Chapter 2

ROSE

A few seconds later, I get up and decide to go check on my daughter, who's receiving treatment in the same hospital.

"Mummy," she screams excitedly as soon as I enter her ward. Her brownish doll eyes light up the whole place.

"Arabella…" I smile as I go in for a hug. I'm so excited to see my baby girl awake and full of life after months of treatment.

But that happiness is short-lived as soon as I take a seat beside her bed and she asks, "Where's daddy? He always comes around on the weekend. I've been waiting for him."

How am I supposed to answer her? How am I supposed to tell her that the man she calls father is a heartless fraudster?

I so badly want to tell her that he isn't her biological father, but how can I crush her joy that way? Even though she has been in treatment for the past few months, she always goes out on the weekends with him.

"He's busy with work, darling. But he'll be here soon," I make up an excuse, even though I know Killian isn't going to come. He's now entangled with his mistress and doesn't care about me or my daughter anymore.

Suddenly, my phone vibrates, and I check to see an incoming message. It's another message from a strange number that has been sending me texts for the past two weeks.

Unknown Number: Please, Detective Golf, I'm begging you. Help find my brother's killer and get justice for him.

I sigh deeply and drop the phone. I have been ignoring the messages because the murder in question happened two years ago. That means the case has already been closed.

Besides, after my sex tape went viral, I was suspended from work—which means I can't take up any case until my image is cleared.

My phone pings again, and I open it, thinking it's the unknown number. But instead, notifications continue coming in from my social media accounts—people insulting me and dragging my name through the mud.

The more I read the messages, the angrier I get. And I feel the sudden urge to release the video to clear my name. But then I think about Arabella and how my parents threatened to stop her treatments. And I sigh.

Marco's call comes in, and I excuse myself to go pick it up.

"Hello, do you believe me now?" he asks immediately after I pick up.

"I do." I muffle, my voice hoarse.

"So when are you filing the case against him?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before replying. "That's never going to happen, Marco."

He starts laughing over the phone. "Do you really love him to the extent that you would sacrifice your own reputation just to cover up his evil deeds?"

I huff irritably. "Dear Marco, if you can raise $2 million for me to pay for my daughter's surgery and treatment… then of course, we can go ahead and sue him," I reply sarcastically.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, more than anything, I want Killian to pay. But my parents are behind him, and they've threatened to stop my daughter's treatment if I release the video. So there, I can't do anything about it."

"But—"

"Please," I cut in. "You know how painful it is to lose someone. I'm begging you, that video can't be released. Don't make me lose my daughter, please. She's all I've got now."

There's silence on the other end, and for a moment, I think he's not going to agree. But then, "Alright, fine." I could hear the gritting of his teeth before the line goes dead.

The day wears on. I spend a little time with Arabella, and the following morning finds me in my rented apartment, where I finally sign the divorce papers between Killian and me. As soon as I'm done, I head straight to his office to hand over the folder.

Only I never really expected to meet the scenario I encountered in his office.

If I had known that I would find the man I once saw as my forever aggressively kissing my twin sister, I would have waited.

However, the minute I burst in on them, they both startle at my presence, but it doesn't take long before their stunned faces are replaced with two different reactions.

Mariegold: annoyance.

Killian just sighs and rolls his eyes.

"You can't just…"

"Oh please, you can both continue with what you were doing." I cut Mariegold off as I walk toward them. "I only came to drop off the divorce papers."

Getting to the table, I extend the folder to Killian, expecting him to snatch it immediately, but he stares at me for so long that I'm almost certain he won't collect the papers anymore, until he does. Then, one by one, he goes through the papers as if confirming I signed everything. Done, he leans up to face me, his deep-seated gray eyes piercing through me before he speaks.

"Nice, I see you signed everything. From now on, I don't want us to be in contact with each other. But I'm a generous man, so I'd like to pay you off."

I scoff in disbelief. Where did this man get the nerve? Before I can reply, he scribbles on a check and extends it toward me.

"The payment is to ensure that you don't feel cheated and cause trouble. I would also like to buy the tape in your possession. And you don't have to worry about your parents cutting off your daughter from treatment because I will pay for that as well. It's a juicy deal, right?" His lips curl up as he extends the paper toward me.

