She must’ve been having a terrible nightmare. Her words grew frantic, finally breaking into desperate sobs.
This foolish girl was bearing it all out of fear for me. She didn’t understand that few could actually hurt me.
Seeing my anger, the maid quickly stepped in to calm me. “Mr. Stewart, please don’t do anything rash. Those people are dangerous; you could get hurt. Now that you’re back, I can finally hand Tatiana over to you. That’s the only way I can honor the promise I made to you back then.”
I thanked her sincerely and assured her not to worry about the rest. I would handle everything from here on out.
There was no way for those people to get away with what they had done.
As I left the hospital room, I made arrangements for someone to guard the door. From now on, no one would lay a finger on my daughter again.
Then, I called to track down Alice.
Just as I suspected, she was vacationing with Stephen. Five days and four nights. Today marked day three.
She had already booked her return ticket, cutting the trip short.
Carlos must’ve told her I was back.
They weren’t far. It would only take them just over an hour to return.
Right after I received the update on Alice’s itinerary, her call came through.
Her voice, usually cold and distant, was suddenly sweet and syrupy. This shift wasn’t lost on me, guilt. She knew she had wronged me and was now overcompensating.
“Honey, why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?”
I didn’t waste time with small talk. I asked, “Do you know what happened to our daughter?”
Alice continued to play dumb.
“What do you mean? Isn’t she doing just fine?”
I had already made up my mind. If she confessed, admitted her wrongs, maybe I’d show some mercy.
But since she insisted on this act, mercy was no longer an option.
