“How exactly did I kill my daughter?” Regina snapped, her voice sharp with indignation. “No matter how much I despise you, I would never lay a hand on my own child! If anything, I was more than good to Claudia.”
“You all tried to take over the amusement park I booked for Hector’s birthday—I gave it up. She insisted I go with her? Fine, I personally brought her there. What more do you want from me?”
She let out a dry laugh. “Oh please. Don’t tell me riding a carousel is deadly now. You really expect people to buy this ridiculous lie?”
Without warning, she yanked the suit from my hands and flung it to the ground, stomping on it with her heels.
“You say Claudia’s dead, yet here you are splurging on an expensive custom suit? What—planning to get dolled up and snag yourself a rich widow now that your kid’s gone?”
My heart twisted as I rushed to pick up the trampled suit, shoving her toward the door.
“Regina,” I said coldly, “I hope you can still talk this tough three days from now.”
She was still cursing at me from the hallway as I collapsed onto my bed, physically and emotionally drained. I drifted into a haze until night fell—then came another knock at the door.
Annoyed, I opened it, only to find Hector standing outside. Before I could say anything, he barged in like he owned the place. I rushed after him, ready to throw him out, but he spotted the pink box sitting on the coffee table and grabbed it with a grin.
“Well, look at that—she’s actually dead,” he sneered, cradling the pink box like it was a trophy. “Good. Your daughter’s gone. Once you’re out of the picture too, the entire Secos empire will finally be mine.”
“Put that down!” I shouted and lunged at him.
Before I could reach him, someone yanked my hair from behind and dragged me upright.
“You bastard,” Regina hissed. “Hector came here to apologize and this is how you treat him?”
Hector clearly hadn’t expected Regina to follow him in. Panic flashed across his face. Then, seeing her eyes drift toward the box in his arms, he quickly raised his voice,
“Enough with the lies!” Regina shouted, her voice trembling with fury. “You once tricked me and caused my baby’s death! I remember it like it was yesterday! And now he’s trying to use the same trick again, to kill me?!”
“You’re insane!” I roared. “That’s my daughter’s accesorries! Give her back to me!”
“Stop saying that! Why are you still cursing Claudia with death wishes?!” she screamed, slapping me hard across the face.
“Disgusting. What kind of man collected a girl’s accessories into a pink box?” she snapped. “Your lies are getting more and more ridiculous, all just to hurt Hector!”
Before I could stop her, she snatched the box from Hector’s hands. I screamed in horror, lunging toward her—but I was too late. He hurled it to the floor.
“No!” I cried, stumbling forward in agony, but she kicked me aside like I was trash. “Still trying to fight over some silly box, huh? You still planning to hurt someone with it?”
The box shattered with a sickening crack, scattering into pieces along with tiny accessory parts across the floor.
I screamed, a broken, guttural sound that tore from somewhere deep in my chest. I could barely breathe from the pain, my body trembling under the weight of grief.
Regina’s furious expression drained from her face, replaced by blank disbelief and a ghostly pallor.
