Chapter 244
I frowned, confusion replacing fear. “What are you talking about?”
“The real threat to Emma isn’t me,” Olivia said quietly. “It’s Victoria.”
I laughed outright at that. “Victoria? She loves Emma more than anything in this world.”
“Does she?” Olivia nodded to someone behind me.
The door opened again, and Dorothy Lawson walked in. The housekeeper from Rosewood Haven looked nervous, wringing her
hands as she avoided my gaze.
“Tell him what you told me, Dorothy,” Olivia instructed.
Dorothy cleared her throat. “Miss Victoria… she’s not kind to Emma when no one’s watching.”
“That’s a lie,” I snapped. “Victoria adores Emma.”
“I’ve seen Emma come out of her mother’s room with red eyes and slap marks,” Dorothy continued, her voice gaining strength.
“I’ve heard the crying, the begging.”
I shook my head vehemently. “No. Victoria would never hurt Emma. Never.”
“How much did Olivia pay you to say this?” I demanded, glaring at Dorothy. “What did she offer you?”
Dorothy pulled out her phone. “I didn’t need payment to do what’s right for that child.”
She tapped the screen a few times, then turned it toward me. “I took this video last winter when I came back early from an
errand.”
The footage showed Emma standing barefoot in the snow, wearing only a thin nightgown. Her small body shivered violently as she hugged herself, tears freezing on her cheeks.
“Victoria made her stand out there for thirty minutes because she spilled juice on the carpet,” Dorothy explained, her voice breaking. “It was fifteen degrees that day.”
My stomach churned. “This could be fake. Edited.”
“And these?” Dorothy pulled up her sleeve, revealing finger–shaped bruises on her wrist. “Emma has fresh ones just like these.
And needle marks on her arms.”
“Needle marks?” I repeated, horror creeping into my voice.
Dorothy nodded grimly. “Victoria’s been injecting her with something. I don’t know what, but Emma’s been lethargic afterward. Confused.”
The room seemed to tilt around me. I thought of Victoria’s medical background, her access to various drugs through her
1/4
connections at the Silvercrest Pack Medical Den.
“No,” I whispered, but doubt had taken root. “No, she wouldn’t.”
Olivia signaled to the guards, who untied my restraints. “You’re free to go, Connor. Investigate for yourself if you don’t believe
us.”
I rubbed my wrists, eyeing her suspiciously. “Just like that? You’re letting me walk out of here?”
“I trust a father’s instincts,” Olivia replied simply. “You’ll do what needs to be done.”
That evening, I stood outside Rosewood Haven, my heart pounding in my chest. The security code Victoria had given me still worked, allowing me to slip past the guards and into the house undetected.
I moved silently through the familiar halls, pausing outside Emma’s bedroom. The door was ajar, and I could see her small form
curled up under the covers, her breathing steady in sleep.
My daughter. My blood.
I approached cautiously, careful not to wake her. In the soft glow of her nightlight, I could see the resemblance clearly–my eyes, my nose, the shape of her face.
Gently, I lifted the sleeve of her pajama top. My breath caught at the sight of small bruises dotting her arm, some fresh, others fading to yellow. And there, in the crook of her elbow, tiny puncture marks–just as Dorothy had described.
Rage boiled inside me, hot and violent. I pulled the covers back over Emma and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before
slipping out of the room.
Victoria was in her bedroom, applying cream to her face in front of her vanity mirror. She jumped when she saw my reflection
behind her.
“Connor!” she gasped, spinning around. “What are you doing here? I told you not to come without calling first.”
Her eyes narrowed as she noticed my expression. “What’s wrong? And why were you in Emma’s room for so long?”
I crossed the room in three strides and slapped her hard across the face. The sound cracked through the air like a gunshot.
Victoria’s hand flew to her cheek, her eyes wide with shock. “Have you lost your mind?”
“What have you been doing to our daughter?” I demanded, my voice shaking with fury.
Victoria’s expression shifted, calculation replacing surprise. “Our daughter? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Emma is
Ethan’s-”
“Stop lying!” I roared, grabbing her wrist. “I know she’s mine. I’ve always known.”
Fear flickered in Victoria’s eyes. “Connor, you’re hurting me.”
I stared at her, seeing the woman I loved for what she truly was for the first time. “How could you abuse our child?”
