I had already bought the plane tickets to leave the country.

But then came the news—Nicholas and Geoffrey were dead.

When I saw their bodies—blackened, swollen, no signs of medical aid—I felt the sky collapse. Poisoned and left to die.

Margaret used to control me through the children. A hundred times and a hundred times she succeeded. She knew I would always give in—for the kids, I would grovel, sacrifice my pride, even my dignity.

But now, she had no leverage.

I lowered my head, gently cradling the urns in my arms and smiled through my tears.

“Nicholas, Geoffrey… You’re with Daddy now. You won’t have to leave me ever again.”

Margaret sneered, her face pale with suppressed fury. “Stop pretending. Those two worthless jars—how dare you make a scene with them?”

She stepped closer, eyes glinting coldly.

“James, I’ll say it one last time—get out. You’re humiliating yourself. What, you think I won’t divorce you?”

Only when I moved closer did I see it—her eyes, brimming with rage. She no longer cared about the stares and whispers around her. She gave her bodyguards a nod and they moved to throw me out.

Some people in the auction hall saw what was happening and wanted to help, but they were quickly stopped.

“Don’t stick your nose into Margaret’s business. You want to go down with him?”

“Look at this guy. Probably deserves it. His wife cheats on him so blatantly and he still doesn’t leave. He’s a joke.”

“Maybe he got himself into this. Foolish enough to marry her—he asked for it.”

The guards threw me out like trash. I nearly lost hold of the urns. Desperate, I lunged forward and used my own body as a cushion.

Barely managed to keep them safe.

“I’m sorry,” I choked through sobs, hugging the urns tight. “I’m sorry, Nicholas… Geoffrey… Daddy failed you…”

One of the guards sneered and kicked me hard. “Why don’t you go back to being a nanny, huh? Stop playing victim.”

“You mess with Mrs. Leighton, you won’t even know how you died.”

And sure enough, that night—

A gossip account posted a video and it exploded online.

In the clip, just over ten seconds long, I was shirtless, kneeling in the snow, being whipped.

The whip had barbs. With every lash, blood gushed from my back.

The headline blazed across the screen:

Scandal! CEO Margaret’s “Husband” Caught Cheating and Whipped in Public!

Within half an hour, it shot to the top of trending searches.

I watched the video, hand trembling, as malicious comments poured in:

[Isn’t this the lunatic who made a scene at the auction today? He cheats and still dares to show his face? Disgusting.]

[Poor people really are pathetic. He probably brought this on himself.]

[That whip wasn’t nearly enough. Should’ve been beaten to death.]

No one knew the truth.

Ever since William moved into the Margaret’s villa, every time he had a bad mood, he’d whip me. Margaret even handed him the barbed whip herself.

Why?

Because years ago, when I was still paying for William’s tuition, my mother walked in on him—in a lace nightgown—lying in our bed, seducing my wife.

My mom was furious. Called him a shameless fox. An ungrateful parasite.

And she lashed him—thirty strokes.

Margaret never forgot.

She didn’t say anything back then.

But she remembered.

Years later, when my mom was terminally ill—she could’ve saved her. She stood by and watched.

William even personally ripped out my mother’s oxygen tube —and said it was karma.

Looking back now… Maybe this is my retribution for marrying Margaret in the first place.

I shut off my phone completely, refusing to look at any more news online.

The mourning hall I had prepared was still untouched.

I placed the two urns on the table—no matter how hard I tried, the tears wouldn’t stop.

If only I had been stronger. If I’d forced her to divorce me earlier, taken the kids abroad.

Would they still be alive?

I cried until I couldn’t make a sound, collapsed to the floor, drenched in grief.

Then I heard footsteps.

William’s voice, flirtatious and light, “Thank you for the watch, sis. I’ll repay you hard tonight.”

He walked in and frowned when he saw the altar.

“Ugh, your husband clearly lost it. Isn’t he taking it too far?”

Margaret lazily draped her arms around him and threw herself into his embrace.

“Who cares. But hey, we haven’t done it in a mourning hall before, have we?”

“My little puppy, you’ve been starved for months. Want to try something with your 'sister' right here?"

They started fooling around—right in front of the kids’ memorial.

Too lost in each other to notice me lying silently nearby.

