The Last Ride

The day my daughter Ellie fell down from the roof top, Vivian was supposed to be watching her but she was nowhere to be found.

By the time I got to the hospital, Ellie couldn't hold on with too many broken bones.

My little girl, covered in blood, her voice barely a whisper:

Daddy, was Ellie bad? Is that why Mommy doesn't like me?

"I really want to see Mommy again."

Before I could even grasp her tiny, mangled hand, she was gone.

Grief swallowed me. Stepping out of that room, numb and shattered...

I saw her, Vivian, in the next room.

She was cooing over Liam Rhodes' son, Leo. Her voice was soft, gentle.

"Don't be scared, sweetheart. Auntie Viv is right here."

...

It was like a knife twisting in my gut.

Something inside me snapped. Hopeless and angry, I rushed forward and yanked her away from that kid.

"Vivian Kane, you MONSTER!" I roared, my voice raw. "I want a divorce! NOW!"

"Ryan! Are you insane?!" Vivian stumbled, her eyes wide with shock and anger. "Get your hands off me!"

I didn't answer. I was shaking, barely holding myself together. "Vivian," I choked out, "I called you a dozen times! Why didn't you pick up?!"

"Do you have any idea how terrified I was?! Our daughter was dying, and you weren't there! Are you even her mother?!"

"Enough!" She shoved me back hard, smoothing her hair with cold detachment. "Ryan, stop the theatrics. I was just bringing Leo to the hospital. Did you really have to concoct this horrible lie? Are you seriously jealous of a child?"

She didn't even pause. "I never should have let you have Ellie. God knows what kind of useless, needy mess she'd turn into with you."

Hearing her talk about Ellie like that... I froze.

In ten years of marriage, I'd never heard her speak so viciously about Ellie.

The image of Ellie's face before she died flashed before me. Rage consumed me. I charged at her again. "Vivian! You heartless bitch! How DARE you talk about Ellie like that!"

But before I could touch her, Leo, who'd been cowering behind her, suddenly collapsed onto the hospital bed.

He was in a hospital gown, his face flushed, burning with fever.

Vivian rushed to scoop him up. Her shoulder slammed into me with surprising force as she turned.

I stumbled back, my arm cracking hard against the sharp corner of a bedside cabinet.

Pain exploded. Blood welled instantly from the gash.

Vivian didn't even glance at me. Her eyes were only for Leo.

"Ryan, are you done with this pathetic tantrum?"

"Attacking a child now? What kind of man are you? If something happens to him, how am I supposed to explain it to Liam?"

Her voice softened again as she murmured to Leo, rubbing his back as if they were mother and son.

The sight pierced deeper than any cut. The pain in my arm magnified by the agony in my heart. Tears blurred my vision. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out, but all I saw was Ellie. My sweet girl on that cold table...

her round, sweet face smashed beyond recognition, only her nose left to breathe through.

The pain in my chest was crushing and darkness swam at the edges of my sight. I forced myself upright, glaring at Vivian.

Ellie just wanted to see her mommy one last time. Why couldn't she even have that?

The door burst open. Liam Rhodes charged in.

He took in Leo's feverish state, dropped the bag he was carrying, and swept the boy into his arms.

Seeing me, he faltered, then his voice cracked with fake tears. "Ryan... I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I asked Viv to watch Leo. If you're angry, be angry at me."

"Leo's innocent. He's sick. Don't take it out on him."

He looked at me, brow furrowed, playing the martyr.

His words were careful, painting me as the unreasonable, jealous villain.

I clenched my jaw, glaring at him.

Always the same. A few words, and I was the jealous, unstable husband.

"Liam, it's not your fault. Don't apologize."

"He's the one who should be sorry."

Vivian jumped to his defense instantly, shooting me a venomous look and moving closer to Liam.

At a glance, they looked like a perfect little family unit. A bitter laugh escaped me. I was done arguing with Vivian.

The whole scene made me sick. I just wanted to get out of there.

Vivian wouldn't let it go. "Ryan! Where do you think you're going?"

"Cause a scene and then just walk away? Where are your manners?"

"Apologize to Liam and Leo!"

I stopped dead. My fists clenched so tight that my knuckles turned white. My lips pressed into a thin line.

Finally, I took a deep, shuddering breath and turned. My voice was cold, flat. "Vivian, I'll apologize when I'm dead."

I slammed the door open and left. I didn't make it far down the hall before my legs gave out. I slid down the wall, collapsing onto the cold floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I knew it then. The marriage I'd clung to was over.

It was dark by the time I got home.

Without Ellie, the house felt like a tomb, empty and cold.

I went to her room, sank onto her bed, buried my face in her favorite sweater and cried until there were no tears left.

Eventually, I forced myself up and started packing Ellie's things.

Her clothes. Her half-finished drawings. Her scribbled stories. I placed each item carefully into a box.

Then I opened her nightstand drawer. Underneath some crayons, I found a drawing I'd never seen. There was a small notebook beneath it.

The drawing showed the three of us on a Ferris wheel at an amusement park, looking up at the stars.

And in wobbly letters:

"I love Mommy and Daddy."

"I wish Mommy loved me more."

The pain hit me like a sledgehammer. My heart hammered as I trembling opened the notebook.

July 11th: Everyone says moms love their kids most in the world. Why doesn't my mom love me?

August 7th: Mommy said I'm annoying. Am I bad? I try so hard to be good.

August 13th: Mommy isn't my mommy. She's Leo's mommy.

....

Reading her childish scrawl shattered what was left of my heart.

Ever since Ellie was little, Vivian had been harsh with her making her timid and afraid.

