Chapter 2
Around noon the next day, the front door crashed open.
Clyde swaggered inside, reeking of stale alcohol and heavy perfume.
He threw his keys onto the hall table with a sharp clatter. "Elaina, you crazy bitch.
"Why the hell did you freeze my accounts last night? Evelyn had to watch me get declined at dinner.
"Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to have a waiter hand my card back?"
He ripped his collar open while complaining, missing the fact that the house felt like a tomb.
Thick curtains blocked the sunlight, leaving the living room swallowed in shadows.
I sat dead center on the couch in a plain black dress, staring at him with a blank expression.
Evelyn hung onto his arm, wrapping herself around him.
She had squeezed herself into a tight red dress to flaunt a baby bump that was barely even there.
"Oh, Clyde, give Elaina a break," Evelyn purred.
Pure malice flashed across her face to betray her sweet tone.
"She was just worried sick," she added. "Wasn't that little brat of hers at death's door last night?"
She laid heavy sarcasm on those last words before hiding a snicker behind her fingers.
Her comment fueled his rage, and he kicked the metal trash can across the floor.
He barked, "At death's door, my ass. I bet that little brat was faking the whole thing.
"Elaina, your daughter is a manipulative liar just like you.
"You made up that sick joke to ruin my date, right?
"Where is Riley anyway? Is she dead yet? Drag her out here to apologize!"
He scanned the shadows. Finding no sign of Riley gave him a rush of power.
"She is hiding from me, huh?" he sneered. "Listen to me, Elaina. I am not letting this go.
"You are going to force that brat to apologize to my unborn son, or we are done. I want a divorce."
I slowly stood up from the couch.
My eyes burned from staying awake through the long night.
A wave of disgust washed over me as I stared at the man I had shared a bed with for three years.
Without saying a word, I moved toward them with heavy footsteps.
Evelyn took my silence as a sign of weakness. She made a show of her baby bump. "Elaina, I'm willing to let this go. But negative energy is terrible for the baby—"
A loud slap echoed through the room as my hand hit her face.
I put all my strength into that swing. She stumbled backward and crashed into the shoe closet.
A piercing shriek tore from her throat. "Oh my god, Clyde. My stomach. Our baby!"
Clyde froze in shock for a second before his face twisted with rage.
He raised a hand to hit me back. "Are you insane, Elaina?" he roared. "Don't you dare touch her or my son!"
I stepped out of his reach, grabbed a manila envelope off the coffee table, and whipped it at his face.
"Take a look in the mirror, Clyde," I spat. "You make me sick."
While he caught the envelope and tried to rip it apart, I grabbed my phone.
I tapped the screen to play the audio file.
The recording captured Naomi's breathless, dying whispers from the back of the ambulance.
Her tiny voice sounded incredibly frail, fighting through heavy gasps. "Mom... It hurts.
"My throat is burning.
"Where is Dad... Why won't he come?
"Dad bought this peanut butter cup for me. If I eat it all, do you think he will be proud of me?"
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
Clyde stopped, his hands frozen in mid-air.
The rage on his face briefly shifted into confusion. Then he let out a scoff. "Wow, Elaina, you are really stepping up your game.
"Did you pay an actress for this? Or is it a deepfake?
"That voice sounds nothing like your brat. What do you gain from playing these twisted games?
"Let me make this clear. A prank recording means nothing. Unfreeze my accounts right now, or I am kicking you and your useless brat out of this house."
A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I stared at his smug face. "You are pathetic, Clyde.
"You still have no clue who passed away last night."
Clyde frowned. "What are you talking about? Did Riley kick the bucket? Good riddance. Now my boy has a room waiting for him."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
It was Clyde's parents.