Chapter 1

After the divorce, I left the old city. One night, an unknown number rang.

"Hello, who is this?"

Hearing my voice, the person on the other end seemed to sob, but quickly responded.

"Tomorrow is our son's death anniversary. I want to see him…"

That familiar tone. I knew it was my ex-husband.

"You're mistaken. Our son's anniversary passed ages ago. Don't contact me again."

I heard his choked voice through the phone. In the past, my heart would have ached, and I’d have rushed to comfort him.

Now, I hung up without hesitation, blocking his number to stop him from bothering me.

He had locked our son in a closet just because Leo, while playing with a toy plane, accidentally snagged his assistant's stockings.

And to appease his assistant, he’d sent everyone home, then jetted off with her on a vacation.

I was on a business trip overseas when I got a call from Maria, our housekeeper. She told me something had happened to my son and urged me to come home immediately.

I booked the nearest flight, rushing frantically to the hospital. All I saw was the red light glowing above the operating room door.

Soon, the light went out, and the doctor emerged, his voice heavy with sorrow as he looked at us.

"Please accept our deepest condolences. We did everything we could."

I felt utterly frozen, my fingertips numb, a sudden acid reflux rising in my stomach, and my heart felt like it was clutched by a giant hand.

I fought to stay conscious, my fingernails digging deep into my palms.

Mr. and Mrs. Davies, Julian's parents, who had rushed back from out of town, saw the scene. They were furious, demanding to know from Maria what had happened.

Maria, seeing my pale face, quickly stepped forward to support me, then began to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Davies.

"Mr. Davies brought Ms. Miller home to stay. Little Leo accidentally snagged her stockings while playing with his toy plane, so Mr. Davies locked Leo in the closet."

My mind went blank with a loud *buzz*, and my legs gave out, sending me to my knees.

Our house had a custom-built, solid wood closet. It was heavy and airtight. According to Maria, Leo had been locked inside for at least a dozen hours.

"That animal! Scarlett, call him! Tell him to get back here!"

I fumbled for my phone, my trembling fingers hitting the wrong buttons several times.

When the call connected, Julian's impatient voice answered.

"Why are you calling? Are you looking for another fight?"

My voice was hollow.

"Our son… he's dead."

Julian on the other end scoffed.

"You'll really say any lie to stop me from being with Brittany, won't you?"

Before I could speak, I heard Brittany Miller's voice in the background.

"Julian, did you book the hotel?"

I heard Julian's doting voice.

"All set. This time, no one unimportant will ruin our trip."

Brittany whined playfully.

"Last time, your family kept calling and bothering us. That won't happen again, right?"

"Don't worry, I'll block her number soon."

Brittany's tinkling laugh carried through the phone, her voice syrupy sweet.

"My stockings got ruined yesterday. You'll have to make it up to me today, big time."