In order to help Ethan Parker (my husband) secure the position of Head of the Family, I went to great lengths to book an entire ski resort in Colorado and take the Parker relatives on vacation.

But then I saw Ethan piloting a helicopter, descending from the sky with Sophie Miller (his so-called “best female friend”).

Margaret Parker (my mother-in-law) was overjoyed and waved at him excitedly.

“Son! Mom is here!”

The next second, she was shot in the head by the stone gun in Ethan’s hand, blood instantly staining the snow red.

“Who’s this old beggar daring to call me son?”

Sophie laughed so hard she almost doubled over.

“Ethan, look at this pathetic sight. Must be your wife’s family coming to mooch off you again!”

“How about we treat them as moving targets and play a round of snow survival?”

Ethan burst into hearty laughter, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Brilliant! It’s about time we taught the Moore family leeches a lesson!”

He raised his hand, and tens of thousands of sharp gravel pieces rained down from the sky like a storm.

The elder members of the Parker Family panicked and scattered, screaming in terror.

A chill ran down my spine as I frantically called Ethan.

“Are you insane? Don’t you want the Head of the Family position anymore?!”

...

“Rachel Moore, don’t think you can use the patriarch position to threaten me into sparing your family!”

“In your dreams! I’m having the time of my life—don’t spoil it!”

Ethan sounded utterly disdainful.

Next to him, Sophie giggled uncontrollably.

“Ethan, your wife takes herself way too seriously. Always nagging and monitoring your every move—what man could stand such a nagging shrew?”

My whole body trembled, my nails digging into my palms.

Ethan had always been lazy and unambitious. His parents, already old, had begged me countless times to push him to grow up and prepare to take over as Head of the Family.

All my painstaking efforts had now become a cruel joke.

Ethan seemed to find a kindred spirit.

“Babe, you get me! Just the sight of her bitter face makes me sick! Today, I’m going to make them pay!”

He sneered into the radio.

“Turn it up a notch! Aim for their ski suits! Rip them open and make them run naked in the snow!”

Sharp stones rained down like bullets, white down feathers and snow flying everywhere as the crowd cried out in agony.

Several of the elderly Parker relatives couldn’t dodge in time and were struck repeatedly, collapsing in the snow.

I nearly screamed into the phone.

“Ethan Parker! Have you lost your mind? Look carefully! The one in the white ski suit is Uncle Robert! The one in pink is Lily Parker, your cousin! They’re all Parkers!”

Ethan scoffed from the helicopter.

“Keep making stuff up! You can’t fool me! My uncle hates snow, and Lily is supposed to be studying abroad—no way they’re here!”

I was nearly suffocating with rage.

He had apparently forgotten that this was the Parker Family Annual Gathering, where every Parker relative was required to attend.

Just then, Margaret, who had been knocked unconscious earlier, slowly regained consciousness.

Desperate, I grabbed her and started a video call.

“Mom! Please tell him the truth! Someone’s going to die if this keeps up!”

But because her ski suit wrapped her up tightly, only her frightened eyes and trembling hands were visible.

Unexpectedly, Ethan just glanced at Margaret’s emerald bracelet and impatiently interrupted me.

“You think I’m stupid? At least get your props right if you’re going to lie!”

“Don’t think I don’t know you secretly used our money last year to buy your mom an emerald bracelet!”

I had indeed bought a pair of emerald bracelets—one for my mom and one for Margaret.

But Margaret, bleeding from the head after being shot by her own son, was now both shocked and furious.

“You little bastard! You dare raise your hand against your own mother? Wait till I get home and break your legs!”

Sophie immediately fanned the flames, shrieking:

“Ethan, did you hear that? Rachel’s mom just cursed you out!”

“What a family of leeches! If they hadn’t blackmailed you with saving your life, you’d never have married Rachel!”

Ethan’s anger was fully ignited now, and he laughed coldly.

“Just wait. The moment my old parents kick the bucket, the first thing I’ll do is divorce Rachel and marry you in style! They won’t live much longer anyway!”

Margaret nearly fainted, her face pale as death.

“You unfilial son! How dare you curse your own parents to die early!”

But Ethan only laughed more wildly.

“Didn’t know the old lady could act so well—what a waste not going into comedy!”

More stones rained down, and from the helicopter, the two of them watched the Parker relatives scramble in terror, laughing until their stomachs hurt.

I could only throw myself over Margaret, using my own body to shield her and taking several hits on my back.

Sharp stones scraped my cheek, and warm blood immediately streamed down my face.

Margaret’s eyes welled up with tears as she gently touched my face.

“Good child, you’ve suffered so much. It’s the Parker Family that wronged you. That beast doesn’t deserve you.”

She handed me the phone.

“Call your father—tell them to come save us.”

I shook my head, eyes red.

I had tried at the start, but Ethan had apparently cut off all communication signals to the outside world.

Right now, my phone could only dial his number.

