"You wanted the amusement park, Laura and I gave it to you. You said the child was bleeding, so I sent a band-aid. If you try to disturb Laura and me again today, I won’t let you off easily."
Patrick's voice echoed through the phone, but all I could focus on was the silence around me. I kept calling my daughter’s name, gently stroking her cold, stiff hand.
"Patrick, you can believe whatever you want, but I swear, I never plotted against Laura."
Life drained out of me as I whispered, "You killed my child. I want a divorce."
There was a long pause, and then Patrick’s cold laugh broke through the silence.
"Trying to play dead and manipulate me again? Lucia, you're overacting."
He hung up.
I stumbled toward Mr. Carlson, my daughter still in my arms, feeling utterly lost. When he saw the situation, he immediately understood there was no saving it. Tears streamed down his face.
"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have relied on your kindness to force you to marry Patrick and save the Carlson family business. But Lucia Knight, for the sake of our past, please give Patrick another chance."
"Before Laura came back, your family was so happy. Patrick loved you. He was just confused by that woman again..."
His words stirred painful memories, and I gave a bitter smile.
Ten years ago, Laura had abandoned a seriously injured Patrick and fled with 300 million yuan of the company’s funds. The Carlson company went bankrupt, and the family couldn't even afford Patrick’s hospital bills.
Mr. Carlson, desperate, found me. I was the vice president of my boss's company by then. Kneeling in front of me, he begged me to marry Patrick and help rebuild the Carlson Group.
I have always been grateful to Mr. Carlson for rescuing me from my abusive father and sponsoring my education. To repay him, I agreed.
It took three years to revive the company. I helped Patrick from his hospital bed to a wheelchair, and then to his feet. After giving birth to my daughter, I willingly stepped away from power to focus on my family.
For ten years, I gave everything to Patrick and the Carlson family. Now, I have lost my daughter—the only thing the Carlson family had given me.
I looked at Mr. Carlson, his eyes full of sorrow, and slowly shook my head. "I’ve given him ten years of my life. He shouldn’t be abusing me like this."
"I owed the Carlson family once, but now, I’m here to collect what Patrick owes me."
With red-rimmed eyes, I carried my daughter’s body to the incinerator, placing her inside with my own hands. As the flames began to rise, my entire body trembled.
"Audrey, Mom will make sure to... avenge you."
Old Master Carlson sat helplessly in his wheelchair, sobbing. "I’ve hurt you so much, and I have no right to stop you anymore. But Lucia, if Patrick returns, can you give him another chance?"
"When my daughter was crying and begging him, why couldn’t he give her a chance?" I wiped the final tear from my cheek, took the death certificate, and headed home to gather my and Audrey’s things.
When I walked through the door, a strong smell hit me, and blue crystals were scattered across the floor. Laura was there, her eyes filled with malice as she smirked at me.
"Patrick, your wife’s back. Let me go. Otherwise, she’ll get upset again and drag Audrey into her mess. Poor Audrey, learning to lie at such a young age."
Patrick's voice was cold as he shouted, "Lucia, stop right there!"
"I've already explained that Laura’s pregnancy with my child was an accident. You’re just jealous of her, stirring up trouble for no reason." Patrick’s voice grew cold. "Now, Laura’s child is gone because of you, and you feel no guilt. Today, you even took your daughter to take over the amusement park that belongs to Laura."
"I didn’t have anything to do with Laura. How her child was lost is none of my concern." I replied icily, "I’m tired of saying this. Believe it or not."
"You can argue all you want," Patrick sneered. "You’ve been using the child to compete for my favor, challenging my limits. You’re not fit to be Audrey’s mother. I’ll give Audrey to Laura to raise—let her be her mother instead."
Without another word, I turned and started heading upstairs.
Patrick grabbed my arm, his eyes filled with a mixture of coldness and mockery.
"If you don’t want to give Audrey to her, I’ll compensate Laura with a child of her own, but don’t disturb her again."
"Do whatever you want," I answered flatly.
A flicker of doubt crossed his face before he sneered.
"If you’re really so reasonable, then come over here and tear off the Smurfs for us, hand over the wet wipes, and wash Laura’s underwear by hand. She has delicate skin, so it’s your responsibility."
The foul-smelling cloth and Smurfs hit me in the face. A sharp edge from the tin foil scraped my cheek, drawing blood. The disgust was overwhelming, but I refused to engage any longer.
I tossed the underwear aside, tore off the Smurfs, and threw them at him.
"Can you let me go now?"
Patrick studied me, seemingly confused. Laura, still draped over him, squirmed and hummed at the sight.
I ignored the two of them as they made their sounds behind me and walked upstairs.
In the quiet of my room, I began folding my daughter’s clothes, taking out the album I had made for her. As I flipped through the pages, tears welled up, blurring my vision. Her bright, innocent smile in the photos made it feel like she was still with me.
