At that moment, my wife, Sienna, was still leaning lazily against the door, casually waving at Walter as he walked away. Only after his footsteps faded near the elevator did she slowly close the door.

I stood there, breath caught in my throat, as I really wanted to ask her why she did this to me.

But just as I was about to speak, my phone rang, sharp and urgent.

"Hello? Is this Chloe’s father? I haven’t been able to reach her mother. When are you coming to pick her up from school? Isn’t it irresponsible to leave her alone every time? Honestly, how many times has this happened just this week? Look at the time. Do you know how late it is? All the other children have gone home already."

Hearing my daughter’s name, my heart sank. I instinctively turned to look at Sienna, who stood not far from me.

She was still wearing that light blue nightgown, barely reaching mid-thigh. The neckline dipped low, deliberately showing off her cleavage.

"Why didn’t you go pick up Chloe?"

After hearing what I said, she turned to me slowly, her face void of remorse or even mild concern. Her voice was cold, detached.

"You knew Walter was here to fix the pipes. Besides, Chloe is big enough. What’s wrong with waiting a little longer at kindergarten? Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Her tone was sharp and impatient as if Chloe was not her daughter but just a nuisance she had to occasionally tolerate.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to rein in the boiling anger in my chest. Then I spoke softly into the phone, "I’m so sorry. We’ll come pick her up immediately. Please stay with her a little longer."

As I hung up, my hands trembled from rage.

I could not believe this. Sienna had gone too far.

She had chosen her affair over her own daughter.

And judging by the teacher’s frustration, this was clearly not the first time.

That thought alone made my head buzz with fury.

Back then, to ensure she could stay home and take care of our child without worry, I handed over my entire salary every month without fail. She was in charge of all the household finances and I never questioned it.

Yet in the end, while I was out working tirelessly to support our family, she was betraying me at home.

It would have been bad enough to be cheated on, but what I could not accept was that she did not even care about her own daughter.

The thought made my blood boil and I slammed my fist against the steering wheel in frustration.

Worried about Chloe, I quickly backed the car out of the parking space and sped off toward the school.

On the way, I called a lawyer friend and asked him to prepare a divorce agreement.

As for Sienna Fallon, I was completely done with her.

She was selfish, irresponsible and utterly unfit to be a wife or a mother. After picking up my daughter, I would go home and confront her face-to-face.

Before long, I arrived at the kindergarten. The place was nearly empty.

Aside from a few teachers lingering around, only Chloe remained, sitting quietly by the front door, gazing out as if hoping I would appear.

She had clearly been waiting for me.

Seeing her like that broke my heart even more. I rushed forward and scooped her into my arms.

"Chloe, I’m so sorry. Daddy’s late."

She looked up at me with wide eyes and a hint of disappointment. "Dad, did I do something wrong? Why is Mommy always the last one to pick me up? Today… all the other kids went home and I was the only one left again."

Her words felt like a dagger to my chest.

Sienna Fallon… she deserved death for this!

"Chloe, dear, you didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe Mommy was just busy with something, but it’s okay now. From today on, Daddy will come pick you up. How does that sound?"

Chloe wrapped her little arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek.

"Okay, Daddy. I love you the most!"

Then she rested her head on my chest, her small face filled with grievance. "Mom has been bringing a bad uncle home lately to play games and that bad uncle… he kisses me. I hate him!"

My heart skipped a beat. I tried to steady my voice as I asked, "What did Mommy say about that?"

She thought for a moment, then replied, "Mom said that the bad uncle kissed me because he liked me."

Her childish voice was innocent, but every word she said made my scalp tingle and my blood run cold.

Chloe was only four. What did she even understand about this? And that bastard, how dare he!

And Sienna… how could she allow something like this to happen under her own roof? That was her own daughter! Was she still worthy of being called a mother?

While I was still frozen in shock, Chloe went on, "Every time that bad uncle comes over, he takes my toys. If I don’t give them to him, he hits me."

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing bruises scattered across her delicate little arm.

Gosh, she was just a child. A child. And that monster dared to lay a hand on her?

