My three-year-old daughter was bitten by a vicious dog raised by my wife's younger brother, Albert Kent, and she almost lost her life.

I went to reason with them, but my wife asked me to speak softly so as not to scare Albert's dog.

"What are you shouting for? It's just a daughter. I'll give you a son another day."

——

The day after I went on a business trip, I received a call from my mother, "Ruby was bitten by the dog raised by Albert. Come back quickly."

Her voice choked on the phone, with a hint of anxiety.

I was stunned, my heart racing, as I knew Albert had a large, half-man-high aggressive dog, and the consequences of being bitten by it were simply unimaginable.

I was nervous all the way back, and my feet trembled uncontrollably several times.

Although I was prepared, my legs gave way when I arrived at the hospital and learned about my daughter's condition.

She had over 30 lacerations, some of which were deep enough to see the bone, and she was currently being treated in the emergency room.

My parents' eyes were red from crying, and they knelt at the entrance to the emergency room, praying non-stop.

They were even more distressed and guilty when they saw me, and they cried so hard that they almost passed out.

But my wife was nowhere to be found, let alone Albert.

I was so angry that I was shaking uncontrollably, and I had to lean against the wall for a long time before I calmed down.

Finally, I learned from my mother that my wife, Ariana Mace, had taken our daughter back to her parents' house to play this morning.

But in the afternoon, she received a call from my mother-in-law, asking her to bring Ruby back.

"Ruby is too difficult to handle, and she has made a mess in my house. Come and take her back quickly."

My mother-in-law had never liked children, so my mother didn't take her harsh words to heart.

I thought maybe she was really annoyed by Ruby, so she spoke impolitely.

My mother hurriedly rode her bike to pick up Ruby.

When she arrived, she saw a black vicious dog tearing at Ruby.

And Ruby was already covered in blood and fainted on the ground.

My mother screamed and ran towards the dog. Her arms and legs were bitten, and finally, with the help of the neighbors, she managed to rescue my daughter from the dog's mouth.

My mother cried uncontrollably, "It's all my fault for not taking good care of Ruby."

Although she was bandaged, she was still covered in blood, and seeing her in that condition made my heart ache.

The door to the emergency room opened, and the nurse handed me a critical care form to sign. "The child has lost too much blood, and the infection in the wound is not optimistic. But we will do our best to save her. You should sign the form first and go to pay the medical fees. We will immediately give her blood."

At that moment, my brain went blank, and my legs felt like lead.

I regained my senses after being urged by the nurse and ran to pay the fees.

However, when I tried to pay with my card, I froze. There was only a few dollars left.

There used to be over 500,000 dollars in the card.

My daughter was still waiting for the money to be saved. I had no time to think about this. I borrowed money from my friends first to pay the medical fees.

Finally, I called the bank's customer service hotline and was told that the money had been transferred out of the account last week.

Besides me, the password for the bank card was only known by my wife, Ariana.

I was furious.

Since I got married to my wife, she has always secretly given money to her family. I turned a blind eye to it. My mother even advised me to be generous. It was only natural for a daughter to take care of her parents' home.

But being generous has led to such a situation.

After waiting for a few hours, my daughter's surgery finally ended. The doctor said she would be transferred to the intensive care unit for observation for a few days, and if nothing unexpected happened, she would soon be transferred to a regular ward.

I finally let go of my hanging heart.

Then I took the time to call Ariana.

Before I could even speak, she had an impatient tone. "What's wrong with your mother? Peter was just playing with Ruby. She joined forces with outsiders to hit it with a stick.

"It was so scared that it lost control of its bladder. I'm taking it to the pet hospital for a full body checkup now.

"By the way, I don't have enough money. Send me some."

I was so angry at her outrageous remarks that my hands were shaking.

Her own daughter was almost killed by that beast, but she casually said it was just playing.

She even abandoned her own daughter and took that beast to the hospital for a checkup.

What's worse, she even asked me for money.

The anger in my heart could no longer be contained. I got straight to the point and said, "Ariana, where is the 500,000 on the card?"

When she heard me asking about the money, there was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, and then she acted indifferent again.

"I used it to buy a house for Albert. Girls nowadays are too realistic. They won't get married without a house."

I was so angry that I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth in rage. "Return the money immediately."

When Ariana heard that I wanted the money back, she immediately refused and shouted from the other end of the screen, "Kevin, what do you mean? Albert is so old and still not married. As a brother-in-law, what's wrong with you helping him?

"He's my only brother. Shouldn't I help him?

"I tell you, if Albert can't get married, you, as a brother-in-law, are also responsible.

"This 500,000 is not enough. It costs 800,000 to buy a house. Transfer some more to me when you get your project funds."

I was too tired to listen to her nonsense about Albert anymore. Suppressing my anger, I asked her, "Did you know that Ruby just came out of the emergency room? Did you know that the doctor issued a critical notice just now?

"The doctor said that a lot of money is still needed for the follow-up treatment. That's Ruby's life-saving money!

"Albert is almost thirty, right? He just lazes around at home all day, playing with cats and dogs. His inability to get married has nothing to do with the house. You must return the money to me immediately."

I thought she didn't know how serious Ruby's injury was, so her mind was full of Albert now.

Any mother, upon knowing that her child was bitten by a dog like that, would be extremely distressed and heartbroken.

Just like my mother, even in her sixties, she still dared to rush towards the fierce dog for the child.

But Ariana's next words were simply beyond the limit of my values.

"That's my biological brother. How can you talk like that?

"It's just a few bites. What's the big deal? Kids heal quickly. Besides, aren't your parents at the hospital? What's the use of me going there?

"Even if the worst happens, I can have another child for you.

"Maybe the second child will be a son."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

I was so angry that I couldn't catch my breath, and my chest hurt in waves.

I knew that Ariana was born into a family that favored boys over girls. She had suffered a lot since childhood, always giving way to Albert for everything.

So ever since we got married, I did my best to spoil her, and my parents also treated her like their own daughter.

Our family spoiled her, wanting to make up for the love she missed in those years and let her know that girls were also worthy of love.

When Ruby was born, my parents were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling.

At that time, Ariana asked me carefully, "Are your parents really not angry because I gave birth to a girl?

"Do they really like girls?"

I held her in my arms and comforted her, "The celebratory ritual lasted for three days. Look how happy they are. They have no such concept of favoring boys over girls."

I thought she had already let go of such thoughts. But those consciousnesses still remained in her, influencing her imperceptibly.