She had only escaped her bitter life because she gave birth to a son.

Back when Anthony had no money, she went out of her way to flatter me—just so my family would give him the funds to start his business.

Later, when Anthony’s company went public and his business grew, my own family was framed and our company went bankrupt. My only brother fell from a cliff, his body was never found. I lost my worth to them overnight.

From then on, she decided my education was too high, my looks too eye-catching—women like me were hard to control, restless by nature. She could never stomach me.

Vanessa covered her mouth and laughed happily, then led Cooper over to me. She pulled a few crumpled bills from her bag.

“Ms. Brooks, although you falsely accused me, it was still our Cooper Jimenez being naughty. This money is my token of goodwill to you and Cherry. You must accept it.”

She deliberately stressed the word Jimenez.

I lowered my gaze. Not too much, not too little—666 dollars.

Go to hell.

“Ms. Brooks,” she went on with a faux-innocent smile, “don’t blame me for being blunt, but I do know a little about face-reading. Your daughter—well, she looked short-lived from the start. Even without our Cooper, she would have died sooner or later.”

So—she was saying my daughter’s death was deserved?

I shoved her hard.

“Shut your filthy mouth! You, a murderer, have no right to speak of my daughter. Take your bastard and get out!”

Vanessa stumbled backward, caught just in time by Anthony. He gave me a cold look.

“Diana, watch your mouth. You’ve already lost the lawsuit. Cherry’s death was an accident. What right do you have to speak to Nessa like that—let alone lay hands on her?! Apologize, now!”

Nessa? How affectionate.

“Anthony, have you forgotten who your wife is? Your mother deliberately invited Vanessa to this family gathering to disgust me. She and you both insulted me and Cherry, and you just stood there."

"Fine—I’ll treat it as you wanting to play the dutiful son. But Cherry died so miserably, and Vanessa still dares to mock me, bringing this money to provoke me. Don’t tell me you don’t know that 666 sounds like go to hell. Are you going to keep pretending you’re blind?”

A flicker of hesitation crossed Anthony’s face—he seemed to realize how inappropriate this was.

But before he could speak, Cooper, who had been standing between us, suddenly burst into loud sobs.

Rolling up his sleeve, he revealed bruises on his arm and pointed at me in accusation.

“Daddy, this bad woman pinched me on purpose! She must be taking revenge on Mommy. Cooper hurts so much...”

At once, Vanessa’s eyes shimmered with tears.

“Ms. Brooks, you’ve misunderstood me. I left the house in a rush today, so I only had this money with me. I sincerely wanted to compensate you. I’m a simple person—unlike you, I don’t have so many schemes."

"I know you dislike me, but if you have a problem, take it out on me. Why bully a child?”

My mother-in-law looked ready to faint from distress. She slapped the table and shouted at me to get out.

“Anthony, I didn’t—”

Anthony cut me off impatiently, his face dark as iron.

“Diana, Cooper is only five. You think a child that age can lie? He didn’t hurt Cherry on purpose—what would a kid know? Must you blow everything out of proportion?"

"Mom said Cooper is her grandson now—so that makes him my son. I have to stand up for him and Vanessa.”

He shoved Cooper toward me.

“Cooper, Daddy will teach you something today: if someone bullies you, you bully them back. Whatever this auntie did to you, you do it back to her.”

A sly smile flashed in Cooper’s eyes before he put on an innocent act.

“But Daddy, I’m just a kid. My strength isn’t as big as an adult’s. She definitely won’t hurt as much as I do. That wouldn’t be fair!”

“Then bite her! Bite until you think she’s in enough pain.”

The next second, Cooper lunged at me, sinking his teeth viciously into my arm.

He didn’t stop until he’d torn out a chunk of flesh, spitting it onto the floor with disgust.

My mother-in-law praised him as if he’d done something commendable, glaring at me.

“You heartless wretch! How dare you bully my eldest grandson? Taking a bite of your flesh is already letting you off lightly. Get out of here—you’re an eyesore!”

Anthony didn’t even glance my way.

One arm holding the boy, the other wrapped protectively around Vanessa’s waist, they coaxed the child in perfect harmony—so intimate that my presence felt utterly redundant.

Mocking gazes closed in on me from all around. I said nothing, turned, and walked away.

I had just finished getting my arm bandaged at the hospital when my phone rang.

It was the funeral home—panic laced the voice on the other end.

“Ms. Brooks, something terrible has happened... your daughter’s body has been desecrated. All twenty-four of her ribs have been removed...”

“What?!”

I sprinted to the funeral home’s morgue, my mind blank with horror.

Several staff members stood there, faces pale with shock.

“This is too cruel... How could anyone do this to the dead—especially a child...”

One of them stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Ms. Ruiz sent people to do it and said her son wanted a bracelet made of human bones. They dragged your daughter’s body out by force..."

"We refused, so we called Mr. Jimenez. But before we could even finish explaining, he just said, ‘Whatever Miss Ruiz wants to do, let her,’ and hung up.”

I looked at my daughter’s remains—her small chest cavity torn open as if savaged by a wild beast.

I felt my breath being crushed from my lungs.

Finally, I understood the true meaning of heartbreak.

It took me a long time to find my voice, trembling uncontrollably. “The security footage... is it still there?”

“No. They smashed the cameras as soon as they arrived and said Mr. Jimenez ordered it.”

I shut my eyes in despair. I had expected this, I could never win against Anthony.

I begged the staff to cremate my daughter immediately. I couldn’t risk giving Vanessa another chance to harm her.

When it was over, I held the tiny urn in my arms, tears falling endlessly.

“Cherry... I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry...”

I left the urn in the funeral home’s care and made a phone call.

“Have you returned to the country? I need your help.”

But no matter how I tried, the images wouldn’t leave my mind—my daughter’s cruel death, her body mutilated.

