- 8 minutes ago
Hot Drama 2026
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00This is the third time my husband caught me cheating in bed.
00:04Sebastian stormed in, expecting me to fall apart like the last two times.
00:08Mrs. Caldwell, this is your third violation.
00:10Under the agreement, you waive any claim to marital assets and agree not to contest custody.
00:16Sebastian threw the divorce papers onto the table in front of me.
00:19First time, you claimed you didn't know the guy.
00:23Second time, you had no idea how you end up in that hotel room.
00:27Third time, Quinn. What's your excuse now?
00:30I picked up the pen and signed.
00:33No tears, no begging, no explanation.
00:36Just my name at the bottom of the page.
00:39I gave him everything he wanted.
00:41The divorce, the house, even our daughter.
00:45So why did he look like I was the one who had just destroyed him?
00:49It's done, Mr. Caldwell.
00:52Sebastian kept staring at me.
00:55Because last time, I had gotten on my knees and begged him.
00:59I grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go.
01:02Please, for Ava.
01:07Just believe me this once.
01:13I'll clear out my things as soon as possible.
01:15As for visitation rights...
01:17You don't deserve to be her mother.
01:18The agreement is clear.
01:19You have no rights to Ava.
01:21Not anymore.
01:23That's actually what I was going to say.
01:25I don't want visitation rights either.
01:27He couldn't figure me out.
01:28And it showed.
01:30For four years, Sebastian and Ava were my entire world.
01:33I used to fall apart just watching Ava reach for Kara's hand instead of mine.
01:37And now I was walking away without blinking.
01:41Even Sebastian could tell something was off.
01:47Typical.
01:47You'd throw your own kid away for some guy.
01:50But didn't you work so hard to trap me?
01:53Got pregnant on purpose just to lock me down?
01:56So what was all that about?
01:58I let him talk.
01:59I was done explaining myself to this man.
02:02I had been done for a long time.
02:04The first time Sebastian stormed in, my mind went totally blank.
02:09I didn't know that man.
02:10I had never seen him in my life.
02:12I cried.
02:13I begged.
02:14I swore I had no idea what had happened.
02:17Sebastian had always assumed I could never leave him.
02:21That arrogance worked in my favor.
02:23The guy had already disappeared.
02:25Nothing left on the security footage but a shadow.
02:27So Sebastian let it go.
02:30But he still took Ava from me.
02:32I got one visit a month.
02:34And even that had to be booked through Kara a week in advance.
02:38Every toy, every piece of clothing I bought for her had to go through Kara first.
02:41If Kara said no, Ava never saw it.
02:45I was falling apart.
02:47So I found a job just to keep myself together.
02:50Then the second time happened.
02:52I was on a work trip.
02:54I woke up in a hotel room I didn't book, next to a man I didn't know.
02:59Both of us barely dressed.
03:01I called the police immediately.
03:03The female officer examined me and confirmed I hadn't been assaulted.
03:07But Sebastian had already decided.
03:10To him, I was guilty.
03:12I just got caught before anything happened.
03:15After that, I wasn't allowed at Ava's school events.
03:19Kara went instead.
03:20I was told to stay home and stop embarrassing everyone.
03:23Our four-year-old looked me in the eye and called me a bad woman.
03:28Sebastian stood right there and said nothing.
03:31So the third time, I was done playing their game.
03:35I gave them exactly what they wanted.
03:38And now he had the nerve to ask me why I was walking away from my own child.
03:44Mr. Caldwell, in my years of practice, I have never seen a mother give up her child that quickly.
03:51She's been cheating multiple times.
03:53She probably planned this from the start.
03:55A baby was always just an inconvenience to her.
03:58Don't waste your breath.
03:59She glanced over at me as she said it.
04:01Something crossed her face.
04:03Just for a second.
04:04Then it was gone.
04:05I almost laughed.
04:06Because she seemed to forget.
04:08Four years ago, she was the one who drafted that prenup.
04:11The one that spelled out exactly how many times I'd have to cheat before losing everything.
