And that only made her want to scream.
“Agreed?” she laughed bitterly.“Then explain to me, Frank, what exactly you think you’re doing. How could you do that to Daphne? She’s already hurting, and you—”
He cut in smoothly:
“What exactly did I do?”
There it was. His usual tactic.
Force her to spell out the obvious so he could twist it against her.
“Why did you introduce our daughter to your mistress?” she shot back.“And then take her side? You cut Daphne’s card limit because she didn’t welcome your new family? Because she refused to celebrate your affair?” Her voice sharpened.“Fantastic job. Now she thinks your new son matters more to you than she does. Are you trying to hurt her? Is this your way of showing she’s disposable now? This is between you and me, Frank — but leave our daughter out of it. She’s notmine. She’sours. Ours, for God’s sake. And I’m asking you to consider her feelings for once. Or did Vivian whisper something to you that made you ready to throw your own daughter under the bus? Punish her just because she refuses to accept your new reality?”
Silence.
She could almost hear him thinking, calculating.
“This isn’t punishment, Nina,” he finally said.“It’s parenting. Daphne’s growing up. She needs to understand that life isn’t an endless stream of spending. I won’t always be there to make decisions for her.”
“Parenting?” Nina froze.“You’re calling it parenting — cutting her off right after she finds out you have another child? She cried the entire night, Frank. She’s terrified you don’t love her anymore.”
Another long pause. His favorite weapon.
“Nina,” he said, voice softening just a fraction — but still cold,“you always dramatize everything. Daphne is my daughter. Her place in my life is unquestionable. But she needs to understand there are other people in the world. And sometimes she has to accept them.”
She sucked in a breath to keep from screaming.
“She has to accept Vivian? Your child with your mistress? Are you serious? How can you expect her to swallow that, Frank? Do you even understand the pain you caused her?”
“Daphne’s a big girl. She’ll understand. Eventually.”
“Eventually?” Her voice trembled with rage.
“I’m thinking about the future, Nina,” he snapped.“About raising independent children who can navigate the world. She’ll thank me one day. And shewill have to accept that I have another child — a child I love just as much as her.”
Nina fell quiet.
Something heavy settled in her chest.
“She adored you, Frank. More than anyone. And now you’ve dragged her into adult problems she had no business facing. Don’t be this harsh. She’s still a kid. Sensitive and naïve.”
“She’ll always be my daughter. She’ll sulk for a day or two and come back. I pay for her college, her housing — everything. She doesn’t have much of a choice. Either she becomes part of my new family, where there’s no place for you— or…”
The rest he didn’t say.
He didn’t need to.
“Someday you’ll pay for this, Frank,” she whispered.“But by then it’ll be too late to ask forgiveness.”
She hung up. There was no point in continuing. Vivian had wrapped him around her finger so tightly he was ready to discard his own daughter.
“M…Mom?” came a soft voice behind her.“Was that you talking to Dad?”
She spun around. Daphne stood just a few steps away — Nina hadn’t even heard her come in.
She pulled herself together quickly.
“Yes,” she said.“And in case you haven’t realized it yet, Daphne — your father froze every account connected to us, and those rumors in the press? That’s him too. He has a new family now, and he couldn’t care less about us. Be grateful he didn’t take the house.”
