Todd had just finished accompanying Darlean for her check-up when he saw a group of medical staff rushing past with a stretcher.
The woman on it looked badly injured, blood dripping along the hallway.
For a split second, he almost thought it was Breanna.
He grabbed a passing doctor. “What happened?”
“A pregnant woman got hit by a car. Poor thing.”
He immediately let out a breath.
It definitely wasn’t Breanna.
But something in his chest twisted—like something important was being ripped out from inside him…
Darlean tugged gently on his sleeve. “Todd, what’s wrong?”
Todd’s eyes flickered. “Nothing. I’ll take you home first, then go pick up Breanna.”
When Breanna woke up, the doctor beside her told her the baby was gone.
A wave of emptiness, despair, and unwillingness washed through her…
Then all of it slowly turned into relief.
At least, she wouldn’t have to get rid of the baby herself.
She wiped away the tear at the corner of her eye, unlocked her phone, and saw more than a hundred missed calls from Todd. The corner of her lips curled into a mocking smile.
She didn’t call him back. She just silently counted the days in her head.
Seven more days.
She didn’t understand why, since he’d already fallen out of love, he still insisted on putting on such a convincing show, as if he still cared about her.
Breanna closed her eyes, sinking back into grogginess.
Suddenly, the hospital door was shoved open. Todd rushed in, drenched from head to toe, his eyes bloodshot.
“Breanna, why didn’t you answer my calls? What happened?”
His hands gripped her shoulders tightly, anxiety written all over his face.
Breanna opened her eyes and stared straight at him. “Nothing. It was raining, and the ground was slippery. I fell.”
Todd loosened his grip, his brows furrowing even deeper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He called in the hospital director, arranged a VIP suite on the top floor, and summoned multiple specialists to examine her.
One doctor began, “She just had a mis—”
Breanna casually knocked over a glass of water and shot him a “shut up” gesture.
Todd’s voice was hoarse. “What is it?”
Realizing the situation, the doctor quickly backed off. “The patient is weak and needs proper rest.”
During the next few days in the hospital, Todd practically did everything himself.
He made soup and fed it to her spoon by spoon.
He even stood in line for three hours on the east side of the city to buy her a trendy cake she’d once mentioned in passing…
If not for the occasional bright flash in his eyes whenever his phone rang, Breanna could almost have believed his heart hadn’t drifted away already.
When she was discharged and returned home, the first thing she saw in the living room were shattered picture frames and a torn-up photo album.
Her heart instantly dropped.
She rushed over, pushing away the dog making a mess, and confirmed that the ruined album was hers.
It contained all the memories of her and her parents.
Now, not a single photo remained intact.
Then Darlean walked down the stairs, looking every bit like she owned the place. “The dog got a little naughty. I went upstairs to get some documents and didn’t watch him. Sorry.”
Breanna felt her blood run backward. Her hands shook as she picked up the final surviving photo of her and her father.
Her father’s smiling face was full of holes; she could even see smudges of dog treats rubbed into it.
Clenching her jaw, she forced down the urge to tear Darlean apart. “Don’t think I don’t know you did this on purpose.”
Darlean smirked. “So what if I did? Your parents were short-lived anyway. Dead is dead. Their leftovers make great chew toys for Zoe. At least, they’re useful!”
Before Breanna could react, Darlean lifted the photo like she was about to tear it.
“Give it back!” Breanna’s chest tightened. She lunged for the photo, but Darlean dodged her hand.
With a sly grin, Darlean tore the photo into pieces and tossed them into the air.
Her eyes sparkled with amusement, waiting for Breanna to break.
Breanna’s mind buzzed, her body trembling uncontrollably. Tears streamed from her widened eyes, turning crimson at the edges.
After her father died, she didn’t have any photos or videos left—just this one.
And now, even that was gone.
Her heart throbbed painfully, vision blurring, and for the first time she couldn’t hold back the fury and hatred choking her.
“You bitch! Why don’t you just die?!” she snapped. “I treated you like family all these years, and you stole my boyfriend and destroyed my dad’s last photo?!”
She suddenly raised her hand and slapped Darlean hard across the face.
Before the woman could react, Breanna’s fingers closed tightly around her neck.
Grinding her teeth, she choked out, “If I weren’t a cop, I swear I’d kill you right here!”
But Darlean didn’t fight back; she only laughed harder. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “So what? Let me tell you the truth. It was my dad who exposed your father’s identity.”
Her laugh sounded like a death knell from hell, cracking Breanna’s heart open bit by bit.
“My gambling-addict dad wanted to sell me off, and guess what? I sold him first! In Chicago, he ran into your dad—recognized he was a cop and slipped up. Your dad got caught, beaten to a pulp, thrown into a water dungeon. Every bone in his body was smashed. My dad’s still alive, and well, he even calls me sometimes to talk about it!”
Breanna slammed Darlean’s head against the floor over and over.
“Breanna!”
Todd rushed in just in time to see the scene.
He grabbed Breanna from behind to pull her away, but she violently shoved him off.
“Get away from me!
“Why is she in this house?! She killed my dad! And her dog destroyed the last photo I had of him!
“That was my dad…”
She sobbed uncontrollably, her grip tightening again.
Darlean’s face turned red as she gasped out, “I-I just came to get documents for the company… I didn’t watch the dog… I didn’t do it on purpose…”
“You’re lying!”
Breanna screamed at the top of her lungs.
Suddenly, a huge force slammed into her. She fell hard, her lower back hitting the sharp corner of the table, pain exploding through her body.
Todd shielded Darlean with his body, his eyes dark.
“Breanna, stop it! They’re just photos! She’s pregnant! How could you hurt her like this?!”
