Emily's POV
But everything changed when Sabrina showed up.
Gideon stopped being the loving husband who cherished me, stopped being the doting father who adored Rosie.
The dream shifted abruptly.
I heard Rosie's voice echo, pained and weak. “Mommy, it hurts so much… help me… please, help me…”
I reached out frantically, searching for her, but my hands grasped only emptiness. I suddenly woke up, the sharp scent of disinfectant burning in my nose.
As clarity returned, I tore the blanket off and stumbled out of bed, legs barely holding me upright, and ran straight for the emergency room.
I searched desperately—every bed, every corner—calling her name. But Rosie was nowhere to be found.
Lost and desperate, I didn't know what to do until I heard the nurses whispering behind the nurses' station.
"That little girl who got bitten by the venomous snake yesterday… what a shame. She could've been saved. All she needed was the antivenom."
"But in the end, she was dragged out too long. Died right there. Her face was black by the time she went…"
My heart plummeted into my stomach.
I turned and grabbed a nurse, my hands trembling violently.
"Where is she? Where's my daughter?"
The nurse jumped, clearly startled.
She hesitated, then stammered, "S-she was supposed to be in the morgue, but Mr. Davidson saw her body and said it was disgusting. He said it would bring bad luck to his wife's unborn baby, so he had her taken to the crematorium. Out back, behind the mountain…"
It was like ice filled my veins all at once.
I bolted, panic driving my feet faster than thought, sprinting for the back of the hospital, toward the mountain.
Images of Rosie's smile—bright, warm, alive—flashed through my mind. I begged for a miracle, for something, anything to still be possible.
But then, I saw her. That small, familiar body lying atop a mound of dirt.
My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground.
"Rosie!"
I crawled toward her, pulled her into my arms, and held her tight.
My hands shook as I reached to touch her face—her sweet little face, now so changed, barely resembling mine at all.
I couldn't stop it anymore. A mouthful of blood rose and spilled from my lips.
She was mine. My baby. Ten months inside me. My own flesh and blood.
How could this not rip me apart?
And just like that, she'd been killed. By her own father.
How utterly ridiculous. Cruel beyond comprehension.
I didn't know how long I stayed like that. Eventually, I wiped my tears and finished arranging her funeral by myself.
Once it was done, with nothing left inside me but a void, I made a call.
A number I'd memorized long ago.
"Hello. You've always wanted to bring Gideon Davidson down, haven't you? I can help you. But you have to promise me one thing..."
The call ended.
I held Rosie's ashes close as I took a cab back to the villa.
...
When I opened the door, the first thing I saw was the swing Rosie had loved most. Or what was left of it—shattered, dismantled, tossed aside like trash.
In its place stood a massive spinning pinwheel.
My chest heaved painfully as I clung to the death certificate, my fingers sore from gripping it so tightly.
In a haze, my mind drifted back to Rosie's first birthday party. Gideon had stayed up three nights in a row building that swing for us. He'd said he wanted to be the one to push us always.
But now, it was all gone. Now everything had changed.
I couldn't look at it anymore.
All right, I rushed into Rosie's room and selected a few of her favorite toys. I put them into the fire basin and arranged the brazier.
As I dropped each toy inside, I prayed they would bring her even a sliver of happiness on the other side.
Since her life here had been filled with nothing but pain, I was just about to burn the last toy when the door suddenly slammed open.
Sabrina stormed in and kicked over the brazier, scattering ash and embers across the floor with a single stomp.
"Look what we have here," Sabrina scoffed.
She glanced at Rosie's photo and then sneered, a sly smile spreading across her face.
"Well," Sabrina said, smug, "she's finally dead. Guess my little lie about using antivenom for scar prevention wasn't for nothing after all."
"Oh, right," she added, flipping her hair casually. "Did you know your daughter didn't even close her eyes when she died? Gideon was going to see her. But I faked a stomachache, and he had her body thrown out instead!"
She grinned at me maniacally and said, "Isn't that hilarious?"
Sabrina then clapped her hands, seemingly celebrating my daughter's death.
