My Husband Went Insane After Seeing Our Daughter's Corpse

When our daughter was kidnapped by traffickers, my husband Daniel Robinson was busy playing horsey with his first love's child.

He had always been proud, yet he willingly crawled on the floor like a dog, carrying his first love's daughter.

I couldn't find our daughter and begged Daniel for help.

But he sneered with disdain. "An actress's child knows how to put on a show. Sophie, you're really pulling out all the stops to get attention!"

He took his first love's daughter on outings, carefree.

Ten days later, prompted by someone else, he finally remembered his own daughter.

"Sophie, it's my birthday today. What gift did our daughter prepare for me?"

I stared at our daughter's body, chopped into pieces by the traffickers, and laughed hysterically through my breakdown. "She does have a big gift for you. I just wonder if you can handle it."

1

The sky outside was thick with dark clouds, but Delilah remained undeterred.

She packed her schoolbag, muttering softly to herself. "This is my dad's favorite chocolate. I'll bring two pieces. Daddy has O-positive blood, so I need the full bottle of mosquito repellent. O-positive attracts mosquitoes the most. And... the water bottle! Daddy works hard and gets stomachaches. He needs to drink warm water..."

Delilah was only six, but for this outing she had pleaded for over three months, she prepared as best she could.

She finished packing.

She slipped on clean, neat lace-trimmed socks and carefully sent Daniel a message. "Dad, should I wear my pink dress today? That way you'll spot me in the crowd!"

The message went unanswered, like a stone sinking into the sea.

I couldn't bear to see the disappointment on Delilah's face.

I glanced at my phone, and a news alert hit me like a knife through the heart, the pain overwhelming.

Two minutes earlier, every media outlet in the city had published explosive news.

Daniel's first love, Ivy Bailey, had returned to the country!

In the news photos, Daniel, who never waited at airports, held Ivy's bag in one hand and her child in the other.

The three of them walked together, looking perfectly matched, like a real family.

But if they were a family, then who were Delilah and I?

Time ticked by.

Soon, it was time for Delilah's planned trip to the amusement park with Daniel.

Seeing Delilah's hopeful expression, I steeled myself and called Daniel.

"Daniel, Delilah earned fifty perfect scores just to spend your birthday with you. I'm begging you, please don't let her down, okay?"

My voice trembled with humility, my usually straight posture bending under the weight of the cold phone call.

But the voice on the other end belonged to Ivy Bailey, Daniel's first love.

2

Dark clouds loomed over the house, and I burned with helpless rage, feeling like I might collapse any second.

But Ivy seemed radiant.

She laughed playfully, pretending to be sophisticated, and switched the call to video, dialing me again.

"Papa Daniel, crawl faster! Crawl even faster! I want to ride the fastest horsey!"

In the video, Daniel, always impeccably dressed and composed, let Ivy's daughter ride on his back. She tugged at his tie like he was a dog, making him crawl across the floor.

His clothes wrinkled, his hair disheveled, sweat beaded on his forehead, but he smiled. "Chloe, what did you just call me?"

The girl giggled, not answering.

Daniel, ever patient, asked again. "Chloe, tell me. If you do, I'll take you to the amusement park, okay?"

The reward Delilah had begged for through daily texts was now casually promised to someone else.

My vision darkened, my strength drained, and I nearly collapsed.

"I called you Papa Daniel because my mom says you're the person who loves us most in the world..."

"Chloe, don't talk nonsense!" Ivy scolded her softly, but when she turned to me, her face was all innocence.

"Miss Williams, kids say silly things. Don't take it to heart. You must have called for something important. I'll get Daniel to take the call."

She handed the phone to Daniel.

But the moment he saw my face, he scowled. "Sophie, do you have to make a scene today? I've given you and that burden enough already! Stop bothering me!"

He hung up without hesitation.

I stood frozen, holding the phone, unsure how to explain this to Delilah.

Thankfully, Delilah was sensible.

From my expression alone, she understood what had happened.

She walked over and cupped my face with her soft little hands. "Mom, don't frown. Dad's busy with work and can't spend his birthday with me. I'm used to it. Delilah's a good girl, and good girls don't throw tantrums about going to the amusement park!"

Seeing Delilah comfort me broke my heart.

Tears streamed down my face.

