---- Chapter 38 A few days after the baby's birth, as Michael was meticulously preparing a broth for Liv, his burner phone vibrated. An unknown number. He almost ignored it. "Hello?" "Michael Thorne. You ruined my life." Serena. Her voice was a venomous hiss. "How did you get this number?" he asked, his blood running cold. "It doesn't matter," she spat. "| just wanted you to know. Little Jason... Mikey... he's dead." Michael felt a sickening lurch. "What? How?" "Pneumonia. The bitch mother couldn't afford proper care after |... after things went south. And it's your fault. If you hadn't exposed me, if you hadn't ruined everything, | would have had money. He would have been fine." Her blame was outrageous, her lack of genuine grief for the child chilling. "You're blaming me for your neglect? For your cruelty?" Michael said, his voice tight with disgust. "I'm blaming you for everything!" Serena shrieked. "You and your precious Olivia! You think you can just hide away on your private island with your new baby and live happily ever after? Think again, Michael. | know where she is. And I'm coming for ---- her. An eye for an eye. A child for a child." The threat was direct, chillingly real. Michael's mind raced. Serena was unhinged, vengeful. Capable of anything. "If you touch her, Serena, or that baby, | will hunt you down..." "Save your threats," she sneered. "You can't stop me. You'll pay. She'll pay." The line went dead. Michael stood frozen, the phone clutched in his hand. Shock warred with a surge of protective fury. He dismissed Serena's blame for the child's death - it was her own callousness that led to that tragedy. But her threat against Liv and his newborn... that was real. His newfound paternal joy, so fragile, so secret, was now overshadowed by a terrifying urgency. He had to protect them. Whatever it took. His resolve, born in the despair of his ruin, now solidified into an unbreakable shield.