The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 371

Chapter 371 Mommy’s missed you so much

Mia’s POV

The smell, industrial disinfectant mixed with something.

The kind of smell that lived in the walls of places where people went when society had decided they couldn’t be trusted with freedom anymore.

Madison’s small hand found mine as we walked through the metal detector, her fingers cold despite the building’s aggressive heating. She’d been quiet during the drive here, sitting in her booster seat with her elephant clutched against her chest, staring out the window at the gray February sky like she was memorizing clouds.

“Remember what we talked about,” I said softly as we waited in the sterile lobby area. Around us, other visitors shifted in plastic chairs—a woman bouncing a crying baby, an elderly man clutching a paper bag that probably contained homemade cookies, a teenager with headphones around her neck who kept checking her phone.

Madison nodded, her grip on her elephant tightening. “If I get scared, I can ask to leave.”

“That’s right.” I smoothed her hair. “And what else?”

“You’ll be right there with me the whole time.”

“The whole time,” I confirmed.

Officer Martinez appeared at the security checkpoint, her expression professional but not unkind. She’d been the one to walk us through the visitation process over the phone, explaining the rules.

“Mrs. Williams, Madison,” she said, approaching us. “Are you both ready?”

Madison’s hand squeezed mine. “Can I bring my elephant?”

“Afraid not, sweetheart. But I can keep him safe for you right here.” Officer Martinez indicated a small office behind the security desk. “He’ll be waiting when you come back out.”

The separation from her comfort object was harder than the metal detector had been. Madison kissed the top of her elephant’s fuzzy head before handing him over, whispering something.

The visitation room looked exactly like every prison movie I’d ever seen, but smaller and somehow more mundane. Round tables bolted to the floor, mismatched chairs, fluorescent lighting that made everyone look slightly green. Vending machines hummed along one wall. A corrections officer sat at a desk near the entrance, reading paperwork with the bored attention of someone who’d seen every possible human drama play out in this room.

“Victoria Whitmore will be brought out first,” Officer Martinez explained, leading us to a table in the

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Chapter 371 Mommy’s missed you so much

+25 BONUS

corner. “You’ll have thirty minutes with her, then she’ll be escorted back and Taylor Porter will be brought out. Thirty minutes with each, as requested.”

Madison climbed into her chair, her feet dangling several inches from the floor. She folded her hands in her lap with the careful composure of someone much older than her five years.

“Madison,” I said quietly, “you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to say. You don’t have to answer any questions that make you uncomfortable.”

A heavy door opened on the far side of the room. Two corrections officers flanked a figure in orange who moved with the jerky unpredictability of someone whose internal machinery had been damaged.

Victoria looked smaller than I remembered. Prison had stripped away the expensive clothes and professional makeup that had once given her an air of untouchable sophistication. Her blonde hair hung limp around her face, darker at the roots where the artificial color was growing out. She’d lost weight—too much weight-and her orange jumpsuit hung on her frame like a Halloween costume.

She spotted Madison.

“Madison!” Victoria’s voice carried across the room, bright and musical in a way that made my skin crawl. “Oh, my baby girl!”

Madison went still in her chair.

Victoria approached our table with her arms outstretched, as if expecting Madison to run into them. When the little girl remained seated, Victoria’s smile flickered for just a moment before reforming with increased intensity.

“Don’t be shy, sweetheart,” Victoria said, settling into the chair across from us. Up close, I could see the new lines around her eyes, the way her hands trembled slightly as she reached across the table toward her daughter. “Mommy’s missed you so much.”

Madison didn’t move to take her mother’s hands. “Hello, Mommy.”

“You look so grown up,” Victoria continued, her voice pitched higher now, taking on the sing-song quality adults used with much younger children. “And so pretty in that dress. Is that new? Did somebody buy you new clothes?”

Madison glanced at me briefly before answering. “Mia bought it for me.

Victoria’s mouth tightened. “How nice.” The words came out like she was chewing glass. “I’m sure it was very… educational for Madison to see how normal families celebrate things.”

“Madison’s been doing very well,” I said, my voice calm despite the anger building in my chest. ” She’s been taking art classes, making friends at school. She’s a remarkable little girl.”

“Of course she is.” Victoria’s smile turned sharp. “She’s my daughter. Though I suppose some

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Chapter 371 Mommy’s missed you so much

people might think they could do a better job of raising her than her own mother.”

Madison’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly.

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“Madison,” Victoria said, leaning forward across the table, “you know Mommy loves you more than anyone else in the world, right? You know everything I did was to try to give you a better life?”

Madison’s voice was small when she answered. “You hurt people, Mommy.”

Victoria’s facade cracked. Raw fury flashed across her face before she managed to wrestle it back

under control.

“Hurt people?” Victoria’s laugh was brittle. “Sweetheart, you’re just a little girl. You don’t understand how complicated adult relationships can be. Sometimes grown-ups have to make difficult choices to protect the people they love.”

“You hurt me,” Madison said, louder now.

The words hit Victoria like a physical blow. She recoiled, her hand flying to her throat as if Madison had reached across the table and struck her.

“That’s not… Madison, honey, you’re confused. Mommy would never hurt you. Everything I did was to take care of you, to make sure we could stay together. Those people…” She shot a venomous look at me. “Those people filled your head with lies about Mommy.”

“No one filled my head with anything,” Madison said, and there was steel in her small voice that hadn’t been there five minutes ago. “I remember.”

Victoria’s breathing became rapid and shallow. “Remember what? What do you think you remember?

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