Every time Aidan Mason jetted off on a vacation with his lover, he'd drop Hailey Carpenter a pin.

He promised if she could track him down, he’d come back to her.

For three years, Hailey crossed oceans, hiked through the Alps—never once finding him. That was, until the ninety-ninth message. Aidan’s location showed him barely a hundred yards away. But this time, Hailey didn’t move a muscle.

Nobody knew how long she'd been frozen in place. The silence only cracked when the door swung open. Aidan leaned against the doorframe, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as he watched Hailey curled up on the couch.

“Those other locations? All a game,” Aidan said, his tone way too casual. “I tossed my phone onto random planes just to screw with you. But this time, I sent my actual location, and you didn’t show.”

“Don’t you wanna know where I’ve been all along? Downstairs. And I wasn’t alone—Lauren Bell was with me.”

Hailey’s lashes flickered at Lauren’s name. Lauren—her so-called close friend from boarding school. Even after the Carpenters adopted Hailey, she’d brought Lauren with her, introducing her as a sister.

The room fell dead silent, but Aidan just shrugged. He couldn’t have cared less. “You know I’ve always craved a mother’s touch. The way she doted on you? I couldn’t resist. So on our wedding night, I was with her.”

He nodded at the spot right under Hailey, adding, “Right there,” fully expecting a reaction.

Instead, Hailey just gave a small nod. “I see.”

Outside, the shadows of swaying trees hid her expression. Aidan paused, thrown off, then pressed on. “Lauren’s expecting. I’m transferring half of Journi’s inheritance to her baby.”

At the mention of their daughter’s name, a tremor ran through Hailey—so slight, but Aidan caught it. His brows pulled together, guard up. “It’s the law. Even if you fight it—”

“No need.”

Hailey’s voice sliced through, ice-cold. No need to fight—because their little girl was already gone.

Three days earlier, Aidan had sent a location. But Journi saw it. Desperate to see her daddy after two long weeks, the child grabbed Hailey’s phone and bolted outside—right into the path of a speeding car.

By the time Hailey got there, her daughter was barely clinging to life. As she fumbled for 911, she spotted Aidan in the distance with Lauren, casually lobbing his phone into a garbage truck. Seconds later, Journi’s tiny fingers closed around the phone as it lit up with a message: “Same rules—find me, and I’ll come home. You’ve got ten minutes.”

Hailey felt every drop of blood in her veins freeze. Slowly, she lifted her head. There was Lauren, playfully nudging Aidan, her voice all tease. “Why do you keep messing with Hailey like that? What if she catches on?”

Aidan laughed, tilting Lauren’s chin up. “Wanna bet? Even if she traced me to the dump, she’d dig through every pile of trash.”

“If you lose, you’re wearing that little number I got you tonight, deal?”

“Cut it out. We have to be careful because of the baby…”

The two of them laughed, carefree, barely a stone’s throw away. Meanwhile, in Hailey’s arms, her daughter fought for every breath, whispering, “Mommy, am I sick? If I’m sick, will Daddy come see me?”

Tears streamed down Hailey’s face as she looked at her little girl. How was she supposed to explain that Daddy didn’t love Mommy, and he didn’t love her either?

But Journi never lived long enough to see the ambulance—never waited for Aidan. She drew her last breath right there in Hailey’s arms.

Now, Hailey ignored the confused man across from her, silently stitching up the tear in the stuffed toy she held. It was the cheap cartoon plushie Aidan had grabbed from a street vendor for Journi’s birthday, almost like an afterthought. The fabric was so flimsy it ripped, and Journi had patched it with stickers. Yet while her father’s mind was elsewhere, all he cared about was securing a future for Lauren’s unborn child.

Once Hailey tied off the final thread, Aidan’s irritation boiled over at her weird silence. “And another thing—Lauren moves in this afternoon. She hates dull colors, so make the rooms more lively.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, adding, “If Lauren’s happy, I’ll show up for Journi’s parent-teacher thing. For our daughter’s sake, just suck it up a little.”

