When I pushed open the door and went inside, a toy car hit my feet.

"You wicked woman! Get out of my house!"

"You unloved mistress, you want to steal my father! Who do you think you are?"

It was Mallory's child, Christian Storm.

At only six years old, he could already speak such venomous words. I didn't believe he had learned this on his own.

Mallory, standing next to me, gave me a provocative smile. "Roxanne, you've been occupying my place for so many years. It's time to go back to where you belong."

"Jordan loves me and you're nothing but a replacement."

I watched the mother and son duo sing their praises to each other with a cold expression.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something at Christian's feet and my pupils contracted sharply.

Those were the toy dolls I had bought for my daughter and now they were all crushed beyond recognition.

I trembled with anger. "Who gave you permission to touch my daughter's things?"

Christian rushed forward and continued to throw toys at me. Then, I pushed him away in frustration.

He fell to the ground and burst into tears.

The commotion startled Jordan on the second floor.

"Waa, waaa. Bad woman! You're bullying me! I'm going to tell Dad."

"Roxanne, take it out on me instead. Christian is still a child. What kind of adult bullies a child?"

Mallory sobbed as she hugged Christian in her arms.

When Jordan came downstairs and saw what was happening, he walked straight up to me. He raised his hand, then slapped me hard across the face.

We had known each other for ten years and he had never laid a hand on me before.

But now he was striking me harshly for Mallory and her son.

I clenched my fists, my teeth nearly biting through the soft flesh.

The man's authoritative voice rang in my ears. "Apologize to Mallory and Christ!"

Forcing me to apologize without asking for an explanation was Jordan's usual approach when dealing with Mallory.

"Why is my daughter's toy here?" I retorted.

Jordan ignored me, his anger boiling over. "I told you to apologize to Mallory and Christian. Can't you hear me?"

Seeing that I remained silent, Jordan grew even more furious. "If you don't apologize, get out and kneel in punishment!"

"You can only get up when Mallory and Chris forgive you!"

"Jordan, why is my daughter's toy here?" I asked again.

Jordan frowned impatiently and said, "Christian likes it, so I took it out for him to play with. What's wrong with that?"

"You still have the nerve to talk about your daughter? Mallory and the others have been here for so long, but she hasn't even come out. Have you really let her go?"

I was stunned. I never expected Jordan to speak so harshly about his own daughter.

"It's definitely because you didn't raise her properly. Look at how well-mannered Mallory's child is. Why is yours so poorly behaved? And look at you, you don't even come out to greet guests when they visit your home."

Jordan continued to berate my daughter and me.

I couldn't bear to listen anymore and finally exploded. "My daughter is already dead."

Mallory's eyes flashed with guilt and she immediately smiled to smooth things over. "Roxanne, you're really something. You just want Jordan to pay more attention to you, right? Is it necessary to curse your own child like this?"

Jordan's face was filled with anger. "Roxanne, when did you become so malicious? You even dare to harm your own daughter?"

"Go kneel in punishment. You won't get up until you know you're wrong."

I was forcibly pinned down on the marble floor outside the door, with two 1.85-meter-tall bodyguards firmly holding down my shoulders.

I had no idea how long I knelt there, but the sun was blazing overhead and my vision was blurry.

The sound of high heels hitting the ground echoed and Mallory stood before me in a fiery red bodycon dress. Her face was brimming with smugness. "Roxanne, look at yourself now. You really do look like a stray dog."

"It must be painful to lose your daughter, right? I heard her body is still at the crematorium. Hmm, how pitiful."

"Why don't I help you out? How about I throw your daughter's body into the wilderness to feed the dogs? That would be doing a favor for nature, don't you think?"

I gasped, "Mallory, you dare?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm not your real sister."

Mallory sneered.

After getting up from the ground, I immediately took a taxi to the crematorium. Seeing my daughter's body intact, my heart finally settled.

I then handed the cremation consent form to the staff. Standing at the door, I watched as my five-year-old daughter was pushed inside for cremation.

My heart twisted in pain, making it hard to breathe.

I collapsed onto the ground, feeling helpless and defeated, as images of my daughter's innocent and lively face flashed before my eyes.

Since Jordan was always very busy with work, my daughter cherished every moment she spent with him, even going so far as to be cautious.

At that moment, the phone in my pocket rang. It was Jordan calling.

