Chapter 1
Gripping a cleaver, I marched straight to my ex-husband Damian Black's house and booted his door open.
Three minutes later, I knelt before him, tears streaming as I tried to split a coconut with my bare hands.
"I messed up! My kid's at the south side daycare—I went to the wrong district!" I pleaded.
Damian watched my meltdown on the security feed, face cold. He checked the fresh psych report, then called his assistant, David Peterson. "Fetch Maggie Cole—no, drag that crazy woman back. I still think she's salvageable."
*****
I'm Maggie Cole, and today was the most mortifying day of my life.
Here's how it all went down.
At 4 PM, I hummed a tune, swung a bag of veggies, and reached Kingswood Prep on time.
The teacher smiled sadly and said, "Ben was picked up by his dad 30 minutes ago."
My mind went kaboom.
His dad?
Ben's dad? Damian, the ex expanding his empire overseas for three months?
Wait, didn't he fly to Antarctica to close a deal with the penguins? What's he doing back?
Seeing me pale, the teacher said, "He was handsome, drove a black car with a winged B logo. Ben ran over and called him 'Dad.'"
A winged B logo...
Bentley?
Who else but Damian, the show-off?
A wave of rage hit my head.
Damian, you've outdone yourself
After our divorce, Ben was mine, you paid bills, and we stayed apart.
So what was this? You sneaked in silently and just took my kid?
I'm done with this.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got—shaking all over.
I shoved an old lady aside, ran into the wet market, and snatched a bloody butcher's knife from the pork vendor.
The vendor was stunned. "Uh... you forgetting something? Like the whole cart of meat?"
"Keep it! I've got bigger fish to fry!" I yelled angrily.
Gripping the knife, I hailed a cab and headed to Damian's villa.
The driver glanced at me and the knife. Then he locked the doors, floored it, and got me there like he was qualifying at Silverstone.
When I left, he looked at me like I was doomed.
I kicked open Damian's six-figure smart door easily.
He lounged on the couch in gray loungewear, sipping coffee with ease.
Hearing the bang, he looked up slowly and his brows twitched slightly when he saw me.
When he saw the butcher's knife in my hand, his icy expression cracked.
"Maggie, have you lost your mind?" he snapped.
I stormed around the living room with the knife, but Ben was gone.
I slammed the knife on the coffee table, cracking the marble instantly.
"Damian! Where's Ben? Where did you hide him?" I growled.
His eyes widened, as if judging if I'd lost it.
He set down his teacup and rose slowly. At 6.2 feet, the man was pure intimidation.
"You lost our son, and now you come to me?" his voice was icy.
"Are you serious? Weren't you the one who picked him up from Kingswood Prep? Who else drives a Bentley here?" I shouted.
Damian just stared at me in silence.
He looked at me, his eyes flashing shock, confusion, and pity.
He said nothing and started dialing on his phone.
"David, check my schedule today."
David replied instantly, "Mr. Black, you ended your video meeting at ten and stayed home all afternoon."
Damian put the call on speaker.
David's voice came through loud and clear.
I froze.
"No way!" I couldn't believe it.
But the teacher said it was his dad.
"What about the Bentley?" I insisted.
He looked at me, then pointed to the garage. "All my cars are there. None left today."
My heart sank.
A wave of dread hit me like a storm cloud overhead.
Just then, my phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
My hands shook as I pressed the answer button.
A gentle female voice said, "Is this Ben's mom?"
"Y-yes, that's me," I stammered.
"This is Sunshine Daycare. Ben hasn't been picked up. When will you come?" she asked.
Sunshine Daycare? What?
My last nerve just snapped.
I finally remembered.
Last week, Kingswood Prep raised tuition, so I immediately transferred Ben out.
His new daycare, Sunshine Daycare, was closer and cheaper.
Today, out of habit, I went to Kingswood Prep.
The kid who was picked up wasn't even Ben!
Seriously? I went to the wrong daycare.
The butcher's knife slipped and fell.
I slowly met Damian's unreadable eyes.
His eyes were basically saying, "Is that even possible?"
I was totally screwed.
I felt like I just wanted to die.
Don't try to stop me—I just want to jump from his thirty-story penthouse and end it quickly.