Chapter 2

2.

He stared intently at the kindergarten-sized clothes on my daughter, his expression growing darker. A sense of dread washed over me.

My daughter nodded, tears in her eyes. The next second, Jax's hand clamped down on her shoulder, shaking her violently.

Seeing the glass shards at her feet, I rushed over, trying to cushion her fall.

But I forgot. I was already dead.

Pushed off balance, my daughter fell hard. Glass fragments pierced her small leg, and she screamed in pain, her cries a muffled "Mommy."

Meanwhile, Jax's furious voice continued.

"So Evelyn's been hiding because she was cheating. Had a kid with someone else while she was married to me!"

He shot a venomous glare at my sobbing daughter, then turned and kicked a nearby chair. The leg of the chair slammed down right next to her injured calf, and she shrieked in terror.

I threw myself in front of my daughter, screaming at Jax with all my might.

"I never cheated on you!"

"She's your daughter!"

After the bone marrow transplant, my daughter was born prematurely at seven months and spent two whole years in the NICU. That's why she was so much smaller than other kids her age, why she started school late.

The daughter I had spent every last penny to save was now being shoved and terrorized by her own father, who thought she was someone else's child.

I rushed to Jax, trying desperately to explain, but no one could hear me.

Just as I was about to break down, Director Rose's voice came from the doorway.

"Grace, honey, are you ready for school?"

When she saw the trashed room, the breakfast she was carrying fell to the floor. She rushed over, shielding my daughter with her own body.

"Jackson, you already killed Evelyn! For God's sake, she's just a child!"

"Give me a break, Rose. You're in on this too? I just had Evelyn donate a little bone marrow. When did I ever kill anyone!"

Jax said it with such conviction. He had no idea that after the back-to-back trauma of a bone marrow transplant and a C-section, my body had completely given out. The wound kept getting infected, eventually leading to multiple organ failure.

While he was traveling the world with a recovering Vivian, my time was running out.

It was only before I died, when I overheard the nurses talking, that I learned the truth. Vivian had bribed a doctor to use contaminated needles to inject my medication, causing my health to spiral until I died.

But Jax knew none of this.

He thought I was holding a grudge out of jealousy for Vivian, that I was refusing to show up and save her.

His face contorted with rage as he pulled out his phone.

"Get me the legal department. I want to draft divorce papers. Grounds: adultery and abandonment."

He paused, his eyes cold as he looked at Rose.

"Vivian's leukemia has relapsed. You'd better hand Evelyn over before I walk out that door. Otherwise, my lawyers will file fraud charges against this place. And I'll personally make sure Child Protective Services inspects every corner of it."

Rose's voice was heavy with despair.

"I'm not lying, Jackson. Evelyn passed away six years ago. You can check any hospital database in the state. Her death certificate is on file."

Jax let out a cold laugh.

"Tell me a better story. Evelyn was obviously too guilty to face me. A woman like her doesn't just die that easily."