After Oliver's heart was removed, his body was dumped onto the morgue floor like a piece of trash.

From a distance, I watched Wilson and Catherine wrinkle their noses and kick the body aside.

A cold laugh escaped me.

Then I walked out of the hospital.

None of it had anything to do with me anymore.

Ever since Poppy was a baby, Oliver had always found ways to hurt her.

He'd hit her.

Pinch her.

Push her around.

After Poppy learned to call Zara "Mommy," it got even worse.

Whenever he heard it, he'd shove her down and start hitting her.

And every single time, Zara took Oliver's side without even asking what happened.

I was buried in work.

By the time I realized how bad things were, the damage had already been done.

Poppy didn't speak until she was five because of him.

Even so, seeing how his own parents, Holden and Zara, treated him now made me shake my head.

Pathetic.

I'd planned to take Poppy to the amusement park for her birthday.

But the second we stepped outside, Oliver stopped us and demanded to come along.

He hated Poppy.

And Poppy was terrified of him.

I was worried they'd end up fighting and ruin her birthday.

So after thinking it over, I dropped Poppy off at my parents' place.

Then I left with Oliver.

I never imagined it would end like this.

***

For two whole weeks, Zara never came home.

Holden's socials, though, stayed busy.

[The surgery went great. Someone's been freaking out over me. No matter what I say, she won't stop fussing. She seriously cares about me! And the homemade soup from my sweetheart? Insane.]

The comments were all congrats and jealousy.

[Congrats. She's a keeper!]

[Your girlfriend treats you so well!]

I stared at the hickey on Holden's neck in the photo and laughed.

The kidnapping case was going nowhere.

But none of them seemed to care.

The medical examiner needed the family's approval to perform an autopsy on Oliver.

Besides me, no one in that family answered.

When I got to the hospital, the body was gone.

I figured the medical examiner had already taken it.

I was about to leave when I overheard a conversation nearby.

"How'd the body end up in a dumpster? If a stray dog hadn't dragged it out, we never would've found it.

"It's this badly damaged. How are we supposed to explain this to the family?"

I froze as the staff wheeled over the mangled remains.

No matter how much I hated Oliver, the sight still turned my stomach.

A staffer caught me staring and looked away, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. This was on us."

"Can we check the security footage?" I asked.

Before anyone could answer, a voice cut through the room.

"Forget it. The body's been found. No need to waste the hospital's time."

Zara strode over, a group of police officers right behind her.

The second she arrived, she turned on me.

"This is your fault too. You couldn't even take care of Poppy's body. What are you good for?"

Her eyes filled with blame.

"No wonder you got Poppy killed.

"What a waste. Now that the body's been damaged, we'll probably never find any clues."

Holden let out a long sigh and reached for my shoulder.

I stepped aside.

He stumbled forward, hit the floor, and yelped in pain.

"Holden!"

Zara rushed over, furious.

She shot me a vicious glare.

I laughed.

Then I pulled out a divorce agreement and smacked it against her face.

"Let's get divorced."

I'd put up with all of it because of Poppy.

But after Poppy was born, Zara never cared for her. Not once.

I worked to keep the family afloat and raised Poppy by myself.

I thought Zara had postpartum depression, so I spoiled her. Let everything slide.

But with Oliver, she was suddenly mother of the year.

When he got sick, she stayed up all night with him.

When he bullied Poppy, she forced Poppy to apologize.

And when she thought Poppy had been kidnapped and killed?

She didn't care at all.

I was done.

***

Rage lit up Zara's face. She swung at me.

"You're seriously bringing up divorce?"

I caught her wrist and pushed it away.

She snapped, "Because I froze your money? I only did that because guys get weird when they have cash! You never made me feel safe!"

My face stayed cold.

Zara finally softened. "None of us wanted what happened to Poppy. We need to move on. We're still alive. We can have another kid.

"I'll give you a son, okay?"

"We're never having another child."

I shoved her aside and looked at her like she was a joke.

Zara was about to blow up again when Holden leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

Her expression changed instantly.

She grabbed the divorce papers, signed them without a second thought, and tossed them at me.

"Fine. Let's get divorced. It's not like I want you anyway. Just don't come crying back when you regret it."

I found out pretty quickly why she was so confident.

The second I got home, my secretary sent me a message.

Without telling me, Zara had moved most of the company's assets into a shell company under my name.

Once the divorce went through, I wouldn't just be walking away with nothing.

