Chapter 7

They found Camryn slumped on the floor, a disheveled mess, with little Shannon standing helplessly by her side. Milton's mother, Julia Malham, hesitated before speaking. "Milton, what happened here?"

Milton let out a weary sigh. "Lauren's missing. From now on, Shannon belongs to our family—she's no longer Camryn's daughter."

Upon hearing this, Julia's face lit up with delight. "Really? That useless woman finally left?"

Milton's expression darkened, and he shot a sharp look at Julia. "Don't be so heartless, Milton. This might not even be Camryn's fault," Julia said quickly. "Now that the worthless one is gone, Shannon still needs a mother. Why not just marry Camryn and make it official?"

For the first time, Milton felt true disgust as he looked at the excited faces of his parents. After a long pause, his voice turned cold. "My wife will always be Lauren. No matter where she is, I'll find her."

He turned to leave, but Shannon suddenly ran up, crying as she clung to his leg. "Dad, please don't leave me and Mom, okay? Let's forget about that bad woman, okay? I just want you and Mommy to be together." The moment she uttered "bad woman," Milton's face turned stone cold. He looked straight at Camryn. "You taught her that? Camryn, she's just a child. What have you been teaching her?"

"If you can't raise her properly, then from now on, my parents will take care of Shannon. You stay out of it." He didn't give Camryn a chance to argue. Without another glance, he walked out of the villa.

Milton immediately called his assistant. "Pull all the surveillance footage. I want to know exactly where Lauren went. She's so weak right now—what if something happens to her?"

The assistant responded, "Mr. Shaw, someone already checked. Ms. Gordon hasn't been staying at the villa these past few days—she's been at a hotel."

Follow new episodes on the CrushnovelS.Com

Milton didn't even let him finish. He jumped into the car and sped toward the hotel where Lauren had gone. But after just two intersections, he slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. Frustrated, he slapped himself twice. He was the one who caused their child's death. He was the one who had given the order for the surgery that left Lauren unable to have children.

In a moment of emotional collapse, he pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Lauren. Her profile picture still showed her smiling face—it looked as if she were right there beside him. The only thing she left behind was that audio recording. Not a single word, not even a note. With a trembling hand, he gently stroked her profile picture over and over. He couldn't believe she was gone. Their last conversation had been just yesterday.

He had sent her a message explaining everything—but she never responded. Suddenly, Milton recalled her calmness over the past few days. Only now did he realize it wasn't peace; it was numbness. It was the silence of someone who had already given up. Tears fell onto his sleeve. He wondered when she had started to change—when she stopped reacting, stopped hoping. And he hadn't even noticed. Everything seemed to shift after she was hospitalized.

He had lied to her from the beginning, yet she never saw through it. She remained blissfully lost in the illusion of love, believing she had found someone who would cherish her forever. Tears splashed onto the phone screen.

He kept sending her message after message, telling her how deeply he loved her, how sorry he was, and how much he regretted everything—but no matter how many he sent, she would never reply again.

Milton started the car again and drove straight to the hotel where Lauren had been staying. But it was too late. The hotel staff informed him she had already checked out. He stumbled back outside, the rain pouring so heavily that it was impossible to tell whether it was tears or rain on his face. Then he dropped to his knees, utterly broken.

Meanwhile, my plane had already landed. I was out of the country now. He wanted me to live a life worse than death, trapped in lies. But I had severed every connection I had back home. I had made up my mind—he could live with his guilt for the rest of his life.

Caiden had come to pick me up. The moment he saw how drained I looked, how different I was from the bright, cheerful girl I used to be, his heart broke. "Lauren, what happened? Didn't Milton promise he'd take care of you? Why did you suddenly come abroad? Did he treat you badly? Was it the Shaw family? Did they hurt you, too?"

I gave him a weak smile and tugged lightly on his sleeve. "I'm fine. See? I'm still here." I was just blinded by love. But I understood now. I wasn't going back to him. Let's just call it a lesson learned.

With tears in my eyes, I looked up at him and smiled. "Caiden, I miss home. Can we go back?"

Caiden pulled me into a tight embrace, his voice choked with emotion. "Yeah. I'll take you home."