With that, Aidan turned on his heel and left.

Behind him, Hailey’s lashes lifted, her gaze landing on the urn sitting right there in the center of the living room. A bitter smile ghosted across her lips. She pulled a document from beneath the urn.

Two days ago, she’d slipped it into the company files for Aidan to sign. Distracted by Lauren, he’d scribbled his signature without even glancing at it.

Hailey folded the divorce papers and tucked them into the toy’s little pocket.

Journi had always wanted to see the ocean, but they never got the chance.

In seven days, once the divorce was final, Hailey would take her daughter to the sea—far away—and never come back.

Hailey Carpenter rose to her feet, clutching the small urn that held her daughter's ashes. As she nudged open the bedroom door, the sight hit her like a physical blow.

The room had been decked out like a bridal suite—a bed dressed in loud, floral sheets and a quilt, even the pillows trimmed with lace embroidery. Her daughter had been gone less than a week, and Aidan Mason was already sprucing up the room to welcome Lauren Bell with open arms?

Hailey ripped down those gaudy floral decorations, her jaw tight, hands trembling as she replaced them with soft, ivory-toned bedding.

Right then, the doorbell rang.

Her father stepped inside, arms loaded with bags of vitamins. The moment his eyes landed on the room's setup, his face clouded over with disapproval. “This is ridiculous! What in the world is going on in this house?”

Behind him, Hailey's mother gasped, looking shell-shocked.

“Hailey Carpenter! Have you lost your mind? Lauren's about to move in—who exactly are you trying to spook?!”

Hailey stared at her mother in disbelief, watching her frantically try to yank down the ivory fabric. She could barely process the words coming out of her mother's mouth.

“The Carpenter family only got this far because of the Masons' backing. Now that Aidan's crazy about Lauren, you're about to wreck everything...”

“Mom,” Hailey cut her off, her voice shaking as she watched her mother rush around like a headless chicken.

“You knew all along, didn’t you?”

The room went dead silent for a beat.

Her father let out an icy snort and planted himself on the couch, looking at Hailey like she was an inconvenience. “So what if we did? A man like Aidan, with his background? It's normal for him to have other women. Better we keep the perks in-house than let some outsider snatch them up.”

“Besides, Lauren used to be so sweet to you. Can’t you let this slide? After all, her kid might end up calling you ‘Auntie’ someday.”

Hailey’s mother chimed in, “Yes, your father and I plan to make Lauren legally part of the family soon. She’ll be your sister from now on.”

Hailey gazed at her parents in silence, the whole situation feeling like a bad joke. When she’d first reunited with them, they’d treated her like a queen, bragging to everyone about their long-lost treasure, especially after learning she’d once saved Aidan’s life.

Back then, they’d loathed Lauren, scheming to ship her off the first chance they got. But the more often Aidan visited, the warmer her mother became towards Lauren—and the colder she grew towards Hailey.

Maybe they’d sensed Aidan’s preference for Lauren from the get-go.

Once, she’d been their lost child come home; now, she was just a piece they were willing to toss aside.

Hailey lifted her head, looking at her birth parents—who now felt like total strangers—and let out a bitter laugh. “What if I told you I’m filing for divorce?”

A mocking laugh drifted in from the doorway the next instant.

Aidan leaned bonelessly against the doorframe, a smirk playing on his lips. He straightened up and swaggered over to Hailey. “Divorce?”

He bent down, casually tucking a stray strand of Hailey’s hair behind her ear, his mouth smiling but his eyes ice-cold. “Journi was so attached to me. If she knew you wanted a divorce, she would’ve hated your guts.”

“How okay are you with people calling Journi a fatherless kid behind her back?”

Hailey’s head snapped up, her stomach twisting into knots.

In the past, whenever she tried to put an end to their humiliating arrangement, Aidan would jerk her around using their daughter—threats or false promises, the same dirty playbook every time.

“Let’s play nice one last time. If you do, I’ll take Journi to the amusement park. She’d love that, wouldn’t she?”

