Chapter 1

1

My daughter was fighting for her life in the ICU.

Instead of staying by her side, my husband took the surgery money I had spent months raising.

He gave every cent to his childhood bestie, Holly, to pay off her debts.

I begged him on my knees to leave at least a portion for our child's treatment.

He just sneered, thinking I was acting out of jealousy.

"Can you stop making a scene? Holly and I are just friends. It's nothing like that!"

Because of the delay in surgery, my daughter eventually died in that cold hospital bed.

While I was grieving, Holly posted photos of her luxury vacation.

"Thanks to my favorite boy for the travel funds! Besties for life!"

In the photo, my husband and she were holding hands, their fingers interlaced like a couple in a honeymoon phase.

I left the divorce papers on the table and blocked him on everything.

I vanished from his world completely.

He spent the rest of his life searching for me like a madman.

......

To pay for Hazel's surgery, I had begged everyone I knew.

I borrowed from every friend and relative, but it still wasn't enough.

I called my husband, Kade, dozens of times.

He never picked up.

In a state of pure agony and despair, Hazel passed away in my arms.

Her little body had been ravaged by the illness until she was barely recognizable.

I held her cold body as I walked out of the hospital, feeling completely numb.

All my strength had left me.

My mind was filled with images of her when she was still healthy and smiling.

The cruelest pain in this world is a parent burying their child.

I thought she had a chance after I managed to raise a significant sum through a local charity drive.

But Kade had quietly emptied the account and transferred the money.

By the time I found out, it was too late.

The money was already in Holly's hands.

I called him repeatedly, moving from screaming accusations to pathetic pleading.

I even threw away my dignity and wailed in the hospital corridor, hoping he'd care about our daughter.

All I got in return was his growing impatience.

"Have you had enough yet? You'll say anything just to manipulate me!"

"You're actually using our daughter's health to scam money from our relatives?"

"As a mother, how can you be so wicked that you'd curse your own child?"

"You don't deserve to be a parent!"

He refused to believe that Hazel was actually sick.

He spoke about taking the money as if it were a minor errand.

"Holly was in deep trouble and needed the cash urgently, so I gave it to her. Think of it as doing a good deed to balance out your lies!"

"Using scammed money for our kid? Aren't you afraid of bad karma?"

In his memory, Hazel was still a healthy, vibrant girl.

But he had forgotten that we had been separated for over six months after a massive fight.

He hadn't seen his daughter in ages.

Kade had declared that until I admitted my mistakes, I shouldn't even dream of seeing him.

I didn't know where he lived or where he spent his nights.

He even warned me never to show up at his office, claiming I would embarrass him.

When I was truly desperate, I called to ask him for a loan.

We spoke like complete strangers.

But he convinced himself I only wanted the money to fuel my vanity and refused immediately.

That was why I had to borrow from friends.

I never expected him to pull the rug out from under me like this.

In a final act of desperation, I sent him photos and videos of Hazel in her hospital bed.

He insisted I was using filters and staging the whole thing.

"Jade, I never realized you could be this shameless!"

"You're forcing our daughter to act in your little plays? How is she supposed to face society later?"

We had our issues, but I never thought he could be this delusional during a life-and-death crisis.

He judged my money as dirty, yet he had no problem handing it over to his childhood friend.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I drove straight to Holly's house to corner them.

I wanted to look her in the eye and ask how she could spend my daughter's life-saving money without a shred of guilt.