Chapter 6

After that night, Damian locked me inside the estate, ordering the security team and staff not to let me out.

When the seven days were up, he finally arranged for a medical transport to take Tiffany away.

The van pulled up outside, but before anyone could stop her, Tiffany bolted upstairs, snatched Lily from her crib, and climbed onto the balcony railing.

"You bitch! Did you call that van to lock me away?"

"Don't even dream about it! Damian is mine! You and your bastard are the ones who need to get out!"

Her eyes were wild with venom, glaring at Lily with terrifying hatred.

I lunged forward to grab my baby, but Tiffany leaned close to my ear, whispering in a low, triumphant purr.

"You have no idea, do you? We've done it in every single corner of this house."

"The night of your baby shower, he took me right in front of that little brat."

"Do you think that after watching us so many times, she'll grow up thinking I'm her real mother?"

Furious tremors wracked my body. I raised my hand to slap the smirk off her face.

"You sick bitch!"

Right then, Damian caught Tiffany off guard and snatched Lily out of her arms.

Tiffany flinched, then suddenly burst into tears, dropping down to cling to Damian's legs while slapping herself across the face.

"I'm so sorry, Damian! The episodes are getting worse! How could I grab my niece like that? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"You're still lying!"

My chest felt ready to explode. I lunged forward to hit her, but Damian stepped in between us, grabbing my wrists.

"Lily is fine! Stop losing your mind!"

"She almost threw our daughter off the balcony, and you're calling me crazy?! Damian, do you even remember you're her father?!" I screamed at him, my voice cracking.

Damian froze for a second. Then, he gathered the weeping Tiffany into his arms and muttered under his breath:

"The clinic sent over her reports this morning. On top of the PTSD, she has leukemia. She doesn't have much time left. Just cut her some slack."

He carried Tiffany down the stairs and put her into his car.

I rushed over to the chair where he had set Lily down.

She was sound asleep, completely unbothered by the chaos.

"Good girl... You're being so brave today."

"Daddy is a bad man. It'll just be you and Mommy from now on, okay?"

Determined to leave Damian forever, I leaned down to kiss her soft little cheek.

My heart stopped.

Her face had turned an unnatural, bruised gray. Around her tiny neck were two rows of dark, adult finger marks.

Tiffany had choked her!

My entire world collapsed. I scooped my baby into my arms and ran like mad for the car, speeding straight to the hospital.

"Hold on, Lily! Stay with Mommy! It's all Mommy's fault... Mommy didn't protect you!"

Tears blinded me as I frantically rubbed her tiny, icy hands between my palms.

As if rubbing them would bring back her warmth. As if it would make her open those big, round eyes and babble for her mother.

When I stumbled into the hospital corridor, I saw Damian standing outside a private room, talking to the chief physician.

"You knew all along that Miss Vance doesn't have PTSD. Why did you lie to your wife?"

Damian tapped his cigarette, his tone entirely flat.

"Tiffany and I grew up together. Life hasn't been easy for her since Logan died. It's only fair to let her vent. Clara has always been gentle. She'll understand eventually."

A cold blade plunged straight through my chest, twisting until nothing was left but shredded flesh.

Reality hit me like a freight train. My Lily had been choked to death.

And the murderer was sitting safely in the VIP ward behind her biological father.

Tiffany's illness had been a calculated lie from start to finish—one Damian had knowingly played along with.

And that lie cost my innocent baby her life.

Agony ripped through me, plunging me into a bottomless abyss.

One sentence echoed relentlessly in my head:

*It was all a lie. They killed Lily...*

The precious life I had carried for nine months, my flesh and blood, was gone.

The metallic taste of blood flooded my throat. A high-pitched ringing consumed my ears.

I finally doubled over, vomiting a pool of dark blood onto the floor. Clutching my dead child tightly to my chest, I climbed onto the corridor windowsill and let myself fall.

*Don't be scared, Lily. Mommy's coming with you...*

Downstairs, just outside the lobby, Damian heard a heavy, sickening thud.

Immediately followed by the piercing screams of the crowd.

An inexplicable wave of dread exploded in his chest.

He instinctively reached out, grabbing a passing nurse. "Who... who just jumped?"