Aldrin scoffed. “Are you even sure they really have Sienna? What if it’s all a trick? Or worse—what if you’re using her to get money from me?”
I felt like I’d been slapped. “How can you say that?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why not? You’re just like your father. He scammed me and disappeared. Maybe you’re no different—using the child to manipulate me.”
His words sliced through me. I could barely breathe.
Before I could respond, Bianca spoke softly, pretending concern. “Please… if this is because of me, don’t fight.”
Aldrin turned on me instantly. “This is entirely her fault. If she had been a better mother, Sienna wouldn’t be missing.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Then the butler rushed in, his face pale as he held out a small package. “A delivery… for you, sir.”
Aldrin opened it.
Bianca screamed.
I collapsed.
Inside was a severed toe. Small. Wrapped in cloth. Bloody.
“Sienna…” My sob tore out of me as I fell to the floor.
Aldrin’s phone buzzed. He played the video. Sienna’s cries filled the room, broken and terrified. “Mommy… help me…”
Then the kidnapper spoke. “No money. No mercy.”
I looked up at Aldrin, desperation consuming me. But he only shrugged.
“That’s too much money,” he said flatly. “I’m not paying. If we ignore them, they’ll give her back.”
I stared at him in horror. “She’s your daughter!”
He smiled and wrapped his arm around Bianca. “I already have another child.”
They walked away together.
And I stayed there on the cold marble floor, realizing the truth at last—Aldrin had already erased me. Bianca was no longer a secret. She was his future.
And I was nothing at all.
My phone vibrated while I sat on the floor beside the bed, my back slumped against the mattress, my body emptied out by hours of crying. I wiped my face and forced myself to look at the screen.
Joseph.
Relax, the message read. That was only a test. I wanted to see if your husband would do anything. He didn’t. That tells you everything. Divorce him. Understood? Sienna is with me. She’s safe. Not a single scratch on her.
For a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe.
Then relief hit me all at once—so overwhelming it nearly crushed me again. Sienna. My baby. Alive. Safe. Out of their hands.