I carried her to the bedroom, holding her tightly as if guarding the entire world, and we fell asleep.

At that moment, I wanted nothing else, only for Delilah to grow up safe.

But in my dream, my usually sensible Delilah ran toward a dark void, refusing to turn back no matter how I called.

"Delilah! Be good!"

A giant hand seemed to crush my heart.

I jolted awake, but Delilah was no longer in my arms.

3

Delilah was always sensible.

Over the years, I raised her alone, feeling guilty at times but never troubled by her emotions.

But now, I searched the entire neighborhood and found no trace of her.

Thunder rumbled, one bolt after another.

Delilah feared thunder most; on stormy nights, she could only sleep in my arms.

But now, she had gone out in the storm.

What could have overcome her fear?

The more I thought, the more anxious I became, biting my fingertips until they bled.

My phone buzzed.

A video came from an unknown number.

In the footage, Delilah still wore her pink dress.

Her hands were bound, her body hung upside down from a beam, blood dripping from her mouth, drying in her neatly combed hair.

To spend this birthday with Daniel, Delilah had woken up four hours early to dress like a little princess.

But now, she was a wreck, tortured like a lab rat.

One glance at the video sent pain shooting through every bone in my body.

"Delilah!" I dialed the number repeatedly, pleading with them not to hurt my daughter.

But in the video, Delilah, covered in blood, mumbled incoherently. "Dad... it's raining, and no one's there to pick Dad up. That's so sad... I have to bring Dad an umbrella..."

I couldn't hold back anymore.

I curled up, sobbing, and texted the unknown number. "Don't hurt her! If you want to torture someone, take me instead! Please, don't hurt her! She's just a child!"

I sent the message and waited in agony.

Half an hour later, the kidnappers finally called.

On the other end, they seemed to be laughing. "Mrs. Robinson, how much do you think your daughter is worth? An arm for three hundred thousand. Not too much, right?"

"Don't hurt her! I'll get whatever money you want! Just don't hurt her. I want her to come home safe and whole!" My voice cracked, nearly breaking.

The kidnappers chuckled softly. "Since you are so cooperative, we won't waste your time. Three million in cash. Have it ready by nine tonight. Otherwise, I can't guarantee whether the kid's body will feed the fish or turn into fireworks."

"No!"

They hung up immediately after speaking.

Three million was no small sum for me.

But for Delilah, I would give up anything.

With trembling hands, I called Daniel, my voice almost pitifully soft. "Daniel, where are you?"

4

On the way to find Daniel, my mind replayed Delilah begging me to buy her a pink dress, her face full of anticipation.

Delilah didn't actually like pink.

But Daniel had once said in a media interview, "Pink is cute. It suits girls."

That was why Delilah clung to the pink dress.

She probably craved her father's praise and affection so much.

That was why, on a rainy day, she thought of herself, never once picked up from school by her father.

She wanted to bring Daniel home.

However, she didn't know that this home was the thing Daniel despised most.

"Sophie, when will you stop? I gave you marriage, a child, everything! Now you want to control my freedom? Who do you think you are?"

At the entrance to the Robinson family estate, Daniel glared at me, his face cold, while I stood drenched from head to toe.

I urgently told him about Delilah's kidnapping.

But he only scoffed. "Ivy was right. You'll make up any excuse to stop us from catching up."

His disdain was unmistakable.

I froze for two seconds, then, with shaking hands, showed him the video the kidnappers sent.

"Daniel, I'm telling the truth. They want three million, or they'll kill her. I'm begging you, treat it as a loan. I'll write an IOU. Please help Delilah. I'm begging you!"

I held the video out to Daniel.

If he just looked at it, he would know I wasn't lying.

But he snatched the phone and smashed it to the ground, shattering the screen.

"Of course. Like mother, like daughter. Sophie, you're an actress, and the child you birthed is a natural performer too. You and that shameful daughter of yours disgust me!"

Daniel turned to leave.

In desperation, I dropped to my knees with a thud.

"Daniel, if you help me get Delilah back, I'll agree to a divorce! I'm not lying. Delilah's really been kidnapped!"

Tears streamed down my face, my complexion pale, almost translucent.

Daniel's voice tightened slightly. "Sophie, stop joking."

"Daniel, I would never joke about Delilah!" I was frantic.

