No Second Chances Ex-husband novel Chapter 38

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LAUREN'S POV

I sat there in the pool of blood, still holding my sweet child’s body in my arms. My heart felt as though it had been ripped out of my chest and crushed into dust. I kept trying to convince myself that she wasn’t gone, that any moment now her little chest would rise and fall, that her warm brown eyes would flutter open, that she’d look at me and smile the way she always did. But reality was cruel, and it stared me right in the face.

My eyes had turned red and swollen from endless crying, and tears kept falling no matter how hard I tried to stop them. My head ached so terribly it felt as if it might split open, but the pain inside my chest was far worse, something no medicine could ever cure. My hands were shaking violently as I clung to her, afraid that if I let go, I’d truly have to accept that she was gone. My dress was soaked through with her blood, clinging to my skin and heavy against my body, but I didn’t care about that, not even for a moment.

It had been over three hours since I’d collapsed to the floor with her, and still I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Time had lost all meaning, blurred by grief. Outside, night had already come, and the darkness beyond the windows seemed deeper, crueler than ever. The only lights that shone were the harsh, cold flashes of red and blue from the police cars parked outside the door, their reflections dancing across the marble floors and walls of a house that had once felt like a home.

Ethan stood near the door, his face pale, talking to an officer. I watched him numbly, my heart still refusing to process any of this. He was explaining everything that had happened, or rather, what little he knew. I kept hearing the low murmur of his voice, the officer’s clipped questions, and the scratch of a pen against the notepad.

Then it suddenly struck me, cutting through the fog in my mind like a blade Ethan must know. He had been here before me. He must have seen what happened, must have some idea of who did this. A wave of anger, grief, and desperation washed over me. I needed to hear it from him, to know why our little girl was lying here like this.

Slowly, gently, I lowered Elena’s small, cold body to the floor. My fingers hovered over her cheek one last time before I stood up, my knees weak, my heart pounding so hard I could barely breathe. My tears were still falling, and my voice cracked as I finally found the strength to speak.

“Ethan, we need to talk,” I said, my words coming out shaky, but louder than the sobs threatening to overtake me again.

He glanced at me briefly, his face blank, then turned back to the officer, ignoring what I’d just said as if he hadn’t heard me at all. The pain of that moment stung like a fresh wound.

“I said we need to talk. Now.” This time, my voice came out sharper, almost a demand, fueled by raw desperation.

Ethan paused, then turned back to the officer and said, “Do you mind excusing me for a few seconds?” The officer gave him a small nod, stepping back to give us space.

We walked to a corner of the hallway, the walls around us seeming to close in. My chest felt tight, my breath short, and when I finally spoke, it felt like my throat was made of glass.

“What happened to our daughter?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, though every word trembled with pain. “Ethan… how did this happen?”

He looked back at me, his own eyes bloodshot, his face tired and grief-stricken. But there was something else there too, something that made my heart sink deeper.

“Why are you asking me like I know the answer?” he snapped, though his voice shook. “I came in a few seconds before you did and saw her lying there, stabbed by who knows what.”

His words cut through me like a knife. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

“Don’t give me that crap, she was left in your care.” The words spilled out of me, raw and shaking, louder than I meant, but I couldn’t hold them back. My chest was heaving, my eyes stinging with tears that refused to stop.

Then I paused, my breath catching as the weight of what Ethan had just said finally sank in.

“Hold on a minute…” I whispered, my voice suddenly quieter, but sharp like a blade. “You went out?” I asked, the question trembling on my lips.

He didn’t answer. His jaw tightened, and his eyes darted away, refusing to meet mine. That silence, that stubborn silence, said everything louder than words ever could.

My heart clenched so hard I felt dizzy, and before I even realized what I was doing, my hand flew up and struck him across the face. The sound of the slap echoed in the heavy air of the room, sharp and cruel, cutting through the murmurs of the officers around us.