"And he’s so mean. He said he wanted to sell me. I was really scared."

Her words jolted me back to reality. I looked down at her and saw the fear etched all over her tiny face.

It felt like someone had grabbed my heart in a vice and it hurt so much I could barely breathe.

After a long pause, I finally asked, "Chloe, does Mommy have any other secrets you know about?"

She hesitated, falling silent for a while. Then, with clear disappointment in her eyes, she slowly climbed down from my arms, lowered her head and avoided my gaze.

The look on her face made my heart lurch. Something was definitely wrong.

"Chloe, tell Daddy. What’s been going on with Mommy?"

The moment I asked, Chloe’s eyes turned red, tears welling up.

"Mommy locked me in the room so she could play games with the bad uncle. Even when it was dinnertime, she didn't let me out. I was so hungry."

The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt. Finally, she could not hold it in anymore, so she threw herself into my arms and broke down in tears.

Seeing her like this shattered my heart. The pain was unbearable that I wanted to tear Sienna and that scumbag apart right then and there.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. Then I gently asked, "Then how about Daddy take Chloe to have a yummy kids' meal today?"

Cradling her in my arms, I walked quickly toward the parking lot, a decision forming in my mind.

I was not letting either of those two off the hook.

I used to think Sienna was taking good care of our home and Chloe.

However, I never imagined she had completely neglected our daughter all this time.

Chloe went to school on her own all this time. She came home, took her own baths and washed her own clothes.

Meanwhile, Sienna spent her days with that man named Mr. Wade, not even bothering to cook, forcing Chloe to survive on takeout.

How old was Chloe again?

She was just four.

How could she, as a mother, be so heartless and cruel as to treat Chloe like this?

I could not begin to imagine the kind of life Chloe had been living while I was not watching.

My hands were trembling with rage as I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone.

That bastard Walter was speaking in the group chat.

MrWadeNeighbor said, [Just got back home. You guys won’t believe it. Her husband came back right after we finished doing it. Phew! Scared the hell out of me.]

WaterDrip replied, [He didn’t beat you up?]

MrWadeNeighbor answered, [Hahaha, I can’t stop laughing. I told him I was there to fix the water pipe and that idiot actually believed it.]

SlickRick joined in, [Mr. Wade, you’re a legend. Where does she live? I’ll go ask her husband to "fix the water pipe" tomorrow, too.]

MrWadeNeighbor shamelessly replied again, [Hahaha, no problem. Just wait until I get tired of her first!]

As Walter continued to shamelessly brag, the group chat exploded with excitement.

FamilyManLOL asked, [Damn, I thought you were joking. You actually went through with it?]

SilverliningGuy seemed to be curious. [@MrWadeNeighbor, Mr. Wade, come on, tell us! How does it feel?]

MrWadeNeighbor gave some tips. [I just gave him two packs of cigarettes and scored a long-term free parking spot, but I slept with his wife 22 times and she even bought me a Mercedes-Benz. I'm living the dream!]

What the hell? Not only was she cheating, but she even used my money to buy that scumbag a luxury car? Unbelievable!

The chat kept refreshing at lightning speed. Crude jokes and filthy comments started flooding the screen.

Within seconds, it had already hit 99+ unread messages.

My fingers trembled as I scrolled through the chat history, trying to piece together every detail of Sienna’s betrayal.

[Damn, Mr. Wade, you’re the man!]

[That woman’s wild in bed. In fact, she is better than any bar girl I’ve ever met.]

[You’re lucky to be getting someone that hot!]

[Next time, let her try having fun with us too.]

***

Reading through the chat, my vision blurred.

All these years, I treated Sienna like a queen.

I spoiled her, loved her deeply, did everything I could to make her happy as I terrified she might ever feel wronged.

But in the end, this was her true self.

I swallowed the disgust in my throat and kept reading, quietly lurking in the group. That was when I stumbled upon a crucial piece of information.

Next Tuesday, February 14th, Walter and Sienna were planning something even more outrageous.

Seeing this, I let out a cold laugh.

Fine, then I would give this shameless couple a little surprise on Valentine's Day.