Chapter 4

I waited outside Steve’s room for hours, hoping he’d calm down enough for me to talk to him. I could still hear his muffled crying through the door, each sob slicing through me like glass.

I had wanted this birthday to be special. To be one last memory before I took him away. But now, all he would remember was how much he hated me.

I knocked softly. “Steve? Sweetheart, can I come in?”

Before I could even touch the doorknob, Stephen’s voice echoed down the hall, cold and venomous. “Don’t you dare.”

I turned to see him standing behind me, his jaw tight, his expression furious.

“Stephen, please,” I began, my voice trembling. “He misunderstood. That wasn’t my fault—someone must’ve switched the gift—”

“Enough!” he snapped, striding toward me. “You embarrassed our son in front of everyone! His friends were laughing at him—at me! You ruined his birthday.”

“I didn’t—”

He shoved me back against the wall. The sudden impact made my breath hitch, pain shooting through my shoulder.

For a split second, my mind flashed back to five years ago—To that night when I slipped down the stairs, barely two months pregnant with Steve. I could still remember how Stephen dropped everything to run to me, how his face had turned white with fear.

He had held me so tightly then, trembling as he begged the doctor to save us both. He didn’t sleep for two nights, sitting beside my bed, feeding me soup, kissing my forehead, whispering I can’t lose you.

That was the Stephen I knew. The Stephen I loved.

But the man standing before me now… The man whose hands had just shoved me without hesitation—He wasn’t the same.

His eyes no longer held worry or love. Only anger. And that realization hurt far more than the bruise forming on my back.

“You don’t deserve to see him,” he hissed. “You hurt his feelings, Natasha. You humiliated him. You humiliated me.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “I’m his mother.”

His lips curled in disgust. “You were. But now I regret ever letting you raise him. It should’ve been Lana all along. She’s gentle. Kind. She actually loves him.”

Something inside me snapped. My tears stopped. My fear vanished. “Then make her his mother!” I spat. “Since you both love pretending, make her your wife, too. You already act like she is.”

I turned to leave, but as I stepped into the hallway, Lana was there, as if she’d been waiting all along.

Her expression was soft—too soft. “Sister,” she said gently, “I’m so sorry about what happened earlier. I just found out there was a mix-up with the gifts. I should have checked the box before—”

“Stop,” I cut her off sharply. “You can drop the act now.”

Her smile faltered. “I don’t understand what you mean—”

“Oh, you understand perfectly,” I snapped, stepping closer. “You switched the gifts, didn’t you? You wanted him to hate me. Well, congratulations, Lana—you got what you wanted.”

Her silence said everything.

I slipped the wedding ring off my finger and held it out between us. The metal felt heavy, cold.

“If you want him, take him. Take Stephen. Take this house, this life—take all of it. I’m done being your fool.”

Lana’s eyes widened slightly before she smirked. “So you’re really giving him to me?”

“Yes,” I said coldly. “And you’ll regret it.”

Her voice turned mocking. “Are you sure you won’t be the one regretting it, sister?”

I stared her down, my voice steady. “No. You will. Because men like Stephen don’t love—they use. And one day, he’ll use you too.”

I walked away, leaving her smirk frozen in place. As I neared the grand staircase, one of the butlers—Mr. Han—stepped forward, blocking my path.

“Mrs. Smith,” he said hesitantly, his voice unusually stiff, “Mr. Stephen instructed me to tell you that you won’t be leaving the house tonight.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Sir said you need to be… punished,” he said, avoiding my gaze. “For humiliating the family in front of the guests.”

My blood turned cold. “Punished?” I repeated. “By locking me in a room? Are you insane? Move, Han.”

He didn’t.

Two more men—house guards—appeared behind him, their expressions blank. Before I could react, one grabbed my arm.

“Let me go!” I screamed, struggling as they dragged me down the hall. “Han! You can’t do this! I’m your mistress—how dare you follow—”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith,” Han said quietly. “Orders from Mr. Stephen.”

They pulled me down the corridor toward the guest wing, stopping before a door I recognized—one that hadn’t been used in years. My heart started to pound.

“No,” I breathed. “Don’t you dare—”

The door swung open, and the smell hit me first. Musty, foul—and something else.

I froze.

Scurrying sounds filled the darkness.

Mice. Dozens of them. Crawling across the floor, over the furniture, squeaking and hissing.

“No!” I screamed, thrashing against their grip. “Let me out! You can’t—”

But they shoved me inside and slammed the door shut.

The click of the lock echoed like a gunshot.

I stumbled back, pressing myself against the wall as the creatures skittered closer. My breath came in ragged gasps.

“This is what you wanted, right?” I whispered through tears. “To break me.”

They couldn’t break me. Not now.

Not after everything I’d endured.

Not when my real daughter was out there, waiting for me.

I crouched down, wrapping my arms around myself as I cried silently in the dark, the sounds of tiny claws scratching against the floor.

They could take my dignity, my home, my name. But they would never take my will.

In another day, I’d be gone.

And when I leave, I’ll make sure Stephen and Lana lose everything—Just like they made me lose mine.