04:15She wrote the rules of this game.
04:17Now she was shocked I was done playing.
04:20Sebastian looked at me like I'd just said something stupid.
04:23You better mean it.
04:24Don't come crawling back.
04:26I watched him disappear through the door.
04:28I won't, Sebastian.
04:29Not this time.
04:30I spent months talking myself into loving him.
04:33Ignored every red flag.
04:35Told myself it was meant to be.
04:37Funny how that turned out.
04:38Quinn.
04:39Wouldn't want to ruin your little reunion.
04:41The door clicked shut.
04:43The room went quiet.
04:44I looked down at the man still passed out in the bed.
04:46My stomach turned.
04:48I had woken up before him.
04:49I could have left before Sebastian ever showed up.
04:52But I was tired of running.
04:54Tired of being the mouse in this game.
04:56So I stayed.
04:57And I let them come.
04:58I grabbed my coat and walked out without looking back.
05:02The next evening, I went back to pack my things.
05:05I pushed open the bedroom door and stopped.
05:07Everything was gone.
05:08My clothes.
05:09My shoes.
05:10All of it.
05:11Ma'am, your things were moved to the storage room out back.
05:14Ms. Ellick gave the instructions.
05:15She said the room needs to be ready soon.
05:17I smiled.
05:19Four years.
05:20And I didn't even get a proper goodbye.
05:22I walked out to the storage room and pushed the door open.
05:25Boxes stacked on boxes.
05:28Bags shoved into corners.
05:29I got down and started going through them one by one.
05:32Everything else could stay.
05:34I just needed one thing.
05:36Mom's antique enamel locket.
05:38Her grandmother had given it to her and she had passed it down to me.
05:41It was the only thing in this house that had ever truly belonged to me.
05:44I found it at the bottom of the last box.
05:47I pressed it into my palm and finally exhaled.
05:50I was reaching for a few pieces of clothing when a small voice came from the doorway.
05:55What are you doing?
05:56I turned around.
05:57Ava.
05:58Standing in the doorway, arms crossed.
06:00She had Sebastian's face, but that stance.
06:03That look down her nose.
06:05Pure Cara.
06:07Getting my things.
06:08I turned back and kept packing.
06:10Any other day, I would have pulled her into a hug.
06:13Even if she squirmed away.
06:14Not today.
06:15Those aren't your things.
06:17Then she stepped directly onto the pile of clothes on the floor.
06:20Auntie Cara said everything in this house belongs to Dad.
06:23You can't take any of it.
06:28This belonged to me before I ever set foot in this house.
06:32You spent Dad's money.
06:33Dad paid for it, so it's his.
06:35You don't live here anymore.
06:37Don't touch it.
06:39Not family anymore.
06:41I looked up at her.
06:43Four years old.
06:44Standing in front of me like I was a stranger who had broken in.
06:48She looked at me the way Sebastian never could.
06:50I'm only taking one thing.
06:52Everything else can stay.
06:55No!
06:56Auntie Cara said you're a thief!
06:58Ava, move.
07:00No!
07:01Auntie Cara said if you come back, you're a bad person.
07:04You're a thief!
07:05Put it back!
07:06I'm going to say it one more time.
07:09Move!
07:10Put it down!
07:12She lunged at me and snatched the pendant hanging around my neck.
07:16I staggered back.
07:17The pendant slipped off.
07:19The antique enamel locket hit the hardwood floor.
07:22A sharp crack split the room.
07:24I stood frozen.
07:26Mom's voice echoed in my head from the day she gave it to me.
07:29Six generations.
07:30My grandmother to me.
07:32Me to you.
07:34And one day, your daughter.
07:37I did have a daughter.
07:38And she had just destroyed it.
07:41Six generations of history.
07:42Shattered on the floor by my own flesh and blood.
07:47Your fault.
07:48You wouldn't let go.
07:51I told you.
07:52That locket was your grandmother's.
07:55Do you even know why she's stuck in a care center right now?
07:59I don't have a grandma.