“Journi hasn't seen me in a while; come with us, yeah?”

“Hailey Carpenter, you wouldn’t want me to tell Journi her daddy isn’t around because her mommy doesn’t know how to behave, now would you?”

He wielded their beloved daughter like a weapon, stabbing her in the heart over and over. But now, with her daughter gone, her resolve was only stronger.

“Aidan Mason, I said, we’re getting a divorce.”

With a crash, the room went dead silent.

Lauren Bell stood in the doorway, her eyes red and brimming with tears, a broken bowl of ravioli scattered across the floor. "Hailey, I'm so sorry... it's all my fault."

Aidan Mason crossed the space in two strides, pulling Lauren protectively into his arms. His gaze landed on Hailey Carpenter, cold and unyielding. "Is this what you wanted?"

The room was jam-packed with eyes—accusing, resentful, furious—all turned toward Hailey. Yet she stood perfectly still, her expression unreadable as she stared at the woman weeping in Aidan's arms.

If a single word could sum up her relationship with Lauren Bell, it was "entangled."

During those endless, homeless nights and days, Lauren had given her the last dinner roll, mended her torn clothes, and shielded her from foster parents with hidden agendas.

But after her daughter's tragic accident, a chance meeting with their old orphanage director shattered everything. From the director, Hailey learned the bread had been laced with rat poison, the clothes stitched with needles hidden in the seams, and that wealthy couple... they'd genuinely wanted to adopt her.

A bitter smile ghosted across Hailey's lips.

This whole time, she'd been chasing a phantom.

Lauren lifted her head from Aidan's shoulder, determination glittering through the tears streaming down her face. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't even be here. I've ruined Hailey's family... I'd be better off dead."

Before anyone could blink, she wrenched free of Aidan's embrace, snatched a kitchen knife from the coffee table, and aimed it straight at her own stomach.

"No!"

Aidan's pupils flared, and he lunged.

In a split second, the blade slashed through Aidan's palm and buried itself half an inch into Hailey's abdomen.

Blood spattered across Hailey's eyelids, making her lashes flutter like wounded butterflies.

Undeterred, Aidan gathered Lauren back into his arms. "Lauren! Are you okay? Somebody, call an ambulance! We need a hospital—now!"

He charged toward the door, then froze.

Aidan's eyes locked onto Hailey's, a chilling threat coiled in every syllable. "Hailey Carpenter, if anything happens to Lauren or the baby she's carrying, you will pay for it."

Hailey's parents, ghost-white with shock, trailed after Aidan toward the hospital.

The door slammed shut.

In the suffocating silence of the room, Hailey slowly wiped her eyelids, stared at the blood staining her fingers, and let out a hollow, broken laugh.

Three years ago, when she first met Aidan, a rabid dog had attacked her—viciously.

That night, the surgical light blazed bright for ten hours before Hailey came through it.

Aidan had been there the whole time. One pull, that's all it would've taken to save her.

She'd felt so wronged, and once, she'd asked him about it.

But there in the hospital room, Aidan—hands stuffed in his pockets—barely glanced up. "Sorry, these hands are reserved for signing billion-dollar deals; I can't put them at risk."

Back then, she'd figured Aidan just carried such heavy responsibilities—for Amazon, for his family—so she'd tried to be understanding.

But it was pointless.

Because it was her who got hurt, it was considered unnecessary.

Hailey crumpled slowly, curling up in a corner as if trying to disappear.

Time seemed to hang suspended—until a sudden bang shattered it.

Aidan, hands bandaged, burst through the door, his face pale and wild with urgency. "Hailey Carpenter! Come to the hospital with Journi! We need a blood donor—Lauren's baby is in danger. Journi's blood type matches!"

Hailey looked up, her lashes trembling ever so slightly. "But..."

"No excuses," Aidan cut her off, his voice a blade. "Hailey Carpenter, I'm not asking."

A quiet, chilling laugh filled the room.

"But Aidan Mason... Journi? She's gone."