I was forcibly pinned down on the marble floor outside the door, with two 1.85-meter-tall bodyguards firmly holding down my shoulders.
I had no idea how long I knelt there, but the sun was blazing overhead and my vision was blurry.
The sound of high heels hitting the ground echoed and Mallory stood before me in a fiery red bodycon dress. Her face was brimming with smugness. "Roxanne, look at yourself now. You really do look like a stray dog."
"It must be painful to lose your daughter, right? I heard her body is still at the crematorium. Hmm, how pitiful."
"Why don't I help you out? How about I throw your daughter's body into the wilderness to feed the dogs? That would be doing a favor for nature, don't you think?"
I gasped, "Mallory, you dare?"
"What's there to be afraid of? I'm not your real sister."
Mallory sneered.
After getting up from the ground, I immediately took a taxi to the crematorium. Seeing my daughter's body intact, my heart finally settled.
I then handed the cremation consent form to the staff. Standing at the door, I watched as my five-year-old daughter was pushed inside for cremation.
My heart twisted in pain, making it hard to breathe.
I collapsed onto the ground, feeling helpless and defeated, as images of my daughter's innocent and lively face flashed before my eyes.
Since Jordan was always very busy with work, my daughter cherished every moment she spent with him, even going so far as to be cautious.
At that moment, the phone in my pocket rang. It was Jordan calling.
After pressing the answer button, his harsh accusations came through. "Roxanne, look at the daughter you've raised. She's not even old enough, yet she's already learned to skip school?"
"As a mother, can't you even fulfill the most basic responsibilities of a mother? Can't you learn more from Mallory?"
"It would be best if your daughter learned more from Christian and stopped embarrassing me in public."
I thought back to the day my daughter was killed. Her tiny body curled up in my arms, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and her breath faint as she asked me, "Mom, where's Dad?"
"When will Dad come to see me? You … didn't you say that if I got hurt, Dad would come to see me?"
Even as she lay dying, my daughter was still thinking about Jordan.
Seeing that I didn't respond, Jordan erupted in anger. "If you can't raise your daughter properly, let Mallory do it."
"Jordan, our daughter is already dead. What more do you need to believe it?" I moved my lips and couldn't help but ask.
There was no sound from Jordan on the other end of the phone, but instead, Mallory's teasing voice rang out, "Roxanne, you really know how to joke. You even dare to tell such a lie."
"But back when we were at home, she was always like this, always relying on these underhanded little tricks to gain Mom and Dad's attention."
Upon hearing this, Jordan scolded me without hesitation. "Roxanne, I really underestimated you. You're so cunning."
"Let me tell you, if you don't bring our daughter back to school, neither of you will be allowed to return to Yardley."
Before I could finish saying, "I'm at the crematorium right now," the call was ruthlessly hung up.
