Chapter 1

My husband got a racy photo from his mistress.

He raced to the hotel, leaving our three-year-old son in the car.

Under the scorching summer sun, the locked car became a furnace. Our son suffocated to death.

When I told my husband the devastating news, he answered, panting, “Let’s just get the funeral over with. We can always have another kid.”

I was sobbing, choked with grief, but he was disturbingly calm.

“Chloe’s already pregnant. Once her baby is born, they’ll be our family’s heir.”

“She’ll move into our house, but it won’t affect your status as Mrs. Arthur. I’ll still spend a few nights a week with you.”

At his words, my heart completely died.

I walked straight into my husband’s arch-rival’s office. “Interested in partnering up to take down Arthur’s empire?”

I was a stay-at-home mom, not because my husband made a fortune, but because our son was often sick and needed constant care.

On Leo’s third birthday, I’d decorated a private room at a local restaurant. It was all superhero-themed, just like Leo loved, even the cake was a custom flavor.

Before the party even began, my husband offered to take Leo out for a stroll, giving me more time to set up.

But three hours went by.

My husband refused to answer my calls, and I couldn't track his location. It wasn't until late afternoon that the police called with the devastating news of Leo’s death.

The cramped car had turned into an oven. Leo’s tiny body was already stiff and bruised. Under his small fingernails were marks from his desperate struggle to survive.

“What kind of parents leave such a young child alone in a car?”

“Look at that mom, all dressed up. She was probably too busy shopping or socializing to even realize her kid died in the car.”

Facing the ignorant public’s accusations, I had no strength to defend myself.

I collapsed beside the car, sobbing until I had no strength left. It was the female officer who gently pulled me into the patrol car.

My hand trembled as I dialed my husband’s number. He answered, panting, “So he died. It’s just a funeral. We can always have another kid.”

Then he hung up.

I next saw my husband at the police station. Fueled by fury, I slapped him across the face, shrieked, my voice raw with anguish, “Where were you?! Why did you leave him alone in the car?! Why didn’t you answer my calls?!”

I thought Arthur would be as heartbroken as I was, but he angrily pushed my hand away.

“Can you stop acting like a lunatic?”

Arthur went through the procedures in the interrogation room. When he signed Leo’s death certificate, his face showed absolutely no emotion.

As if the person who had suffocated to death was a complete stranger, utterly unrelated to him!

“Arthur, tell me what you were doing?” I clutched his hand, my voice trembling. “You said you were just taking Leo for a walk. Why was he locked in that car for over two hours?”

Just thinking about it, I remembered the dashcam footage.

The video showed Leo’s cries, starting strong, then gradually fading, charting every agonizing step of his journey towards death.

I couldn’t help but cry again, but Arthur remained indifferent. “I was conducting business, okay? I was too busy. What was I supposed to do, I forgot.”

“Enough, stop making a scene. Come home with me. You’re embarrassing our entire family.”

Arthur dragged me along, showing no sign of grief even as he practically shoved me through our front door. He even flung his perfume-scented suit jacket at my face. “Get this dry-cleaned. Don’t you dare ruin it.”

I stood my ground, speaking coldly. “Arthur, let’s get a divorce.”

But Arthur just looked at me blankly. “What tantrum are you throwing now?”

“You’re talking about divorce over an *adopted* child? Are you out of your mind, Avery?”

“Let me be blunt. Chloe’s already two months pregnant. Once her baby is born, I’ll bring it home, and you’ll raise it just like you raised Leo. It’ll even call you ‘Mom’ when it grows up.”