Tiny fingers being crushed one after another. His cries broke into sobs, his hands slick with blood. The sound of him screaming for me ripped straight through my chest.
“Mommy! Please—Mommy, help me!”
I screamed.
“Dominic—please!” I begged, dragging myself across the floor, every breath agony. “He’s your son. He’s our son. Ethan is just a child. Call them back. You have the money. You can save him—please!”
My voice cracked, shredded, but I kept talking because every second of silence meant he was closer to dying.
Dominic looked down at me with eyes full of something dark and ugly.
“Our son?” he scoffed. “How many times do you want to hear it, Vivienne? He’s not mine. I had the tests done. Asher is my only son. Maisie’s child.”
“That test was rigged!” I sobbed. “Marina interfered—she—”
“Enough!” he barked, cutting me off.
He pulled Marina closer, cradling her while glaring at me like I was filth.
“You really expect me to believe this circus?” he continued. “The tears. The hysterics. You think I don’t see through it? You hired someone to take that bastard, didn’t you? Just to get my attention again.”
My heart stopped.
“No—Dominic, I swear—”
He laughed, low and cruel. “You’re so desperate you’d exploit your own child’s fear. Even if those so-called kidnappers kill him, it means nothing to me. He isn’t my blood.”
The door opened.
“Daddy!”
Asher’s voice rang out—bright, cheerful, wrong. He ran inside clutching a toy car, tugging on Dominic’s sleeve.
“Can we go now?” he asked happily. “You promised the amusement park!”
The contrast was sickening.
I lay crumpled on the floor, my son’s screams still echoing in my ears, while this child smiled without a care in the world.
Something inside me broke completely.
I crawled forward and collapsed against Dominic’s legs, gripping him like a drowning woman.
“Please,” I whispered, tears soaking his trousers. “Please, Dominic. Let her unfreeze the account. I’ll do anything. I’ll sign the divorce papers. I’ll vanish. Just save Ethan. He’s only a boy. He’s—he’s ours.”
“I never froze anything,” Marina said softly. “Maybe she drained it herself. Maybe this whole thing is just another act.”
“Stop pretending you’re innocent!” I screamed.
Asher frowned at me suddenly. “Who’s she?” he complained. “She’s annoying me, Dad.”
Dominic’s expression softened instantly—but only for him.
“Don’t worry,” he said gently. “She won’t be a problem anymore.”