“Luciano! Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Regina snapped. “You think I’m just gonna let this slide? You killed Hector’s baby—and I haven’t even started holding you accountable for that. What, you think I won’t come after you?”

“I already told you, I didn’t even know you were pregnant, let alone hurt anyone,” I said, voice cold and flat. “And I’m tired of saying it. Believe whatever the hell you want.”

She let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Keep telling yourself that. It won’t change anything. Truth is, you were never fit to be Claudia’s father anyway. Maybe it’s time I let Hector take over, let him be her dad.”

I didn’t respond. I just turned and headed upstairs. But Regina grabbed my arm, her tone shifting.

“Fine, if you won’t let Hector raise Claudia, then I’ll give him another baby. But you’d better not get jealous — if he’s staying, you need to accept that.”

“Do whatever you want,” I said flatly.

A flicker of uncertainty passed through her eyes before she sneered again.

“If you’re really that understanding, then clear out the master bedroom. Hector and I will need it — you know, for the baby-making. And while you're at it, grab us some wipes and rip open some more of those damn Smurfs.”

“Oh, and Hector got a little too excited earlier — tore one of my limited-edition lingerie pieces. Be a dear and stitch it up for me.”

She hurled a piece of damp and torn fabric at me, with a crushed Smurf doll. The edge of the foil packaging sliced across my cheek, leaving a shallow but bleeding cut.

Disgusted, I shook the lingerie off my shoulder and hurled the toy straight at them.

“You done now? Or do I get to leave?”

Regina blinked, unsure for the first time. Meanwhile, Hector still sprawled half-naked beside her. He just smirked and picked up right where they’d left off.

I didn’t care. I turned away from their sick little scene and headed upstairs without another word.

In my room, I carefully folded Claudia’s tiny clothes and laid them in her suitcase. Then I pulled out the photo album, the one I had made just for her.

Page after page, her bright little face smiled back at me like she was still here, full of life. Then, the heavy unstoppable tears came.

Just a day ago, my daughter was still talking to me.

“Daddy, don’t be sad,” she had said. “Mom’s just really busy with work, that’s why she can’t be with us.”

“Mom works so hard… so this year, I won’t wish for her to come to the amusement park with me. I’ll wish for her to finally get a day to rest.”

I sobbed into the tiny shirt that still carried her scent. Claudia was so thoughtful, always trying to understand her mother. Yet, her mother chose to send her to her death on her birthday of all days.

After packing up all of Claudia’s things, I called my lawyer and made arrangements to leave.

As I came downstairs, I stopped short at the sight in the kitchen, two barely-dressed bodies tangled together against the counter. Hector’s exposed chest was covered in red marks, as if proudly showing off their night.

“Mr. Andino,” he said with fake concern, “Gina only did this to make up for the pain you caused me. Don’t blame her. And maybe stop filling a kid’s head with your bitterness. What if she grows up to be just like you?”

Then, with an exaggerated sigh, he added, “I heard today’s Claudia’s birthday? What a shame. It also happens to be the 5,200th day since Gina and I first met. She swore she’d celebrate every one of our milestones in style. Guess that’s why she ditched you two.”

He smiled, full of smug pride despite his supposed apology. “Anyway, I baked a mango cake for you both, a peace offering. I hope you’ll accept it.”

I didn’t have the energy to respond to his acts. I just wanted to bury my daughter and be done with this nightmare.

As I silently left, Regina misunderstood. She thought I was giving Hector the cold shoulder.

“Where the hell are you going?” she snapped.

Then she ordered one of the bodyguards to grab me. The man shoved me forward, slamming me face-first onto the kitchen counter.

“Did your manners rot along with your pride, Luciano?” Regina sneered. “Hector is being kind enough not to hold a grudge against you or your brat and you stand there acting like you’re too good for us?”

“Where’s Claudia?” Regina snapped. “Where are you hiding her? Bring her back so she can finish this cake and apologize to Hector!”

“Claudia’s dead,” I said through clenched teeth, fighting the burning pain in my chest. “If you want someone to eat that cake, let it be Hector—in hell!”

“You’re disgusting!” she shouted, eyes blazing. “Jealousy has made you so twisted, you’d curse your own daughter just to get back at me?”

Her fury boiled over. “Don’t think I don’t know what you did back then. After my accident, it was Hector who stayed by my side, he told me everything! I gave birth while I was still unconscious and you killed our child. You forced Hector out of the country, stole the company shares, did everything in your power to erase him!”

She was trembling with rage now. “I kept quiet all these years out of gratitude — for you sticking around, for raising a family with me. But you weren’t satisfied. You kept bullying Hector and now you're cursing my daughter.”

At her signal, the bodyguard twisted my arms behind my back and pinned me to the counter. Regina grabbed a handful of greasy mango cake and started shoving it into my mouth.

The scent hit me first, mango. I began choking almost immediately, my throat tightening, lungs gasping for air.

“Let me go!” I wheezed. “Regina… you know I’m allergic to mango—”

She paused for a second, but turned ruthless the next second.

“Oh, please. After everything you’ve done to Hector, you think this is some kind of tragedy? It’s just an allergy. You’re not going to die. Stop being so dramatic. You're a grown man. Now finish the damn cake and apologize.”

My throat swelled faster than I could speak. My eyes burned and puffed shut. Breathing felt like sucking air through a straw. Darkness started creeping in from the edges of my vision.

Then I stopped struggling. The moment my hands went limp, Regina froze. Panic flickered across her face.

“Where’s his allergy meds? The ones he keeps in the house! Find them! Now!”

Someone must’ve found them, because minutes later I was swallowing the bitter pills and little by little, air trickled back into my lungs. My vision blurred, my face burning, but I could breathe.