Rage burned through my veins.

Without hesitation, I went straight back to the neighborhood, and headed upstairs, to Vanessa’s apartment.

The door was slightly ajar.

Her smug voice drifted out.

“Cooper, you did well today. Otherwise Daddy might’ve pitied that horrible woman. Here—this is Mommy’s reward for you: a bracelet made from human bones.”

“Mommy, this bracelet smells disgusting—just like that horrible woman’s daughter. You’re amazing though! You knew that little brat always played near the flowerbeds downstairs, so you smashed her with a toy car and killed her. Now no one will fight me for Daddy’s attention!”

“Of course. Mommy practiced for a long time to make sure it’d be a perfect kill. Oh, I can’t wait to see Diana’s face when she finds out. She must be crying her eyes out! So what if she’s the legal wife? She’s been dancing to my tune all along!”

My whole body shook with fury. I couldn’t hold back any longer.

I stormed in, slammed Vanessa to the ground, and pinned her there.

Cooper froze in shock, while Vanessa shrieked hysterically under me.

“You murderer! I’ll make you pay for my daughter’s life!”

My vision went red as I raised my hand—but in the next instant, a kick sent me flying across the room.

Anthony clutched Vanessa tightly in his arms, his face twisted with rage as he glared at me.

"Diana, just how long are you planning to keep acting insane?!"

"Anthony," Vanessa’s voice trembled with just the right touch of fragility, "I only felt sorry for Miss Brook after she lost her daughter, so I told my son to treat her with respect in the future. Who would have thought... she accused me of showing off, and even tried to kill me!"

She sniffled, lowering her gaze in pitiful sorrow. "Since she can’t stand the sight of us, I’ll take Cooper and leave. It's better than waiting for the day she actually kills me... But I... I can’t bear to part with you."

Right on cue, Cooper began to wail, clinging to his father and crying about how much he didn’t want to leave.

Anthony wrapped an arm protectively around them both, his eyes cutting into me like ice.

"Diana, you’re even more heartless than I imagined. You lost your daughter—so now you want to see other mothers separated from their children?!"

"Vanessa is generous enough to overlook your past slander, and she’s still willing to have Cooper show you respect. Instead of being grateful, you repay her with malice. Are you even human?!"

A bitter, almost deranged laugh tore out of my throat. I suddenly lunged forward, snatching the pale-gray bracelet from Cooper’s wrist.

Tears burned my eyes as I screamed, "I’m not human? I’m the one without a heart?!"

"Anthony—open your damn eyes and take a good look! This bracelet is made from your daughter’s ribs. Twenty-four ribs, all torn from her body!"

"Vanessa killed Cherry and desecrated her body—she’s nothing but a—"

I never got to finish. Anthony grabbed an ashtray and hurled it at me. It struck my forehead with a sickening crack, and warm blood began to gush down my face.

His eyes were glacial, the kind of cold that could freeze straight through bone.

"I’ll say it one more time—Cherry’s death was nothing more than an accident caused by Cooper. It has nothing to do with Vanessa! You were the one too useless to watch your child. I haven’t blamed you for that—don’t push your luck!"

"I know exactly what you did. You had Cherry’s body cremated ahead of schedule. I was wondering why, but now I understand. You wanted to frame Vanessa, but were afraid I’d find proof you were lying!"

"You’d even exploit your daughter’s corpse to get what you want. How filthy can you get?"

Watching him stand so firmly by Vanessa’s side, I suddenly found the entire scene absurd beyond words. All the fight in me drained away. I no longer wanted to defend myself.

I turned to leave—but Anthony stepped in front of me.

"You were the one who slandered Vanessa and hurt Cooper. And now, after hitting someone today, you think you can just walk away? Well, not so easy. Apologize now, or you won’t be walking out that door."

Years of marriage told me he wasn’t joking. And everything in this house made my skin crawl; I didn’t want to stay here another second.

Numbly, I turned to Vanessa. Each word tasted like blood and humiliation.

"Ms. Ruiz... I’m sorry for earlier."

At her subtle nod, Cooper ran into the bedroom and came back with a baseball bat. Without hesitation, he swung it hard at my knee.

The blow sent me crashing to the floor in agony. Vanessa let out a delighted little laugh, her eyes glittering with triumph.

"Oh dear, how clumsy of him. Cooper’s probably just too used to beating stray dogs downstairs—he gets restless if he goes a day without it. I hope you won’t take it personally, Ms. Brooks."

"But you know, one little ‘sorry’ doesn’t seem fair compensation. I actually have an idea..."

Her lips curled into a slow, poisonous smile before she ground her heel into my hand—again and again.

A sickening crunch rang out. My bones shattered under her heel. The bracelet—my daughter’s ribs—was crushed into powder.

I ignored the pain in my hand, scrambling to gather the precious bone dust, my tears blurring the floor.

Staggering to my feet, I headed for the door, my forehead and hands dripping blood that pattered onto the tiles.

Anthony’s face softened with a flicker of guilt, and he took an involuntary step toward me—but Vanessa clung to his arm with teary eyes.

"Anthony, are you feeling sorry for her? You didn’t see what happened earlier. She slapped me over and over with that same hand. I only stepped on her once. I was already being merciful."

“If we don’t teach her a lesson now, she’ll keep bullying me and my son in the future. You’re the one who promised to protect us—was that a lie?”

...

By the time I had burned every belonging of mine and my daughter’s, and stepped out of the house once again, Anthony still hadn’t shown his face.

Upstairs, the sound of laughter rang out, light and carefree. How warm... how harmonious.

I handed the divorce papers to the security guard, asking him to deliver them on my behalf, then walked out of the gates.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom that had been waiting for me honked softly. I knew then—the person who would help me seek justice for my daughter had arrived.