Chapter 4

When Benedict found out I was arranging for Amelia to be transferred to another school, he actually took time off work to come home.

By dinner, he was already criticizing me again.

"Do you even know how to raise a child? If this is how you handle every problem, Amelia's going to grow up thinking she can run away whenever something gets hard."

I didn't bother arguing with him.

I knew this wasn't running away. It was getting my daughter out of a place where she was being hurt.

Benedict slammed his utensils down and got up, clearly intending to take Amelia outside.

I immediately stopped him. "Where are you taking her?"

He shoved me aside impatiently. "I'm actually home for once. Am I not allowed to take my own daughter downstairs for a while?"

The moment Amelia heard that, her previously vacant eyes lit up.

She abandoned her dinner, hurried to the front door, and grabbed the gift she'd left there earlier. Then, she quickly hid it behind her back and flashed me a mischievous smile.

The tension in my outstretched hand eased.

I was about to follow them when Benedict turned and glared at me.

"Would you stop watching me like I'm some stranger taking off with your kid? I know how to take care of Amelia better than you do. You don't need to come."

Benedict didn't take Amelia downstairs to play. Instead, he took her straight to Lorelei and Penelope.

Then, he made Amelia apologize.

"If you made a mistake, you have to apologize. Good kids don't take other people's things," he said patiently.

Amelia refused.

Biting her lip, she finally pulled out the gift she'd been hiding behind her back. "Daddy, I didn't take anything. This is mine. I made it myself."

Benedict paused.

"What is it?"

Amelia was just about to answer when Penelope suddenly snatched the box from her hands and threw it inside the apartment.

"It's mine! You stole it!" she insisted.

Amelia immediately lunged forward to get it back, but Benedict held her back. "And you're still insisting you didn't do anything wrong? You're literally trying to snatch it right in front of my eyes."

He turned to Lorelei with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Amelia's being really difficult today."

"It's okay."

Lorelei flashed him an easygoing smile, then crouched in front of Amelia. "Amelia, does your mom not buy you enough toys? How about I ask Penelope to give this one to you?"

"N-No… It's mine…"

Benedict's patience ran out. "Enough! Even if it is yours, what's the big deal if you let Penelope have it?"

"No… It's for you, Daddy..."

"In that case, I'm giving it to Penelope."

Amelia tried to protest again, but Benedict cut her off. "That's enough. This is over. You two are going to put it behind you and be friends again."

"N-No…"

Benedict grabbed Amelia and started pulling her away.

She became increasingly frantic until she suddenly clutched her head, dropped into a crouch, and began screaming.

Lorelei frowned.

"Amelia, stop screaming. Didn't your mom teach you better? If you act like this, nobody's going to want to be around you."

Penelope stuck out her tongue and made a face. "Nobody likes bad kids! Nobody wants to play with you!"

Benedict's temper flared even more. "Look what your mother has turned you into! See? If you keep screaming like this, nobody's going to like you!"

Their threats did nothing as Amelia kept screaming in obvious distress.

Lorelei covered her ears, went back inside, and shut the door.

Meanwhile, Benedict folded his arms and stood nearby, his expression darkening by the second.

All of a sudden, he raised his voice, trying to overpower Amelia's screams by shouting even louder. "Enough! Shut up!"

Still, she couldn't stop.

Benedict turned as though he were going to leave.

Pointing at Amelia from several feet away, he shouted, "No wonder the other kids don't want anything to do with you! If you're going to act like this, I don't want you either!"

When that still didn't work, he stepped into the elevator.

"You won't stop screaming, huh? Fine. I'm leaving. Keep it up, and don't bother coming home!"

Amelia's screams continued after he left, fading for a few moments before starting again. Then, eventually, everything went quiet.

Penelope cautiously cracked open the apartment door and peeked outside. No one was there.

She was about to close the door again when she happened to glance to the side.

Her face instantly paled with fright as she screamed for Lorelei.

Lorelei rushed over, and the color immediately drained from her face, too.

She immediately grabbed her phone and called Benedict. "Benedict, something's wrong. Amelia's on the floor. She's foaming at the mouth and is unresponsive!"

Benedict's heart skipped a beat.

He immediately hit the elevator button and rushed back upstairs. But what he didn't know was that Amelia would never come home again.