I ignored every instruction the doctor gave me, dragged my post-surgery body out of bed, and made my way to my daughter's room.
She had been bright-eyed and alert that morning. Now she lay unconscious.
I asked the nurse. Tracey had been here.
She was the mother of the young Gilbert heir.
The future "Mrs. Gilbert."
So no one had dared stop her.
I clenched my jaw until my teeth ached.
Tracey Harding.
Mrs. Gilbert.
If she wanted Thomas so badly, then fine.
I'd give her exactly what she wanted.
It took only a few hours.
Thomas Gilbert's affair hit every major news outlet.
I released everything I had.
The report proving he had kidnapped Lily and forced her into surgery for his illegitimate son's sake.
Photos and audio recordings of him and Tracey together inside the hospital.
Surveillance footage of the hospital staff bowing to Thomas's orders, leaving my mother to die on the operating table.
Within thirty minutes of the story breaking:
The hospital was under full government investigation.
Gilbert Group stock went into free fall.
Reporters swarmed Thomas's front gate.
Even Tracey and her son weren't spared.
My phone rang nonstop.
Every call was from Thomas.
I pulled the SIM card out and dropped it in the trash.
My private physician carried Lily aboard the jet.
I stood on the rooftop of our company building, looking at the tower next door.
My assistant followed my gaze.
"The Gilbert Building. You designed those blueprints for Mr. Gilbert yourself."
"Would you like to say goodbye, ma'am?"
Every sweet memory surfaced at once.
Now each one was just a needle lodged under my skin.
I let out a cold laugh and handed my assistant the envelope I had prepared.
Inside was the custody ruling I'd just obtained.
And the fake marriage certificate from our so-called remarriage.
"No need. Just make sure he gets this."
I turned and walked onto the plane without looking back.
My daughter in my arms. The wheels lifting off the tarmac.
The chaos behind me.
None of it was mine to carry anymore.