Daniel hesitated, about to say something, when Ivy's voice cut through. "Daniel, come quick! Chloe's having an allergic reaction!"

At her words, Daniel bolted.

The door slammed shut in front of me, like the door to Delilah's survival.

No matter how I cried or pleaded, it never opened again.

5

When I first met Daniel, he was a broke aristocrat on the verge of bankruptcy, while I was a glamorous actress at the height of my fame.

At a banquet, people teased Daniel, treating him like a stray dog with nowhere to go.

I stepped into the crowd of predators, diverting their attention to save him.

Afterward, Daniel asked me, "Why?"

I smiled and placed a bracelet in front of him, one the Robinson family's charity had given to a mountain village girl.

At sixteen, I had escaped the mountains with the support of the Robinson Foundation.

Now that I had the means to repay that kindness, I wanted to do something for the Robinson family.

After that, I endorsed Robinson Group products for free.

Time and again, I accompanied Daniel to events as his date.

Thanks to my fame, the Robinson family's situation gradually improved.

The day the crisis was fully resolved, Daniel proposed to me.

He said, "Sophie, you're different from any girl I've ever known. I love you. Will you marry me?"

A handsome man, roses everywhere, and fireworks overhead. I stood there as Daniel slid a ring onto my finger.

We held a grand wedding.

After the ceremony, when Daniel got drunk with his friends and Ivy asked me to pick him up, I didn't hesitate.

But the moment the door opened, someone covered my mouth and nose, and I passed out.

When I woke, daylight streamed through the window.

I lay naked in bed with a strange man.

Daniel stood there, his face dark with rage, staring at me.

I panicked, trying to explain.

But the man claimed I had seduced him.

Daniel, furious, beat the man until he was hospitalized.

I wanted to explain.

But Daniel glared at me, his voice dripping with hatred. "Sophie, you're nothing but a whore!"

A whore...

Rain pounded against me as I stared at the closed door.

Yes, I was already this low. For Delilah, sinking even lower wouldn't matter, would it?

If Daniel refused to give me the three million, I could borrow it from someone else.

If I was willing to swallow my pride, three million was just ten minutes' pay in front of a camera.

With that realization, I ignored the numb, aching pain in my knees and forced myself to stand, ready to leave.

But the moment I moved, dozens of snarling dogs with bared fangs burst through the side gate of the courtyard and lunged at me.

I had always been terrified of dogs. As their teeth tore a chunk of flesh from me in my panic, I heard Ivy Bailey's voice again.

"Daniel, she's really going all out to make you feel guilty. But if her daughter was really in trouble, how could a mother have time to put on a show here? Look at Chloe. She just got a rash, and my heart's aching!"

The smell of blood drove the dogs into a frenzy, their sharp teeth grazing my neck.

For a fleeting moment, I thought dying like this might be fine.

I'd go first.

That way, when Delilah came, she wouldn't be scared.

6

When I opened my eyes again, the searing sunlight nearly melted my vision.

I tried to move, but a nurse quickly stopped me. "Ma'am, you're badly injured. You can't move around."

"What time is it? Where's my phone?"

The bright daylight filled me with panic, like a tidal wave.

Thinking of Delilah, I yanked out my IV and stumbled toward the exit.

But my calf, gnawed to the bone by the dogs, couldn't support my weight.

I took one step and collapsed, sprawled pathetically on the floor.

Two passersby walked by, eagerly gossiping.

"Heard about it? The VIP patient in this hospital is the Robinson Group's little princess! To cheer her up, her dad bought her an eight-million-dollar diamond crown yesterday!"

"Really? Didn't the media say Mr. Robinson doesn't care for his daughter?"

"Come on, what man doesn't love his own kid? His daughter's allergic to mangoes, and he spent the whole night at the hospital with her. Totally doting!"

They laughed and chatted until they noticed me, sobbing on the ground.

"Is she okay? Where's her family? Don't they care?"

The pain of the dog bites paled compared to the utter despair that crushed me now.

Clutching the wall, I dragged myself up.

Recklessly, I hailed a car and headed to the location the kidnappers had given for the ransom drop.

At the base of a barren hill outside the city, there was no one in sight.

I limped along, searching desperately for any clue.

Until- My foot brushed against something strange.

I screamed.

A bloody piece of flesh lay among the weeds.