Every time Ellie asked why Mommy didn't love her, I'd say, "Mommy loves you, sweetheart. She's just very busy."

"Will she love me when she's not busy?"

I'd nod, heart aching.

"Okay. When she's not busy, I want us to go to the amusement park."

I thought Vivian just didn't like kids but I saw the warmth in her eyes when she looked at Leo.

She wasn't incapable of love. She just didn't love me.

And Ellie paid the price.

The tears came again, hot and fast, splashing onto the drawing.

I held it close, cradling it against my chest, closing my eyes.

Ellie never got to see her mom one last time. She never got to ride the Ferris wheel.

I don't know how long I sat there. Eventually, I wiped my face, pulling myself together to keep packing.

My phone buzzed on the bed.

Seeing Liam's social media post, my body rigid.

My grip tightened on the phone until the plastic creaked. The fragile calm I'd built shattered, replaced by pure, burning hatred.

Liam, Vivian, and Leo were at the amusement park.

Staring at the photo of the three of them smiling, laughing... Rage boiled inside me. I wanted to reach through the screen and tear them apart.

Vivian never took Ellie to the park. Not once. But she took someone else's son.

The pain and hatred twisted together, making it hard to breathe.

Another message popped up. It was Liam taunting.

"Vivian is mine."

"You've had ten years. It's enough. Give her to me."

Just then, the front door lock clicked.

I walked into the living room. Vivian was standing there.

Her radiant smile felt like a physical slap. And on her left wrist... the bright plastic admission bracelet from the amusement park.

Something inside me broke. The rage and hatred erupted.

I lunged forward, ripped the bracelet off and tore it to shreds, throwing the pieces on the floor.

Vivian jumped back, then shrieked, "Ryan! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Tear tracks still wet on my face, I yelled back, "What's wrong? You never took Ellie to the park! Not once! But you took Leo!"

"Did you ever even think of her as your daughter?! Why couldn't you have been kind to her when she was alive?!"

As I shouted, I stumbled back, accidentally snagging the shopping bag in her hand. It tore open.

What fell out felt like a knife to the heart.

They were musement park photo booth pictures. Leo beaming in the center, held tightly by Vivian. You could feel their happiness through the pictures.

Reason vanished. I snatched the strip, tore it into tiny pieces, and threw them in her face.

"RYAN!"

Vivian screamed my name, pure venom.

She flew at me, nails raking my face, fists pounding my chest. She wasn't holding back. I fell back onto the sofa, my hand smashing against the sharp edge of the coffee table. Blood welled instantly, dripping down my wrist.

"Ryan, are you determined to ruin everything today?!"

"Is this really all over a stupid trip to the park?!"

She grabbed the first thing she saw C a decorative box by the door C and hurled it at me.

I couldn't dodge. It smashed on the floor right in front of me.

The box splintered. Inside... Ellie's handmade bead bracelets. The strings snapped and beads scattered everywhere.

Click-clack. Click-clack.

The sound was like hammers pounding on my chest.

I stared, numb, at the broken strands.

Ellie'sshy, glowing face flashed before mefrom just days ago.

"Daddy, I made bracelets!"

"One for you, one for Mommy, one for me."

"So we can always be together."

Her voice echoed in my ears.

I scrambled off the sofa onto my knees.

Hands shaking, I started gathering the beads, scooping them into my cupped hands, whispering, "Ellie... Ellie..."

Vivian made a disgusted sound. "Tch." She frowned, impatient.

Then she looked down at the scattered beads. Deliberately, she lifted her high heel and brought it down hard, grinding several beads into dust under her sole.

I shoved her leg away violently, scraping the white powder into my palm.

Blood from my arm mixed with the powder, staining my skin a shocking red.

My desperate act seemed to amuse her.

She looked at the crushed beads and snorted. "Ryan, really? Fake plastic beads? That's what you're clutching?"

"Stop playing the victim. Your tears won't work on me anymore."

"I'm done believing you. Drop the act."

"And if you bother Liam again, don't expect mercy."

She shot me one last contemptuous look and walked out.

She didn't come back that night.

I sat on the living room floor all night, clutching the beads I'd salvaged, staring at nothing.

The next day was Ellie's funeral.

After the burial that morning, I went home.

I didn't expect Vivian to be there.

She was wearing a bright red dress. She looked me up and down as I walked in.

Seeing my black suit, she wrinkled her nose. "Dressed like that first thing? What a bad omen. You look ridiculous."

I clenched my fists, glaring at her. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing? I'm here for Ellie. Seeing you like this, I don't trust her with you anymore. Someone like Liam, someone proper, should be raising her."

A cold laugh escaped me. "Take Ellie? Vivian, you can't take her anymore. And you don't deserve to."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you mean? Are you keeping my daughter from me? Using her to control me?"

Fury surged. "Control you?! That's rich, Vivian! You didn't even know your own daughter was DEAD! What right do you have to say anything?!"

Before the words fully left my mouth, her hand cracked across my face. My cheek went numb, then burned. I tasted blood.

"Ryan! How dare you curse our daughter just to get my attention! This proves it! Ellie cannot stay with you!"

She pulled out her phone. "Ms. Lewis? Get in here."

Her assistant appeared instantly. "Yes, Ms. Kane?"

"Schedule those etiquette lessons for Ellie we discussed."

"Then take her to my place. You'll handle her drop-offs and pick-ups from now on!"

Ms. Lewis froze, looking at me, then back at Vivian, hesitant. "Ms. Kane... you mean... Ellie?"

Vivian's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Obviously! Who else?"

Ms. Lewis twisted her hands, clearly uncomfortable. "But... Ms. Kane... Ellie... she passed away."

"The funeral... it was this morning."