A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 221

Starla couldn't help but marvel at the cruel irony. Brinley's son needed a medical miracle just to survive, and now her perfectly healthy daughter had vanished.

"Kill me? You'll never be able to," Starla said, her voice devoid of emotion. "If you want your daughter to live, I suggest you start looking for her."

With that, Starla hung up. Unbelievable. Now, anything that went wrong was automatically her fault.

The phone rang again almost immediately. This time, it was Darleen.

"Starla, we were wrong before," she began, her tone astonishingly gentle. "Tell Mom where you've taken the baby."

The word "Mom" was so jarring, so utterly hypocritical, that Starla almost laughed. It was a new level of pathetic. Just a short while ago, Darleen had been telling her to get out of the family if she knew what was good for her. Now she was playing the concerned mother-in-law?

"Darleen, you are truly a pitiful sight," Starla said.

Darleen swallowed her rage. "Where is the baby?"

"And what makes you so sure I'm the one who took her?"

That was the last straw for Darleen. "Who else could it be?" she screamed into the phone. "Everything you've done these past few days has been to drive Brinley to her death!" Her voice was a raw, accusing roar.

Starla gripped the phone tighter. "Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with me. And let me give you a piece of advice, Darleen. I've been open about everything I've done recently. But kidnapping a child is not my style. If you want that baby back alive, you'd better start looking elsewhere. Wasting time with me might get her killed, and I'm sure you'll find a way to blame that on me, too."

Did they really think she was holding the child hostage? If she had the baby, wouldn't she be using her as leverage to negotiate the divorce with Fairfax right now? But she wasn't that despicable. As much as she loathed Brinley's children, she would never harm an infant. And to what end? To saddle herself with a crying baby just to blackmail Fairfax? The idea was absurd.

"How did you find out?" Starla asked.

"My aunt. She's a doctor at that hospital. She said the whole place is in chaos."

"I'm sure it is," Starla said flatly. A missing baby was no small matter.

Tanya hesitated for a moment. "Starla… this has nothing to do with you, right?"

Starla felt a surge of irritation. So, even her closest friend suspected her.