Chapter 93 093
RYAN
“I cannot believe you, Ryan.”
My mother’s voice cut through the room sharply, filling every corner of it.
She stood near the foot of my bed, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her expression hard with disapproval.
“You left your room,” she continued, her tone rising. “In your condition. Just to go and see her.”
I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through my hair.
“I didn’t ‘just go and see her,’” I said, my voice already strained from repeating myself. “I went to see my wife.”
She scoffed.
That familiar, dismissive sound that always managed to irritate me more than anything else.
“Wife?” she repeated, like the word tasted bitter in her mouth. “Is that what we’re calling her now?”
My jaw tightened.
“That’s what she is.”
“She left you, Ryan.”
“She didn’t—”
“She cheated on you,” she cut in sharply. “She humiliated you. She broke this family apart and you’re still running after her like nothing happened—”
“I said she didn’t leave me,” I snapped, my voice rising now.
Silence fell for a split second.
Tense.
Heavy.
Then she shook her head slowly, her lips curling slightly.
“I don’t know what she told you in there,” she said, “but whatever story she’s feeding you—”
“She didn’t feed me anything,” I cut in. “Just please, Mom.”
That made her pause.
Just for a second.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“And why didn’t you tell me you got your memories back?”
I held her gaze.
Steady.
“Because I wanted to know how far you were willing to play this game.”
The words hung in the air.
Her expression didn’t change immediately.
But I saw it.
That flicker.
That tiny shift.
Surprise.
Disbelief.
And then—
She laughed.
A short, sharp laugh.
“I’ve tried my best to protect you,” she said. “But you hate being protected, don’t you?"
“Just… enough, Mom, please.”
"Fine then."
Her eyes hardened.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No,” I said firmly.
She stared at me for a long moment.
Then her expression shifted.
Cold.
Disappointed.
“After everything I’ve done for you,” she said quietly, “this is how you repay me?”
I let out a dry laugh.
“There it is.”
Her brows furrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Then… the door burst open.
The sound was loud.
Sudden.
Both of us turned immediately.
Emily.
She stood at the doorway, breathing hard.
Her chest rising and falling too fast.
Her eyes—
Wide.
Wild.
Terrified.
Something in my chest dropped instantly.
“Emily?” I said, pushing myself up slightly despite the discomfort. “What’s going on?”
But she didn’t answer me.
Didn’t even look at me.
Her gaze was locked on my mother.
And before I could react, she walked straight past me.
Fast.
Determined.
Focused.
Stopping right in front of her.
“I’m so glad I caught you here,” Emily said.
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that didn’t feel right.
The kind that made my stomach tighten.
“Before you disappeared again.”
My mother frowned slightly.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing barging into—”
“Where is my daughter?”
The room went still.
My heart skipped.
“What?” I said immediately, my eyes snapping between them. “What are you talking about?”
Emily didn’t look at me.
Didn’t acknowledge me.
Her eyes stayed fixed on my mother.
Sharp.
Accusing.
“Where did you put my daughter?” she asked again.
Each word was clear.
Cold.
Deadly.
My mother blinked.
Then—
She scoffed.
A slow, mocking sound.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve always known you were unfit to be a parent.”
The words barely finished leaving her mouth before it happened.
The sound echoed in the room.
Sharp.
Loud.
Unmistakable.
Emily’s hand connected with my mother’s face.
A slap.
Clean.
Hard.
Everything froze.
My breath caught.
My mother’s head snapped slightly to the side from the impact.
Silence followed.
Thick.
Heavy.
Even Emily looked slightly shocked for half a second.
Like she hadn’t fully processed what she had just done.
But then—
Her expression hardened again.
“I’m warning you, Cecilia,” she said.
Her voice shook.
But not from fear.
From anger.
From something deeper.
“If you have anything to do with my daughter missing—”
Her voice broke slightly.
But she pushed through it.
“You will pay for it.”
My chest tightened.
“Emily, wait—” I started, trying to piece things together. “What do you mean missing? What’s going on?”
But my mother had already recovered.
Her shock melted into anger.
Fury.
“How dare you,” she snapped, her hand flying to her cheek. “How dare you put your hands on me—”
“You know exactly what you did—”
“I did nothing!” she shot back. “If your child is missing, maybe you should start by questioning your own ability to take care of her.”
“Stop it!” I snapped.
My voice cut through both of them.
Loud.
Sharp.
“Both of you, stop!”
My head was spinning.
Nothing was making sense.
“Someone explain what’s happening right now,” I demanded.
Emily’s breathing was still uneven.
Her eyes filled with tears again, but she refused to let them fall.
“They took her,” she said.
My heart dropped.
“What?”
“Zara is missing,” she said. “Morgan said some men hit her outside and when she got up, Zara was gone.”
Everything inside me went cold.
“What do you mean gone?” I asked, my voice lowering dangerously.
“I mean gone, Ryan!” she snapped. “She was right there and then she wasn’t!”
Silence crashed into the room again.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
I turned slowly toward my mother.
My mind racing.
Trying to connect dots that didn’t fully exist yet.
Her expression shifted.
Not guilt.
Not panic.
Just… annoyance and disdain.
“This is ridiculous,” she said flatly. “You actually think I had something to do with this?”
Emily let out a bitter laugh.
“I don’t know what you’re capable of anymore.”
That did it.
My mother stepped forward.
Furious.
“How dare you accuse me of something like that—”
Before she could finish, the door opened again.
This time—
Slowly.
All of us turned.
Two people stepped in.
And in that exact moment—
My mother’s expression changed.
Completely.
Her anger vanished.
Replaced by something else.
Something… unexpected.
Recognition.
“Cece?”
The woman’s voice was soft.
Uncertain.
My mother froze.
Then slowly—
She turned toward them fully.
Her eyes locking onto the woman standing at the door.
And for the first time since all of this started—
She looked…caught off guard.
“Hello, Gianna.”