At his words, the blood in my veins froze solid, a bitterness rising in my throat. "Stanley, I want Sammy's ashes."
Stanley reached up and ruffled my hair, his voice softening. "I'll give you the ashes the day after tomorrow. That's your father's birthday. He said he wanted to see them first. After he's done, I'll give them to you. Is that all right?"
So my father had stepped in.
And in two more days, I could finally leave this hellhole.
I let out a breath. "Fine."
Stanley's brow smoothed, as if pleased that I was being so reasonable.
"Be a good girl. There's a lot of controversy online about Sam being the other woman. You'd better clean it up. Don't let it affect her becoming my money tree."
"My money is your money too, Cindy. You should put some effort into this."
I gripped the edge of the blanket and forced out a smile. "Why don't I just hold a press conference at my father's birthday banquet the day after tomorrow and clear things up in person?"
I paused, then went on. "Instead of some crumpled written statement, wouldn't it be more convincing if I, a living person, admitted it with my own mouth? What do you think?"
The corner of Stanley's mouth curved up. "Cindy, it's wonderful that you can see it this way."
"We're in the same boat. We rise together, we fall together."
Stanley had meant to stay and keep me company a little longer, but before long, he took a call and left.
Soon the door to the hospital room opened, and Samantha sauntered in with a lazy stride.
"Well, Cindy. How does it feel to be wronged? Comfortable?"
I ignored her snide little jabs.
Samantha pinched my jaw, forcing me to meet her eyes. Hers were brimming with venom and hatred.
"Quit acting so high and mighty. An old woman like you can't beat me. Especially not now, when Stanley's so devoted to me."
"Oh, right. The baby in my belly survived. Stanley's so attentive about it. Imagine if he found out you killed his child with your own hands. What do you think he'd do to you?"
My hand, hidden beneath the blanket, quietly tapped the screen to start recording. Then I looked at her, my face perfectly composed. "Why did you kill my child? He was only five. Aren't you afraid heaven will punish you for what you did?"
Samantha flung my chin aside, contempt in her eyes. "He was just a bastard, getting in my way. I said a few things, and Stanley believed every word. Then he joined hands with me and got rid of him. Doesn't that make you furious?"
Of course it did.
Sammy was only five. He was born premature, and I'd nurtured him with such care all those years before he turned five. I never imagined that the very first time he went to school, something like this would happen.
Countless times afterward, I regretted it. Regretted sending Sammy to school. If only I'd hired a tutor, maybe Sammy would still be alive.
Samantha let out two soft laughs, then said with brazen arrogance, "It's time you handed over your place as Mrs. Vance."
"This isn't about the position. You're targeting me. Did I do something to you before?" I caught the flash of hatred at the bottom of her eyes.
Samantha scoffed. "All I did was borrow a little from your thesis, and you dragged me to court, ruined my reputation completely. You tell me, shouldn't I hate you?"
I had no memory of Samantha at all.
She seemed to have anticipated exactly that. She pulled out a photo and held it up before my eyes. "Remember now?"
I saw that familiar face. The girl who'd plagiarized my thesis and even won herself a slew of awards with it.
Back then, when I found out, I hadn't wanted to bother with it. But Stanley couldn't stand anyone laying a finger on what was mine, so he moved against her with ruthless force and made her pay the price.
"You had plastic surgery?" I studied the photo. Two completely different faces. Even the name and age didn't match.
Samantha didn't deny it. "For revenge, to get close to Stanley, of course I had to pay a price."
"And now I'm here to collect what you owe. Just you wait, Cindy. I'll make sure you die without even a grave to be buried in."
