When She Regained Her Sight

Chapter 4 He Suspected Me

"Mommy, what's wrong? Why are your eyes all red?" Mia asked with concern.

I shook my head and forced a smile. "Just got some soap in my eyes from the bubbles."

I had so many questions I wanted to ask her: Why are you pretending to be Mia? Who are you? Are you really Kailey's daughter? Are you in on this with them?'

But I swallowed it all down.

I told myself inwardly, 'Stay calm, Caroline. You gotta stay calm. She's just a five-year-old kid. What could she possibly know?'

Just as I finished dressing her, Kailey called us downstairs for dinner.

As much as I hated them, I had no choice but to play along for now.

I was on my own, and I had to be smart if I wanted to find my real daughter.

"Sweetheart, try the lemon avocado salad I made. You won't be disappointed," Anthony said, placing a bowl of salad in front of me.

On his left sat me and Mia, and on his right was Kailey.

Kailey picked up a forkful of beef and fed it straight to Anthony, right in front of Mia. Anthony leaned in with a smile and happily took a bite from her fork.

I gripped my knife and fork so hard, but Mia just sat there and quietly had her food as if she saw nothing.

So all this time, there had been the third woman in my marriage right under my nose!

I couldn't see all this, but they flaunted their affair in front of our daughter.

And the little girl—she never told me any of this.

She was in on their affairs too, and she was an accomplice!

I asked, "Sweetheart, I think I smell some cream of mushroom soup. Did Kailey make it?"

I reached my hand out slowly, pretending to search for the soup bowl.

Anthony quickly interjected, "Caroline, leave it. You might burn yourself."

I ignored him, and my hand found the bowl. Then, I picked it up.

Kailey, remembering earlier incidents, pressed herself tightly against the chair and leaned away.

"Hey, Caroline, put the soup down! It's boiling hot!" she shouted.

I replied, "I got it. Anthony, I want you to try some."

Anthony couldn't say no, so he just raised his hands and kept saying, "Careful, babe."

Following his words, I let my hand slip just enough for the entire bowl of soup to pour right onto his chest.

"OMG—" Kailey screamed. "Look at what you've done!"

"I'm so sorry! What happened? Did I spill it on Anthony?" I asked.

I hurried over, pretending to help Anthony.

"Honey, you okay? Did you get hurt?" I asked again with fake concern.

The dinner table was a mess. Anthony told me to take care of Mia while Kailey helped him to the bathroom.

I said to Mia, "Honey, can you go to your room and get ready for bed? I'll check on Daddy."

I quickly sent Mia off to her room and followed them to Anthony and my bedroom.

Anthony's soiled clothes were thrown outside the bathroom, and a phone was sitting right there on the sink.

It was Anthony's phone.

I'd long noticed how closely Anthony guarded his phone. He never answered calls in front of me, always kept it on him, and I'd never once gotten my hands on it.

I hadn't found anything on Kailey's phone about Mia's real identity, so maybe the truth was hidden in Anthony's.

Through the frosted glass, I could see their shadows pressed together.

"Look, it's all red! Does it still hurt? That clumsy i***t!" Kailey spat angrily.

"I'm fine. I'll be okay after a few rinses and some ointment," Anthony said to Kailey.

Their voices softened and gradually turned into hushed, tender whispers.

I stood there and watched their figures, tears welling up in my eyes.

I should be in there with Anthony. It should've been me!

'Anthony, why? Why did you fall out of love with me?' I murmured in my heart.

I blinked away my tears and forced myself to hold them back.

Nothing mattered more right now than finding out the truth about my daughter.

I unlocked Anthony's phone and tried a few passwords. First, his birthday, but it was wrong.

Then I entered Mia's birthday, yet it still showed the wrong passwords.

Finally, I tried Kailey's birthday, and it worked.

A swirl of emotions hit me.

But there was no time to dwell on it. I went straight to his contacts.

Besides business partners, I saw only family and friends we both knew.

I opened his messages with Kailey and scrolled through their conversation.

They didn't mention Mia either. But then, I saw a name I didn't recognize, from just a week ago.

Kailey texted: Has Molly finished the ceremony?

Anthony replied: No, she has to wait until she reaches six.

They never mentioned the girl named Molly again after that.

But something about the girl named Molly set off my radar like crazy—I had a gut feeling that she might be my real daughter.

Just as I was about to dig deeper into anything related to Molly, I heard a noise from the bathroom.

Anthony said, "Just put some ointment on it, and it'll be fine."

"I think the landlady said all the medicines are in the cabinet," Kailey replied.

My heart raced. I quickly put the phone back down and acted like I was just about to enter the room when the bathroom door opened.

"Anthony, are you okay?" I asked.

I reached out with my hands and pretended to feel my way anxiously.

Both of them were shocked at my sudden appearance. Anthony instinctively glanced at his phone, which confirmed what I had suspected: there was definitely something on that phone he didn't want me to find!

"It's just a little red. I'll be fine after some ointment," he said, grabbing my hand to reassure me.

But with his other hand, he immediately picked up his phone. The moment he did, I saw his brow furrow like something was off.

My heart pounded like crazy. 'Damn! I forgot to put it back face-up!'

I'd been too hasty. The phone had originally been face-up, but in my rush, I placed it back face-down.

Anthony shot me a suspicious look. He was starting to suspect I'd been snooping through his phone.

I stayed calm and said, "Did you change clothes? I picked them up just now. Do you need a towel?"

Anthony glanced at the pile of clothes on the floor, now stacked up—they had been kicked aside by me when I tried to put the phone back.

Maybe he thought I had simply moved his phone while tidying up.

Without a word, he guided me out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Just leave the things to Kailey. Why aren't you putting Mia to bed?"

"I was just worried about you. I'm sorry I've been so clumsy tonight. I just wanted to serve you some of your favorite soup."

"I know, dear, you love me too much."

He let go of my hand and handed me my cane.

"Take a seat here. I'll be fine after I use the ointment," he said.

Then, as he walked past, he kicked a sharp piece of broken porcelain right in front of mine.

I was only wearing thin slippers. If I stepped on it, I'd definitely hurt myself.

Anthony stood there, watching me closely and waiting for my next move.

I knew it! He suspected me!