Just yesterday, she had been beside me, cheerfully saying, "Mom, don’t be sad. Dad’s too busy with work to spend time with us."
"Dad’s work is too hard. Audrey doesn’t want Dad to spend my birthday with me. I just wish he could rest for a day."
I sobbed as I held onto the clothes that still smelled of her. My daughter had been so understanding, so considerate of her father, and yet that man had sent her to her death on her birthday.
I gathered my things, contacted a lawyer, and made plans to leave.
As I descended the stairs, I found Patrick and Laura in the kitchen, disheveled and unbothered. The flush on Laura’s face hadn’t even faded.
"Miss Lucia, Patrick is just trying to make up for the harm you’ve caused. Please don’t blame him, and don’t teach the children to do such bad things. What if they grow up to be like you?"
She went on, her tone dripping with insincerity. "I heard today is Audrey’s birthday. I’m so sorry. But today is also the 5,200th anniversary of my first meeting with Patrick. He promised to celebrate every anniversary with me, so he left you and Audrey."
Her apology was a thin veil for her boasting. She added, "I made a mango-flavored cake to apologize. I hope you’ll accept it."
I had no interest in her false sympathy. All I wanted was to bury my daughter in peace.
Patrick, seeing me leave without a word, assumed I was upset about Laura. He grabbed a handful of my hair and shoved me against the kitchen counter.
"Lucia, have you lost all your manners? Laura is kind-hearted and doesn’t hold anything against you or your daughter. Why are you acting so high and mighty now?"
"Where is Audrey? Where did you hide her? Let her come back, finish her cake, and then kneel and apologize to Laura."
"Audrey is already dead. If you want to offer cake, let Laura die." I gritted my teeth, enduring the overwhelming pain.
"How could you be so cruel? You're cursing your own daughter out of jealousy!" Patrick's voice was filled with rage. "At the beginning, you took advantage of my serious illness and coma to send Laura away, and you stole all the company shares. You did everything wrong."
"I tolerated all of it because you stayed with me for ten years and raised our children. But it's never enough for you. You bully Laura over and over again, and now you’re cursing my daughter."
He grabbed my hands and shoved a greasy piece of cake into my mouth.
The overwhelming scent of mango made me gag. My throat tightened, and I couldn’t breathe properly. I struggled violently.
"Let me go, Patrick, don’t you remember I’m allergic to mangoes?" I gasped.
Patrick froze for a moment, then hardened his heart. "You've done so many terrible things to Laura, and now you're pretending that an allergy is something serious. It won't kill you. You’ll finish the cake and then kneel to Laura to apologize."
My eyelids began to swell, and my breathing became more labored. I shut my eyes, feeling myself slipping away. As my hands went limp, Patrick stopped, panic flashing in his eyes.
"Where's the allergy medicine Madam left at home? Find it for her now!" he barked.
After I took the medicine, I slowly regained my breath and opened my swollen, red eyes. Patrick let out a relieved sigh but his voice was stiff as he spoke.
"Okay, you and Laura are even now. Just swear that you won’t embarrass her or the baby she’s carrying, and I’ll promise to spend one or two days a week with you and Audrey."
When I didn’t respond, he grew impatient. "What are you angry about? If you hadn’t interfered, Laura would have gone abroad, and suffered, and I’d have married you for the company’s sake. Laura and I would have had a child by now, living a happy life."
"You and Audrey’s happiness now is stolen from Laura. What’s there to be upset about?"
I couldn’t take it anymore and cut him off. "Don’t mention my daughter again! I’m sending you back to Laura, and I’ve already sent you the divorce papers."
He sneered. "Fine. I’ll hire the best lawyer and fight for Audrey’s custody. You, a housewife, have no chance against me. If you don’t want to lose Audrey, kneel and apologize now."
I couldn’t keep it in any longer. I pulled out Audrey’s death certificate and threw it in his face. "Patrick! Look at this! Audrey is dead! You killed her!"
His eyes locked on the certificate, the words "death certificate" in bold black letters and "Audrey" written underneath. He staggered backward, as if he’d been hit.
"How could it be..."
Laura suddenly wailed. "How could this happen? Audrey’s nanny just sent me a message saying Audrey couldn’t find you and was crying nonstop."
"The assistant said you went to the hospital this morning. Did you go there to forge this certificate?"
I felt a hard slap across my cheek, and before I could react, I tumbled down the stairs, humiliation flooding me.
Patrick’s furious shout echoed from above. "Lucia, you cursed your own child just to compete with Laura for my favor, and bribed the hospital to get a fake death certificate!"
"You don’t deserve to be a mother," he roared. "Not even a tiger would eat its own cubs. You’re worse than an animal!"