08:01Auntie Cora said she's just a leech draining daddy's bank account.
08:04The room went dead silent.
08:06I took one slow step toward her.
08:09Say that again.
08:11Ava flinched.
08:11She bit her lip.
08:12But she was too used to getting away with it.
08:14I said.
08:16Auntie Cora said she's just burning through daddy's money.
08:18And she's never getting better.
08:21I shoved her.
08:21She stumbled.
08:23Went straight down on her backside.
08:27She sat there, blinking.
08:28One second.
08:29Two.
08:30Then she let out a wail.
08:32Daddy!
08:33I stood there, my palms numb.
08:36I watched my daughter kick her legs on the floor.
08:39A leech.
08:40A burden.
08:42That woman she was talking about was my mom.
08:44Her grandmother.
08:45The woman who spent months knitting Ava a blanket from that exact, useless bed.
08:50Her frail hands shaking the entire time.
08:53The woman who every single birthday made a nurse dial my number.
08:56Just to whisper,
08:58Happy birthday, baby girl.
09:00And that's all she was to Ava.
09:02A waste of money.
09:03A jagged piece of the broken locket bit into my palm.
09:07The pain pulled me back, just barely.
09:09Sebastian came charging in.
09:11He saw Ava on the floor crying and scooped her up instantly.
09:14Ava, hey.
09:16What happened?
09:18Ava buried her face in his chest, gasping between sobs.
09:21Daddy, she pushed me.
09:22Make her leave.
09:23I want Auntie Kara.
09:27Quinn.
09:28Have you lost your mind?
09:30She's four years old.
09:32I didn't hit her.
09:33I pushed her.
09:34Same thing.
09:36I looked down at the broken locket in my palm.
09:38No, hitting her would have been discipline.
09:40Pushing her?
09:41She earned it!
09:43Sebastian went still.
09:44He looked down at the little girl in his arms.
09:47Ava sniffled against his shoulder.
09:50I just told the truth.
09:52Auntie Kara said she's a broken old lady taking up space.
09:57She's a child.
09:58Let it go.
09:59Kara runs the household finances now.
10:01Ava overheard one comment and ran with it.
10:03Don't turn this into a whole thing.
10:04You know everything she does for this family.
10:06His eyes dropped to the broken locket in my hand.
10:09He went quiet for a second.
10:12I brought Ava here so you two could talk.
10:15But the other thing.
10:17Not in front of her.
10:18I knew exactly what the other thing was.
10:20The divorce.
10:21I didn't say anything.
10:23Talk.
10:23About what exactly?
10:25Four years of marriage?
10:26The time Sebastian and Ava spent talking to me wouldn't add up to half the time he spent with Kara.
10:32And he had been the one who chased me.
10:34Back in college.
10:35Step by step.
10:36Pulling me in.
10:38Making me believe in something everyone around us had already given me.
10:41I held on to that for so long.
10:44Waiting.
10:45Hoping.
10:46Until the day I finally got the answer I'd been waiting for.
10:50Maybe it was better.
10:51It never came.
10:52Mom was still at the care center waiting for me.
10:54I grabbed my bag and walked out.
10:56In the living room, Kara was crouched in front of Ava, murmuring softly.
11:01Why won't she look at us?
11:03She's so mean!
11:05She was used to me caving.
11:06Used to me coming back red-eyed.
11:08I'm sorry, baby.
11:09Mommy was wrong.
11:10So when I didn't even glance back, it felt like the cruelest thing I'd ever done to her.
11:15Sebastian said nothing.
11:16But I felt his stare like ice on the back of my neck.
11:19I kept walking.
11:20My hand touched the front door.
11:22Then he finally snapped.
11:23Don't you dare walk out that door!
11:25I stopped.
11:26Get over here.
11:28Apologize to Ava.
11:29You pushed her.
11:30You scared her.
11:30I stood there for a moment.
11:32This was probably the last time I'd ever see her.
11:35I had nothing left to fight about.
11:37I'm sorry.
11:38Mommy shouldn't have pushed you.
