Chapter 3

I hardened my expression. "If you insist on doing this, I won't give you another penny of alimony."

Two thousand dollars a month was no small amount.

When it came to money, Laura immediately deflated.

With her lifeline grasped firmly in my hands, the matter of Victor moving in was quiet for a few days.

A week later, I was at work when I received a phone call from Sophie.

She sobbed into the phone, hiding in the bathroom. "Mommy, where are you? Please come back. Help me, Mommy, I'm so scared..."

I dropped everything, slammed on the gas, and sped all the way home.

I didn’t even wait for the elevator. I ran up the stairs to the sixth floor, taking them two at a time.

What I saw made my blood boil.

Laura had Sophie kneeling in front of her, mercilessly striking her legs with a clothes hanger.

Sophie’s face was pale from the pain, and she was on the verge of fainting.

Furious, I shouted her full name. "Laura Reilly! What do you think you’re doing?!"

I rushed forward and shoved her to the ground.

Scooping Sophie into my arms, I whispered, "It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t cry. Mommy’s here now."

Laura scrambled to her feet and lunged for my hair. "Quinn Reilly, have you lost your mind?!"

I dodged swiftly, sidestepping her grasp.

My eyes flashed coldly as I shouted back, "If you come any closer, I swear I’ll slap you!"

Laura froze in place, clearly startled.

"Sophie, tell Mommy what happened," I said gently, holding her close and patting her back.

Her delicate skin was bruised and battered. Her knees were scraped and bleeding, and her thighs were mottled with purple and blue welts.

As I bent down to apply rubbing alcohol to her wounds, I noticed the handprint on her face.

Sophie hiccuped through her tears, trembling from the ordeal.

"Mommy," she sobbed, "Uncle Vic touched my tummy, and he tried to take off my clothes… His breath smelled so bad! I ran and hid in the bathroom."

Laura screeched from the side, "It’s your fault, you little tramp! Trying to seduce him! He’s completely devoted to me. Why would he ever look at a little brat like you?!"

"If you weren’t prancing around the house in your skirts, sticking your butt out like you’re asking for it, how could my dear Victor have even been tempted?!"

The blood drained from my face. I turned on Laura, my voice shaking with rage. "Shut your mouth, Laura!"

But she raised her chin defiantly. "They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. You've probably been fooling around outside, and that’s why you raised such a filthy little whore!"