I'd be stuck with a mountain of debt too.

I stared at the evidence on my phone and let out a cold laugh.

When I looked up, Zara was wrapped around Holden's arm, a smug grin plastered across her face.

"It's not too late to change your mind. Otherwise, I'll leave you with nothing."

I laughed in her face.

Then I told my staff to throw all their luggage out of the house.

"Get out."

I ripped our wedding photo in half and threw the pieces in Zara's face.

My expression never changed. I looked at her like she was a stranger.

Holden took a deep breath. A cruel smile tugged at his lips. "This is Poppy's ashes. Zara and I decided to scatter them in the ocean. What do you think?"

So they had the body cremated but they couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Were they really that scared the police would find something that led back to them?

Zara nodded. "Poppy always loved the ocean. I'm sure that's what she'd want."

Then she shot me an annoyed look. "Look how much he cares about Poppy. Now look at you. You don't even know how to be a father."

Watching them tag-team me, I suddenly laughed. "Zara, did you forget? When I called about the ransom, I only said our child was kidnapped. I never said it was Poppy.

"Our family didn't only have one kid. There was also your precious NEPHEW..."

I put extra bite into 'nephew.'

Zara just sneered. "You think everyone's as spoiled and out of control as Poppy? Oliver's a good kid. He'd never run off, and he definitely wouldn't get kidnapped."

She checked the time, impatience pinching her face. "We're throwing Oliver a birthday party at a five-star hotel tonight, so we're leaving."

I frowned.

A question suddenly hit me.

Why were they so sure the body was Poppy's?

Then I looked up and got my answer.

As Holden turned to leave, he shot me a smug grin and tugged down his collar.

A pendant hanging from a thin cord slipped into view.

I froze.

Wasn't that the pendant my parents gave Poppy?

Why the hell did he have it?

Poppy had been sickly since the day she was born.

My dad had picked out a pendant worth over ten million dollars and had it blessed just for her.

Poppy wore it every single day.

It never left her side.

I yanked the pendant off Holden's neck and stared at him. "How did you get this?"

Zara looked irritated. "I gave it to him. Got a problem with that?

"I told you from the start. Poppy was just a girl. Trouble followed her. Something that valuable would only bring her more trouble.

"If you'd listened to me, she wouldn't have died. Now Holden can wear it, and his good luck can cancel out whatever bad luck she left behind."

My hands trembled with rage.

I couldn't hold back anymore.

I slapped her across the face.

Holden stepped in, all wounded pride.

"Zara's not wrong. A son carries the family name. A daughter means nothing."

He looked at me, then smiled. "Don't worry. Even without Poppy, Oliver can treat you like his dad.

"You've got a massive fortune. Oliver can inherit it for you.

"He's our family's precious son. You should be grateful he's willing to be your heir.

"As for Poppy's ashes, we'll dump them somewhere disgusting and erase her from this family."

Before he could finish, Zara's eyes lit up.

"Holden's right!"

She grabbed the urn and dumped the ashes into a bowl of dog food before I could stop her.

Then she tossed the bowl to the dog.

The dog wagged its tail and ate.

I stared at her. "Are you insane?"

Zara burst out laughing. "That worthless girl won't ever be part of my life again!"

The madness in her eyes froze me cold.

Then it hit me.

Zara had been jealous of Poppy.

A servant led several cops inside.

One of them flashed his badge.

"Holden Tyndall, we have enough evidence linking you to the kidnapper who abducted Oliver Tyndall. Come with us."

Both their faces went white.

"What are you talking about?" Zara blurted. "How could it be Oliver? It was obviously Poppy!"

The officer looked confused. "You're the parents. Don't tell me you don't know which kid was taken."

"I get it." Holden suddenly shot me a smug look. "You paid these cops to mess with us, didn't you? We're not falling for it.

"Oliver's waiting at the hotel for his birthday party. I'll call my parents right now."

His hand was shaking as he dialed.

The second Wilson picked up, Holden rushed out, "Dad, where's Oliver? Put him on the phone!"

He shot me a smug look.

Then Wilson's stunned voice came through the speaker.

"Isn't Oliver with you? Bring him over right now!"

"Oliver isn't with you?" His voice started to shake.

"No. He left us a message saying he was going to find you."

The moment Wilson finished, Holden's eyes snapped to the officers.

One of them immediately handed him a document. "The child who was kidnapped and tortured to death was your son, Oliver Tyndall.

"This is his death certificate."