“Mom’s heading back. Your dad’s waiting for dinner.”

She patted my hand and turned to leave.

I chased after her, still clutching the bank card, but the door slammed shut in my face.

The plastic in my palm burned like fire, searing through every nerve.

I wanted a divorce.

But how could I tell her that?

How could I admit that all her years of devotion meant nothing to David?

That in his eyes, I was just as worthless?

That night, David didn’t come home, and I didn’t return to our bedroom.

I curled up with Ethan in his tiny bed and stayed awake until dawn.

When morning came, I rose to make breakfast.

David walked in, his eyes scanning the room.

Not seeing Ethan, he sat down at the table, drumming his fingers.

“Let’s talk.”

I glanced at the red mark on his collar, then sat across from him.

He cleared his throat, pulled two documents from his bag, and slid them toward me.

One was a divorce agreement. The other, yesterday’s settlement.

“You saw everything yesterday, so I won’t hide it anymore.”

“Her name is Sophia White. We’ve been seeing each other for a while.”

“I wasn’t planning on divorce, but she’s pregnant. The doctor says… she can’t have an abortion.”

Sophia White?

My hand froze on the divorce papers. I looked at David in disbelief.

That was the name I’d heard at the police station just days ago.

And now, connecting all the dots, it was absurd.

David had gotten his mother’s killer pregnant.

When I stayed silent, his tone grew pleading.

“Rachel, she’s only twenty-two. For the sake of our years together, can’t you let her go?”

“If you sign the settlement, I’ll give you the house, the cars, everything.”

“We’ll even increase the payout to $100,000.”

It was almost funny.

Sixteen years together, and the first time he begged me—it was for the woman who’d killed his mother.

I picked up the divorce papers, flipping page by page until the end, then held out my hand.

Thinking I had agreed, he grinned and hurried to place a pen in my palm.

I signed and slid both documents back.

“I’ll divorce you. But as for the settlement—I don’t have the right to sign that.”

It was the truth.

But to David, it was just me being difficult.

His face darkened as he leaned back, chest heaving, before finally throwing the pen at me.

“Rachel, I’m only talking nicely because of our past. Don’t think I’m begging you.”

“That was your mom. If you don’t have the right, who does?”

“Face it—you just won’t forgive Sophia. You’re vicious. Your whole family is vicious.”

“What did you just say?”

I clenched my fists, fury surging through me.

He could insult me all he wanted, but why humiliate my family again and again?

He slammed his hand on the table, leaning in close.

“I said your family is vicious. Your mom deserved to die in that car accident!”

Smack!

I slapped him with all my strength.

His head snapped to the side, stunned. Then his hand shot out, yanking my hair.

“Rachel, do you think I’ll let you get away with that?”

He raised his hand to strike me.

Ethan Miller ran out of the room on his little bare feet.

“Daddy, don’t hit Mommy!”

David’s hand froze in midair.

He glanced at Ethan, then gritted his teeth and shoved me to the ground.

“Rachel Miller, you’ll regret this.”

The front door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Clutching Ethan in my arms, I ground my teeth, trembling with rage, answering him in my heart.

David, the one who should regret this is you!

The CCTV footage of Margaret’s accident began trending on social media.

When Linda Carter brought the video to me, she was trembling with fury.

“Those monsters! My sister died so horribly, and they still twist things to slander her—are they even human?”

I poured her a glass of water.

When I took her phone, I realized the trending video had been heavily edited.

Unlike the footage I’d seen at the police station, this online version was blurry, deliberately cropped to hide Margaret tying her shoelace, slowed down, with captions framing it as if she were preparing to stage a scam.

If I hadn’t already seen the real footage, even I might have believed it.

No wonder the comments were full of people cursing Margaret.

They said it wasn’t that people turned bad when they got old, but that bad people only got worse with age.

They claimed her actions were those of a repeat offender.

They even said she wanted to extort money for her children before she died—that she was a “good mom” who deserved such an end.

I should have felt grief.

But knowing David had done this because he thought the victim was my mother, I felt only numb.

Linda slapped her thigh in outrage, shouting at me,

“Rachel, call David. Tell him to send a lawyer’s letter and sue these bastards immediately!”

I didn’t tell her that the “bastard” she cursed was likely her own nephew.

Before I could hang up the phone, the police station called.

“Mrs. Miller, we’re following up on your mother-in-law’s case. You mentioned discussing prosecution with your husband. Do you have a decision?”

I was about to redirect them to David, but Linda shouted into the phone,

“Prosecute! You must prosecute—arrest them immediately! She killed someone and still dares to smear my brother online!”

“And you are?”

“I’m the victim’s sister. Her real sister. My opinion is my nephew’s opinion too.”

After the call ended, Linda dragged me to David’s law firm.

His assistant tried to stop us, looking nervous, but Linda shoved him aside.

“Out of my way! I’m David’s aunt, and she’s his wife. You want to lose your job?”

Before he could react, she pushed open David’s office door.

David sat in his chair, while Sophia White straddled his lap, feeding him cookies mouth to mouth.

Linda froze for a second, then stormed over, yanking Sophia off him.

“You little vixen, seducing a married man?”

“Help me, David!” Sophia cried, tears streaming as she tried to hide behind him.

Before Linda’s slap could land, David caught her wrist.

“You—you’re stopping me?”

“You realize what time it is? And you’re still carrying on with this affair?”

David shot me a venomous glare, convinced I’d brought Linda here to catch him in the act.

“Aunt, this is my personal life. Don’t you think you’re overstepping?”