With a violent twist, I snapped its jaw apart—

blood spilled all over the ground.

I looked up at Grace, spat at her feet, and snarled:

“You want to die?”

Grace hadn’t expected me to fight back so fiercely. Her legs went weak; she couldn’t even step back.

I grabbed her by the collar—

when suddenly, someone rushed in and shoved me hard.

“Emily! What are you doing?!”

Ryan’s eyes were blazing with fury as he glared at me.

“I can’t believe you went this far—you even dared to hurt someone?!”

Before I could respond, pain shot through my back like electricity.

I flung the snake that had bitten me against the wall.

She actually let a snake bite me!

Grace waved her hand dismissively, smiling.

“Relax. It won’t kill you. I have the antivenom.”

Ryan just stood there, watching coldly.

“Even after all this, Grace still wants to save you. Apologize to her—now!”

My vision blurred.

I dug my nails into my palm until blood dripped to the floor.

Ryan’s voice was icy:

“You brought this on yourself. Say sorry before you really die here.”

Blood filled my mouth.

Grace covered hers in fake disgust.

“Oh right, I forgot—she can’t talk anymore.”

Ryan frowned and came closer.

“Then get on your knees. You need to remember this, so you don’t try this nonsense again.”

My legs buckled—

I collapsed on the floor, clutching Ryan’s pant leg, trying to tell him the truth.

Grace laughed.

“Ryan, your wife is obedient after all. I think I feel a little better now.”

I shut my eyes in despair.

Cold spread from the bite to every part of my body,

and pain gnawed at my heart like a thousand ants.

Before I lost consciousness, I thought—

Was this how my poor father-in-law felt before he died?

...

The officers came to the hospital to take my statement.

Halfway through, one of them stopped and angrily called Ryan.

“Mr. Carter, your wife hasn’t slept in two days over your father’s death, and you let her almost get killed by a snake? Are you even human?”

Ryan snapped over the phone.

“Officer, don’t pity her just because her father passed away.”

The officer froze, then said sternly:

“This isn’t about pity. The man who died… was your father.”

Ryan frowned impatiently.

“I know. You don’t have to keep saying it. I don’t need reminders about respecting my parents.”

“Emily’s fine now thanks to the antivenom. But Sandy is still in critical condition at the animal hospital!”

The officer’s voice hardened.

“Your wife is the one who was seriously injured—she almost didn’t make it. As the head of your household, you should come to the hospital.”

After finishing the statement, I forced myself to walk to the morgue to handle my father-in-law’s paperwork.

The doctor sighed sympathetically.

“Poor man. That snake’s venom is brutal—the pain must have been unbearable.”

I shuddered involuntarily and gritted my teeth.

“I know. Even with the antivenom, it still burns to the bone.”

The doctor pulled the white sheet over my father-in-law’s body just as Ryan walked in.

His voice was flat.

“So you’re fine now? See how kind Grace is? She saved your life despite everything.”

“Next time, stop calling the police and wasting their time.”

I didn’t want to argue with him in front of the corpse. I just said quietly—

“Dad’s autopsy is finished. He’s being prepared for cremation.”

Ryan finally showed up.

My father-in-law had been here for three days and nights.

If he was watching from above, he would probably want to see his son one last time.

But Ryan didn’t even try to lift the sheet. He just gave me a perfunctory nod.

“Say your goodbye. I’ll wait by the door.”

I grabbed his sleeve and pleaded,

“Just take one look. If you don’t look now, you won’t ever have another chance.”

Ryan shook me off, irritated, his face hard.

“What’s the point of looking? Everyone has their fate. This is your father’s fate. He had to accept it—and as his daughter, so do you.”

“Accept it?” My nose stung.

“Don’t you get it? His death wasn’t an accident. Someone did this.”

“And the person responsible is Grace!”

“Ryan, how can you be so heartless? He’s right in front of you. You won’t seek justice for him, and you can’t even look at him one last time?”

Ryan’s face darkened.

“You keep slandering Grace. What do you get out of it? Trying to cash in on my father’s death?”

“Fine. If you stop going after Grace, I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars. That enough?”

Ice seeped through my bones.

I never imagined he’d say something so shameless with my father-in-law lying right there.

My mother-in-law’s furious voice cut through the air:

“You unfilial son—you finally decided to show up!”

Ryan froze, then hurried to support her.

“Mom, why are you here?”

“It’s just paperwork. You didn’t need to come.”

