Chapter 3

3

Seraphina listened to my words and then delivered a stinging slap across my face.

"Linus Vance, how can you even call yourself a father? How can you curse your own daughter like that?"

"Alaric only went back to get his watch. If you hadn't taught Lily to leave banana peels on the floor to trip him, he wouldn't have been hurt!"

I hadn't seen Alaric at all. He had framed us both. The man was pure evil.

Suddenly, she noticed the gold locket around my neck was gone. She grabbed my collar, her voice full of accusation.

"Where is the locket I gave you? You said you would never take it off until the day you died."

"Did you find some trashy woman in the country? How can you be so shameless? You're keeping a mistress while letting our daughter dress like a beggar!"

Seraphina barked an order to her guards. "Search every inch of this town! Find the woman wearing that locket."

"Anyone who touches what belongs to Seraphina Sterling is going to regret ever being born!"

I looked at this woman I once loved. My daughter was dead, and she was busy inventing a cheating scandal.

"Seraphina, that locket is gone because I sold it to pay for Lily's medicine!" I screamed until my voice broke.

"If you hadn't protected Alaric and called away every doctor, Lily wouldn't have died!"

"Her body is in that room right now! Go inside and see for yourself!"

Seraphina saw the conviction in my eyes and hesitated. She moved toward the operating room.

At that moment, Alaric walked out. His hands were stained with blood, and he looked exhausted.

"The family was hysterical. The patient died of a brain hemorrhage. These country doctors are useless."

"Thankfully, I used to be a surgical assistant. I managed to handle things before it got worse."

Seraphina immediately had her guards bring him fresh clothes and sanitizer.

She looked at me with cold triumph. "You're just being dramatic. There was an adult in there, not a child. You just wanted to frame Alaric."

"Alaric just saved a life. That's a hero in my book. Tonight, we're going to celebrate."

Just then, Lily's body was wheeled out. The white sheet covering her was soaked with fresh blood.

I lunged toward the gurney, howling. "That's your daughter! Look at what he did to her!"

Alaric swallowed hard, a flash of panic crossing his face. Before Seraphina could turn around, he spun her back toward him.

"It was a car crash victim. It's a horrific sight. Don't look, Seraphina. It'll make you sick."

Seraphina turned and glared at me. "Linus, have you no respect for the dead? Disturbing a grieving family is disgusting."

Suddenly, a man in a expensive suit walked up to Seraphina, limping slightly.

"Mrs. Sterling! What a surprise to see you here. Your last proposal was brilliant. I'm scouting this area for a hundred-million-dollar project. I hope we can collaborate again."

After the man left, I couldn't stop myself. "This is the company 'bankruptcy' you told me about?"

She regained her composure quickly. "I said that to teach Lily a lesson. I didn't want her growing up with a princess complex."

"Besides, haven't you noticed she's more frugal now? It proves my parenting style works."

Lily was only frugal because she wanted her mother to be happy. She thought if she spent less, her mommy wouldn't be so stressed.

My daughter was the sweetest soul. She never had a princess complex.

But I was too tired to explain.

My daughter was gone.