Chapter 3
She had emphasized the “Whitmore” in her name deliberately.
I glanced down at the cash in her hand-no more, no less than 748 dollars.
I saw her mouth the words at me “Go to hell.”
“Ms. Sinclair,” Bianca said, her voice syrupy and cruel, “please don’t take offense-I tend to notice facial features. Your daughter looked like she wasn’t meant to live long anyway. Even if it hadn’t been for our Caleb, she would’ve died sooner
or later…”
So she was saying my daughter deserved to die?
I shoved her hard.
“Shut your filthy mouth! You don’t deserve to say her name, you murderer. Take your bastard and get out!”
Bianca stumbled, and Brandon rushed to catch her. He turned to me with a cold glare.
“Ava, watch your mouth. You lost the case. Bella’s death was ruled an accident. How dare you insult Bianca and lay hands
on her? Apologize-now!”
Bianca.
How sweetly he said her name.
“Brandon, have you forgotten who your wife is?”
“Your mother invited Bianca to this family dinner behind my back-clearly to spite me. She insulted me and Bella to my
face. You stood there and said nothing. Fine. Be the dutiful son if you want.”
“But Bella died horribly. And now Bianca dares to mock me, flaunting this money in my face? Don’t act like you don’t know
-she’s been taking advantage of how much you spoil her just to disgrace me, over and over. Are you really going to play
dumb?!”
Something flickered in Brandon’s eyes-hesitation.
He knew it wasn’t right.
He was about to speak when little Caleb, who’d been standing between Bianca and me, suddenly burst into tears.
He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a faint purple bruise, and pointed at me.
“Daddy, that mean lady pinched me on purpose! She’s getting back at Mommy! It hurts so much…”
Bianca’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.
“Ms. Sinclair, you’ve misunderstood me. I left in a rush today-that’s all the cash I had on me. I truly meant it as
compensation. I’m a simple person, not like you… so calculating.”
“I get that you don’t like me, but if you have a problem, take it out on me. Why drag a child into it?”
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”
Mary slammed the table, furious, ordering me to leave.
“Brandon, I didn’t-”
But Brandon cut me off, his face dark with rage.
“Ava, Caleb is only five. You think he’d lie? Bella’s death wasn’t his fault-he’s just a child! Seriously? You’re making a huge deal out of nothing!”
“Mom said from now on, Caleb is her grandson. That makes him my son too. I have to stand up for him and Bianca.”
He pushed Caleb toward me.
“Caleb, today Daddy’s going to teach you something. If someone bullies you, you bully them right back. However she pinched you just now, do it back to her.”
Caleb’s eyes sparkled with malice as he faked innocence.
“But Daddy, I’m just a kid. I’m not as strong as her. She won’t feel it. That’s not fair!”
“Then bite her,” Brandon said coldly. “Bite until it hurts.”
The next second, Caleb lunged at me and sank his teeth into my arm.
He didn’t stop until he tore out a chunk of flesh. Then, with disgust, he spat it on the floor.
Mary clapped in approval, glaring at me.
“Serves you right, heartless wretch! Think you can bully my grandson? Losing a piece of flesh is getting off easy. Now get lost-stop making a scene!”
Brandon didn’t even look at me.
He picked Caleb up in one arm and wrapped the other around Bianca’s waist. The two of them seamlessly began
comforting the boy together, like a picture-perfect family.
Watching them, so close, so united, made me realize just how unwanted I truly was.
The mocking gazes of everyone in the room bore into me.
I said nothing more and quietly turned to leave.
Just after getting my wound bandaged at the hospital, I received a panicked call from the funeral home.
“Ms. Sinclair! Something terrible has happened. Your daughter’s body has been desecrated. All twenty-four of her ribs…
have been removed.”
“What?!”
I rushed to the morgue in a frenzy.
Several staff stood nearby, pale and horrified.
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“This is monstrous,” one of them whispered. “How could anyone do that to a child, even after death?”
One of them leaned closer to me, dropping his voice to a whisper.
“It was Ms. Bianca. She sent people to dig up the body. Said her son wanted a bracelet made from real human bones…”
“We didn’t dare approve it. So we called Mr. Whitmore. But before we could finish explaining, he said, ‘Whatever Bianca
wants, let her have it,’ and hung up.”
I stared at my daughter’s broken body-her tiny chest ripped open as if some monster had clawed through her skin. My
lungs felt like they’d collapsed under the weight of grief.
For the first time, I understood what it meant to be truly broken, to feel your heart shatter, piece by piece.
It had been long time before I spoke again. Even then, it shook uncontrollably.
“Do you still have the surveillance footage…?”
“No,” another staff member said bitterly. “The moment those people arrived, they smashed the cameras. Said Mr.
Whitmore gave the order.”
I closed my eyes in despair.
Of course.
I had expected this.
There was no way I could fight Brandon on my own.
I begged them to cremate Bella immediately. I couldn’t risk Bianca doing anything worse.
After it was done, I held the tiny urn in my arms, tears streaming down without end.
“I’m sorry, Bella… I’m so sorry…”
Leaving the urn temporarily at the funeral home, I forced myself to breathe calmly and dialed a number.
“Are you back in the country? I need your help…”