Tears and rage shook her.

“What are you talking about? Your father is dead! You wouldn’t come yourself—and you wouldn’t let me come either?”

The doctor rushed over.

“Please—don’t agitate her. She’s fainted several times already.”

Right then, Ryan snapped. He shoved me hard against the wall and snarled,

“Emily, you’ve gone too far! You know my parents mean more to me than my own life!”

I twisted his little finger, pivoted, and slammed him back against the wall.

“Why are you taking it out on me?”

“Dad is gone, and Mom needs care. Instead of threatening me, maybe look at them!”

Seeing us struggle, my mother-in-law tried to pull us apart,

but the effort overwhelmed her—she fainted again and was rushed into the ER.

By the time she recovered, my father-in-law had been taken away in a hearse.

Maybe being cremated and laid to rest as soon as possible was better for him.

Ryan had no objections; he only insisted on sending my mother-in-law home.

“Mom, your health is fragile. Please, just listen to me this time.”

“I promise I’ll handle everything with Emily…”

She looked at me, worried. She knew she could only weigh us down right now.

Helplessly, she agreed.

Ryan exhaled in relief—then his phone rang.

He spoke in a low voice; his tone turned anxious. He hung up and bolted for the door.

“Sandy is in critical condition. I have to go—now! Emily, take care of my mom. If anything happens to her, I’ll make you pay!”

He hurried out.

My mother-in-law stared, bewildered, her voice trembling.

“Who… is Sandy?”

My eyes burned. I answered quietly,

“Grace’s dog. The antivenom was used on it.”

“But I’ve already dealt with that animal.”

“Mom, I know the truth now. Dad was killed by Grace.”

“I don’t yet know why—but I will make her pay for his life.”

I held my mother-in-law’s frail hands until her breathing steadied.

His death had shattered her.

The first time she fainted, her body took serious damage;

the doctor warned me to be prepared—she was clinging on with sheer will.

So I wouldn’t hide anything about him from her.

I was all she had now.

I would not let him die in vain—and I would not let her down.

Because of my report, Grace was quickly summoned to the Police Station.

I brought my father-in-law’s memorial portrait with me.

This time, Grace wasn’t going to slip away.

Grace was waiting alone when I arrived.

The moment she saw me, she charged at me, ready to fight.

“Do you even know Sandy died? You beat him to death!”

“Officer! Arrest her—I want her to pay!”

In the scuffle, she knocked the memorial to the floor.

The glass shattered, a clear shoeprint smeared across it.

I raised my hand to strike her, but an Officer caught my wrist.

“This is the Police Station. Both of you, calm down.”

He forced me to sit, though his voice stayed gentle.

“Ms. Carter, she’s accusing you of animal cruelty. The body has been brought in. We have to file a case.”

“We’ll investigate both matters together. Please don’t act impulsively, or you’ll only hurt your own case.”

I took a deep breath and lowered my hand.

“Grace already admitted it—she killed my dad.”

“What I want to know is why.”

Grace scoffed and cut me off.

“I admit I caused the old man’s death because I only had one vial of antivenom. I felt guilty and heartbroken. Is that a crime?”

“It’s not,” the Officer said, then looked at me with weary sympathy.

“We checked. She’s telling the truth about having only one vial at the time.”

My eyes burned. I kicked over a metal trash can; it clanged across the room.

Grace flinched, then teared up like a spooked rabbit.

“Officer, she’s going to hit me!”

I clenched my fists and stood, furious.

“What’s unclear? Grace bred a whole pit of snakes, lured my dad in under the pretense of ‘release into the wild,’ had him bitten, then refused to give him the antivenom and watched him die!”

“The snakes were found. The bags for release were at the scene. The autopsy is done. How are these not evidence?”

The Officer shook his head, eyes full of pity.

“Those are suspicions, not direct proof. We can file the case, but without further evidence, even if it reaches court, the odds aren’t good.”

“Who says there’s no evidence?” Ryan walked in with a stranger.

“I found proof—proof that clears Grace completely.”

“She was framed. You can’t even justify filing the case.”

The man he brought stepped forward, glancing between Ryan and Grace.

“I have records of all Grace’s snakes. I filmed every release. The ones she released were nonvenomous and beneficial to the environment.”

“So the snake that bit the old man wasn’t hers. And I can testify that when he was bitten, I was with her. She behaved herself—this had nothing to do with her.”