And now, once again, it was because of her.
Before I could respond, Alexis leaned close to my ear, her lips curling into a smile.
"You know what, sis? Instead of wasting your energy being mad at me, maybe you should go check on that useless father of yours. Someone dug up your mother's grave, and the shock gave him a heart attack. He's still on the operating table."
My mind went blank. Her words echoed in my skull, over and over.
By the time I came back to myself, I was already standing outside the operating room.
"Why are you in such a rush? The doctor said that waste of space can't have children anymore. If it weren't for the fact that her womb could save Alexis, I never would've let her play Mrs. Delgado for ten years."
"Relax, Mom. No more babies? Then we take her heart instead. She owes Alexis that much."
I stared at the two familiar figures around the corner, and my heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would crack.
So my babies hadn't died. Bertram had taken them under the guise of miscarriages and given their hearts to his precious other woman. The "culprit" he'd sworn to hunt down was himself all along.
His words after each "miscarriage" flooded back to me in a sickening rush.
"Half a dose of abortion pills and the kid couldn't hold on? Would've been too fragile anyway. Not fit to lead the Delgado family."
"So the baby didn't want to come out on time. If this one doesn't love our Prue, we'll just try again for one who wants to love Mommy with Daddy."
I sank to the cold floor, an icy chill crawling up my spine.
I'd thought Bertram was simply cold-natured, that beneath it all, he genuinely wanted to raise our children. The truth was, he'd only ever wanted to find Alexis a perfect heart.
The realization crashed over me, and I pressed my hands against my face, drowning in it. I'd been so stupid. So impossibly, pathetically stupid to think I could ever wring a drop of sincerity from Bertram Delgado.
My phone screen flashed. Then flashed again.
I lowered my gaze to the message, and something dark and sharp moved behind my eyes.
One week. In one week, every single person who had laid a hand on my children would pay.
Bertram's secretary came sprinting toward him, face drained of color.
"Mr. Delgado, Miss Pruitt has been kidnapped!"
In an instant, all the blood left Bertram's face.