Because our five-year-old son accidentally knocked over her precious first love wine glass at a banquet, my wife—the president’s wife—ordered him to be sent to the isolated island to undergo the family’s heir trial.

Everyone tried to stop her, but she silenced them with a single icy glance.

I watched helplessly as the ship carrying my son drifted farther and farther from the shore, toward the lonely island.

Falling to my knees, I begged her to bring him back.

“He’s only in kindergarten! He hasn’t been trained—he’ll die out there! He didn’t mean to bump into Billie. I’ll wash the soiled clothes myself, I’ll pay whatever compensation you want, just please bring him back—”

But my wife didn’t even look at me.

Instead, she clung tightly to Billie Morgan’s arm, gently caressing his pale, frightened face.

“If you hadn’t spoiled him so much, how could he have made such a blunder in public? As the heir to the Collins Family, shouldn't he at least know basic manners? You're the one who always said, 'A doting father ruins the son.' Now look what you’ve done.”

Five days later, when the cruise ship finally returned, I pushed through the crowd and rushed onto the island.

There he was—my son—lying in the grass, his tiny face swollen and dark from a snake bite.

He wasn’t breathing.

Without hesitation, I carried him in my arms and rushed him to the hospital.

My wife, meanwhile, stayed behind, taking selfies on the cruise ship with her beloved first love.

Outside the emergency room, when the old man of Collins Family, Hardy Collins, finally arrived, I collapsed in front of him, sobbing.

“Bastian is gone. The eight-year agreement is coming up... please let me go. I don’t want anything else.”

——

Hardy dropped his cane in shock, quickly helping me up, his face filled with guilt.

“Bastian was a clever child. That island has always been the Collins Family’s place of trial—it's regularly cleared of dangerous creatures. You mustn't worry too much, I’m sure he—”

Before he could finish, the resuscitation light turned off. A doctor stepped out, shaking his head with deep regret.

“I’m sorry. The child was brought in too late. The venom had spread too far by the time he arrived—we did everything we could.”

He hesitated, then added grimly, “And during the procedure, we discovered something else. His stomach was full of roots and grass—he’d been trying to eat weeds to survive. He was severely malnourished. Are you sure he died simply from a snake bite while playing?”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“What… did you say?”

Images of Bastian, all alone on that barren island, starving and desperate, flashed through my mind.

I had thought he’d just be scared from the solitude—but never imagined that Shena Collins would treat him by the harshest standards, not even leaving him food.

How terrified he must have been in those final moments.

Hearing this, Hardy slammed his cane against the floor in fury.

“That heartless wretch! How could she do this to her own child!”

Just then, a deliveryman arrived, carrying a set of children’s clothes.

“A lady surnamed Collins asked me to deliver these,” he said.

“Shameless!” Hardy snatched the clothes, ripped them apart and threw them to the floor.

“She kills her own son and still won’t come in person—just sends clothes through someone else? I bet she’s still out there with that pale-faced, sickly man. He dares to think he can be the Collins Family’s son-in-law? Dream on!”

“I’m calling her now—I want her to see what she’s done!”

He dialed again and again, but Shena never picked up.

Then my own phone rang. My hands trembled as I put it on speaker.

Her voice came through, cold and annoyed, “Theo, are you seriously running to my grandfather to complain over a minor issue? Don’t think you can fool me by dragging Bastian into it and pretending he’s sick. What a joke.”

“It’s just an early heir trial. You rushed him to the hospital like it was the end of the world. Didn't your son say he wanted to take over for me and make the Collins Family better? Then let him prove it. If he can't pass the trial in three days, don’t ever call him my son again.”

“I even sent him a set of his favorite clothes—what more do you want? Don’t bring your pathetic tricks from the outside world into my house. I’m busy handling company affairs. Don’t bother me again!”

I glanced down at the dog-print clothes that had fallen to the floor. Not only were they too small—more fitting for a toddler than a five-year-old—but they were also painfully inappropriate.

When Bastian was three, he was bitten by Billie’s dog. Ever since then, he hated anything with dogs on it.

And yet Shena—his own mother—had no idea.

When the nurse finished cleaning Bastian’s body, Hardy, who had moments ago been gasping for breath, suddenly fell silent. With trembling hands, he lifted the white sheet from Bastian’s face. His eyes turned red in an instant.

“This is all my fault... I failed to raise Shena properly. That’s why this happened to Bastian.”

Then he turned to me, voice hoarse with emotion.

“Theo, we agreed to eight years… But Shena isn’t completely heartless. No matter what tricks Billie plays, the Collins Family will only recognize you as our son-in-law. Please, give her another chance. I’ll make sure she sees that man’s true nature!”

Eight years ago, he had said something similar.

Back then, he found me working part-time at the company—ragged, grieving, barely holding on—and begged me to help care for Shena, who was in a coma.

When my parents were murdered by enemies, it was Hardy who helped handle the aftermath. In return, I accepted his arrangement: to join the Collins Family and care for his granddaughter.

Day after day, I gave her acupuncture, massages, medication. Slowly, she woke up. I thought with Bastian’s birth, our eight-year contract might become a lifelong bond.

But I never imagined it would all end like this.

Now he still wanted me to stay in the Collins Family?

Without hesitation, I gripped Bastian’s cold little hand and replied firmly, “We made a deal for eight years. Now that Shena has fully recovered, the debt is paid. Your favor to my family has been returned.”