11:40Ava sniffled.
11:40And then she spat in my face.
11:42I felt it land on my cheek.
11:44Warm.
11:45Sliding down slowly.
11:47You're disgusting.
11:48You got what you deserved.
11:49Even a four-year-old knows trash when she sees it.
11:54I raised my hand and wiped my cheek.
11:56A smile crossed my face.
11:58I'm the one who's been cheating?
11:59Every setup had been sloppy.
12:01Obvious.
12:02Either he didn't see it, or he didn't want to.
12:04Fine.
12:05Four years, Sebastian.
12:06You had her in our lives for every single one of them.
12:09You put her in my home.
12:11You let her raise my daughter.
12:13So who's really the problem here?
12:16We're done pretending.
12:17We both know it.
12:19Kara's face drained.
12:20Her eyes filled instantly.
12:22How dare you say that?
12:24Sebastian, I swear, I never-
12:26Four years, Quinn.
12:27Are you done?
12:29You want to go there?
12:30Fine.
12:31Let me show you what that actually looks like.
12:33He told the nanny to take Ava out.
12:36Then he grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the bedroom.
12:39The door shut behind us.
12:42He used his tie to bind my wrists and shoved me to the floor.
12:47Then he turned, jerked her close, and buried his face in her neck.
12:53You want this?
12:55Kara hesitated for just a second.
12:57Then she wrapped her arms around him.
12:59Sebastian, I've been waiting so long for this.
13:02He pulled her in and they crashed together, hands everywhere.
13:06Clothes hit the floor.
13:08Sebastian.
13:09My voice scraped out of my throat.
13:11We're already getting divorced.
13:14Did you have to do this right in front of me?
13:18Humiliate you?
13:19Quinn, you think you're still worth that much to me?
13:22Kara curled around him from behind.
13:24She looked at me over his shoulder.
13:26Don't get distracted, baby.
13:28I closed my eyes.
13:29The tears came without a sound.
13:32Then the phone buzzed against the floor.
13:34Mom's number.
13:35Ms. Bennett, you need to come now.
13:36Your mother found out about the divorce.
13:38She's completely hysterical.
13:39She's out of her mind.
13:41She's on the roof.
13:42What?
13:43She said she wants to-
13:44The line went dead.
13:46Sebastian, something happened to my mom.
13:48Please, let me go.
13:50Funny timing, Quinn.
13:51A second ago, you wanted proof.
13:53Now you're desperate to run?
13:54I'm not making it up.
13:55That was the care center.
13:57She found out about the divorce and she's on the roof.
13:59She's going to-
14:01Enough!
14:02We just signed the papers today.
14:04How would she even know?
14:05You knew she couldn't handle stress.
14:08If you told her, that's on you.
14:10He turned back to Kara.
14:13Sebastian, I never told her.
14:14Please, just let me go.
14:16There's still time.
14:17She's the one who got hit by that car for you and Ava.
14:20Please don't do this.
14:21What is it this time, Quinn?
14:22Your mom again?
14:24You always pull the same card.
14:26Every time.
14:27Either it's that Ava is too young,
14:28or it's what your mom sacrificed for us.
14:31This is real!
14:32Please!
14:33Everyone knows your mother only jumped in front of that car because of Ava.
14:37Would she have done it for you alone?
14:40You've more than repaid that debt, Sebastian.
14:43Don't let her ruin this.
14:45Something shut off behind his eyes.
14:46He wasn't going to help me.
14:48I knew that now.
14:49I threw myself at the door.
14:51My head hit the wood.
14:52Something split open at my hairline.
14:54He crossed the room in three strides and grabbed me.
14:56You wanted proof.
14:58Fine.
14:59You're not going anywhere.
15:00He tore off a strip of tape and pressed it over my mouth.
15:03Then he picked me up and shoved me into the closet.
15:06Listen closely.
15:07This is what the truth sounds like.
15:10The last sliver of light disappeared.
15:13In the dark, I listened.
15:14Once and again.
15:18The next evening, Sebastian came home late.