I didn't make a sound, but quietly opened my cell phone to record.

Just like she did to me.

And I uploaded it.

"By morning, Margaret kicked open my door in fury, her face twisted with rage."

“James! Have you lost your mind?! Did you post that video last night?”

“You hate me, fine—but William is just a kid! Are you trying to kill him?”

She seized me by the collar with a vice-like grip, her eyes burning scarlet as she threatened me.

“Delete it. Now.”

I looked up at her, numb and let out a cold laugh.

“Isn’t this the trick you used on me first?”

“You paid people to post smear videos of me. I’m just returning the favor.”

The video I posted?

Went viral overnight.

Because right behind their entangled bodies—were the black-and-white memorial photos of my children.

The caption read:

[The Loss of Humanity! — A Mother Desecrates Her Children’s Funeral for Pleasure!]

Margaret lost it. I heard she shattered the antique wine glass she had just won at auction.

The footage was clear, explicit, merciless.

Their privacy was completely exposed, laid bare for all to see.

And without the slightest pleasure of a victor, I just looked at the urns of my two children.

This was only the beginning.

William made a fuss, threatening suicide with tofu from the fridge. Tried jumping off the second-floor balcony.

Margaret was overwhelmed.

She came to me three times, threatening to take action if I didn’t delete the video.

I just scoffed and left the Margaret mansion.

“Whatever.”

Now, every two hours, she’d send someone to check where I went.

Afraid I’d do something to hurt William.

But I didn't go anywhere and insisted on going to the auction every day.

At first, the people there looked at me with disdain and contempt, then surprise and by the end, their gazes were filled with respect.

I never bid on anything else.

I only want to buy two lives at a high price.

And I will bid without limit every single time.

When I walked into the auction hall this time, I was no longer dressed in torn clothes.

Instead, I wore luxury brands worth millions.

The staff finally realized I wasn’t joking. She politely led me to the VIP room and asked if I was serious.

“Sir, at our auction, Unlimited Bidding is required, but it also requires assets exceeding a billion. May I ask how much you are worth?”

I handed her my bank card. Let her see for herself.

After checking the balance, everyone around gasped in disbelief.

“One hundred billion?!”

“My God, I’ve never seen this much money in my life.”

“Who is this man? Mrs. Leighton’s net worth just crossed the billion marks—he’s her husband, but there’s no way he could have this much money.”

All eyes at the auction hall were on me, creating a stir that day.

My bodyguards, who had been keeping an eye on me, reported the news to Margaret.

“Ridiculous.”

Margaret sneered. “All of his bank cards are frozen by me. Does he really think he has money?”

“Unlimited Bidding? Such a lie!”

“She must have found someone to help him put on an act. I’ll see how long he can keep it up.”

Margaret didn’t take it seriously. She was too busy hiring trolls to suppress the trending search about their private video.

At the auction, I issued a high-price request for two lives. At first, everyone was watching in hesitation.

But as the auction neared its end, someone finally made the offer.

The person’s name was Axel Russ.

“Mr. Trix, long time no see.”

He smiled and extended his hand. “I’ll take the order you placed.”

He stood in the backlight, his face hard to make out, but the voice was unmistakably familiar.

I didn’t think much of it and gave him the names of the two people.

“Margaret Leighton, William Alexander.”

“They’re the ones who killed my children. I want their lives, to avenge my kids.”

Margaret paced anxiously in the living room.

She had just received news from the bodyguard at the auction.

“Mrs. Leighton, Mr. Trix spent three billion and he found the seller!”

“He said he wanted two lives. The order for the lantern was taken.”

Margaret’s face turned pale and she stood up in shock.

“No... Where did he get that much money?”

Then, realization hit. The last bit of color drained from her face.

“Those two lives he mentioned—don’t tell me it’s me and William?”

“Isn’t it just a few lashes? And an online attack he suffered? Does he really have to go this far?”

At that moment, her assistant rushed in, panic-stricken.

“Something’s wrong, Mrs. Leighton!”

“You told me to pick up the two young masters from the wildlife park and threaten Mr. Trix, but we’ve been all over the park and we didn’t see them…”

“We asked the staff and it turns out—one week ago, they were bitten by a poisonous snake and they’re already dead!”