He seems so proud of himself as he speaks, but all he succeeds in doing is making me angry. Does he think he can buy his way out after the crime he committed?

My gaze lingers on the paper and returns to him.

My stomach knotted. Leaning forward, I fix him with a glare. "You might have bought my whole family, but me? You can never buy me."

"What do you mean he bought the whole family?" Mariegold, still sitting on his lap, speaks up immediately.

I turn to her with a smirk. "Did I strike a nerve, dear sister?"

She scoffs. "You better take the money for your own good. There's no need for you to act self-righteously."

I laugh. "And you think I should listen to you? Well, here's some advice for you, sis. Don't get too comfortable with him. You're aware of how easily he betrayed me, right? I can guarantee you that he'll definitely do the same to you." I didn't sugarcoat my sarcasm, and I would kill to rewatch the look on Mariegold's face.

She makes a sour look and goes wild.

"We are not the same." She feigns toughness. "You're the one who couldn't keep your husband. You didn't really expect he would remain with you when you couldn't give him an heir, remember?"

Then what happens within the next few seconds completely crushes the last shred of my heart. I watch as Mariegold gets off Killian's lap. Killian watches too. She walks toward a locker and brings out a piece of paper. She walks back to me and hands it over.

As my eyes scan it, I discover it's a pregnancy result. I don't get to ask before she reveals that she's pregnant with Killian's child, and while I process that, she also shows me her engagement ring, which came from Killian.

My chest tightens so painfully that I fear it'll tear open. Killian is going to have a family with Mariegold. Now it makes perfect sense why he easily asked the doctor to terminate mine.

Rage blinds my source of reason, and I find myself doing what I hadn't planned to. "So… so this is why you asked them to abort mine, huh. Your mistress is pregnant for you." I try to remain strong, but my voice betrays me. It comes out wobbling against my will, my rage-filled eyes fixed on Killian's unbothered ones.

Tears burn the back of my eyes, but I ball the paper in my grip to hold them back.

"You are pregnant?" Marie sounds surprised, but I don't break my gaze with Killian.

"C'mon, Rose, what use is keeping the child?" Killian scoffs, looking irritated. "I will marry Mariegold and start a family with her. Besides, you pushed me into your sister's arms—always busy solving cases and never treating me as a priority. Instead of giving me a child, you gave me another man's child to raise. So who's to blame?" His lashes flutter rapidly, a clear indication that he's flat-out lying.

I gave him another man's child to raise?! Hell! I was fucking pregnant with Arabella when Killian met me. He charmed his way into my heart and offered to be a father to her since her own father was a bastard!

I have a lot to say to Killian, but I settle for just one thing.

"I know you think you've gotten away with what you did. But trust me, I am going to hurt you back." I speak in a deadpan tone, but just as I turn to walk out, Marie's voice stops me.

"You do know that if you release those videos or try anything funny, your daughter is going to die, right?" She snaps, her voice quivering. "Unless you're trying to gamble with Arabella's life. After all, the little girl has suffered enough already."

My next action stuns everyone. I whirl around and, without warning, I strike Marie hard across her face.

Her scream mingles with the sound of the slap as she stumbles back, holding her cheek.

"Rose…"

Another slap resounds throughout the office, landing right across Killian's face, making him shut up at once.

As both he and Marie hold their reddened cheeks, stunned, I whirl around and storm out of the office.

I barely step foot outside the office when my phone rings. I contemplate ignoring it, but I eventually end up bringing it out as it doesn't stop ringing.

As I unlock the phone, annoyance courses through me as it's another message from the anonymous person who's been texting. My first instinct is to toss the phone back, but then the first sentence sends me freezing.

"My brother was supposed to be celebrating his 12th birthday this year. But he was murdered. I really want justice to be served for his death."

12 years?!

The fact that the boy in question was just 10 years old—almost the same age as my own daughter—when he was murdered dealt a knife through my chest.

How could someone have been so heartless as to murder a child?

I barely finish processing that before another message pops up.

'Name your price. Any price. My father will pay whatever you demand. I can guarantee that my father will do anything you want if you can find my brother's murderer!'

From everything I read, one thing stood out the most.

A price…

Whatever I demand?

Now, this job just got irresistible.

And for the first time, I begin to type a response.