He Threw Our Daughter's Ashes Away

Every time Aidan Mason jetted off on a vacation with his lover, he'd drop Hailey Carpenter a pin.

He promised if she could track him down, he’d come back to her.

For three years, Hailey crossed oceans, hiked through the Alps—never once finding him. That was, until the ninety-ninth message. Aidan’s location showed him barely a hundred yards away. But this time, Hailey didn’t move a muscle.

Nobody knew how long she'd been frozen in place. The silence only cracked when the door swung open. Aidan leaned against the doorframe, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as he watched Hailey curled up on the couch.

“Those other locations? All a game,” Aidan said, his tone way too casual. “I tossed my phone onto random planes just to screw with you. But this time, I sent my actual location, and you didn’t show.”

“Don’t you wanna know where I’ve been all along? Downstairs. And I wasn’t alone—Lauren Bell was with me.”

Hailey’s lashes flickered at Lauren’s name. Lauren—her so-called close friend from boarding school. Even after the Carpenters adopted Hailey, she’d brought Lauren with her, introducing her as a sister.

The room fell dead silent, but Aidan just shrugged. He couldn’t have cared less. “You know I’ve always craved a mother’s touch. The way she doted on you? I couldn’t resist. So on our wedding night, I was with her.”

He nodded at the spot right under Hailey, adding, “Right there,” fully expecting a reaction.

Instead, Hailey just gave a small nod. “I see.”

Outside, the shadows of swaying trees hid her expression. Aidan paused, thrown off, then pressed on. “Lauren’s expecting. I’m transferring half of Journi’s inheritance to her baby.”

At the mention of their daughter’s name, a tremor ran through Hailey—so slight, but Aidan caught it. His brows pulled together, guard up. “It’s the law. Even if you fight it—”

“No need.”

Hailey’s voice sliced through, ice-cold. No need to fight—because their little girl was already gone.

Three days earlier, Aidan had sent a location. But Journi saw it. Desperate to see her daddy after two long weeks, the child grabbed Hailey’s phone and bolted outside—right into the path of a speeding car.

By the time Hailey got there, her daughter was barely clinging to life. As she fumbled for 911, she spotted Aidan in the distance with Lauren, casually lobbing his phone into a garbage truck. Seconds later, Journi’s tiny fingers closed around the phone as it lit up with a message: “Same rules—find me, and I’ll come home. You’ve got ten minutes.”

Hailey felt every drop of blood in her veins freeze. Slowly, she lifted her head. There was Lauren, playfully nudging Aidan, her voice all tease. “Why do you keep messing with Hailey like that? What if she catches on?”

Aidan laughed, tilting Lauren’s chin up. “Wanna bet? Even if she traced me to the dump, she’d dig through every pile of trash.”

“If you lose, you’re wearing that little number I got you tonight, deal?”

“Cut it out. We have to be careful because of the baby…”

The two of them laughed, carefree, barely a stone’s throw away. Meanwhile, in Hailey’s arms, her daughter fought for every breath, whispering, “Mommy, am I sick? If I’m sick, will Daddy come see me?”

Tears streamed down Hailey’s face as she looked at her little girl. How was she supposed to explain that Daddy didn’t love Mommy, and he didn’t love her either?

But Journi never lived long enough to see the ambulance—never waited for Aidan. She drew her last breath right there in Hailey’s arms.

Now, Hailey ignored the confused man across from her, silently stitching up the tear in the stuffed toy she held. It was the cheap cartoon plushie Aidan had grabbed from a street vendor for Journi’s birthday, almost like an afterthought. The fabric was so flimsy it ripped, and Journi had patched it with stickers. Yet while her father’s mind was elsewhere, all he cared about was securing a future for Lauren’s unborn child.

Once Hailey tied off the final thread, Aidan’s irritation boiled over at her weird silence. “And another thing—Lauren moves in this afternoon. She hates dull colors, so make the rooms more lively.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, adding, “If Lauren’s happy, I’ll show up for Journi’s parent-teacher thing. For our daughter’s sake, just suck it up a little.”

With that, Aidan turned on his heel and left.

Behind him, Hailey’s lashes lifted, her gaze landing on the urn sitting right there in the center of the living room. A bitter smile ghosted across her lips. She pulled a document from beneath the urn.

Two days ago, she’d slipped it into the company files for Aidan to sign. Distracted by Lauren, he’d scribbled his signature without even glancing at it.

Hailey folded the divorce papers and tucked them into the toy’s little pocket.

Journi had always wanted to see the ocean, but they never got the chance.

In seven days, once the divorce was final, Hailey would take her daughter to the sea—far away—and never come back.