Chapter 1

My daughter collapsed from a sudden heart attack at school. By the time I finally reached her, her body was still and cold.

Desperate, I gathered her in my arms and frantically called my husband, Arthur Sterling.

He was preoccupied at the hospital, tending to his first love, Vanessa. He ignored my calls.

When I finally managed to tell him our daughter was gone, he responded with bitter mockery.

"What a pathetic lie! Do you expect me to believe that?"

...

The phone call from the teacher had pierced through my day.

"Mrs. Hayes, your daughter is having a heart attack. You need to come to the school immediately!"

Panic seized me. I dropped everything and raced toward the school.

"Sweetie, hold on... Mommy's coming!" I whispered uselessly to the empty car.

I arrived as fast as I could, but it was too late.

All I saw was her unnaturally pale face. Her small body had already grown cold on the floor.

"Sweetie, wake up, please... don't scare Mommy..."

Tears streamed down my face as my legs gave way. I collapsed beside her and pulled her into my arms.

Then, a desperate thought pierced through the fog—Arthur could fix this. He was a brilliant cardiac surgeon.

With my hands trembling violently, I fumbled for my phone and dialed his number. He was my last hope. I refused to accept my daughter's death.

"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later."

The robotic message echoed my despair.

I pressed redial. Again. And again. Nothing.

On the fifth attempt, the ringing finally stopped. Arthur answered.

"Arthur! Please, you have to come! Our daughter is dying! Please, come back right now!" My voice was raw with terror.

"Eleanor, have you lost your mind? Have I spoiled you so much that you think you can just call me non-stop?"

The coldness in his tone froze my pleas.

"I told you, Vanessa is sick. She needs me right now. Can't you spare an ounce of compassion?"

"We'll talk when I get home. Stop this nonsense. I'm hanging up."

"No! Arthur, PLEASE! Come back! I'm begging you—"

My scream was cut off by a sharp click. He was gone.

The irony felt like a physical blow. While our daughter lay dying, her father was with another woman.

Who was his real family? Who was his wife? I knelt helplessly beside my little girl.

I called him again, but only the familiar robotic rejection answered. I choked out a bitter laugh.

It had been eight years since Arthur and I met, built a life together, and had our daughter.

The promises he made back then had felt real enough to touch, but I always knew the truth. He never loved me. His first and only love, Vanessa, still owned his heart.

Marrying me was just a concession to his family's pressure.

I understood all of it. I had considered it my fate and accepted it silently.

For eight years, I asked nothing of him. Now, with our daughter lying lifeless before me, he was the only person I could rely on.

Yet he had crushed my desperate plea with complete indifference.

Huddled on the floor, sobbing, I felt something vital inside me tear apart. That was the moment I finally accepted that my daughter was truly gone.

Later, after dealing with the terrible formalities, I called him one last time. My voice was unnaturally calm, even though my eyes were red from crying.

"Our daughter is gone. It was a sudden cardiac arrest."

Arthur scoffed. "And? Do you expect me to drop everything and rush back?"

Clutching the death certificate in my free hand, I forced out my next breath.

"I'm just telling you. Whether you come back or not... that's your choice."

"Eleanor!" His voice turned hard. "Don't you dare joke about our daughter's life!"