With that, he hung up the phone without hesitation.

The kidnapper listened to the dial tone and put his phone away.

He shrugged and sneered, "I gave him his chance. President Blackwood is a very busy man, and he still hasn't sent me the money."

"Don't blame me for what happens next."

He beckoned to his lackeys behind him, and one of them, Blondie, stepped forward and roughly snatched Rosie from my arms.

"No!"

I let out a heart-wrenching scream and scrambled on all fours, trying to stop him.

Another lackey kicked me in the chest, sending me crashing hard against the wall before I fell to the floor.

Blood trickled down from my forehead, blurring my vision.

My daughter's cries echoed in my ears.

"I want Daddy! Daddy, come save me!"

"Mommy! Mommy, save me!"

The next second, Rosie's terrified screams and my own cries came to an abrupt halt.

I saw Rosie's small body go limp and crumple to the ground, silent.

I kept shaking my head, my chin trembling, as I slowly pushed myself up and staggered over to my daughter.

I laid my hand on Rosie's face, so full of life just hours ago. The blood from my hand smeared onto her cheek. I tried to wipe it away frantically, but there was only more and more blood.

I picked up my daughter, and finally, I couldn't hold it in any longer, breaking into loud, wailing sobs.

I cried until I was exhausted. When I looked up, I found myself surrounded by a group of people, but they weren't the same kidnappers from before.

Before I could react, they swung the clubs in their hands, striking my legs and arms.

I heard the sound of bones breaking and was in so much pain I was about to lose consciousness.

In the last second before I passed out, I heard their vicious laughter.

"This bitch is weaker than she looks. Serena said to just break her arms and legs, but to leave her alive."

...

I woke up in the hospital.

My whole body ached, as if I had been taken apart and haphazardly pieced back together.

The doctor said my left arm and right leg had comminuted fractures, and that I almost didn't make it.

I stared blankly at the ceiling, a sharp pain twisting in my heart, but I had no more tears to cry.

'Why didn't you just let me die with Rosie?'

A nurse came in and asked me in a low voice, "Is the body of the little girl in the morgue your daughter?"

"The forensic examination is complete. The family can come and identify her."

It felt like another knife had been brutally twisted in my heart.

Just then, Kian Blackwood pushed open the door to my hospital room.

He was holding Snowball in his arms, and Serena Sterling was following behind him, her eyes red and puffy.

When Kian Blackwood saw that I was awake, a smile appeared on his face. He held up the cat for me to see.

There was a hint of relief in his voice. "Snowball's life was in critical danger, but luckily, we saved her."

I remembered the doctor saying I almost didn't make it either.

A cat, a human life...

Heh. So this was my husband.

I stared at the wall with empty eyes, saying nothing.

After so long that Kian Blackwood was growing impatient, I finally spoke, my voice hoarse. Every word felt like a razor scraping my throat.

"Kian Blackwood, the doctor said they issued twenty-five critical condition notices for me. I almost died."

"I barely managed to survive, but Rosie... she's never coming back!"

I practically screamed the last sentence, large tears splashing onto the bedsheets.

Kian Blackwood was taken aback. He then sighed and said, "You know Ragdoll cats are fragile. Of course we had to save Snowball first."

"Besides, you're fine now, aren't you? You recover quickly. It's not like Snowball, who will need months to recuperate."

Then, as if he'd just remembered something, he frowned and asked me.

"What did you say happened to Rosie? Did the kidnappers let her go?"

I looked at the face I had loved for ten years and suddenly found it so unfamiliar.

I opened my mouth, my voice raspy. "Rosie... is dead."

"You killed her!"

My emotions instantly shattered, and I began to scream hysterically.

"It was you who killed her! Kian Blackwood, you're a murderer!"

Kian Blackwood's expression instantly soured.

Serena Sterling hurried over and took his arm, soothing him gently. "Kian, don't be angry. Elara just woke up, she's emotionally unstable."

Kian Blackwood shook her off, pointed in my face, and roared, "Elara Raine, haven't you had enough?! Are you insane?!"

"Serena already contacted the kidnappers. They said they got the money and let her go a long time ago!"

"Where did you take Rosie? What kind of mother are you? You can't even look after your own child!"

I looked at him in disbelief.

He didn't believe that our daughter was dead.

My eyes widened, my lips trembling. "The kidnappers killed her because you didn't pay them right away..."

Kian Blackwood sneered. "Elara Raine, I know you hate me for choosing Snowball, but you can't stoop to telling lies like this just to make me feel guilty!"

"How could Rosie be dead? The kidnappers just wanted money!"

"You must have lost her and you're too scared to admit it, so you're making up this nonsense to fool me!"

"Find Rosie and bring her back, now! And stop being so unreasonable!"

After he spoke, he left without a backward glance, holding the cat and leading Serena by the hand.

I screamed, hurling everything within reach to the floor. The violent motion tore open my fresh stitches, and blood instantly soaked the bedsheets.

I collapsed to the floor in despair, a sharp pain lancing through my chest.

The day I was discharged from the hospital, Kian Blackwood came to pick me up.

He pushed me out of the hospital in a wheelchair.

He didn't mention Rosie again.

Serena Sterling told him I had accepted the "fact" that I had "lost" our daughter, but the shock was so great that I just needed time to recover.

He believed her.

After I got home, I started having nightmares every night, often waking up sobbing.

My dreams were filled with images of Rosie dying before my very eyes.

That night, I was jolted awake by another nightmare and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

The moment I flipped on the light, I saw a cat's corpse by the sink. I went closer and realized it was Serena Sterling's cat, Snowball!

Before I could even react, Serena screamed from behind me.

"Elara, you... you killed Snowball!"

The scream brought Kian Blackwood running. Without asking a single question, he immediately pinned the blame on me.

His face filled with disgust as he berated me, "Elara Raine, how can you be so vicious?! Even if you're heartbroken over Rosie's disappearance, Snowball was innocent!"

"Besides, this was your failure as a mother in the first place! Are you going to make a cat who can't even speak pay for your mistake?!"

With tears in my eyes, I shrieked, "Then did Rosie deserve to suffer all this? Did she deserve to die?!"

Kian Blackwood looked at me, disappointed. "You really have gone mad. Completely insane! I told you, Rosie is just missing! Why do you keep insisting she's dead?!"

I didn't want to argue anymore. I bolted out the door, ignoring Kian's furious shouts behind me.

I ran barefoot all the way to the hospital, until the soles of my feet were a bloody pulp.

But when I reached the door to the morgue, I couldn't take another step. Covering my face, I sank to the ground and sobbed.

Kian Blackwood caught up from behind, yanking me viciously up from the ground and roaring at me.

"Elara Raine, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Are you crazy, running to a creepy place like this in the middle of the night?!"

"I'm not done with you for killing Snowball! Running out here just proves your guilt!"

I stared at Kian Blackwood's twisted face, the rage in my heart finally boiling over. I lunged at him and bit his arm, tearing away a piece of flesh.

The next second, he kicked me with all his might, sending me flying. My head slammed against the wall.

My legs gave out from under me, and I crumpled to the ground. Blood trickled down from my wound.

I looked up to meet Kian Blackwood's bloodshot eyes. He pointed at me. "Elara Raine, are you a dog? You bite people now?!"

I laughed. I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face, laughed until the wound on my chest throbbed with excruciating pain.

I wiped the blood from my face and, with trembling legs, struggled back to my feet. Every movement was like stepping on knives.

But it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

"Didn't you say Rosie was just missing?"

"She's lying in there right now. Do you dare go in with me and see?!"

"Go and see just what your five-year-old daughter suffered because of the choice you made!"