He pulled the divorce papers from his pocket, unfolded them, and pushed them across the table. “Given you’ve lost your son, I’ll let you have a bigger share of the assets. That should satisfy you, shouldn’t it? Let’s get this over with—sign here.”

He had forced her into a corner.

Inside the hospital room, Jamison could no longer contain his fury after hearing those words. With his tall frame radiating anger, he stormed out into the hallway.

“Jamison!” Ivy tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Before he could lay a hand on his wretched brother-in-law, Carla beat him to it.

“Fine! I’ll give you what you want!” she suddenly shouted. Before anyone could react, she whipped a knife from her pocket.

Farley Shepherd’s eyes widened in terror as he saw the blade flash toward him, scrambling back on instinct.

But he underestimated the depths of a grieving mother’s rage and despair.

Carla clenched her jaw, pouring every ounce of pain and fury into that savage attack.

No, it wasn’t just one stab.

She went berserk, plunging the knife into Farley Shepherd again and again, like a woman possessed.

His screams echoed down the hallway as he tried desperately to fight her off, blood soaking through his clothes and dripping onto the floor in bright, horrifying splatters.

No one had expected Carla to arrive at the hospital armed—or for Farley Shepherd to be caught completely off guard.

For a few seconds, everyone just stood there, paralyzed by shock.

Only Jamison reacted in time.

The instant he saw the blade, his face went white with horror, and he lunged to stop her.

But Carla was beyond reason.

Even as Jamison tried to grab her arm, she ignored him—and the knife slashed across his hand.

Still, she didn’t stop, stabbing Farley Shepherd yet again.

Driven by pure survival instinct, Farley Shepherd fought to wrestle the knife away, while Jamison and Thad, who had just arrived, struggled to restrain Carla.

Finally, they managed to subdue her—at least for the moment.

But even then, Carla refused to let go of the blood-soaked knife clenched in her palm.

Doctors rushed in and dragged Farley Shepherd away, getting him out of immediate danger.

Seeing the blood spurting from Farley Shepherd’s neck, one of the doctors paled. “His carotid artery’s been hit!”

A gurney was wheeled in, and the medical team hoisted him up, sprinting toward the emergency room.

Meanwhile, the Ludwig brothers kept Carla pinned down. She was covered in blood, especially her right hand, where the knife was now slick and red.

As Farley Shepherd was whisked away for surgery, Carla burst into wild, unhinged laughter. “Ha! Farley Shepherd, go on—go apologize to our son in hell!”

“Micah! Mommy got justice for you, sweetheart! Mommy got justice for you!”

She looked utterly deranged.

Ivy and Davina stood frozen, trembling from head to toe, their skin crawling.

It was the first time in their lives they’d witnessed such a gruesome scene—blood and violence erupting between a couple who’d been married for more than twenty years.

With considerable effort, Jamison finally pried the knife from Carla’s hand.

“You’re bleeding—go take care of it, now!” Thad urged, noticing the gash on his brother’s hand.

Ivy snapped out of her stupor and hurried over.

Seeing the deep cut slicing across Jamison’s left palm, her heart lurched. She rushed to get a doctor and nurse.

“It’s just a cut, nothing serious,” Jamison tried to reassure her.

“Nothing serious? It’s deep! What if there’s nerve damage?” Ivy’s voice shook. If he couldn’t operate anymore, it would ruin his career—and even daily life would become a struggle.

The doctor hurried in, took one look at Jamison’s hand, and his expression tightened. “Dr. Ludwig, you’ll need stitches and a thorough cleaning.”

“Go get patched up—I’ve got things under control here,” Thad told his brother firmly. By now, hospital security had arrived, but they all looked shaken by the carnage.

The security manager, realizing how serious things were, immediately called the police.

Officers arrived quickly, but Carla was still cackling, waving her bloody hands in the air.

Everyone who saw her was caught between heartbreak and confusion. No one could tell if she’d truly snapped, or was just feigning insanity to escape prosecution.

Thad stepped forward to brief the police, while Davina stayed close to Carla, who was clearly not in her right mind.

It was a domestic dispute with plenty of witnesses and security footage, so the police quickly got a handle on what had happened.

With Farley Shepherd still in surgery and his fate uncertain, the police took Carla into custody—regardless of whether she seemed mentally unstable—for further investigation.

Thad worked to keep the news from spreading and contacted the best criminal defense attorney he could find.

In the examination room, Ivy stayed with Jamison while his hand was cleaned and stitched.

“Ivy, why don’t you go check what’s happening outside?” Jamison didn’t want her to worry, and he was anxious to know how things were unfolding, so he sent her out on that errand.

Ivy shot him a worried look.

“I’m fine. Just see if the police have taken my sister,” he reassured her.

“Okay.”

She nodded and hurried out, returning a few minutes later.

“The police took your sister, and the funeral home staff have arrived. Thad and Davina are handling the arrangements.”