“And Bastian... he shouldn’t have come into this world. It was my selfishness that made me keep him. But now that he’s gone, so am I.”

I stayed by Bastian’s side in the funeral parlor all night. At dawn, I changed him into fresh clothes, organized everything for the cremation and watched quietly as the staff sent his small body into the incinerator.

Hardy stood beside me, holding my hand with a long sigh.

“Bastian’s funeral is tomorrow. After it's done, you may go. I’ll stay here—you should head to the Collins estate and pack your things.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. I quickly turned my back to Bastian, unwilling to let him see his father break down.

Ever since Billie appeared, I often cried in secret. And every time I was sad, Bastian would feel it, too.

When I returned to the Collins mansion and pushed open the bedroom door, I was met with a scene that crushed the last remnants of my soul.

Shena and Billie lay tangled in our bed, their clothes disheveled. She was gently stroking her belly.

“Baby, grow strong and obedient,” she whispered. “Soon, Mommy will be able to give you a rightful place in the Collins Family.”

Shena, smiling faintly, turned to Billie.

“Thank you for letting me have your child. But I don’t want to make things hard for you. Bastian acted out last time and bumped into you at the banquet… If he knew I was pregnant with your baby, who knows what he’d do. Maybe... we should terminate it.”

Shena suddenly straddled him, pressing a finger to his lips. Her tone turned soft, but her words cut like knives.

“No. I promised to give you a child and I will. As for Bastian… he was raised entirely by that man. He never had the composure or grace of a Collins Family heir. I never liked him. If I could choose, I’d rather he was never my son at all.”

Hearing her insult Bastian so cruelly, I couldn’t stop my fists from clenching, my nails digging deep into my palms.

It was only after some time that the two finally noticed me standing silently in the doorway. Shena didn’t even bother fixing her disheveled clothes. Instead, she smugly pulled Billie’s hand and sauntered toward me, her expression dripping with contempt.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up. You disappear all night with the child and this is what you call being a father? Teaching him to pull stunts and play sick to get sympathy?”

Her eyes narrowed, voice sharper than ever.

“Don’t think I don’t know you ran off to complain to Grandpa again. You manipulated him into denying his own bloodline and used Bastian’s life to threaten me into keeping Billie out of this house.”

“In that case, pack up your things and take your precious Bastian back to the old mansion where you can go play the perfect little son-in-law. From now on, this house belongs to Billie and me. And where is Bastian, anyway? Bring him out now and make him kneel and apologize to Billie. Don’t think a little hospital stunt will make this go away.”

As I looked at her, this woman who had utterly abandoned all love for her son, I couldn’t stop the image from flashing in my mind—Bastian, alone and starving on that desolate island, terrified and clinging to hope.

I almost lunged at her, but then Bastian’s soft voice echoed in my memory, from the day before he was sent away.

“Dad, it’s my fault. I didn’t learn the house rules properly and I made Mom angry.”

“But don’t worry, okay? Mom said I’ll only be gone for five days. When I come back, I’ll be the rightful heir. Then Mom won’t have to work so hard anymore and she can be with you again, like before.”

I bit down hard, forcing myself to swallow the fury in my throat. I turned silently to leave—but she grabbed me by the arm.

“What’s this attitude? You’re just a glorified servant—how dare you act like you’re above us?”

Her voice turned venomous.

“If you and Grandpa hadn’t schemed to push Billie out, you’d never have become the Collins Family’s son-in-law. A bastard whose own parents were murdered dares to dream of marriage and children?”

“What is it now? Found another rich heiress to con into marrying you by flaunting that little life-saving act again? Having a father like you was the greatest misfortune of Bastian’s life!”

I let the words fall on me without reaction. But the calmer I remained, the more enraged she became.

With a snarl, she grabbed a whip from the wall and kicked my knees out from under me.

I collapsed to the floor and the whip lashed down hard, splitting my skin open in an instant.

“You still think you’re right? You’re the one who raised that unruly brat. If you won’t accept your mistakes, then I’ll beat them into you!”

“Grandpa might be blinded by your honeyed words, but I’m not. I see you for what you are—a greedy, low-born climber who only got here by stealing Billie’s credit. If it weren’t for you falsely claiming it was you who woke me up, I never would’ve married you.”

“I owe Billie too much. I won’t let him suffer even a fraction more because of you. Now get Bastian out here and make him kneel—both of you owe Billie an apology! If you won’t comply, I can assure you there are plenty of others waiting to claim the Collins Family heir’s title.”

At that moment, the pain in my body couldn’t compare to the pain tearing through my heart.

I couldn’t bear it anymore. I grabbed the whip mid-swing and flung it aside with all my strength. She stumbled backward, barely caught by Billie.

“Theo, how dare you resist?! So you finally drop the act, huh?”

I rose to my feet despite the blood and pain, meeting her gaze with icy clarity.

“You want Bastian to apologize?” I said with a hollow laugh.

“Fine. Then go find him—underground—and take Billie with you.”

“Bastian is dead.”

Shena froze. For a brief moment, her expression cracked. But then she burst into mocking laughter, flinging the whip aside.

“You really are a monster, Theo. You’d curse your own child to death just to threaten me?”

“Isn’t this all because you found out I’m pregnant with Billie’s baby? You’re afraid I’ll revoke Bastian’s heir status and that your little claim to the Collins Family will vanish with it. So you went and hid Bastian somewhere with Grandpa, didn’t you?”