I opened my swollen, bloodshot eyes.

Regina let out a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. “Alright,” she said, her voice uneven. “You and Hector are even now. But I want your word—swear to me that from now on, you’ll never hurt Hector or his child ever again.”

“Hector’s a rising star in the business world now. He’s got real potential.” She smirked. “You, on the other hand, get to lounge around playing house all day. So do the decent thing—promise you’ll help him raise his kid. Treat the child like your own.”

She looked pleased with herself, already spinning fantasies in her head. “I’ll make time to visit you and Claudia once or twice a week. That should be enough.”

I said nothing. Her smile faltered.

“What are you even angry about?” she snapped. “If you hadn’t meddled all those years ago, our baby wouldn’t have died. Hector wouldn’t have been forced to leave the country. And I wouldn’t have had to give up everything just to marry you for the company shares. Don’t you get it? By now, our child would be the same age as Claudia.”

Her voice rose, “Everything you and Claudia have, it was all stolen from Hector! So what right do you have to be upset?”

I couldn’t take another word. I cut her off, my voice hoarse with rage. “Don’t you dare talk about my daughter again. I’m done. I’ve already sent you the divorce papers. You can go back to Hector.”

She laughed, “Fine. But don’t think I won’t fight for custody. I’ll hire the best lawyers money can buy. You think a deadbeat like you stands a chance?”

Then her tone turned mocking. “Unless you want to lose Claudia too, you’d better get on your knees and apologize right now.”

That was it. I pulled out the document I’d been holding and threw it at her.

“You want to talk about Claudia? She's dead! Read this!”

Regina picked it up, confused, then froze. It was Claudia’s death certificate. Her name—“Claudia Andino”—stared back in stark black ink on white paper.

Regina staggered back like she’d been physically struck. “No... That’s not possible…”

Before I could speak, Hector suddenly chimed in, glancing at his phone. “Wait, that’s weird. Claudia’s nanny just texted me—she says Claudia’s been crying nonstop, looking for you.”

“My assistant said you went to the hospital this morning,” Regina snapped. “Don’t tell me you went there to get someone to fake a death certificate.”

Before I could answer, her palm struck my face—hard. The force sent me tumbling down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.

Above me, her voice thundered in fury.

“Luciano! Just because you’re jealous of Hector, you went so far to wish your own daughter's death? You actually bribed a hospital to forge a death certificate?”

“You don’t deserve to be a father,” she spat. “Even a wild animal doesn’t turn on its own child. You’re worse than a beast.”

I pushed myself up, pain searing through my body. “You’re an absolute idiot, Regina,” I muttered through clenched teeth.

I reached out to grab the photo album on the floor, but her high heel came down on my hand before I could.

“Get lost!” she screamed. “You filthy piece of trash! You'd use a child to manipulate me! Don’t even think about stepping foot in the Seco estate again. Everything that belongs to our family—our child, our home—you’re not taking any of it!”

Under her orders, the bodyguards smashed Claudia’s and my luggage, tossing the pieces into the trash bins outside. The photo album Claudia and I had lovingly made together was torn to shreds and thrown out like garbage.

Eyes red, I knelt down, trying to gather the scattered fragments of the last memories I had of my daughter. But the more I tried, the more they slipped through my fingers.

Then, Hector opened a nearby window. A gust of wind swept through, catching the torn photos and sending them fluttering into the air like confetti.

“Oh no,” he said mockingly. “I just thought the whole house was starting to smell like vomit after Mr. Andino’s little meltdown. Thought I’d let in some fresh air.”

“Forget him,” Regina said coldly. “He doesn’t care about his own daughter’s life—this is all just another act to get sympathy from me.”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“Regina,” I said quietly, “Remember what you did today, to me and to our daughter. One day, you’ll pay for it.”

I stumbled out and made my way back to the funeral home. One of the staff members, a kind-faced woman, handed me a small pink jewelry box shaped like a kitten.

“I heard your daughter’s birthday wish was to go to that pink kitty theme park,” she said gently. “So I found this for her. I thought… maybe it’d help her leave this world a little happier.”

My chest tightened as I held the tiny pink box in my arms, tears spilling down my face uncontrollably. A complete stranger had gone out of their way to honor my daughter’s final wish—something even her own mother couldn’t be bothered to do.

“Thank you,” I said, voice trembling. “From Claudia… and from me.” I bowed deeply, from the bottom of my heart.

After arranging the funeral, I went straight to my lawyer. I handed over the video from the day at the amusement park, along with a signed divorce agreement.

“She doesn’t deserve to be Claudia’s mother,” I said firmly. “I want the world to know what she did.”

Swallowing my grief, I used the last of my savings to have a suit custom-made—one last gift of dignity, a way to properly say goodbye to my daughter.

While I was preparing for the funeral, Regina showed up at my apartment. The moment I opened the door, one of her bodyguards drove a boot straight into my chest, knocking the air out of me.

“You think I’ve been too patient with you?” she snapped. “You think you can just keep stirring up drama with Hector and I’ll let it slide?”

“I had a custom suit planned for Hector’s birthday,” she continued. “And you—you went behind our backs and blacklisted him from every designer in the city. What, you wanted to humiliate him in public?”

I realized right away what had happened—an old friend in the design world must’ve done it in solidarity with me. It wasn’t my doing, but I didn’t deny it either.

Wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth, I stared her down. “So what if I did? You two killed my daughter. And you think you still get to celebrate like nothing happened?”

That seemed to set her off. She kicked me again, the pointed heel of her shoe jabbing into my ribs.

“When are you going to stop with this obsession?” she shouted. “You keep dragging Claudia into this, like you’re trying to curse your own daughter!”