The Daughter I Raised for Five Years Was Never Mine

I ran a five-star hotel with excellent returns.

I never cared that my husband didn't have money. The whole reason I'd chosen Toby as a live-in husband was because he seemed honest, family-oriented, and capable of managing the household. No in-law drama to worry about. I'd even let the children take his last name, out of consideration for his pride.

When we first got married, I bought him a shirt that cost over a thousand dollars. He tried to return it three times.

Now, barely five years later, he could ask me for thirty thousand without so much as blinking.

I curved my lips into something that wasn't quite a smile. "I deposit a million dollars into the family credit card every year. Since Clara was born, that's five million total. You've spent it all?"

Toby didn't flinch. Didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. "Getting Clara into that international preschool cost a fortune in connections. You know the teachers there are all people of status. Can't afford to offend a single one of them."

"Including Mildred James?"

His expression froze. Before he could respond, Clara piped up.

"Duh! Clara's mommy is pretty and amazing, so obviously she gets the biggest presents!"

She raised her little pinky and pointed it right at my nose, chin tilted up like she was scolding a disobedient dog.

"You have to give Clara's mommy presents, and buy her purses, and a car, and a house. You're just our nanny and our ATM. All your money belongs to Clara's mommy. And if you don't behave, I'll push you into the street and let a car run you over!"

"Clara!" Toby snapped, panic flashing across his face before he could hide it.

He glanced at me, then forced out a weak laugh. "Honey, kids say the darndest things. She didn't mean it. I'll have a talk with her later, I promise. Don't take it to heart."

Kids say the darndest things. Sure. But words that vicious didn't come from nowhere. Without someone teaching her, a five-year-old couldn't have strung together sentences like that.

Nanny.

ATM.

Push me into the street to get run over by a car.

Just like five years ago, when a car killed my child.

I tugged faintly at the corners of my mouth. Beneath the surface, cold seeped through me, all the way to the bone.

"Of course I won't blame her. Clara is my own flesh and blood. I nearly died bringing her into this world. How could I ever hold anything against her?"

"Not only that, but for her fifth birthday next week, I'm planning to transfer all my hotel shares to my little girl. When she comes of age, the hotel will be hers."

Toby's eyes lit up. He grabbed my hands, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Honey, Clara is so lucky to have a mother like you. And I'm so lucky to have a wife like you. We really hit the jackpot."

I pulled my hands free. Swallowing the nausea, I smiled. "Clara has such delicate skin, and she's so picky about food. Only the best for her, in every way. I'll have my assistant load fifty thousand onto the family card. You two go enjoy yourselves."

Toby was beside himself with joy. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Then I'll leave the birthday party planning to you, honey. When we get back from the trip, the whole family can celebrate together."

He stood, quickly dragged out a suitcase that had clearly been packed and waiting by the door, said something about scouting the location ahead of time, scooped Clara into his arms, and left.

The eagerness to run off and share the good news with Mildred was practically written across his face.

The door swung open and shut. Through the narrowing gap, I caught one last glimpse of Clara's mocking grimace before it disappeared.

Silence filled the room. Dead, hollow silence, matching the cavity in my chest.

I let the smile fall. Set down my spoon. Wiped my mouth with quiet precision.

Then I grabbed my car keys and followed them out.

Kingswood Villa. A hundred thousand dollars per square foot. In a city like this, it was the kind of property ordinary people couldn't even dream of affording.

I parked beneath the shade of a tree not far from the villa and waited ten minutes.

Toby had just stepped out of the car with Clara in his arms when Mildred James came trotting out of the villa in the latest Chanel couture, throwing herself straight into his embrace.