“Mommy! I finally found you!”

Claire's POV

I stared at the elderly woman standing before me, her frail frame slightly hunched, but her presence was as warm and familiar as ever. My chest tightened, and before I could stop myself, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Grandmother…" I whispered, my voice breaking. It had been so long since I'd seen her, and amidst all this chaos, I hadn't even realized how much I missed her. Without a second thought, I pushed off the bed, ignoring the sharp pain in my ankle, and threw my arms around her. "I am so sorry!" The words spilled out, uncontrollable, as if a dam had burst inside me, releasing every ounce of regret and sorrow I'd been holding in.

She wrapped her frail arms around me, trembling, but her embrace was just as warm and just as comforting as I remembered. I buried my face in her shoulder, letting the tears flow freely now, allowing myself to fall apart in her arms.

I had kept everything bottled up for so long! Evander, the lies, the betrayal— but now, with her holding me, I could finally let go. My body shook with sobs, and for that brief moment, I didn't care about the hospital, Evander, or the cruel game he seemed to be playing. All that mattered was that I was here, with her, feeling safe again.

"I missed you so much, Claire," she whispered, her voice weak but filled with love. "I have been waiting to see you. I wanted to have dinner with you and Evander... my sweet, sweet children."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. My tears stilled for a moment as I pulled back slightly, looking into her soft, familiar eyes. Her face, though aged, still held that warmth and kindness, but something was terribly wrong. Her words echoed in my head, but they didn't make sense.

Dinner? With Evander?

How could she not know about the divorce? Or everything that had happened between us?

Before I could respond, an elderly nurse stepped in, offering me an apologetic smile. "Forgive me, Miss," she said, bowing her head slightly. "Old Madam has dementia. She... she doesn't remember anything after her grandson and granddaughter-in-law passed away."

My heart dropped. Passed away?

"Ex–Excuse me!?" I stammered, blinking in shock. What was she talking about? "Passed away? Elijah and Lexi?" My voice trembled as I tried to grasp what she meant. The world around me felt like it was spinning.

The nurse gave me a sad, knowing look. "Yes, Miss. Old Madam Kensington believes you are still married to Evander, and she thinks her grandson Elijah and his wife are still alive."

I stood there, stunned, unable to process her words. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were dead? The only support I had in the Kensington family after Grandmother! 

How could this be possible? Why was I not made aware of that? Or did it happen while I was gone?

Grandma, oblivious to the tension that gripped me, smiled warmly. "Julie, hurry up and call Evan! I want him here right away," she chirped happily, her frail voice filled with innocent excitement. "He will be so happy to see you, my dear!"

"No, Grandma!" I exclaimed, my voice rising in panic. "You don't need to call him!" My heart raced, pounding in my chest. I had barely escaped Evander's grasp. The thought of him finding me again, of getting pulled back into his web, made my skin crawl.

I tried to remain calm, for her sake, but the desperation clawed at my insides. "Please," I pleaded softly, my voice breaking with the weight of all I had been through, "don't call him."

But she didn't hear me. The nurse quietly nodded to her, then looked at me sympathetically as if she understood. And in that moment, all the emotions—conflict, grief, fear— swirled inside me, a storm I couldn't outrun.

But then again, deep down, I knew the truth. As long as I stayed in this city—or anywhere in this country, for that matter—there was no way I could escape him. He had eyes everywhere, power that reached farther than I could imagine. Even now, the memory of him hailing the taxi and sending me to the hospital played over and over in my mind, taunting me. Why had he brought me here? Was this all part of some twisted game he was playing?

The thought made my stomach turn. My body stiffened as a terrifying realization crept over me.

Wait... Could this have been another one of his plans? To use Grandmother to bind me, trap me even further?

Just the idea of it sent a chill racing down my spine. My fingers trembled, and I felt the air grow cold around me. Evander was manipulative, ruthless—always calculating his next move. But to drag his grandmother into this? To exploit her memory loss and innocence? Was there no line he wouldn't cross?

My breath came out in short, uneven gasps as my heart pounded wildly. What the hell does he want from me? He already had everything—a mistress waiting at his side, children born from their affair, living the life that was stolen from me. Meanwhile, I had been left to drown in the agony of losing my own child, my world shattered beyond repair.

What more could he possibly want?

Tears blurred my vision, but this time, they weren't from sadness—they were from anger. How could someone be so heartless? So cruel? He had ripped everything I loved away from me, torn my life apart piece by piece, and still, he wasn't done. His grip on me was suffocating, like a chain I couldn't break no matter how hard I tried.

As I stood there, trapped in that hospital room with Grandmother's frail arms still around me, the fear settled into my bones. He would never let me go.

I was still in my thoughts when a small figure appeared in from me and hugged my thighs. "Mommy! I finally found you!"

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