Chapter 3

Sean's eyes flickered, his voice dry.

"Leo's my son. Of course I care. I'll go down with you..."

"Alice! You deliberately didn't catch those keys so they'd hit Whiskers, didn't you?" Cindy interrupted him with a sob, clutching the cat and glaring at me through tears,

"Leo wanted to play hide-and-seek in the trunk himself—that's why Sean agreed!"

She turned to Sean, her voice even more pitiful.

"How can you blame this on me! And even if you're mad at me, why take it out on Whiskers!"

The faint wavering on Sean's face instantly vanished, replaced by a sinister look directed at me.

"A cat is a life too! If you're this cruel to an animal, how are you any different from one yourself?"

He bent down, picked up the keys, and gripped them tight, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Like mother, like son! Leo can stay in that trunk and reflect on his behavior. And you—get lost!"

"Reflect?" I trembled with rage, tears streaming down my face. "Sean, that child has been locked in there for almost eight hours!"

"He's scared! He could run out of oxygen! He could die—have you thought about that?!"

Sean's face remained dark, but his eyes softened for just a moment.

"Sean, look! So many people are calling me a mistress, a homewrecker..."

Cindy pulled out her phone and shoved it in his face. The screen showed comments calling her a "mistress."

She turned, tears pooling in her eyes as she stared at me.

"This is your doing, isn't it? You work in media—you're best at manipulating public opinion..."

"From the beginning, you didn't want Sean to drive me home. You've been planning to destroy me this whole time, haven't you?"

"You're lying!" I was so angry I nearly laughed. "Random people posted those videos online. What does that have to do with me!"

"Really?" Cindy's gaze sharpened. "Because I had someone check—the 'concerned citizen' who first posted the video is an intern at your company."

"You plotted this from the start to frame us and ruin our reputations!"

"From the moment you objected to Sean driving me and my brother's family, you've had this whole thing planned out, haven't you?!"

Sean's eyes turned completely cold, looking at me like I was a venomous snake.

"Alice Miller, you disgust me."

"Get on your knees right now and apologize to Cindy. Bow your head and admit everything you've schemed!"

"Otherwise, tomorrow my lawyer will slap divorce papers in your face! And you'll never see your son again!"

My heart sank.

Yes, when he proposed driving Cindy and her brother Derek's family home, I'd argued with him because I couldn't handle work and watch Leo alone.

In the end, he compromised and said he'd only take Cindy and Leo.

But now, this had somehow become evidence of my "premeditated setup."

I had no interest in explaining to him. I lunged for the keys in Sean's hand!

"Ahhh!" Cindy, who was blocking the way, suddenly screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her stomach. "Alice, why did you kick my stomach!"

I froze. I hadn't even touched her!

"Alice Miller! You fucking dare lay hands on her?!" Sean's eyes bulged with fury.

The next second, Sean viciously kicked me in the abdomen!

"Ugh—ahh!"

I flew backward, my spine slamming against the wall before I slid to the floor.

Every organ felt displaced. I curled up in agony, my vision going black.

But it wasn't over.

Sean charged over and kicked me again and again!

I couldn't even scream—only broken gasps escaped me.

"Stop! Stop it!!" A terrified shout came from the doorway.

It was the desk clerk—and behind her stood several police officers!