Daniel’s voice shattered my heart.
“Of course not. My marriage with her has long been meaningless. I was afraid that once she divorced me, she’d expose the secret behind that half order. Then my reputation, and Chloe’s reputation, would be utterly ruined!”
“How would I continue running my company? How would I face people? And how would Chloe survive it? Besides, don’t you prefer Chloe anyway?”
“Chloe’s life is pitiful. After being abused by her ex-husband overseas, she barely scrapes by here. What’s wrong with buying her a bag to brighten her day? Your mother is impossible to live with.”
Emma sighed.
“Yes, I do prefer Chloe. She always buys me burgers, but Mommy never lets me eat them. She forces me to eat disgusting green peppers!”
My heart grew colder and colder. Hearing this, all my worry for my daughter felt wasted.
At only eight years old, my little girl had already betrayed me—for Chloe, her father’s mistress. Together, they had deceived me and left me crippled.
I closed my eyes and cried silently, tears streaming down my cheeks. But I dared not make a sound, afraid that if father and daughter discovered I knew the truth, they might do something even worse.
Later that day, traffic officers and police came to take my statement. They even pulled surveillance footage from the crash site.
Their conclusion: brake failure, an accident.
The other driver accepted full responsibility and offered full compensation.
At that moment, I saw Daniel breathe a visible sigh of relief, as if he had engineered the entire crash himself. To escape suspicion quickly, he was willing to accept the blame.
When the topic of the kidnappers came up, Daniel displayed unprecedented fury:
“Officers, you must catch those criminals! They kidnapped my daughter. If my wife hadn’t been distracted by their call, the accident wouldn’t have happened. The real culprits are those men!”
“Yes, officer,” Emma cried, “if I hadn’t been kidnapped, Mommy wouldn’t have crashed and broken her legs. It’s all my fault. Please, catch those bad guys!”
The policeman patted her head kindly.
“Don’t worry, little one. Justice always prevails. We’ll catch them.”
“Sweetheart, are you alright? Are you feeling better?”
Daniel and Emma came over, speaking softly as if nothing had happened.
“Mommy, it’s all my fault. If not for me, you wouldn’t have suffered this.”
I ignored Emma and glared at Daniel.
“Why are you still here? Why aren’t you at the court? Our divorce agreement is still valid!”
“I’m giving you one last chance—tomorrow morning, we go to the court. Otherwise, I’ll expose your half-order secret, and let’s see how you face your family then.”
I spoke with burning rage, fueled not only by anger but by the devastating truth I had overheard last night.
Daniel looked at me in disbelief.
“Even like this, you still insist on divorcing me?”
“What about it? I’m crippled now? So what?” I shot back, my eyes blazing. “Even if I have to hobble there on crutches, I’ll divorce you!”
“I don’t ever want to see your face again!”
“Mom, how can you talk to Dad like that?” Emma snapped, defending him.
“Sophia, you’re impossible! You’ve just had an accident, and I’m here caring for you—yet you repay me with divorce demands?” Daniel fumed, about to leave.
I reminded him coldly,
“Don’t forget tomorrow, the court. Or would you prefer your mother to hear all about the half order?”
