Chapter 14%
Cameron’s mind was in chaos. After working nonstop at the office for an entire day and night, he finally returned home, only to be met with silence.
Strangely, his daughter didn’t come running to greet him.
His brows furrowed, unease crawling into his chest.
He made his way to her room and found the door shut. He knocked. No answer.B
He pushed it open, flicked on the light, and froze.
Reese lay on the bed, her skin covered in red rashes. The stench of alcohol slammed into him like a wave.
“Reese, Daddy’s home. Wake up.”
Panic surged in his voice. But the little girl didn’t respond, completely unconscious.
“Housekeeper! Get over here now!“!!
The housekeeper rushed in. “Mr. Cruise, I’m here!“}
Cameron’s veins bulged with fury. “What the hell happened?! This is how you take care of her?!”
Cold sweat poured from the housekeeper’s forehead as she trembled and confessed, “The night before last, after you lett
Miss Lawrence started drinking. She was in a good mood and told the young miss to drink too_”
The young miss didn’t want to; she hated the smell, but Miss Lawrence grabbed her face and forced her to finish a glass.”
“After that, she fell asleep. Miss Lawrence told us not to wake her and warned us, if we told you, we’d be fired.”
Cameron’s fists clenched so tightly they creaked. “So Reese has been unconscious for forty–eight hours?”
The housekeeper trembled, unable to meet his eyes.
Without another word, Cameron gritted his teeth, scooped up his daughter, and sped to the hospital like a man possessed.
In the emergency room, the doctor finished his assessment with a grim expression.
Blood alcohol level: 0.15%. That’s already beyond lethal for a child. If you’d arrived thirty minutes later, she wouldn’t have
made it.”
“Also, your child has a congenital alcohol allergy. What kind of parent allows something like this?”
Cameron froze. His entire body shook as dread crashed down on him.
If he had come home just half an hour later, he would’ve never seen his daughter again.
He stood at the glass wall of the emergency room, heart twisting as he watched his five–year–old girl being forced to vomit, IV tubes running into her tiny arm.
After the gastric lavage, she was wheeled into the ICU. Every passing second dragged like a lifetime for Cameron.
Then, his fist slammed into the hospital wall, blood dripping steadily from his knuckles onto the floor.
The moment the doctor told him his daughter was out of danger, Cameron trembled all over.&
“But a large amount of alcohol entered the child’s system, causing brain damage. At five years old, the brain is still developing… but brain damage is irreversible. It will affect her intellectual growth.”
Something inside Cameron shattered. He had never imagined something like this could happen to his daughter.k
“Doctor, save her, no matter the cost!” His voice shook with desperation.
The doctor sighed and shook his head. “I understand how you feel, but what’s done is done. The fact that she survived is already a miracle. But the damage… it cannot be undone.”
Cameron’s last bit of hope collapsed.
His eyes burned with fury, so fierce, they looked murderous.8
He bit out each word through gritted teeth. “Anne. You’ll pay for this.3
When he returned home, Anne had just come back from a party. Her cheeks were flushed, and she swayed drunkenly in the living room, dancing without a care in the world.
The sight burned into Cameron’s eyes and ignited a towering rage.
He stormed forward, grabbed her arm roughly, and roared, “Why did you give the child alcohol? Reese is allergic!”
Anne nearly lost her balance, but when she saw Cameron, she narrowed her eyes and smiled, trying to act coy.
“Cameron, you’re back.”
She reached out to wrap her arms around his shoulders, but Cameron shoved her off without hesitation.
His grip tightened as he pinched her chin, voice low and dangerous.
“Anne, I asked you a question.”
“You wanted to kill Reese? She’s only five, how could you force her to drink?!“%
12:05 AM P P
Anne scorreo, completely unazed..
“What’s the big deal? Kids in the countryside drink with their parents all the time. Why can’t Reese?”
“She’s faking it. Probably wants attention. And anyway, this is the same kid who drugged her mother, what won’t she do?“” She ignored the rage burning in Cameron’s eyes, oblivious to the blood–red fury seething just beneath his skin.”
His whole body shook with barely contained wrath.
“What did you just say?” His eyes narrowed dangerously.
Anne giggled, her mind hazy from the alcohol. 7 said, a kid like that, always lying, no morals, is clearly pretending. Don’t blame me. I only gave her a little..”
Cameron slapped Anne hard across the face.
Her head snapped to the side, the burning sting jolting a bit of sobriety into her dazed eyes.
“Why did you hit me, Cameron?” she stared at him in disbelief.
His palm struck the other side just as fiercely.
Anne collapsed to the floor, clutching her cheeks, “Why… why?! I treated Reese so well! I gave her everything, what more do you want from me?”
Cameron looked down at her with pure disgust. She was revolting.”
The thrill had faded long ago. And once he stopped caring, he never bothered to pretend
His c gaze landed on the necklace around her neck, Julia’s diamond ballet shoe pendant
Without a word, he stepped forward and tore it off.
“You don’t deserve to wear this.”
Anne sneered through her swollen lips. “What? Missing your fat swan again?“%
Her drunken words slashed straight through him.”
Cameron’s hand gripped her hair, yanking her face upward as his eyes turned deadly cold. “What did you just say?”
12:06 AM P
