Chapter 1

Janelle's childhood best friend was having another depressive episode.

She ordered our six-year-old son to rush over and cheer him up.

She even threatened the little boy with cruel words.

"If you aren't here before six, you're no longer my son!"

Devastated and panicked by her threat, our son suffered a fatal heart attack on his way there.

By the time he was rushed to the ER, it was already too late.

Meanwhile, Janelle kept bombarding his smartwatch with impatient texts, telling him to hurry up.

Drowning in grief, I picked up our son's watch and sent her a single reply.

"Let's get a divorce."

1.

"If you aren't here before six, you're no longer my son!"

"Milo, why aren't you here yet? It's just a short walk!"

I held my son's cold, stiffening body in my arms, staring at the barrage of messages Janelle had sent.

Every single one was demanding that he rush to Felix's place.

She was the one who had carried him for nine months.

Milo loved his mother so deeply, yet she weaponized their bond to threaten him.

In the end, the emotional shock triggered his congenital heart defect, ending his little life.

"I'm giving you one last chance. If you don't show up by seven, don't ever call me Mom again!"

The messages kept popping up relentlessly.

A cold, bitter light surfaced in my swollen, tear-filled eyes.

There was no last chance.

Our son would never call her Mom again.

I pressed my forehead against Milo's cold brow.

With trembling fingers, I tapped out three words on his smartwatch.

"Let's get a divorce."

Seconds after the text went through, Janelle's call came in.

She ignored the word divorce completely and started screaming at me for being petty.

"I knew it! You're deliberately keeping Milo from coming over!"

"Milo is always so chatty. What's wrong with having him keep Felix company for a bit?"

"Felix is going through severe depression right now! If he feels worse, he might end his own life!"

"If he wants to die, let him! What the hell does that have to do with my son?"

I shouted back through the receiver, unable to hold back the burning rage in my chest.

The line went silent for a moment.

She clearly didn't expect me to snap.

After all, I had spent the last seven years obeying her every whim.

But the silence lasted only a second before her furious shriek blasted through the speaker.

"What do you mean, your son? I gave birth to him! As his mother, what's wrong with me asking him to run an errand?"

"And listen to me, Franklin! If anything happens to Felix, you'll pay for it!"

She slammed the phone down.

A sharp pain tore through my chest, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Despair and utter disappointment washed over me.

In the end, I had to gather what little strength I had left to handle our son's funeral alone.

Milo was cremated three days later.

Janelle never once showed up.

The doctors and nurses who knew what happened condemned her for being utterly unfit as a mother.

I blamed her too, but I blamed myself even more.

If only I had realized sooner how heartless she was, maybe Milo would still be alive.

I carried my son's urn back to the empty house, intending to pack our bags and take his ashes back to my hometown.

Yet the moment I stepped inside, Janelle walked through the front door.

Her face was cold as ice.

"Franklin, did you completely ignore all my messages over the past few days?"

"Are you blind or something?"

I had spent every waking second drowning in sorrow.

How could I possibly have the energy to look at my phone?

Janelle scowled, crossing her arms.

"I'm taking Felix on a trip for a few days. You take over the management of Brooks Corp for now."

A trip?

When was she ever not catering to Felix?

When Felix said he wanted to star in a movie, she poured tens of millions of dollars into a production for him.

When Felix wanted to see a concert in Europe, she chartered a private jet to take him there.

And whenever Felix felt down, she demanded her own six-year-old son run over just to entertain him.

I was exhausted.

I didn't want to keep dragging out this meaningless marriage anymore.

"Janelle, let's get a divorce."