My daughter’s framed photo had fallen, and the glass was shattered across the floor.
“Daisy!”
Ignoring the shards cutting into my palms, I reached out to pick it up. Blood dripped down my hands as I tried to hold her picture.
“I’m divorcing you,” Max said, yanking me back. Then his foot came down on my daughter’s photo, crushing her little face beneath his size 42 shoe.
Seeing that, I shoved him with all my strength.
“Get away from her! You’re hurting my Daisy. She can feel it!”
But he didn’t even look at me. Instead, he tossed a signed divorce agreement in front of me.
“You think you can use our daughter as an excuse to avoid signing? She’s dead, Shannon! This is just a piece of paper with her picture on it. Stop acting like a martyr!”
With my swollen eyes, I looked at him and roared, “Max, you bastard! Why wasn’t it you who died? You’re the one who should be in the ground!”
Looking at me breaking down, his expression twisted with disgust.
“Enough with the crazy act! Either divorce me, or withdraw your complaint and publicly apologize. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you’re ruined.”
And with that, he grabbed Vania’s hand and walked out.
The moment they were gone, I sank to the floor, cradling my daughter’s photo against my chest, and finally let the sobs tear through me.
I didn't know how long I cried, but when the storm inside me quieted, I picked up the divorce papers from the floor and signed my name without a second thought.
Shannon's POV
Not long after I finished everything, my phone rang.
“Shannon,” the voice on the other end said, “we’ve got the footage from the day of the hostage rescue. But someone had tampered with it, so you can’t see the actual scenario of the hostage rescue. But we’re working on pulling videos from other people’s devices. As soon as we have results, we’ll contact you right away.”
They paused before adding firmly, “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you get justice.”
I exhaled slowly, some of the tension in my chest loosening. Then I handed the signed divorce papers to my superior for approval.
That afternoon, I planned to go out and choose a burial site for my daughter. But the moment I stepped outside, I could feel the stares, full of judgment and disgust.
“That’s her,” someone whispered loudly. “She reported her own husband just because she was jealous. Max is such a brilliant bomb disposal expert, yet his career might be over because of her.”