Payton caught my hands and held me down, his voice low and coaxing. “Don’t move. You just had surgery. Don’t be stubborn. Listen to me—there’s no need to go to court.”
My voice was hoarse, my teeth clenched as I forced out every word.
“Absolutely not. I will sue Sherree! She has to pay for what she did to our child!”
“Payton, our daughter isn’t even five years old! She’s our flesh and blood! And Sherree—she’s not related to you by blood. Why do you always protect her?”
His eyes darkened, his expression unreadable.
“I know you’re angry right now, but I’ve already punished Sherree severely. Look, she’s the sister I raised. I can’t let her carry out a crime like this for the rest of her life.”
“We can always try to have another child,” he added, his voice low.
“W-What did you just say?” I stared at him in disbelief. He spoke of our daughter’s life as if she were no different from a stray dog on the street.
“I saw it with my own eyes—your dear foster sister gripped our daughter’s hair and forced her under the water again and again. Hallie’s fighting for her life, and instead of saving her, you’re talking about replacing her with another child? She is my own flesh and blood! I carried her for ten long months! She is our daughter, not some commodity you can trade away!”
“Don’t say it like that…” Payton’s tone softened, almost like he was trying to soothe me. “If we have another child, he could inherit the family company and stay by your side for the rest of your life. Wouldn’t that be enough?”
A roaring filled my ears. I could hardly hear the rest of what he said.
“If I’d known you were like this,” I gritted out, “I should have divorced you six months ago.”
The moment the word “divorce” left my lips, his face turned cold. Whatever gentleness was in his eyes vanished without a trace.
He pressed down on my arm, stopping me from pushing him away.
His voice was lower now and harder. “Delane, even when you’re upset, there’s a limit.”
From his pocket, he pulled out his phone, opened the photos app, and swiped to a set of pictures. He held them up for me to see.
In the photos was my brother, dining with several business partners, smiling faintly, tipsy, completely unaware someone had set their sights on him.
“If you insist on suing Sherree,” Payton warned calmly, “then I’ll have no choice but to slip something into your brother’s drink.”