To anyone else, it might have looked like an animal's remains.

But I alone, seeing that fragment, felt my soul drain away, nearly fainting.

Delilah and Daniel were so alike; both had a cherry-blossom-shaped birthmark on their backs.

Now, that vivid red flower lay before me.

My eyes burned dry, my body felt torn apart by merciless hands, and I couldn't breathe.

"No... it can't be... Delilah's fine... this isn't..." I tried to lie to myself.

But in the end, I picked up that small piece of Delilah's body, trembling with agony.

"Ahhhhhh!!!" I wailed, my screams of grief echoing across the barren hill.

Until a pair of polished black leather shoes appeared before me, their owner impatient.

Daniel had been there for who knows how long.

He stood against the light, his eyes dark and unreadable as he looked at me. "Sophie, even a porn star like you gets addicted to drama? You just want my attention, right? Fine, you've got it. Can you stop making a scene now?"

7

Our daughter was dead, but Daniel thought my pain was an act.

For a moment, I wanted to lunge at him and strangle him.

But grief sapped my strength, and I trembled violently.

With bloodshot eyes, I glared at him. "Daniel, you don't deserve to be a father! You don't deserve Delilah's love! You're an animal who doesn't deserve to live! Do you even know that Delilah is..."

Before I could finish, a clear, childish voice rang out behind Daniel.

Ivy's daughter, dressed in a pink princess gown, skipped toward us. "Daddy, is this the place you brought Chloe to play? There's nothing here! And it smells bad. Chloe doesn't like it!"

As she spoke, the diamond crown on her head sparkled in the sunlight, casting flecks of light onto my face.

She looked like a fairy lost in the mortal world.

But I couldn't admire her beauty. My lashes trembled as I stared at Daniel. "Daddy? Why is she calling you Daddy?"

Daniel's face tightened, and he stayed silent.

Ivy appeared just in time, offering a breezy explanation.

"Miss Williams, don't mind it. Daniel only took Chloe as his goddaughter because he didn't want us, a widow and her child, to face scorn. I haven't agreed to it yet. If you're uncomfortable, I'll have Chloe stop calling him that!"

"No way! I like Daddy! Mommy, don't make me stop!" Chloe threw a tantrum at the suggestion.

Ivy just touched her head, tears in her eyes. "Sweet Chloe, I'm sorry. It's my fault for not keeping your daddy for you. Blame me."

"Enough!" Daniel snapped, looking at their mother-daughter moment with concern before turning to yell at me. "Sophie, do you have to ruin everyone's happiness?"

I had only asked one question.

Yet I became the villain who made everyone miserable.

A crushing sense of powerlessness surged within me. I laughed bitterly, but the laughter turned to tears.

I thought to myself, "Delilah, I'm sorry. I misjudged people and dragged you into suffering. Delilah... I'm so sorry."

Perhaps my laughter was too eerie, because Daniel irritably grabbed my arm. "Sophie, that's enough!"

But the moment his skin touched mine, I looked at his selfish, arrogant face and vomited on him without warning.

The mess soaked his clothes.

Yet Daniel just stared at me, as if oblivious to the smell, and frowned. "You think I'm disgusting?"

8

Delilah's death was partly Daniel's fault, and I hated him to my core.

Answering him, even looking at him, felt filthy.

Since our wedding, he had taken pleasure in tormenting me.

I once felt guilty toward him, but now... Delilah was dead, and he had a new daughter. It was time to cut ties for good.

Clutching the small piece of Delilah, I stepped around Daniel to leave.

But Daniel, unsatisfied without an answer, chased after me like a dog after a bone. "Sophie, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf? What are you playing at, holding that filthy thing? Life isn't a movie. Who are you acting for? I don't care!"

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.

But within a second, I vomited again.

Having not eaten for a day and a night, I spewed only acid.

Daniel's breathing quickened. He stared at his soiled shoes, his expression fearful, as if he thought I had some terminal illness.

Ivy, out of Daniel's sight, leaned down and whispered something to Chloe.

The next moment, Chloe's innocent voice rang out, unrestrained.

She grinned at me with bright, dark eyes. "Ma'am, are you pregnant? I saw it on TV. Pregnant ladies always vomit like you. The baby in your tummy won't be like me, without a daddy, right?"