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."

The air hung thick with tension, heavy and unmoving.

A beat later, Aidan Mason seared Hailey Carpenter with his glare, then let out a biting laugh. "Seriously, Hailey? You'd cook up any excuse not to save Lauren, wouldn't you?"

Hailey tipped her head just a fraction, face blank. "But Journi... she's really gone."

"Enough!"

Aidan's voice was pure venom. He grabbed Hailey by the throat, pinning her to the wall. "You think hiding Journi is gonna stop Lauren's baby from coming? Let me tell you something, Hailey—I will tear this whole damn world apart to find her."

Even crushed against the wall, Hailey let a low chuckle slip out. "Go ahead. Try it."

The fury in Aidan's eyes flared, then snagged on the ratty stuffed animal clutched tight in Hailey's hands.

Aidan's brow creased. He couldn't piece together where that beat-up toy had come from, only that Journi treasured it, never letting the damn thing out of her sight. He sneered and snatched it away.

Hailey's pupils shrank, her icy calm splintering. "Give it back!"

Aidan let out a cold, ugly laugh. "Give it back? Didn't you just say Journi was gone? What's the point of this piece of trash?"

He lobbed the stuffed animal toward the fireplace.

"No—!"

In a blur, Hailey tore free and hurled herself at the flames, not even flinching at the scorching heat. She clung to the singed corner of the toy, ignoring the searing pain.

Aidan watched her, suddenly, eerily calm. "Hailey, wherever you're hiding the kid, you'll have to feed her sooner or later. Since you won't give her up, you can both rot and starve, for all I care."

He wheeled toward the door and barked, "Lock her in the basement. Nobody lets her out without my say-so."

Silas Rice and his goons marched in, dragging Hailey away.

In the pitch-dark basement, Hailey stared at her festering wounds, doing the mental math on the time she had left. In half an hour, it would be time for Journi's goodbye. No way in hell was she just gonna sit there.

Gritting her teeth, she hauled herself up, grabbed a wooden stick, and smashed the ventilation window. She bit back a scream as she crawled through the jagged glass and slipped out.

She scooped up Journi's urn, her movements aching with care, and stumbled toward the cemetery.

With no money for a real plot, she'd found a tiny, tucked-away spot for her little girl.

Kneeling by the makeshift grave, Hailey laid the urn gently on the ground. "Journi, I'm gonna take a pinch of your ashes, tuck them inside your stuffed toy, and then take you to see the ocean, okay?"

Her words were cut off by footsteps crunching up behind her.

"Knew you wouldn't stay put."

Aidan strode up, his shadow swallowing Hailey whole. A mocking grin twisted his face. "You seriously thought you could pull a fast one? I left the attic window unlocked on purpose."

He glanced around, dripping with scorn. "So this is where you've stashed Journi? You really know how to pick a spot, Hailey."

"Aidan, Journi died three days ago." Hailey's voice scraped out so faint it was almost lost in Aidan's nasty laughter.

"Nice act. You've even got props and everything."

Kneeling, Aidan hoisted the urn, bouncing it in his hand. "If Journi was really dead, you'd be raising holy hell, not staying silent."

Agony twisted through Hailey as she watched Aidan toy with the urn, like her heart was caught in a vise, breath crushed right out of her.

"Give it back."

"Give it back?"

His grin died, swallowed by simmering rage. "I'm done playing your games, Hailey. I'll ask one more time—where the hell is Journi?"

Suddenly, he flung the urn over his shoulder, careless as throwing away trash.

"No—!"

Hailey launched forward, but Aidan held her back. For a moment, the world crawled.

She watched the gray ashes spill into the air, the urn smashing against the ground and spraying across the dirt. A bitter gust of wind followed, scooping up the ashes and scattering them until nothing, absolutely nothing, was left.

"Journi—!"