Wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth, I stared her down. “So what if I did? You two killed my daughter. And you think you still get to celebrate like nothing happened?”
That seemed to set her off. She kicked me again, the pointed heel of her shoe jabbing into my ribs.
“When are you going to stop with this obsession?” she shouted. “You keep dragging Claudia into this, like you’re trying to curse your own daughter!”
“How exactly did I kill my daughter?” Regina snapped, her voice sharp with indignation. “No matter how much I despise you, I would never lay a hand on my own child! If anything, I was more than good to Claudia.”
“You all tried to take over the amusement park I booked for Hector’s birthday—I gave it up. She insisted I go with her? Fine, I personally brought her there. What more do you want from me?”
She let out a dry laugh. “Oh please. Don’t tell me riding a carousel is deadly now. You really expect people to buy this ridiculous lie?”
Without warning, she yanked the suit from my hands and flung it to the ground, stomping on it with her heels.
“You say Claudia’s dead, yet here you are splurging on an expensive custom suit? What—planning to get dolled up and snag yourself a rich widow now that your kid’s gone?”
My heart twisted as I rushed to pick up the trampled suit, shoving her toward the door.
“Regina,” I said coldly, “I hope you can still talk this tough three days from now.”
She was still cursing at me from the hallway as I collapsed onto my bed, physically and emotionally drained. I drifted into a haze until night fell—then came another knock at the door.
Annoyed, I opened it, only to find Hector standing outside. Before I could say anything, he barged in like he owned the place. I rushed after him, ready to throw him out, but he spotted the pink box sitting on the coffee table and grabbed it with a grin.
“Well, look at that—she’s actually dead,” he sneered, cradling the pink box like it was a trophy. “Good. Your daughter’s gone. Once you’re out of the picture too, the entire Secos empire will finally be mine.”
“Put that down!” I shouted and lunged at him.
Before I could reach him, someone yanked my hair from behind and dragged me upright.
“You bastard,” Regina hissed. “Hector came here to apologize and this is how you treat him?”