Skye stood up, tears streaming down her face. “Why?” she asked, voice breaking. “Why would you hurt her?”
Rebecca looked at her. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
Rebecca’s face twisted. “Because she had everything. And I had nothing.”
The room froze. Rebecca’s words hung in the air like poison.
The billionaire’s wife stepped forward. “You hurt my daughter because you were jealous?”
Rebecca’s jaw tightened. “You don’t know what it’s like. Watching her live in luxury while I scraped by on a nanny’s salary.”
“You had a job. A good one.”
“A job where I watched someone else’s kid have everything I never did.”
“So you made her suffer?”
Rebecca looked away. “I didn’t mean for it to be permanent.”
“What does that mean?” the billionaire asked.
She hesitated. “The chip was supposed to interfere with the device. Make her uncomfortable. Force you to keep calling specialists.”
“Why?”
“Because every time you did, I got paid extra to coordinate appointments. To travel with you. To stay involved.”
Marcus’s fists clenched. “You kept her in pain for money?”
“I needed it.”
Rebecca’s face cracked. “I know. I know, okay? It got out of hand.”
The billionaire’s voice was ice. “Out of hand? You stole years from her.”
Rebecca’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t think it would last this long. I thought someone would find it. But they didn’t.”
“No, they didn’t.”
Skye wiped her face. “You could have taken it out any time.”
Rebecca looked at her. “I tried once, but she screamed. I got scared. So you left it there.”
Rebecca nodded, sobbing now. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
The billionaire pulled out his phone. “You’re going to jail.”
“I know.”
He dialed. The girl pulled away from her mother and walked toward Rebecca. Everyone tensed.
Marcus stepped forward. “Sweetheart. Don’t.”
But the girl kept walking. She stopped in front of Rebecca. Rebecca knelt down, tears streaming.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
The girl stared at her. Then she did something no one expected. She hugged her. Rebecca broke down completely, sobbing into the girl’s shoulder. The billionaire’s wife covered her mouth, crying. Marcus turned away, wiping his eyes. The girl pulled back and signed something. Rebecca read her hands and shook her head.
“I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
The girl signed again.
“She says you were sad,” Dr. Brennan translated quietly. “She forgives sad people.”
Rebecca collapsed onto the floor, unable to hold herself up anymore. The police arrived ten minutes later. They took Rebecca away in handcuffs. She didn’t fight. Didn’t argue. Just looked back at the girl one last time before disappearing into the police car.
When the door closed, the billionaire finally exhaled. He walked over to his daughter and knelt down.
“You didn’t have to forgive her.”
She signed something. He read her hands and smiled through tears. “You’re a better person than I am.”
His wife joined them, wrapping her arms around both of them. Marcus stood nearby, hands in his pockets, watching. The billionaire looked up at him.
“Thank you. For not giving up.”
Marcus nodded. “She’s worth it.”
Then the billionaire turned to Skye. She was standing with her mom, both of them quiet. He walked over. “Come here.”
Skye hesitated. “Please.”
She stepped forward. He knelt down and pulled her into a hug.
“You saved her,” he whispered. “You saved my little girl.”
Skye started crying again. He held her until she stopped shaking. Then he pulled back and looked at Angela.
“I meant what I said earlier. Whatever you need. Whatever she needs. I’m here.”
Angela nodded, unable to speak. The girl ran over and hugged Skye from behind. Skye turned and hugged her back. The billionaire’s wife joined them. Then Marcus. They all stood there in the middle of the living room, holding each other. A broken family put back together, and a little girl who refused to walk past someone in pain…