After pressing the answer button, his harsh accusations came through. "Roxanne, look at the daughter you've raised. She's not even old enough, yet she's already learned to skip school?"

"As a mother, can't you even fulfill the most basic responsibilities of a mother? Can't you learn more from Mallory?"

"It would be best if your daughter learned more from Christian and stopped embarrassing me in public."

I thought back to the day my daughter was killed. Her tiny body curled up in my arms, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and her breath faint as she asked me, "Mom, where's Dad?"

"When will Dad come to see me? You … didn't you say that if I got hurt, Dad would come to see me?"

Even as she lay dying, my daughter was still thinking about Jordan.

Seeing that I didn't respond, Jordan erupted in anger. "If you can't raise your daughter properly, let Mallory do it."

"Jordan, our daughter is already dead. What more do you need to believe it?" I moved my lips and couldn't help but ask.

There was no sound from Jordan on the other end of the phone, but instead, Mallory's teasing voice rang out, "Roxanne, you really know how to joke. You even dare to tell such a lie."

"But back when we were at home, she was always like this, always relying on these underhanded little tricks to gain Mom and Dad's attention."

Upon hearing this, Jordan scolded me without hesitation. "Roxanne, I really underestimated you. You're so cunning."

"Let me tell you, if you don't bring our daughter back to school, neither of you will be allowed to return to Yardley."

Before I could finish saying, "I'm at the crematorium right now," the call was ruthlessly hung up.

When I returned home with my daughter's ashes, Jordan was dining with Mallory and Christian at the table.

The three of them were having a pleasant meal, looking like a happy family.

Jordan glared at me as he saw me by myself, still clutching a box. "Didn't I tell you to bring her back with you?"

I remained silent. Jordan wouldn't believe anything I said anyway.

Better to save my words and wait until I am completely out of here.

I turned and went upstairs to find my ID.

The door opened. Mallory folded her arms, a smug smile evident on her face. "Roxanne, watching your own daughter die in front of you must feel so powerless, right?"

"Why did you do this?" I asked calmly.

At the same time, I glanced down at the phone recording I had already activated. Seeing "Recording in progress," I finally felt at ease.

Mallory smiled smugly. "Of course, it's because you got in the way. If you hadn't stolen this marriage from me back then, the current Mrs. Stanton would be me."

Suddenly, I remembered a news report I had seen a few days ago stating that Jordan and Mallory were a couple and their relationship had even progressed to marriage.

Neither of them had denied it.

At the time, I had approached Jordan, but he had impatiently replied, "It's just nonsense from some marketing accounts. Why bother paying attention to it?"

Meanwhile, when we were dating, any media reports about us would disappear within ten minutes.

Even after Jordan married me, he didn't publicly announce our marriage.

He said, "There's no need to make a big deal out of marriage. As long as our close friends know, that's enough."

So in the eyes of the public, Jordan was seen as a golden bachelor. But now, with Mallory by his side, he has become a "married man."

Mallory raised an eyebrow in disdain. "Of course, I can't stand you. Why should I exist just for you?"

"Just because I'm not a biological child of the Storm Family, does that mean I don't deserve a better husband?"

"What you have, I want too. If I can't get what you have, I'll take it by force. If I can't take it, I'll destroy it."

Listening to her near-mad speech, my heart was filled with mixed emotions.

When I was three years old, my parents gave me a little sister. Unfortunately, the baby suffocated and died due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around her neck.

My parents then took me to an orphanage to choose a little girl to be my sister. In the crowded room, I immediately spotted two-year-old Mallory in the corner.

From that moment on, the gears of fate began to turn.

Mallory's eyes flickered.

Thud!

Mallory covered her face and fell to the ground, sobbing. "Roxanne, I know you've never liked me. If you have any complaints, you can come to me. Don't go after Christian, okay?"

"If you don't like us staying here temporarily, I can take my son and leave."

"I just beg you not to target me anymore. You can make me do anything."

"Roxanne, how could you hit someone?" Jordan's angry voice rang out.

Mallory was now cowering in Jordan's arms, covering her reddened face and crying silently.

Jordan frowned in pain, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at me. "Roxanne, apologize immediately!"

"I didn't hit her," I tried to explain.

Mallory interrupted me, sobbing weakly, "Jordan, my sister wants to teach Christian a lesson because he broke her daughter's toy."

"As a mother, I naturally don't want to see my child harmed, so I came to beg my sister."