Before I could say more, Lily came tumbling toward me, crying hysterically:

“Sister-in-law! It’s bad—Uncle Robert can’t hold on!”

My mind buzzed loudly.

Uncle Robert was the most respected elder in the family! He had always treated me well, teaching me hand-in-hand how to handle family affairs. He could not be allowed to die!

I rushed over and saw Robert’s face turning purple, his lips pale, clutching his chest and convulsing in pain.

It was a heart attack—he needed a defibrillator immediately!

I dialed Ethan again.

“Robert is in critical condition! Send over a defibrillator now or this will end in tragedy!”

On the other end came the sound of clinking glasses and Sophie’s coquettish laughter.

Ethan’s voice was lazy and impatient.

“Still at it, Rachel? Addicted to your little drama? My uncle hates snow—he’d rather sit by the fireplace than come to this damned place!”

“Come on, make up a more believable lie!”

This time Lily couldn’t hold back and shouted through tears.

“Ethan Parker! Haven’t you had enough? You’re killing him! Uncle Robert is dying!”

Hearing Lily’s voice, Ethan froze.

“Why does that sound like Lily?”

Sophie quickly leaned closer.

“Wow, Rachel’s really pulling out all the stops—using AI voice clones to trick you now!”

She hung up the call for him.

This time Ethan frowned slightly.

He had a good relationship with Lily and naturally recognized her voice.

He suspiciously walked to the window and looked down, but the ski suits below covered everyone completely, making it impossible to tell who was who.

Sophie seized the moment and handed him her phone. The screen showed Lily’s freshly updated Instagram post—sunny beaches, bikinis, smiling brightly, location tagged in Hawaii.

Ethan immediately dismissed his doubts, his anger burning hotter.

“Rachel Moore, are you playing me? You almost had me fooled!”

Sophie whispered something in his ear, and Ethan’s eyes lit up with malicious glee.

Without the defibrillator, I could only kneel in the snow and perform CPR on Robert with all my strength.

But just as I was desperately trying to save him, a shot suddenly hit my right arm!

Warm blood gushed out, staining the snow crimson.

Lily screamed.

“Sister-in-law! Are you okay?!”

They had switched from stone guns to live ammunition!

The relatives screamed in terror as bullets whizzed through the air, kicking up sprays of snow.

I tried to keep working on Robert, but the gunfire grew closer and closer.

Someone was shot in the leg and fell down screaming.

Another’s cheek was grazed, blood gushing down.

Then Ethan’s mocking voice boomed through the helicopter’s loudspeaker.

“Rachel Moore, I’ll give you a chance. Get on your knees and bark like a dog ten times, and I’ll spare your family.”

Margaret shook with rage.

“That ungrateful son! Rachel, you mustn’t kneel! Wait till your father gets here—he’ll make him pay!”

Lily, already sobbing uncontrollably, grabbed my arm.

“This is too much! I never imagined your marriage was this humiliating!”

I looked around at the Parker relatives groaning in pain, at the dying Robert, at the blood pouring from my arm...

Slowly, I raised my head.

“Fine. I’ll kneel. Whatever grudge you have, take it out on me—leave my family alone.”

I pushed away those trying to stop me, bent my knees, and knelt on the freezing snow.

Then I lowered my head and barked like a dog—one sound after another.

“Woof. Woof. Woof...”

Ethan laughed loudly.

“Didn’t think you had such loyalty in you. Guess my parents weren’t wrong about you.”

Maybe this marriage had been a mistake from the very beginning.

Three years ago, I was a hospital nurse. Margaret had a heart attack and was hospitalized for a month.

I took care of her with all my heart, and she grew fond of me, saying I reminded her of her younger self. Later, she insisted on introducing me to her son.

At first, I didn’t want to overreach, but when I saw Ethan, I recognized him immediately—he had been the high school football team captain I’d secretly crushed on for three years.

At that moment, I thought fate had blessed me.

I married him full of hope, only to find he hated this arranged marriage, treating me like a servant.

I thought if I treated him sincerely, he’d at least feel a little affection for me.

But he hated me—hated me enough to wish death upon me and my entire family.

Today’s tragedy happened simply because he mistook the Parker relatives for my poor family.

But I couldn’t let the people who truly cared about me suffer for it.

By the time I finished barking ten times, my face was streaked with tears.

“I did what you asked. Now let them go.”

But from the helicopter came roaring laughter.

“She’s so stupid—she actually believed us!”

“Yeah! How could someone that gullible have won over your parents?”

And then, the chilling howls of wolves echoed from every direction.

Pairs of glowing green eyes lit up all around us, making everyone freeze in terror.

I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached.

“Ethan Parker! You promised to let them go!”

Ethan smirked coldly.

“I only said I wouldn’t use guns—didn’t say I wouldn’t use anything else.”

He raised his hand and made a small gesture.

His trained wolf handler immediately understood and blew a whistle.

Dozens of starving wolves shot toward us like black lightning.

The pampered Parker elders, already battered by the stone guns, no longer had the strength to resist.