15:21He stood in the living room for a moment, pressing two fingers to his temple.
15:24Quinn, I've got a headache.
15:26Can you make something for me?
15:27Silence.
15:28He frowned.
15:29Turned to the housekeeper.
15:30Where is she?
15:31Mr. Caldwell, I was about to ask you the same thing.
15:34Ava's been running a fever since this morning.
15:36A hundred and two.
15:37She keeps calling for her mom.
15:38And the care center called last night.
15:40Your wife's mother jumped from the roof.
15:42Her body is still there.
15:43No one has come to claim her.
15:45What did you just say?
15:46Did you let her out?
15:47Let her out of what?
15:49He was already moving.
15:50Up the stairs.
15:51Faster with every step.
15:53He threw open the closet door.
15:54Staggered back.
15:56The tape ripped apart.
15:58Blood smeared the door hinges where I had literally sawed myself free.
16:03He thought I'd been playing him.
16:05The whole time.
16:07The tears.
16:08The screaming.
16:09My mom on the roof.
16:10All of it.
16:11Nice performance.
16:13Mother and daughter running the same con.
16:15All of this just to squeeze money out of me.
16:18He pulled out his phone.
16:20Called me.
16:21Straight to voicemail.
16:22Keep an eye on Ava.
16:24I want to see exactly what game these two are running.
16:26Yes, sir.
16:27The morgue.
16:28A few nurses recognized Sebastian the moment he walked in.
16:32Their expressions shifted.
16:34You're Quinn's husband?
16:35Where have you been?
16:38She didn't come here?
16:40If she'd come, her mother wouldn't be dead.
16:42Last night, that woman stood on that roof for 30 minutes.
16:45We talked her down.
16:46Told her she had to see her daughter one last time.
16:48That worked.
16:49She stepped back.
16:50We called Quinn.
16:51We kept calling.
16:52She never picked up.
16:53Not once.
16:55Last night, he had thrown me into that closet.
16:58My phone had been on the floor across the room.
17:01Out of reach.
17:02I had heard every call and couldn't answer a single one.
17:06Her mother jumped because she found out about the divorce.
17:08It completely broke her.
17:09She went into a state of shock and wandered up to the roof.
17:12Came all the way down from that height.
17:14And her own daughter couldn't even show up for the last goodbye.
17:17What kind of person does that?
17:19Sebastian said nothing.
17:20He wanted to explain.
17:22But the words wouldn't come.
17:23The body can't stay here.
17:25You're her family.
17:26Sign the paperwork.
17:27And tell your wife this.
17:29Her mother's last words were,
17:30Tell my Quinn I love her.
17:32It wasn't her fault.
17:33She died defending her daughter.
17:35Make sure Quinn knows that.
17:36Who told her about the divorce?
17:37I never even signed.
17:38We don't know.
17:39Quinn hadn't been here in days.
17:41But a woman came to see her recently.
17:43Said her name was Kara.
17:45After that visit, she wasn't with the same.
17:47Kara.
17:48She came here.
17:50Of course she did.
17:51I never brought bad news home.
17:54Never.
17:55My mom was the last person I'd tell about the divorce.
17:58But Kara would.
18:00He took one step back.
18:02And Quinn's voice came back to him.
18:05My mom got hit by that car because of you and Ava.
18:08Please don't do this.
18:10Three years ago, Father's Day.
18:12He'd been walking with Ava along the sidewalk when the truck lost control.
18:16My mom had shoved them both out of the way.
18:18Took the full impact herself.
18:20Six steel pins in her leg.
18:22A permanent limp.
18:24Long-term care for the rest of her life.
18:26Mom, I'll take care of you.
18:27I promise.
18:29And at first, he had.
18:30But then the visits got shorter.
18:32Then stopped.
18:34He told himself the care center was no place for a child.
18:37The truth was simpler than that.
18:39He just forgot.
18:41The lights were on when he got home.
18:43Ava was on the couch.
18:44Cheeks flushed red.
18:46Daddy, where's mommy?
