Chapter 3
I dashed into the room, even faster than when I first arrived.
The girl was huddled by the door, sobbing.
My heart twisted. I went over and hugged her. "Where exactly is your mom?"
The room was so small that one could see everything at a glance. There was nowhere anyone could hide. The only place out of sight was behind the bedroom door.
It was closed.
"She's sleeping," The girl pointed at the door and sniffled. "After that bad guy left, she kept sleeping. I tried, but I can't wake her up."
Mean guy? What was that? Mandy's side piece?
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Grace."
Grace? Was Mandy trying to send me a message with that name, Grace? Did she really think she deserved it?
I let out a cold laugh and marched straight to the bedroom. "Mandy, enough with the victim act. Your little sympathy stunt is getting old."
I reached for the door and gave it a push.
The lock was busted. It popped right open.
The bedroom was even darker, curtains drawn tight, no light getting through. The metallic smell was stronger here, thick enough to choke on.
I pinched my nose and shone my phone toward the bed.
The blanket was yellowed with age, a body-shaped mound underneath.
"Get up!" I stood by the bed. "I'm here in person. Stop playing dead. If you want money, ask. Don't use the kid. It's pathetic."
The mound didn't move. My anger flared. Was Mandy seriously playing me?
"Fine. Stay there. I'm gone. Don't expect to see me again." I turned to leave, slow and deliberate.
Behind me, I heard Grace's desperate footsteps. "Dad, don't go."
She rushed over and latched onto my leg. For once, I let her hold on.
Grace cried, "My mom is really sick. There was so much red stuff coming out of her. Dad, please help her."
She was sobbing so hard, her tears cutting two clean tracks through the grime on her face.
I looked down at her.
She was so small and skinny. There were obvious bruises around her neck. Clearly, someone had tried to choke her.
Who did this? Mandy? Even animals protected their young.
Something didn't sit right with me. If this were an act, the cost was too high.
I crouched down and touched Grace's chin. "Who did this to you?"
She shrank back, terrified. "The bad guy. He wanted money. Mom didn't have any, so he beat her. Mom tried to protect me, so he beat me, too."
"Does he come often?"
Grace nodded, still choking on her sobs.
I sneered. Mandy had moved on fast and found herself an abusive mooch. Was this her so-called dignity? She'd rather suffer with some deadbeat in a dump than ask me for help?
"Serves her right," I spat out coldly.
But even as I said it, I stood up, pulled out another bank card from my wallet, and pressed it into Grace's hand. "Here. The PIN is your birthday. Get your mom to a hospital.
"Don't let her die here and make this place even more miserable." With that, I turned to leave. I didn't want to spend another second in this dump.
"Dad." Grace let go of my leg, looking at the card in her hand, then back at me, lost and confused.
She hurried to the bed, climbed up, and pushed at the unmoving figure under the blanket. "Mom, Dad's here. He gave us money. We can buy good food now. Mom, please wake up."
She pushed with all her strength, but the person remained still.
A bad feeling hit me.
The room was so quiet. No breathing. Nothing.
I stopped in my tracks and looked back.
Grace knelt by the bed, pressing her dirty face against the blanket, humming softly. "Sleep, sleep, my precious baby."
That was Mandy's favorite lullaby.
Back when she first got pregnant, every night she would take my hand, place it on her belly, and hum that song.
Back then, I actually looked forward to our baby.
But then my parents died in a car crash, and someone schemed against me, wrecking my family business. I went from a proud heir to a broke loser, drowning in debt. Everyone turned their backs on me, except Mandy.
But I resented her too. I hated where she came from, how ordinary she was, how she could only watch as I sank.
When I finally clawed my way back up, it was through my own cunning, my ruthlessness, and the Ludwig family's backing.
Mandy was nothing but a stain on my past, a memory I wanted erased. I had to wipe her out of my life, no matter what.
"I'm really hungry, Mom." Grace's voice was barely a whisper, sounding pitiful. "You've been sleeping for three days. Please wake up and talk to me, okay?"
My mind went numb, a cold chill creeping over me.
Three days? No way a living person could sleep for three days without food or water.
I spun around and lunged toward the bed, my hand trembling as I reached for the blanket. I yanked it back.