“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.