###Chapter 3
Yuna dodged my touch. “Mommy, I accidentally fell at kindergarten. It’s my fault, Mommy…”
Her whole body trembled as she kept apologizing.
My heart ached. I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her forehead repeatedly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Mommy didn’t take good care of you. I’ll stay with you from now on and never let you get hurt again.”
Being away from home so often, I hadn’t even noticed something was wrong with my daughter. Now I realized that my once lively and active little girl had become timid and sensitive.
Luckily, the wound on her head wasn’t serious. That evening, the doctor said she could be discharged and only needed to change the dressing later.
Back home with my daughter, dinner was already laid out.
Looking at it, every dish was something my daughter loved to eat.
Judith set the table while smiling sweetly. “Miss Yuna is always so obedient and sensible and she’s not picky about food. Such a good child!”
However, Yuna, sitting beside me, didn’t look happy at all despite the praise. In the presence of the seemingly gentle Judith, a flicker of fear shone in her eyes.
I quietly helped my daughter finish dinner, then took her back to our room and into the bathroom.
When I placed her in the bathtub, just as I feared, I found many fresh and old pinch marks all over her body, not just on her arms.
“I'm not hurt… I will be more careful next time,” she murmured, curling up as if afraid I’d scold her. My heart ached even more.
After her bath, I gave her the medication. It was then that my husband called.
“Honey, Mr. Sullivan insists I play cards with him. Looks like I’ll be up all night!”
“Mr. Lark said you’ve taken Yuna home? Is she okay? I can’t be with you tonight, but I’ll make up for it tomorrow.”
Staring out at the night, I replied calmly, “Mm, you focus on that first.”
After speaking, I hung up the phone.
The nanny was employed by Zack.
When Zack was young, both his parents had died. He said that Judith had paid for his education, which allowed him to become who he was today. So when he suggested bringing her into our home to care for our daughter, I didn’t object. In fact, I willingly offered Judith a salary far above the market rate as a gesture of gratitude for her past support of my husband.
But not long after, I realized Judith was not what I had imagined.
She secretly hid half of the king crabs and salmon I had air-shipped for my daughter. When I found out, she muttered that a little girl like Yuna couldn’t possibly eat that much.
She complained about the designer dresses I had custom-made for my daughter, saying that girls dressed so nicely and pampered like that wouldn’t have boys wanting them in the future.
She even said, “She’s going to get married anyway—why spend all that money?”
Although her words made me uneasy, I still kept her, out of gratitude for what she had done for Zack.
Now, I regretted it deeply.
After helping my daughter wash up, I leaned against the headboard and read her a fairy tale.
Once she fell asleep, my assistant quietly came in, carrying the day’s kindergarten bus surveillance footage.
When I looked at the footage on the tablet, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
A chill ran straight through my heart.