18:49Why isn't she back?
18:51Mom's dealing with something.
18:52I don't care.
18:54I'm sick.
18:55I want mommy.
18:56She always stays with me when I'm sick.
18:58She tells me stories and gives me my medicine and holds me all night.
19:02She's so mean.
19:04Why won't she come back?
19:06Mommy.
19:07I want my mommy.
19:10It hit him all at once.
19:11The woman Ava cursed and the mother she was crying for were the same person.
19:16Every time Ava got sick, I had shown up.
19:19No matter what.
19:20I'd stay up all night watching her, holding her until the fever broke.
19:24Ava knew it without ever being told.
19:26Good days?
19:27Fun days?
19:28She ran to Auntie Kara.
19:29Sick days?
19:30Scared days?
19:31Nightmares in the dark?
19:32She called for mom.
19:34And now mom was gone.
19:35He picked her up, whispered something, and handed her to the housekeeper.
19:40He walked for the study and closed the door.
19:42The divorce papers were on the desk.
19:44My signature already on the line.
19:46His side still blank.
19:48He'd never intended to sign.
19:49He'd been furious when I signed so easily.
19:52More than furious.
19:53He thought I was the one who cheated.
19:55That I blew this apart.
19:57So why was I the one walking away clean?
19:59The first two times, I begged.
20:01Cried.
20:02Told him I couldn't do it.
20:04That's how it always went.
20:05Not this time.
20:06I signed without blinking, left without looking back.
20:09Didn't even fight for Ava.
20:11And now, I couldn't even show up for my own mother's body.
20:15Four years.
20:16And I walked out like none of it happened.
20:19Like there was nothing left worth taking.
20:21He stared at my name on the paper.
20:23It made him sick.
20:24He opened our chat, typed slowly.
20:27I took care of your mom's arrangements.
20:29No reply.
20:31He typed again.
20:32Ava has a fever.
20:33She keeps asking for you.
20:35Nothing.
20:35The study was quiet.
20:37Just the clock on the wall.
20:38Then the housekeeper screamed from down the hall.
20:41Well, Ava's having a febrile seizure.
20:44Sebastian burst into Ava's room.
20:46He scooped her up and ran.
20:48In the car, Ava was barely conscious, mumbling against his chest.
20:53Hera said mommy was horrible.
20:55She said just pull the plug and the old lady dies.
20:59Ticara said if I pulled the tube, the old lady would die.
21:03But grandma wasn't bad.
21:05She made things for me.
21:07Mommy, I'm sorry.
21:08Mommy, don't leave me.
21:11He looked down at her.
21:13Pull the plug.
21:15It came back to him.
21:17He remembered the night my mom's oxygen got disconnected.
21:20She had nearly died.
21:22I was so devastated that he finally caved and let Ava move back in with me.
21:27But shortly after that, he caught me in bed with another guy.
21:30That was the third time.
21:32And just like that, I gave up the kid.
21:34Walked away without a fight.
21:37Yesterday, Ava spat in my face.
21:39And somehow, that had become normal in his house.
21:43When?
21:44When did that become normal to her?
21:47They reached the hospital.
21:49The doctors rushed Ava into the ER.
21:52Sebastian leaned against the wall in the corridor, hands still shaking.
21:55He pulled out his phone and stared at the messages he'd sent.
21:58If Ava's fever couldn't bring me back, nothing would.
22:01The hallway was quiet.
22:03He closed his eyes.
22:04All he could see was me.
22:06Crying.
22:07Begging.
22:08The first time.
22:09The second time.
22:10The night my mom collapsed.
22:12Sebastian burst into Ava's room.
22:14He scooped her up and ran.
22:16In the car, Ava was barely conscious, mumbling against his chest.
22:21Ava said mommy was horrible.
22:23She said, just pull the plug and the old lady dies.
22:27Ticara said if I pulled the tube, the old lady would die.
22:31But grandma wasn't bad.
22:33She made things for me.
22:35Mommy, I'm sorry.
22:38Don't leave me.
