Jax was coughing up blood from my beating."
I knew she wanted to see heartache in my eyes, to feed off my pain as she abused my son.
Too bad for her. She was destined to be disappointed.
It was her son being hit, not mine. Besides, this same child had gotten me killed in my past life.
Even if she beat him to death, I wouldn't feel an ounce of pity—I'd applaud.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child. Though you were a bit harsh, it was for Jax's own good."
"Besides, Jax is your son. As his mother, you have the right to decide how to educate him."
Jax was badly beaten this time and spent a full week in the hospital before returning to school.
But on his very first day back, he and Noah were taken hostage by a knife-wielding madman attacking people in the street.
Amber rushed over as soon as she got the news, furiously confronting me.
"Vanessa, what's wrong with you? Why didn't you have someone protect Noah?"
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Your Jax is there too. Instead of worrying about Noah, maybe think about how to save your own Jax."
Only then did Amber notice Jax was also in the madman's grasp.
She yelled at Jax, enraged. "You little brat! What did I tell you? I told you to protect Noah! Is this how you do it?"
"If anything happens to... to Noah, I'll beat you to death!"
Amber's reaction was too strange. People around were pointing and whispering. Dad, who arrived later, quickly pulled her sleeve and gave her a look.
Only then did she realize her reaction was overly abnormal and quickly added, "Didn't I teach you, as the older brother, to protect your younger brother?"
Amber's reaction made the kidnapper realize Noah was more important than Jax. He grinned viciously, raising his knife straight towards Noah's chest.
I rushed over to save him.
But someone was faster than me.
Driven by a mother's instinct to protect her child, Amber slammed into the attacker, shoved him off balance, and pulled Noah toward the crowd.
Enraged, the knifeman turned all his violence on Jax.
One stab, two stabs...
Just as he was about to deliver the third stab, the criminal was shot dead.
Jax was rescued and rushed to the hospital at top speed.
In the hospital, Jax was bleeding heavily during surgery.
A nurse ran out of the operating room, calling the blood bank on the phone: "The patient is hemorrhaging! Prepare three bags of 400ml Type B blood, stat!"
Hearing "Type B," Amber froze, then rushed over and shook the nurse. "What did you say? What blood type did you just say?"
