Last Three Shots

I gently stroked my daughter Daisy Reeves's head and nodded. Then, I put my phone back in its place and pretended nothing had happened. Yet, no matter how I tried, the bitterness still filled my chest. Eventually, I sighed and coaxed Daisy back to her room. After all, I had promised her to give her father, Connor Reeves, three more chances. So, Daisy still treated him like her father, just like before.Daisy even brought home a plaster doll she made in kindergarten for Father's Day. She timidly asked me, "Do you think Daddy will like my gift?"I saw the dried-up clay in Daisy's fingernails that wouldn't be washed away even with scrubbing. With a heavy heart, I gently cleaned her hands. Noticing the tiny cuts on her delicate fingers, I patted her head and assured her, "Daddy's going to love it."Sure enough, Daisy's whole face lit up when she heard that. In truth, she wasn't naturally good at making clay figures. However, after spotting one on the shelf in Connor's study, she figur

Esther reassured Daisy, "Don't worry. Your daddy said he'll be here soon."I didn't expose the lie. I only wanted Daisy to enjoy her birthday happily. I said, "Daisy's art competition is next week, and I bet she'll win first place again." Esther praised her, "Daisy is so talented! Connor's company needs a child art prodigy—why not let Daisy be the one?" Never having received Connor's approval before, Daisy looked at me uncertainly. "Mommy, do you think I can do it?"I encouraged her, "You can definitely do it, Daisy." After dinner, Daisy needed to use the bathroom, and Esther went with her. But barely two minutes passed before I heard Daisy scream. In her tiny, trembling voice, she shouted, "I'm Daddy's daughter! Not you!"I rushed out immediately and saw Hazel, Faye's daughter, pushing Daisy. My maternal instincts kicked in, and I lunged forward to catch Daisy in my arms. I demanded, "Why did you push Daisy?" Just when I turned to look, Hazel wiped at her eyes and st

Everyone said Connor was a stubborn man with emotional issues who, once he committed to someone, would never have a change of heart. Despite their warning, I foolishly insisted on this heartbreak. Worse, I dragged Daisy into it and gave her a father who didn't love her. "I'm sorry, Daisy. Mommy made the wrong choice."Daisy didn't understand why I was apologizing. She just gently wiped away my tears and said, "Mommy, don't cry."As Daisy and I huddled together for comfort, Faye suddenly appeared with Hazel. She snapped, "Daisy, how dare you win first place? You obviously copied Hazel's work!"Neither Daisy nor I understood what was happening. Behind Faye were judges and curious onlookers.The spectators scrutinized Daisy. "Ms. Snyder is the famous international mystery artist AH. If she says Daisy copied, then Daisy definitely copied." Daisy and I froze, completely lost on what she was talking about.Behind Faye came several judges and a small crowd of onlookers, eager to see

Someone said, "Don't be ridiculous. Mr. Reeves is known for being fair. He's just doing his job here."Another jabbed, "Fair? Since when does 'doing your job' mean yelling at your own daughter while cuddling someone else's?"The crowd's whispers grew sharper, and Connor's brows furrowed. Meanwhile, Oliver just gave a calm, knowing smile and pulled out a memory card from his pocket. He said, "I'm the organizer for this competition, and I have security footage that proves Daisy didn't plagiarize."As Oliver extended the card, Hazel shrank deeper into Connor's arms, and Faye's expression changed instantly. She tried to smooth things over, turning to Connor. "There's really no need to go that far. I just wanted Daisy to apologize and hand the first-place award over to Hazel. That's all.""In your dreams!" I snapped, stepping up beside Oliver and snatching the card from his hand. Then, I glared at Connor—a warning, sharp and clear. "Daisy didn't copy a thing, and I'll never let her

Ten days later, on the promised delivery date, I didn't release the painting. I delayed it by a day on purpose. That same day, I watched Connor hold a press conference.He publicly apologized and announced that the product launch had to be postponed due to an internal error. He made it clear that Faye, the one who faked her identity, would bear the full responsibility for the financial loss caused by the delay.That afternoon, just as I finished baking cookies with Daisy in the kitchen, my phone started blowing up with notifications—Faye had sent a storm of furious messages."AH, you've never missed a release date before! Why did you delay this time? You did this on purpose, didn't you?" "You made me lose my fiancé and my job! I'll never forgive you!"Well, what could I say? Women's intuition could be terrifyingly accurate. Yes, I did it on purpose.The rest of the messages were from Connor, and he sounded sincere this time. "AH, I made a terrible mistake. I mistook someone els