22:40He looked down at her.
22:41Pull the plug.
22:43It came back to him.
22:45He remembered the night my mom's oxygen got disconnected.
22:48She had nearly died.
22:50I was so devastated that he finally caved and let Ava move back in with me.
22:55But shortly after that, he caught me in bed with another guy.
22:58That was the third time.
23:00And just like that, I gave up the kid.
23:02Walked away without a fight.
23:05Yesterday, Ava spat in my face.
23:07And somehow, that had become normal in his house.
23:11When?
23:12When did that become normal to her?
23:15They reached the hospital.
23:17The doctors rushed Ava into the ER.
23:20Sebastian leaned against the wall in the corridor, hands still shaking.
23:24He pulled out his phone and stared at the messages he'd sent.
23:26If Ava's fever couldn't bring me back, nothing would.
23:30The hallway was quiet.
23:31He closed his eyes.
23:32All he could see was me.
23:34Crying.
23:35Begging.
23:36The first time.
23:37The second time.
23:38The night my mom collapsed.
23:40Kara came rushing down the corridor, face tight with panic.
23:44How is she?
23:44Is Ava okay?
23:46Sebastian opened his eyes and looked at her.
23:48Kara basically grew up in his house.
23:50Her dad managed their money.
23:51He trusted her.
23:52He swore she cared about his family.
23:54But what Ava mumbled in the car changed everything.
23:58What have you been telling her?
23:59What?
24:01My daughter.
24:03Waste of money.
24:04Pull the plug.
24:05Was that you?
24:06I was just looking at the facts.
24:09The facts?
24:10She's four.
24:11You taught a four-year-old to spit at her own mom because of facts?
24:15Sebastian, listen!
24:16Get out!
24:18I'll pay you for last night.
24:19After that, you're done here.
24:21Don't ever come back.
24:22Kara's eyes filled with tears.
24:24Years of playing the long game.
24:25Just for it to end like this?
24:27She didn't say another word.
24:28Just turned and left.
24:30Sebastian leaned back against the wall.
24:32Sure, he let Kara cross some lines.
24:34But they never slept together.
24:36Honestly, he didn't realize she was throwing herself at him until yesterday.
24:40He pulled out his phone and called his assistant.
24:44Pull everything.
24:45January last year, the 8th of last month, and the hotel.
24:48I want every single detail on those three guys.
24:51Okay.
24:52Kara used to handle these background checks.
24:54But if she was setting me up this whole time?
24:57He opened our chat and typed,
24:59Quinn, I'm sorry.
25:01Five minutes.
25:02Ten minutes.
25:03Nothing.
25:04He tried again.
25:05Ava is asking for you.
25:07Please come back.
25:07He dropped to the floor, head in his hands.
25:10He couldn't stop thinking about last night.
25:12Me trapped inside that closet.
25:14Hands bound.
25:15Mouth taped shut.
25:16Forced to lie there in the dark and listen to him and Kara going at it right on our bed.
25:20He remembered me screaming that my mom was on the roof.
25:23And he just told me to stop acting crazy.
25:26His stomach violently heaved.
25:28For the first time in four years, he realized he might be the monster in this story.
25:34Sebastian's phone buzzed against the floor.
25:36It was his assistant.
25:37What did you find?
25:39Mr. Caldwell.
25:40The men from the second and third incidents both received large transfers from the same account.
25:44Sir, it looks staged.
25:48He stared at the screen, his grip tightening around his phone.
25:52He thought back to the first affair.
25:54I was on my knees crying, swearing I didn't know the guy.
25:58He refused to believe me.
26:00The second time, I said I had no idea how I ended up in that hotel room.
26:04He still didn't believe me.
26:05The third time, I didn't say a single word.
26:08And he took my silence as guilt.
26:10Every single time, he let Kara handle the investigation.
26:14The evidence was always too perfect.
26:16He had his doubts, but he needed an excuse.
26:19He wanted to punish me for that pregnancy trap.
26:22For forcing him into this marriage.
