Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 The Woman Who Stole Everything

Through the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows, Rose spotted Ryan and Samantha seated at a large table.

Across from them sat a middle-aged couple, with Mike happily chatting away beside them.

Mike was familiar.

So were Ryan and Samantha.

But the couple...

Rose stopped walking.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Logan Hill.

And Daisy Riles.

Her father.

And the woman he’d chosen over her mother.

Diana followed Rose’s gaze through the glass.

The moment she recognized Ryan and Samantha, she muttered under her breath, "Those assholes."

Then she noticed the color draining from Rose’s face.

Without another word, Diana slipped a hand around her arm and gently steered her toward a table on the opposite side of the restaurant.

"I know this whole divorce thing still hurts," Diana said as they sat down. "Anyone would be a wreck after putting seven years into a marriage."

She wasn’t great at comforting people, but she was trying.

Rose slowly shook her head.

"It’s not Ryan."

Diana frowned.

"Then what?"

Rose stared through the window, her eyes fixed on the people laughing around the table.

"Samantha’s stepfather..." she said quietly. "He’s my biological father."

Diana blinked.

Rose let out a hollow laugh.

"The man who abandoned me when I was nine."

"He left me with relatives out in the middle of nowhere and never came back."

"He never even checked to see if I was alive."

For a long moment, Diana didn’t say anything.

She already knew Rose’s story.

When Rose’s mother was critically injured and slipped into a coma, Logan hadn’t stayed by her bedside.

Instead, he’d hired a divorce attorney.

While his wife lay unconscious in a hospital bed, he had the paperwork pushed through so he could walk away from the marriage.

Then he got rid of Rose.

Not because he couldn’t provide for her.

Because Daisy wouldn’t marry a man who was still raising another woman’s child.

She wanted Logan all to herself.

And she wanted Samantha to be his only daughter.

So Logan abandoned his own little girl without looking back.

Over the next ten years, Rose survived hardships no child should ever have to endure.

She’d been born into privilege.

But the life that should have been hers had been handed to someone else.

Samantha hadn’t even been born a Hill.

After Daisy married Logan, Samantha took his last name and, in every way that mattered, became the daughter he’d always wanted.

Logan spoiled her.

Protected her.

Loved her openly.

Everything he should have done for Rose.

Old memories surfaced one after another.

She remembered meeting Daisy for the first time.

She remembered Samantha too.

The little girl had looked her straight in the eye and said, I wish you and your mom would just disappear. Nobody wants you around.

Rose had been too young to understand how another child could be so cruel.

Years had passed since then.

When she’d crossed paths with Samantha again as an adult, she’d never realized she was looking at the same girl who had helped destroy her family.

Logan never corrected anyone when people called Samantha his daughter.

In fact, he embraced it.

He gave her every opportunity money could buy, while his own flesh and blood struggled just to survive.

The irony wasn’t lost on Rose.

Years ago, Samantha had taken her home.

Her father.

Now she’d taken her husband too.

History had found a way to repeat itself.

A bitter thought crossed her mind.

Did Ryan know?

Did he know Samantha was the daughter of the man who had destroyed Rose’s family?

If he did...

Then he was even colder than she’d believed.

Diana’s jaw tightened.

"Like mother, like daughter," she said. "Daisy stole your family, and Samantha’s been doing the same thing ever since."

Rose was quiet for a moment.

Then she gave a slow shake of her head.

"No."

Her voice was calm.

"If someone can be taken that easily, they were never really mine to begin with."

She managed a faint smile.

"My mom and I weren’t the ones who failed."

"And I’m not going to spend the rest of my life believing we did."

For the first time since they’d walked in, Diana smiled.

"That’s the Rose I know."

Rose had no reason to second-guess herself.

She’d done nothing wrong.

Diana held up a thumb with an approving grin.

"That’s exactly the attitude you need."

Rose smiled faintly.

When it came to Logan, she’d stopped expecting anything years ago.

The disappointment was gone.

The anger had faded too.

What still hurt was her mother.

She remained unconscious in a long-term care facility, suspended somewhere between life and death.

Logan wasn’t a father anymore.

He was simply the man who had destroyed their family.

******

That afternoon, Rose drove to the real estate office to finalize the purchase of her new home.

The property checked every box on her list.

It sat in a quiet lakeside neighborhood with tree-lined streets, walking trails, and plenty of privacy. It was close enough to the city for work but peaceful enough that her grandfather could enjoy his retirement there.

As soon as she stepped inside the sales office, her agent hurried toward her.

"Ms. Bennett, glad you made it. Someone asked to speak with you before we finish the paperwork."

Rose frowned.

"Who?"

The agent led her into one of the private conference rooms.

The moment she walked in, she stopped.

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