The woman who had arrived was none other than Monica Mason, and beside her stood a seven-year-old girl.

That had to be the daughter Monica had mentioned—the one Thaddeus brought up in his study that day. Lily Acevedo.

Thaddeus had done an impeccable job of covering up the accident that had injured me and Marilyn. Not a single word had ever leaked.

Hearing what Monica said, the wives in attendance exchanged bewildered glances, none of them sure how to respond.

I let a faint smile curl the corner of my lips and lifted a glass of red wine from a passing waiter's tray.

"Miss Mason, you certainly have your ear to the ground. As far as I recall, we never shared any of that publicly."

Monica flicked her hair with a self-satisfied toss, her gaze fixed on me, brimming with the certainty that she'd already won.

"Don't you want to know where your heart and your daughter's kidney ended up?"

Before she could finish, I hurled the wine straight into her face.

The crimson liquid dripped down her hair in thin rivulets, leaving her a sputtering mess. She opened her mouth to unleash a tirade, but before she could get a word out, Lily shoved Marilyn hard to the ground.

"You two mean women! Don't you dare bully my mommy!"

The instant Marilyn hit the floor, the urine bag hidden beneath her skirt burst open, and the foul-smelling liquid spilled across the tiles.

Marilyn's face crumpled in panic. She grabbed fistfuls of her skirt, desperately trying to cover the mess spreading around her.

She was still so young. Ever since losing one of her kidneys, she'd had trouble controlling her bladder. Whenever we went out, she wore a collection bag to avoid exactly this kind of humiliation.

Monica let out a sharp, delighted laugh at the sight.

"Why would you even bring her out in public like this? How embarrassing."

"If I were you, I'd stay home with the kid where you belong. Spare yourself the disgrace. The floor reeks now. At such a lovely banquet, no less—"

She didn't get to finish. My palm cracked across her cheek.

But before I could say a single word, a brutal force slammed into me from behind. I lost my balance and pitched forward, landing face-first in the puddle of urine on the floor.

"Alberta! What the hell are you doing?!"

The moment Thaddeus appeared, Monica transformed entirely.

"Thaddeus, Marilyn fell down. We were just trying to help her up."

"Lily was curious about what Marilyn's bag was and asked one little question, and Alberta just lost it—threw wine in my face and slapped me out of nowhere."

Seeing me on the ground, Marilyn crawled to my side, sobbing, frantically wiping at the filth on my clothes with her tiny hands.

"Mommy, Mommy, let's go home. Let's go home."

Her crying shattered something inside me. I was done holding back. I lifted my head and glared at Monica.

"Monica Mason, everyone here saw what happened. What you just said to us—"

But before I could finish, Monica clutched her chest and collapsed into Thaddeus's arms.

"Thaddeus, my chest hurts so much. Is something wrong with my heart? I'm so scared."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Thaddeus's eyes. Beside him, Lily tugged at his sleeve.

"Mr. Abbott, please check on my mommy. She's about to faint."

Thaddeus pressed his lips into a hard line. He handed Lily off to Nathan, then swept Monica up in his arms and strode toward the door without looking back.

As he passed me and Marilyn, his brow creased with undisguised disgust.

"Go to the restroom and clean yourselves up. Look at the two of you—you're a mess!"

I watched them disappear through the doorway, and a cold so deep it ached settled into the pit of my stomach.

I gathered Marilyn in my arms and hurried to the underground parking garage, ready to drive home. But there, in the dim light, Thaddeus's Maybach sat with its headlights glowing.

The rear passenger door hung open, and a bare, porcelain-pale foot dangled out from inside.

The parking garage was quiet, which made the man's and the woman's voices carry with painful clarity.

I pressed my hands over Marilyn's eyes, terrified she might see something no child should witness.

The woman's voice was syrupy, dripping with a breathy softness that could melt bone.

"Alberta has every right to resent me. After all, if it weren't for me, she and Marilyn wouldn't have had to go through any of this."

The man's voice was rough, thick with the kind of rasp that only came from one thing.

"Don't say that. The decision was mine. If she has a problem, she can take it up with me."

"Besides, medical technology is advancing so fast these days. There'll be a solution eventually. I'll make it up to them both."

...

I choked back my tears, scooped Marilyn into my arms, and left the parking garage. I hailed a cab and went straight home.

The moment we walked through the door, Marilyn burst into tears and threw herself into my arms.

"What was Daddy doing with that lady just now? And what did she mean at the party, all those things she said?"

"Has Daddy been lying to us this whole time? Does he not love me and Mommy? Does he love that lady and her daughter instead?"

"Mommy's chest always hurts, and I can't even go to the bathroom like a normal kid. Is it because of them?"

Marilyn was six years old. She understood more than enough of what adults said.

And children's hearts were the most sensitive of all. I didn't want to hide it from her anymore.

"Marilyn, would you be willing to leave with Mommy?"

She pulled free from my arms and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Yes. Daddy doesn't love us. I don't want Daddy. I only want Mommy."

A wave of bitter anguish crashed through me. Regret for my own stupidity. Heartbreak that my little girl had been forced to grow up so fast.

Just then, the phone rang. It was my brother.

"The jet's here. Let's go."

"I found something on my end. Come to me first, and we'll figure out the rest together."

The second I hung up, I rushed Marilyn through a quick wash, changed us both into fresh clothes. I was afraid Thaddeus might come back at any moment, so I didn't even pack a bag. I grabbed my bank card and my ID and hurried to the airport.

Thaddeus. Monica.

The next time we meet, I'll have a gift for you both.