26:23Back then, having Kara draft that prenup was just a sick way to humiliate me.
26:29Even he thought the clause about losing everything after three affairs was ridiculous.
26:33How could he ever let me cheat three times?
26:35He wouldn't even tolerate it once.
26:37But in the end, he was the one who practically set me up for it.
26:41He had destroyed his wife over a crime I didn't commit.
26:44Call the cops, give them everything.
26:45And add everything you can on coaching a child to tamper with medical equipment.
26:50For the next few days, he stayed by Ava's hospital bed.
26:54Waiting for just one message from me.
26:58Ava kept waking up, mumbling,
27:01Where's mommy?
27:03He never had an answer.
27:05I had really done it.
27:07I had wiped them from my life.
27:09Not long after that, he got an urgent call from her kindergarten.
27:12When he rushed over, he found Ava huddled in a chair in the nurse's office.
27:16Busted lip, bruised cheek.
27:18What happened?
27:20Ava refused to talk.
27:22Some kids said she didn't have a mom.
27:24Ava fought them.
27:28On the drive home, Ava looked at him in the rearview mirror.
27:31Daddy, did mommy throw me away because I spit at her?
27:36She wiped her nose.
27:37Auntie Kara told me if I spit at her, mommy would get scared and stay.
27:42She was packing her bags.
27:44I didn't want her to leave.
27:46Sebastian's hands gripped the steering wheel.
27:48He wanted to tell her.
27:49Mommy didn't abandon you.
27:51Daddy pushed her away.
27:52But his throat just locked up.
27:54It took two weeks to nail Kara.
27:56Not for the setup.
27:57There wasn't enough proof for that.
27:58So he set a trap.
27:59He had her dad investigated for cooking the books on the Caldwell accounts.
28:04Embezzlement.
28:05Millions.
28:06And Kara, as his lawyer, helped forge the documents.
28:09Slam dunk.
28:10When the cops kicked her door in.
28:11I gave you years of my life.
28:13This is how you treat me?
28:17You think locking me up brings her back?
28:20You're dreaming.
28:21Her mom is dead.
28:22She's never going to forgive you.
28:24The cop cars drove off.
28:26He pulled out his phone and opened my chat.
28:29Hundreds of texts over the last two weeks.
28:31I'm sorry.
28:32Ava misses you.
28:33I was wrong.
28:34Not a single reply.
28:36Not blocked.
28:37Just ignored.
28:37He shoved the phone in his pocket and went to pick up Ava.
28:41She held his hand, their shadows stretching on the sidewalk.
28:44Daddy, did I make mommy mad because I liked Auntie Kara better?
28:51No, baby.
28:52Daddy drove her away.
28:53Then just say sorry and bring her back.
28:55When Tommy broke my eraser, he said sorry and we were friends again.
29:01Sebastian didn't answer.
29:03He wanted to say sorry now, but I wasn't listening anymore.
29:08His mind flashed back to college.
29:10I was gorgeous, but I kept dodging him.
29:13Said our backgrounds were too different.
29:15He told me he'd handle the rest if I just gave him a chance.
29:19Then came graduation night.
29:20He drank a glass of wine, blacked out, and woke up in bed with me.
29:25Our clothes everywhere.
29:27He thought it was a trap.
29:29He thought I played the innocent card just to drug him and force a marriage.
29:33Then I got pregnant and his parents pushed hard for the marriage.
29:37That only made him resent me more.
29:39He hated me for it.
29:41For four years, he punished me.
29:43But after seeing how desperate Kara was to get in his bed last week,
29:47a sick realization hit him.
29:49A detail he'd ignored for years.
29:52That glass of wine on graduation night?
29:55Kara was the one who handed it to him.
29:57It wasn't me trying to trap him.
30:00It was Kara.
30:02I just walked into the wrong room at the wrong time.
30:05I took the fall.
30:06He had spent four years punishing the wrong woman.
30:10I worked up in the wrong Karen He took on a Diet.
30:10I took the fuck through the wrong men.
30:10I was about to finish him.
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