The mother and daughter had tried many times before, but Jacob was impossible to move. Both Lillian and Rosalie were thin and weak. Over the past few months, they had cut back on food, often going half-hungry. They simply didn't have the strength. Jacob, as the head of the family, never missed a meal. Half the food ended up in his belly. Add middle-aged weight to that, and when he lay down, he was heavier than a hog. Lillian, furious, pounded on the man clinging to her leg before turning to Rosalie. "Rosalie, forget about me for now. Do exactly as I say. Go see someone." Rosalie frowned in confusion. "See who?" Lillian glanced down at the unconscious Jacob before speaking. "Leave the villa gate and walk down the mountain road. About halfway to the bottom, you'll see a small, plain wooden sign by the roadside." She paused for a moment. When Rosalie seemed to understand, she continued, "Turn off the main road there and head into the woods." Rosalie froze. "Into the woods?" Lillian nodded. "Keep walking straight. About ten minutes in, you'll see a small cabin someone built for themselves." Rosalie couldn't hold back any longer. ;"Mom, it's pitch-dark out there! I'm just a girl—going into the woods at night is dangerous!" she burst out. Lillian shot her a sharp look, full of disappointment. "Natalie could wipe out an entire family in the middle of the night. And you can't even walk a dark road? Compared to her, you don't measure up at all!" The mention of Natalie lit a fire under Rosalie. She hissed, "Who says I'm not as good as her? I'll go right now!""Lillian shook her head at her daughter's rashness, then added, "Listen to me first. When you reach that cabin, there'll be a man inside. Give him a message, then bring him back here."" "What message?" Rosalie asked. Again, Lillian glanced at Jacob before answering. "Tell him this: we're moving." "Moving?" Rosalie repeated in surprise. "What does that mean? Who's moving? Us?" Lillian didn't explain. "Stop asking questions. Just do it." Rosalie hesitated. "What kind of man is he? He won't hurt me, will he?" "He won't," Lillian said firmly. "He could hurt anyone else, but never you." Rosalie sensed something strange in her mother's tone. She scowled and asked, "Why? Who is he really?" Lillian was silent for a moment. At last, she said, "He's your real father." Rosalie shot to her feet. "What did you say?!" "Keep your voice down!" Lillian snapped, glancing at Jacob on the floor. "Do you want to wake him?" Rosalie clutched her chest, her lips trembling. "You mean ... Dad isn't my real dad? Who is this man, then? How could he be my real father?" The aftershocks could hit at any moment, and the house might not hold much longer. Lillian's patience was gone. She spoke fast. "You are Jacob's child. But that man has always believed you were his. In the end, a mother is always certain. And as for your father, it's whoever I say it is!" Rosalie's already fragile sense of right and wrong collapsed. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Mom, you can't just switch my fathers like that!"Lillian raised her brows. "Look at Jacob now. He can't protect us anymore. He'll only drag us down! He barely raised you, and you still plan to nurse him, feed him, and care for him until the end?" Rosalie opened her mouth, but no words came out. Lillian snapped, "He's holding me down! If you don't run and get help now, the next aftershock will bury us all in this house!" Rosalie bit her lip, stomped her foot, and cried, "I'll go right now!" Then she bolted out of the house. Watching her daughter's back as she ran, Lillian sighed. Foolish girl. She was just like Jacob. How could she not be his child? Still, Rosalie was hers. Lillian had the final say about who the father was. Power decided everything. She lowered her eyes to Jacob, who was still mumbling nonsense in his fevered state. The sight of him made her grit her teeth. "Useless man!" she muttered. Frustration boiling over, she kicked his injured leg a few times—hard. She hadn't expected it would actually wake him. "Lillian?" She froze, caught off guard, then quickly smoothed the fierceness from her face. "You're finally awake! Let me go—my leg's gone numb!" Jacob blinked in a daze and looked around. "What happened? Why am I on the floor?" Lillian pried his hands off her leg. "There was an earthquake." "An earthquake?" Jacob shook his head, trying to think.He had been badly hurt earlier that day, feverish and burning with infection. He had only just dozed off when the violent shaking hit. And when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his wife, trying to run away.