Chapter
I didn’t even get the chance to speak before Sylvan cut in.
“You want to take Estelle with you? Fine. But show me you’re actually capable of raising her. What if you take her with you, run off again, and end up selling her off to some men? What then?”
“How do you want me to prove I’m capable?” I asked coldly, clenching my fists.
I had rushed back so fast just to see him and our daughter that I didn’t even have time to change. I was still wearing my lab uniform-worn and tattered on the outside but radiation-proof and even bulletproof underneath.
That was why, even after the security ganged up on me earlier, I only looked a little bruised and beaten. No real injuries, thanks to this suit.
Sage snorted. “Then show us what you’ve got. Let us see what you’re working with.”
“Mom, I’ve been secretly saving up over the years… I’ve got a hundred thousand in this card,’ Estelle whispered, slipping a card into my hand. “I don’t eat much, and I feed stray dogs and cats too. I can take care of myself.”
The tears I’d tried so hard to hold back came rushing down again.
I gently placed the card back into her pocket and said hoarsely, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I will show them that I can raise you on my own.”
took a deep breath and called a number.
A man chuckled on the other end. “Hey, you’ve finally made it home. Shouldn’t you be spending some cozy time with your husband? What made you think of calling me?”
‘Sir, there’s something I need to report,” I said seriously. I inhaled deeply and reported, “My husband married someone else while I was gone. They already have a child. I want custody of my daughter-but they want to see first if I can raise her.”
Before I could finish, Sage snatched the phone from me.
‘Hey, you old hag! You’re this bitch’s boss?” She scoffed. “She wants you to show off your ‘power n front of President Armitage? I’m dying over here! Even if I lent you a pair of balls, would you dare show up?”
There was a pause on the other hand as if my boss was stunned.
was pretty sure it was the first time anyone had dared call him an old hag.
‘Very well then,” he said after a moment, his smirk evident in his.tone. “Since you’ve lent me your guts, I’ll borrow them. I’m sending my people over right now.”
And with that, he hung up.
Sage burst out laughing. “Seriously, Cicely? That guy’s just like you, pretending to be cool. He’s sending his people over? I bet he’ll just send over a couple of your peasant colleagues to put on a show.”
Sylvan shook his head in disappointment. In a flat tone, he threatened, “Cicely, sign the damn
divorce papers and get lost before I lose my temper. Otherwise, in a while, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”
Then he looked at my daughter. “Come home with me, Estelle. And remember-you no longer have a mother.”
My poor daughter clung tightly to the hem of my shirt, refusing to leave.
But under Sylvan’s threatening gaze, she eventually lowered her head and slowly loosened her grip, hesitantly walking toward him.
I gently pulled her back into my arms.
“My baby… From now on, you never have to be afraid of anyone ever again. At least in Louisiana, no one’s gonna dare hurt you,” I promised.
“Bitch!” Sage interrupted. “Who do you think you’re pretending to be? President Sylvan’s the sky in this capital!”
“Well then,” I said quietly, “it’s time that sky comes crashing down!”
The moment the words left my lips, a deafening roar echoed overhead.
Many from the crowd instinctively looked up.
“Look! What the heck are those?”
‘They don’t look like commercial planes. Why are they flying so low?”
Right before their stunned gazes, several aircrafts hovered down steadily and landed squarely in Front of the Armitage Group’s building.
The force of the gusts slammed into us like a wave.
At that moment, everyone outside the company building changed their expressions.
Cicely’s POV
