Claudia POV
My vision spun upon hearing the revelation, then my blood boiled instantly.
"Are you insane?!" I screamed. "You let her hurt your daughters?!"
"No, you were the one who hurt our daughters," Clarissa replied smoothly. "Unless you agree to our demands, Miles will simply claim that you were the one who pushed both girls down the stairs since he is the only witness."
"You… you're both insane!"
"Whatever. You always said that whenever I did something fun," Clarissa rolled her eyes.
"Our demands are simple," Miles continued after Clarissa. "I will take Clarissa as my second wife. She will be Aurora's mother, the new Mrs Hoffman. If you wish to see Aurora, you will transfer all your assets to her."
My mouth fell open. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but Miles and Clarissa weren't done.
"Don't worry sister, I won't leave you homeless," Clarissa said with mock sweetness. "You can stay in this house, as long as you serve us on your knees. I'll even let Miles sleep with you when he wants!"
"Oh, wait, I think there is a word for that… a fuckmaid!" Clarissa's mouth gaped exaggeratedly, as she was mocking me for the role I'd be forced to play. "You'll be his fuckmaid; cleaning and spreading your legs like a whore. Isn't that a great deal for a motherless bitch like you?"
I had never heard such an unreasonable, twisted demand in my life.
And I had never imagined that my husband—the man I had sworn my life to—would plan something so heinous, framing me and harming our child just to force my compliance!
"If you don't want me anymore," I said through clenched teeth, "then just divorce me! Why go through all this to hurt Aurora!?"
Miles' gaze darkened, impatience seeping through his expression.
"So, you don't agree to my terms?" he asked coldly.
"Never!"
"Then it can't be helped," he replied flatly. "I'll make you agree eventually."
Before I could react, Miles stepped forward and ripped both Aurora and Lara from my arms.
"No—!"
He kicked me hard in the chest, knocking the air from my lungs and leaving me unable to fight back. I collapsed onto the floor as he handed the girls to Clarissa.
"Ugh—!"
Clutching my chest and enduring the pain, I looked up to see Clarissa holding both Aurora and Lara in her arms. I tried to stand to reach for my daughter, but Miles shoved me down again.
"What are you going to do with them?!" I screamed. "Give them back to me!"
In the distance, the loud siren of an ambulance and police car grew closer.
Desperate, I lunged toward Aurora again, but I couldn't reach her.
And in that instant, Clarissa's expression changed.
Like a seasoned actress, her malicious grin vanished. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched the girls tightly.
"Help! Someone help my daughters!" she cried hysterically. "No! I don't want them to die!"
I stared at her in shock.
But Miles didn't let go of me.
As the medics and police burst through the door, he leaned close and looked at me with icy contempt.
"If only you were more obedient, Claudia," he said quietly. "You brought this upon yourself."
I stared as my husband's expression changed drastically—from a cold sneer to the distress of a father whose wife had just harmed their child.
Miles gripped my arms and yelled, "What did you do to Aurora, Claudia! What's wrong with you?!"
"W-why did you push her?!" he shouted even louder, drawing the attention of the police and the medics.
I could only watch in disbelief.
My husband had always been a bad liar his entire life. In fact, I knew all his habits when he lied—scratching his ear, avoiding my eyes.
But the man in front of me wasn't the husband I knew.
He was such a good actor that I suspected he had received direct coaching from Clarissa.
The police officer helped restrain Miles as he struggled to break free, acting like a man in anguish after seeing his daughter bleeding to death.
Meanwhile, Clarissa was crying and wailing as she handed both Aurora and Lara to the medics.
"Help my daughters!" Clarissa cried. She glanced at me and quickly added, "It's my sister! She—she has gone insane! She pushed her daughter and my own down the stairs!"
"You evil witch! How could you do this?!" Miles added to make it even more convincing.
He looked at the police officer restraining him and yelled, "Officer, arrest her before she does something worse to my daughter! She's been suffering from paranoia! She's going insane!"
The theatrics that Clarissa and Miles put on were so convincing that even I began to question whether I was the crazy one, especially when one of the police officers restrained me as well.
I didn't react. I was too stunned, too numb, and completely outnumbered.
At that moment, I felt like the whole world was crumbling right in front of my eyes, and there was nothing I could do.
I couldn't even fake tears to match Clarissa's and accuse them back.
The policeman escorted me to his car, and I didn't fight back.
However, my eyes lingered on Aurora and Lara as they were carried by the paramedics. They were placed on the same stretcher since they were still very small. I felt relieved that they were being treated quickly, and the ambulance would reach the hospital sooner than a regular car.
But when I saw Clarissa entering the ambulance as their guardian, my body moved on its own, and I tried to break free from my restraints.
"No! Don't let that witch near the girls!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I struggled. "She's the one who pushed them!"
Clarissa turned toward me, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.
"Sister, how could you accuse me after you pushed them like that?"
Miles glared at me with terrifying rage and said to the police, "Did you see that? She's accusing everyone else but herself. She accused me of cheating with her own sister, and accused our daughter of taking Clarissa's side. That's why she pushed my poor little angel down the stairs!"
"LIES! HE'S LYING! NO—LET ME GO!"
Unfortunately, no matter how hard I struggled, I was no match for a trained police officer.
He shoved me into the patrol car and locked the door.
I could only scream as Clarissa entered the ambulance—with my daughter inside.
*
The night felt like a long nightmare that I couldn't escape from. I was detained in the police station and questioned relentlessly for five consecutive hours. I tried my best to answer the questions during the interrogation, but I was delirious with thirst, hunger and fear. My mind kept drifting back to my daughter.
Was she alright, or was she in critical condition?
When I asked if I could go to the hospital to check on her, the interrogator scoffed dismissively.
"Mrs. Hoffman, I've already told you that your husband has filed a report against you for child endangerment and domestic abuse. As of now, the two girls are still unconscious thanks to you. I won't let you see your daughter unless you've gotten the go ahead from a certified psychiatrist. You're a risk to children otherwise."
Like thunder on a clear sky, my breath hitched again. I knew the gashing wounds on their heads were dangerous, but the thought that their lives were in jeopardy because of it sent a chill down my spine.
Then I registered the second half of his statement. "A psychiatrist? I don't need a goddamned psychiatrist! I'm not crazy! I didn't push them!"
I didn't want to see a psychiatrist. They might medicate me and then I would lose all sense of self!
The interrogation officer looked at me like I was less than a human and sneered, "You can say that in front of the psychiatrist. Don't worry, he is a professional."
"No, I'm sane, I'm telling you!" as I yelled and resisted the officers out of desperation from a woman who had been wrongfully accused.
***
Soon, my hands were cuffed as I sat inside a psychiatrist's office, while the officers guarded the door outside. My little outburst had not endeared me to them. I fidgeted anxiously, but I made myself calm down. All I had to do was prove I was a sane individual who would never harm a child, and they would have to let me see Aurora. I was quite confident that I could convince the psychiatrist of my sanity.
The door was pushed open after some time, and my eyes widened instantly when I saw the "psychiatrist" who would review my case.
The moment I met his serpentine green eyes, my heart started beating like a war drum.
Suddenly, I knew my chances of seeing Aurora had plummeted significantly.
The corner of his lips curled up when he saw me. His voice was deep yet mellow, like coffee drizzled with honey.
"Aren't I in luck today?" he said. "To have the scum woman who left me as my new patient."
I said nothing, frozen in place.
This man… was none other than my ex—the one I broke up with before I got together with Miles.
He sat across from me and pinned me with his deep green eyes.
"It's been a long time, Claudia. How has my brother been treating you so far?"
And he was also Miles' stepbrother.