Alexander's piercing gaze darkened with dangerous intensity.

Victoria was right - it all traced back to Amy.

Liam hadn't anticipated his father confronting him so abruptly. He froze momentarily before stammering, "Mom didn't teach me that. I just... I don't want you and mom to separate..."

Before he could finish, Alexander cut him off sharply.

"Did you run away to find your mother this time?"

His commanding presence filled the hospital room, sending an involuntary shiver down Liam's spine.

The boy lowered his head. "Yes."

Alexander's voice turned glacial. "Who told you about the theme park?"

He'd already checked Liam's phone - no suspicious messages. That meant someone had spoken to the boy in person.

Liam whispered, "It was... Oliver."

Alexander's expression hardened with confirmation. He'd suspected the information came either directly from Amy or through Oliver Kingsley. She would stoop to using their own child as a pawn.

Seeing Liam's anxious expression, Alexander stated calmly, "Your mother and I aren't getting divorced." Just then, three soft knocks sounded at the door.

Amy entered.

Liam's face instantly brightened. His mother had actually come to see him! So that's why Oliver always played the sick card - it really worked wonders.

He felt like he'd uncovered some secret strategy.

Amy noticed Liam's hopeful gaze but frowned slightly. "How are you feeling? Any lingering discomfort?"

Liam opened his mouth to say he was fine, then remembered how Oliver would burrow into their mother's arms, whimpering about feeling awful to get her attention.

"I... still feel a little sick," he tried.

But instead of comforting him, Amy asked pointedly, "Liam, why did you push Oliver?"

The boy stared at her in shock.

He'd thought she came out of concern. But she was here to interrogate him - because of Oliver, that little manipulator!

It felt like icy water dousing his hopes, leaving only bitter disappointment and injustice.

"I didn't push him! He jumped on his own!"

Amy sighed, shaking her head. "The security footage shows what really happened."

"I've never demanded perfection from you, Liam, only honesty. Do you think pushing someone then jumping after them makes it acceptable?"

Alexander and Margaret maintained strict standards for their heir. Liam had private tutors four days a week, with Margaret personally overseeing his lessons every weekend.

While Amy wanted Liam to enjoy childhood, she knew his destiny as Blackwood heir set him apart. From birth, his path diverged from ordinary children's carefree lives.

So she never pressured him academically, focusing instead on shaping his character.

Yet every time she corrected Liam, Margaret would chastise her for making mountains out of molehills, claiming she missed the point of proper upbringing.