“I never expected you to be so cruel, Sadie! You forced your own daughter to do something like this?!” Tyson shouted. “You don’t even deserve to be a mother! You—You’re a monster!”
His slap left my ears ringing and my vision blurred. I turned my head just in time to meet my daughter’s eyes.
She looked pale from the pain, but there was a flicker of guilt barely hidden in her gaze.
‘It’s her!’ I realized.
I rushed over and grabbed her shoulders, demanding answers. “Niah, why did you lie and hurt Mommy?” I was almost crying. “I’ve always treated you well—why would you do this to me?!”
Terrified, my daughter broke down in tears and shrank away.
That only enraged her father further; Tyson raised his foot and kicked me again and again.
“Bitch! How dare you even ask that? You better pray your daughter’s okay!” He paused, and when he spoke, his voice came out threatening. “Or else—I’ll kill you!”
If it weren’t for my in-laws holding him back, I’m sure he would’ve beaten me to death right then.
“Just take Niah to the hospital already!” my in-laws urged.
Only then did Tyson stop and snort coldly. The three of them hurriedly carried our daughter to the hospital.
Despite everything, I was worried, so I followed closely behind.
Thank heavens, her injuries weren’t serious. After some disinfecting, bandaging, and an anti-inflammatory shot, she was okay.
By midnight, Tyson got a call to go on a business trip.
But our daughter suddenly started screaming wildly in his arms.
“Daddy, don’t leave! Mom said she’ll have someone kidnap me tonight! She’ll have them break my legs and cut out my tongue!” She sniffed and sobbed. “She wants to kill me!”
Tyson shot me a dark, hostile look.
I quickly shook my head and said it couldn’t be true. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll call the cops right now!”
But he snatched my phone, his teeth clenched. “Family matters stay inside the home! Do you want to ruin your daughter’s reputation?”
He hissed. “Or do you want everyone to know you forced her to do those shady things?”
When he turned to our daughter, he softened his voice. “Niah, Dad will have Grandpa and Grandma watch over you. If Mommy lays a finger on you, I’ll kill her!”
My in-laws had calmed down by then.
“There’s no way a mother would hurt her own child,” Priscilla said.
“Right. Besides, when Sadie gave birth to Niah, it was nearly a life-or-death situation for both of them. Niah’s her heart and soul. It’s impossible!” Harold chimed in.
He went on to speculate, “Maybe those photos and videos are fake. You know, with all the AI manipulation nowadays…”
I nodded through tears, deeply moved by how reasonable my in-laws were.
Our daughter curled up silently in Tyson’s arms, but her eyes challenged me even more fiercely.
Suddenly, like nothing happened, she said, “Mommy, I want you to put on a cartoon for me.”
I numbly opened the animation on my phone and held it up in front of her.
Ever since giving birth six years ago, I’d given up my career to raise her, going out of my way to meet every one of her demands, hoping she’d grow into a kind and understanding child.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand how she could suddenly turn into this.
After Tyson left, my in-laws and I stayed by her side.
I glanced at the clock—it was about two in the morning.
In my last life, my daughter disappeared from the hospital at exactly 2:10 a.m.
If I could make sure to stay by my in-laws’ side that entire night and watch over Niah, maybe those false accusations wouldn’t hold any weight.
And so I forced myself to stay strong and kept vigil with them.
But at exactly 2:00 a.m., Niah suddenly cried that she was hungry.
Because of her fussing during dinner, none of us had eaten all night.
I opened a delivery app, but all the restaurants near the hospital were closed at this hour.
Everything I could order was something she couldn’t eat, so reluctantly, Priscilla got up to buy some microwave burritos.
Since Harold was still here, I nodded in agreement.
