Chapter 4 How Could Anyone Have Tracked Her Down

Kristopher tensed up the second he heard Dayna.

Behind those cold, unreadable eyes of his, something dark started to stir.

What was she trying to pull now? Did she really just say that? Was this another one of her lies? Another trap?

He squinted at her for a few seconds, and then let out a dry laugh. "You really don't get scared of anything, huh?"

Dayna simply shrugged like it was no big deal.

She grabbed the test results from the table and tossed them to him. "After you've almost died once, nothing really scares you anymore."

Kristopher didn't respond. He just turned his wheelchair and started rolling away.

Dayna frowned, unwilling to let him walk away just yet.

"Whether you trust me or not, I will marry you," she said firmly. "Just give me a little time-I'll wrap up everything here with Declan first. After that, he's out of my life for good."

Kristopher didn't glance back. But in the shadowy light, the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"One month," he said coldly. "Play me again, and you'll realize death was the easiest way out."

Dayna watched him leave, feeling a cold shiver run through her.

If there was any other way to take down Declan, she wouldn't have teamed up with someone like Kristopher.

But right now, she didn't have a choice.

...

Meanwhile, Declan was already back at the house.

The maids had scrubbed the living room until it looked untouched, like the abduction had never even happened here.

He'd spent the entire day putting out fires over Madison's abduction, but thankfully the kidnappers let her go unharmed once they got the ransom. She didn't even have a scratch.

Tired, Declan loosened his tie and called out like he always did, "Dayna, bring me a glass of water."

In the past, Dayna would've already handed him the water and hung up his jacket without being asked.

However, this time, silence echoed back at him.

His face tightened. He pulled off his tie, clearly annoyed. "Where is she?"

A housemaid quickly came in with water, looking nervous. "Mr. Foster, Mrs. Foster hasn't come back yet."

"What do you mean she hasn't come back?" Declan snapped, unable to believe it.

The servant flinched. "S-since Miss Reid got kidnapped... we came back from the break and haven't seen her since..."

Since the day Madison got kidnapped?

Declan's face turned icy. Then a sneer twisted his lips. "So she finally grew a spine? Tried some pity stunt, didn't work, and now she storms off playing the victim? Let her sulk all she wants. She can stay away for good, for all I care."

He'd already been kind enough not to pursue the matter that she was behind Madison's kidnapping, and now she had the nerve to act like this?

Right then, another servant by the window suddenly called out, "Sir! Mrs. Foster's back!"

Declan's smirk curled in icy satisfaction. Of course she'd come crawling back.

She always did.

Without him, she was useless.

And sure enough, the quiet was pierced by the soft click of the door unlocking.

Dayna had barely stepped inside when Declan's voice, dripping with sarcasm, cut through the room like a blade. "Well, look who finally remembered where she lives. What's the matter? Coughing up blood wasn't dramatic enough for you? Had to put on a full show for the crowd, huh?"

She didn't respond but instead walked past him toward the stairs like he didn't even exist.

Declan's eyes narrowed. That silence-her blatant disregard-set something off inside him.

She was ignoring him?

How dare she?

"Dayna!" His voice thundered now, echoing in the hall. "Did you suddenly go deaf, or are you just pretending I'm not standing here?"

He moved swiftly, stepping into her path, his eyes glinting with fury as he blocked her way up the stairs.

Her chest throbbed with a dull pain that had long since faded into numbness. Every second in his presence felt like poison.

"Move."

The word was lifeless, void of emotion, but to Declan, it landed like a slap to the face. His brows furrowed tightly.

"Dayna!" He seized her wrist, his voice low and strained through clenched teeth. "Try me again, and I swear you'll regret it."

Her expression didn't waver. Then slowly, her lips lifted into a cold, mocking smile. Her eyes looked straight through him-empty, frigid, unreachable.

"Oh, really?" Her voice was a quiet accusation. "You already watched me bleeding on the ground and walked away. Were you planning to finish the job next time?"

The words sliced through his armor, stunning him into silence. For a moment, he couldn't breathe.

This wasn't the woman he remembered. Not even close.

The old Dayna had been obedient to a fault-soft-spoken, desperate for scraps of his attention. This stranger before him... she was ice.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he snapped, his temper rising fast. He was certain this was just another one of her calculated games.

Straightening up, he slipped right back into his usual tone of authority. "I've already done you a favor by not making you pay for what you did to Madison-and now you're pulling this stunt?"

"You actually believe I orchestrated that? No wonder you're so easy to manipulate-calling you dumb would be generous."

She let out a bitter chuckle, thick with years of swallowed pain and self-loathing.

God, how stupid she had been to love a man like him!

She didn't dignify it with another word. Turning away, she headed for the stairs with the kind of calm only heartbreak could teach.

Declan's blood boiled. But it wasn't her words that cut the deepest. It was the indifference in her eyes, like he no longer mattered at all.

She had never looked through him like that before.

His hands balled into fists, trembling with rage.

"Get back here, now. Three seconds, Dayna, or I'm filing for divorce!" he barked.

She froze. Her shoulders tensed, but she didn't turn around.

A victorious smirk played at Declan's lips. He thought he'd won. Again.

But before he could bask in it, her voice floated back-quiet and detached. "Then let's go get it done. I'm ready."

Funny, wasn't it? Legally, she was his wife. But in his world, she'd always been invisible. Disposable.

Her mind flashed back to the night he grabbed her by the neck and spat those words like venom. "You make me sick. Cheating on me right before our wedding day? You're such a cheap whore! I wouldn't touch you even if you were the last woman on earth."

And still... she'd stayed. Clung to hope.

She believed that if she just loved him a little more and endured a little longer, maybe he'd finally see the truth-that she hadn't betrayed him. That she was always his.

But in his eyes, she was always tainted-beyond redemption.

And now, all she could do was laugh-at the girl she used to be. Naive. Loyal. Pathetic.

"Fine," Declan snapped. "You want a divorce? Let's make it official."

Declan then stomped to his study and came back slamming a divorce agreement onto the table like it was a winning card.

His expression oozed cruelty, like he was sure she'd never sign it.

But then, Dayna calmly picked it up and scanned the pages. She was listed as the one at fault, and for that, he wouldn't be paying her any alimony. Still, she didn't even blink.

Money had never mattered to her. With one smooth, deliberate stroke, she signed her name.

Just like that, the marriage-built on nothing more than convenience-was done.

Declan stared at her, speechless.

What the fuck? She actually signed it?

His expression soured immediately.

"You-"

He barely got the word out before his phone rang sharply from his pocket.

Irritated, he glanced at the screen, and then shifted his eyes back to Dayna, already halfway up the stairs.

For a moment, he hesitated-but then answered. "This better be important."

There was a brief silence as Declan listened to whatever the caller had to say, and then his entire expression shifted. "What? You found the Wraith Physician? Stay where you are. I'm on my way."

Dayna's steps faltered mid-stride. The Wraith Physician?

Her eyes narrowed, a deep crease forming between her brows. That shouldn't have been possible. How could anyone have tracked her down without her knowing?