He Saved Her Daughter, I Took Everything

Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes again, I couldn't believe it, I was in a cold forensic lab.

A searing, bone-deep agony throbbed through my injured legs over and over.

I forced my eyes up to scan the room, and there I saw them.

Johan had Trixie wrapped tight in his arms, her forensic pathologist uniform stretching over her frame, and he was teasing her with a lazy, dirty grin.

The second his eyes locked onto me, awake and staring back, that warm smile on his face vanished like it had never been there.

Stomping over to me, rage rolling off him in waves, he grabbed a fistful of my collar and wrenched me straight up off the ground in one brutal yank.

Next thing I knew, his palm crashed into my cheek so hard my head snapped to the side.

Johan's furious roar boomed in my ringing ears. "This slap is for getting Trixie in trouble with that fake complaint of yours! You knew damn well this was the make-or-break point for her permanent position review, and you still went out of your way to stab her in the back. How can you be so goddamn vicious?"

"What complaint? I never even—"

My eyes blew wide open. I had absolutely no clue what complaint he was even talking about.

But before I could get another word out to explain myself…

Trixie jumped in fast.

She wrapped her hand around Johan's and murmured softly, "Johan, it’s fine. A little unfair treatment doesn't bother me. Don't let this mess with your marriage to Audrey over me."

Then she turned her gaze to me, her eyes brimming with fear and helplessness. "Audrey… are you satisfied with what I've done? If you're satisfied, please just stop filing complaints against me. I really love this job as a forensic pathologist more than anything."

Watching her sling mud at me nonstop, all those lies right in my face, the fire in my chest finally boiled over.

I couldn't hold it back any longer.

"What the hell are you talking about? When did I ever file a complaint against you?" I snapped.

Seeing me lose my temper, Trixie's face went even paler, and she curled in on herself like she was terrified I'd hurt her.

And the disgust in Johan's eyes when he looked at me only grew deeper.

He shoved Trixie firmly behind his back to shield her, then lashed out with a brutal kick to the back of my knee.

"Get over here and apologize to Trixie! Get on your knees and swear you'll never do this again, or I'll make sure Caren never gets a proper burial!"

White-hot rage exploded in my chest the second the words left his mouth.

"Johan, if you're sick, go see a doctor! You want me to kneel and beg Trixie for forgiveness? In your dreams!"

My words pushed him completely over the edge. He lunged forward and clamped his hand tight around my throat.

I thrashed and twisted to break free, and the necklace I wore around my neck slipped loose.

It fell right into Johan's palm, and the locket clicked open by chance.

Inside lay an old photo of the two of us, taken when we brought Caren to hike.

He froze for a split second, then ripped his hand back like he'd just been pricked by a needle.

The necklace clattered onto the floor and shattered into a hundred pieces.

The photo inside was sliced clean through by the broken glass, torn apart into jagged scraps.

It looked exactly like what was left of our family now.

Some flicker of the warm years we'd spent together must have crossed his mind, because the look he gave me shifted into something tangled and unreadable.

He watched me hunched over coughing, hand clamped over my mouth, and hesitated.

Slowly, he lifted his hand, like he meant to pat my back to ease the coughing.

But right before his fingers could brush my skin, Trixie's voice cut in, stopping him cold.