Crystal met Nancy and Paul at the bottom of the stairs. The fact that Nancy''s face was pale and that she still was not walking bothered Crystal. "What''s wrong?" she asked. "Are you unable to walk?"


    Nancy shook her head and said, "I am fine. I just feel a little dizzy."


    "Okay. Good." Crystal looked at Noah, thanked him, and said, "Put her on the sofa." Noah cautiously put Nancy on the sofa, and he took a deep breath as he looked at her. "She''ll be fine," he said. "She just needs some rest."


    Nancy looked around the room but did not see her son. "Where is rk?" she asked in dismay.


    "I didn''t see him," Crystal admitted. "I looked around, but I couldn''t find him..."


    Nancy frowned and called one of the servants into the living room. "Where is my son?" she asked.


    The servant was hesitant to reply. "He was begging to see you," she finally said. "The master told him that he was being disobedient, so he locked him in the ck Room."


    Nancy took a deep breath. "The ck Room...." She thought for a second. "Are you talking about the utility room?"


    The servant nodded silently.


    When Crystal heard that rk was in the ck Room, she could not help but tremble.


    She had been taken to another ck Room once. While there, she had been crucified and flogged. "Why didn''t Paull lock him in his own room?" she asked. "A ck Room is no ce for a toddler..."


    Nancy stood up abruptly, but her legs trembled beneath her. She shook her head in despair, and Noah reached out to support her. "Master said that a boy shouldn''t cry all day long," the servant exined. "He said that the ck Rook would toughen him up."


    Noah turned to the servant. "Oh, shut up!" He snapped. "We are going to get him out of the ck Room, and there is nothing you or Paul or anyone else can do to stop us!" Then he pushed her out of the way.


    ****


    When they opened the door to the ck Room, they found rk shirking in a corner. His cheeks were still wet with tears, and he had a hollow look in his eyes.


    Nancy rushed forward to hug rk. He was so small, and his body was trembling. She patted his back gently tofort him. "rk, don''t be afraid, your Mommy is here, and so is Aunt Crystal." It was hard for her to keep herposure, but she knew that she had to be strong for her son.


    Why did Paul want me to give birth to his child, only to treat him like this? Nancy - wondered - This is all my fault...


    Nancy med herself for being weak. "No child should have to experience such a terrible thing!" she eximed.


    Crystal helped Nancy take rk into his bedroom, but he could not stop sobbing even though he was safe. The pain in his eyes broke his mother''s heart, and it made her want to kill her ex-husband.


    Noah helped Nancy sit down by the bed so that she could continue tofort rk, and then he and Crystal left the room. Crystal was only gone for a short time, though, and when she returned, she had a gift box in her hands. She handed it to Nancy and said, "Here. It is an electronic watch. It is for rk. I asked Eric to modify it. It should have arrived long ago, but there was a problem with the program, so it had to be reset."


    "What kind of programs?" wondered Nancy.


    Crystalughed and said, "The usual. Mostly recording and video apps. Now, if Michelle abuses rk, he can record it. Then you will have evidence against her, and Paul will have to believe you!"


    "What a great idea!" Nancy eximed. "And it''s shaped like a dolphin- Paul''s favorite animal! Why didn''t I think of this?"


    Crystal shrugged and said, "You are a good mother, but you cannot be expected to think of everything!"


    "How does the camera work?" asked Nancy.


    "It is equipped with a motion sensor," Crystal exined. "Whenever someone approaches rk, the recording function will be automatically activated. The video will be automatically saved for seven days, and then it will be deleted."


    Nancy hugged her friend and said, "This is great, and it''s so high-tech! How did you make it?"


    "I designed the style," Crystal replied, "and


    Eric did the rest. He is very Tech-savvy."


    "He is so nice to you." Nancy lowered her head enviously to conceal her loneliness. She knew that everyone''s fortunes were different, and she refused to hold her friend''s sess against her.


    Crystal smiled sadly and thought -Eric might be nice to me, but his goodnesses at the cost of my autonomy... In her heart, she felt like she was as much a victim as Nancy was.


    Nancy helped rk with the watch. "Do you like it?" she asked. "Aunt Crystal sent you this watch. We should thank her…"


    rk smiled shyly and thanked Crystal.


    Then raised his wrist so that he could get a better look at the watch. "I love it!" he eximed.


    Nancy sighed suddenly as a thought urred to her: "Even with the evidence, what if Paul doesn''t believe me?"


    "It doesn''t matter," Crystal replied. "If we have good evidence, then we can take it to the police, and they will be forced to take action. And if it were to go that far, your case against Paul for custody of rk would be stronger!"


    Nancy smiled. "I hadn''t thought of that," she admitted.


    They began to show rk how to use the watch, and he was just beginning to get a handle on it when Noah returned. He had a giant smile on his face.


    "What is it?" Nancy asked.


    "It''s dinner time," he replied. "Before we go down, though, would it be okay for me to give you a hug?"


    Nancy''s body was still rtively weak, and her legs were like jelly. Therefore, she did not refuse Noah''s request. "That would be fine," she said. "And you can help me down the stairs, right?"


    "Of course, I can!" Noah replied.