Third Person's POV
Hazel let out a bitter laugh.
“A bit too much?” she repeated, her voice trembling with disbelief.
Her mother was dead. And he had the nerve to call that “a bit too much”?
Locking Caroline in an interrogation room was far too lenient. That woman should’ve been rotting behind bars for the rest of her life.
Without hesitation, Hazel grabbed the agreement from the table, tore it into shreds, and threw the pieces right into Dominic’s face. “Even if you kill me, I’ll never sign it! I want Caroline to spend the rest of her life behind bars!”
Suddenly, a sharp slap cracked through the air. Hazel’s face snapped to the side, five bright red fingerprints blooming across her pale cheek.
For a brief second, guilt flickered in Dominic’s eyes. But it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by his usual cold indifference.
“Hazel,” he said harshly, “I already sent the best doctors to treat your mother. How much longer are you going to keep making a scene?”
Her ears rang from the slap, but his words hurt even more. Hazel clenched her fists, her voice trembling with fury. “You never cared enough to find out what really happened! Your precious Caroline took all the doctors away! My mom never got treatment! She’s dead!”
But while she was saying her last words, Dominic’s phone rang, covering them.
The moment he saw Caroline's name, his expression softened, and he answered immediately.
“Dominic,” Caroline’s sweet, tearful voice came through, “didn’t you say you’d get me out? They’re being so mean to me here. I’m scared, I really am…”
The coldness in Dominic’s eyes melted away. His voice turned gentle as he replied, “Be good. Don’t be scared. I’ll get you out soon.”
When he hung up, he gave his men a cold look, the kind that needed no words.
Quickly, two bodyguards grabbed Hazel by the arms. The urn she’d been holding slipped from her grasp and crashed to the floor. Her mother’s ashes spilled across the tiles.
Dominic froze for a second, his eyes narrowing before a mocking smile tugged at his lips. “What’s this? Ashes? Hazel, are you cursing your own mother now just to frame Caroline? Impressive.”
“I’m not!” she cried, her voice hoarse. “That really is my mom’s ashes! She—”
“Enough!” Dominic cut her off sharply. “I had top doctors on your mother’s case. They could even bring a dead person back if they had to. Besides, Caroline said your mom just had a small cut, nothing serious. She couldn’t possibly have died. So, what exactly are you trying to pull here?”
He slammed another document down on the table and ordered, “Hold her down. Make her sign it.”
“No! Dominic, you can’t do this to me!” Hazel screamed, thrashing wildly.
But she was no match for the two men holding her. Her trembling hand was forced down onto the paper, dragging out a crooked signature.
Only when it was done did Dominic’s expression relax. He pocketed the signed document, turned his back on her, and walked away without a second glance.
Hazel crumpled to the floor like discarded fabric. One of the bodyguards even stepped on her mother’s ashes on the way out.
Her hands shook as she tried to gather what was left, scooping the ashes back into the urn piece by piece. But no matter how hard she tried, half of it was gone.
Tears streamed down her face, each drop burning as it hit the cold tile floor.
“Mom…” she whispered brokenly. “I’m sorry. I couldn't protect you.”
