Chapter 11
Daniel’s fingers were wrapped tightly around Camille’s throat. His knuckles had gone white from the pressure, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
Camille was pinned against the wall, her feet barely touching the ground, her face turning red as she struggled for air. She clawed desperately at his hands, choking out broken pleas.
“D–Daniel… let… let go of me… Please, I can’t… breathe…”
Victoria screamed hysterically from across the room, “Help! He’s killing her! Someone help!
“Captain Pierce is killing her! Somebody stop him!”
Daniel kicked her away without loosening his grip on Camille’s neck.
“I heard every word you just said.” Daniel’s voice was ice–cold, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Fake pregnancy tests? Deliberately causing her miscarriage? Wanting her to die?
“How long have you been doing all this behind my back?”
Camille’s pupils dilated in terror as tears streamed down her face. She shook her head frantically, her voice barely a rasp. “I know I was wrong… I’m so sorry…
“Daniel, I love you too much. I couldn’t stand knowing she was still in your heart. I was crazy with jealousy. That’s why I did those things. I really do know what I did was wrong.
“And it’s not as bad as it sounds. I was just… I was upset and talking big. I didn’t actually do anything that terrible.”
“Not that bad?” Daniel laughed harshly and suddenly released his grip.
Camille collapsed to the floor, clutching her throat and coughing violently. Daniel loomed over her, his eyes completely cold.
“Then let’s get to the bottom of this.”
At the base hospital’s obstetrics office, Daniel stood rigid against the wall, his gaze fixed on the doctor examining Camille. Camille lay on the examination table, her face deathly pale. Her fingers were gripping the sheet tightly, eyes darting around in panic.
“Captain Pierce, I have the results.” The doctor removed her mask, frowning deeply. “Ms. Lane is not pregnant.”
Daniel’s breath caught, feeling like a sledgehammer had slammed into his chest. Pain spread through his entire body.
So this was the woman he’d betrayed his beloved wife for. Over and over again.
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He slowly turned to face Camille, his voice dangerously low. “What do you have to say now?”
Tears immediately spilled down Camille’s face as she struggled to sit up, reaching for Daniel’s hand. “Daniel, please let me explain…”
“Explain what?” Daniel jerked away from her, his eyes blazing with fury. “How you forged those pregnancy reports? How you’ve been using me this whole time?
“Or maybe how you murdered my child with Val?”
The last words came out as a roar, leaving the entire room in dead silence. Camille crumpled to the floor, shaking all over, finally breaking down completely.
“I just… I just loved you so much! Why did Valentina get to have you? She never deserved you!”
Daniel closed his eyes, his chest heaving. When he opened them again, there was nothing but cold finality. “Get out.”
Camille stared at him in shock. “What?”
“I said get out,” Daniel spoke each word slowly and clearly, his voice carrying unmistakable
menace. 1
“Don’t let me see your face again. I can’t promise what I’ll do next time.
After leaving the hospital, Daniel went straight to the medical records office and pulled Valentina’s file from the day of the earthquake. There it was in black and white.
“Patient: Valentina Pierce. Eight weeks pregnant. Miscarriage due to blunt force trauma. Severe hemorrhaging.”
Daniel’s hands trembled as he stared at the page. He could suddenly see Valentina’s paper- white face, those hollow, devastated eyes.
That day in the hospital bed, she’d asked him quietly, “How’s Camille? Is her baby okay?”
And what had he told her?
“It was a false alarm. She wasn’t pregnant. She was just so terrified that she thought she was…”
God, what a joke. He’d abandoned her without hesitation for a child that never existed. While their real child–their actual baby–died because of his choice.
She must’ve felt utterly hopeless. And after that, he’d made everything worse. He’d done things he couldn’t even bear to think about now.
Daniel slammed the file shut, feeling like invisible hands were crushing his chest until he could barely breathe. By the time he got back to base housing, it was already dark.
Chapter 11
Daniel stood outside the door, unable to bring himself to go in. He suddenly remembered how Valentina used to wait for him in the living room every evening when he came home.
In winter, she’d have coffee warming on the stove. In summer, she’d chill lemonade ahead of
time.
But now, when he opened the door, only silence greeted him. He walked slowly through the rooms, checking the living room and kitchen before finally stopping at the bedroom door.
The moment he pushed it open, his heart seized up. No matter how many times he saw it, the empty room hit him like a physical blow.
Half the closet was empty, the dresser completely bare. Everything felt wrong. Several cardboard boxes sat neatly arranged on the floor, filled with every gift he’d given her over the
years.
The scarf he’d knitted himself. The hair clip he’d saved up three months‘ pay to buy. All the little souvenirs he’d brought back from his deployments. She hadn’t taken a single thing.
Daniel stumbled over and dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he picked up the scarf. It still smelled faintly of roses, which was the scent of her perfume.
He suddenly remembered the day he’d wrapped this scarf around her neck. She’d smiled so brightly, her eyes lighting up as she said, “Daniel, you’re so good to me.‘
Now she didn’t want it anymore. She didn’t want any of it, including him.
Daniel pressed the scarf against his chest, a choked sob escaping his throat. He bent forward until his forehead touched the cold cardboard, his whole body shaking as the tears came. He’d destroyed everything with his own hands.
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