Chapter 4

Seven years later.

Vanessa stared at her phone, her thumb hovering over the dozen unanswered calls she had placed to me. A gnawing sense of dread tightened around her throat.

I had never acted like this before.

Usually, when she crossed a line, I would spiral. I would blow up her phone with texts and calls, crying, demanding to know why she was torturing me, asking why she kept cheating, begging her to come home.

Yet today was completely silent.

Not a single missed call. Not a single message all day.

Vanessa couldn't sit still anymore.

She grabbed her coat, bypassing Nathan, who was lounging on the sofa watching cartoons with Lily.

"I'm heading back home for a bit," she said curtly. "Take care of Lily."

Nathan immediately jumped to his feet, blocking the front door.

"What's wrong? Is Julian throwing another fit?"

"Vanessa, we finally got away for a weekend vacation. Just ignore him. He pulls this dramatic routine every time. If you cave now, he'll only act worse next time."

Vanessa hesitated, but the bad feeling in her gut urged her to leave.

Seeing her waver, Nathan sighed softly and played his trump card.

"You promised Lily you'd take her to the amusement park tomorrow."

"You wouldn't break a promise to your own daughter, would you?"

Nathan cast a subtle glance toward the couch.

Lily immediately scrambled down, throwing her arms around Vanessa's legs and wailing, "Mommy, don't go! Don't go back to the bad man!"

"The bad man is mean! He's trying to ruin my trip to the park! Stay with Daddy and me, Mommy! You promised!"

A sharp pang of guilt stabbed Vanessa's heart.

She knelt down, stroking Lily's hair, her voice firm.

"How many times have I told you, Lily?"

"He's not a bad man. He is your father. Don't call him that."

Lily sniffled, looking up with tear-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry... If Mommy stays, Lily will be good. I'll call him Daddy when we get home, I promise."

Vanessa sighed and nodded.

She stayed.

Yet all throughout the night, she picked up her phone, watching the dark screen light up and fade, over and over again.

Still, nothing from me.

Her calls went straight to voicemail.

By four in the morning, the suffocating anxiety swallowed her whole.

She booked the earliest flight back to the city.

Nathan woke up, rubbing his eyes as she packed her purse. "Vanessa? It's so early. The park doesn't even open until nine."

Vanessa didn't look back. "Julian hasn't answered me in twenty-four hours. Something is wrong. I'm going home."

"Take Lily to the park."

Before Nathan could protest, the door clicked shut behind her.

When her plane touched down, the dread in her chest had morphed into outright panic.

She urged the cab driver to step on the gas, running through yellow lights until the car screeched to a halt outside the estate.

An ambulance was parked in the driveway, its red lights flashing silently against the morning mist.

Without waiting for the car to fully stop, Vanessa shoved the door open, stumbling up the stone steps and bursting through the front doors.

"Julian!" she screamed, her voice cracking with terror.

"Julian! What happened?! Answer me!"

No one answered. The household staff stood huddled together near the master bedroom, their faces pale as ghosts.

Vanessa shoved past them like a madwoman, rushing into the room.

In the center of the floor lay a stretcher, draped in a stark white sheet.

A paramedic stepped forward, looking at Vanessa with solemn eyes.

"Ms. Sterling... I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Mr. Cole suffered a fatal overdose last night. He... didn't make it."