I stared at the chaotic scene in front of me, crazed, as I threw myself onto the ground, desperately trying to gather my grandmother's ashes back into the small box.

My tears mixed with her ashes, only to be washed away by the rain.

"Grandma... Grandma..."

But no matter how much I tried to scoop her ashes back together, my grandmother could never return.

Elaina, hearing my cries, feigned sympathy and approached to help.

"Charlee, what are you saying? Is this… your grandmother's ashes?"

Yet before she could get too close, Phillip yanked her back.

"Don't go near her. It's dirty.

"Charlee, you're out of your mind.

"You brought some random box of ashes to stage a tragic scene. Do you honestly think I'll believe this nonsense?"

Because I was a lawyer, I often handled pro bono cases for elderly people with no family.

Sometimes, when I came across someone particularly pitiful, I would always offer help.

Among them were a few elderly people who fell seriously ill, and I took care of all their funeral arrangements.

Phillip always hated this about me.

He used to say that those old people were probably riddled with germs and that I should not get involved with them.

At the time, I just thought he did not understand me, so I did not take his words to heart.

But now...

That was my grandmother's ashes urn.

Kneeling in the pouring rain, I raised my head and glared at the man standing under the umbrella.

"Phillip, you disgust me."

He looked down at me with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

He stood there for a few seconds as if his disdainful gaze alone was not enough to satisfy Elaina.

Then, with his shiny leather shoes, he ground my grandmother's ashes into the mud, adding another mocking comment.

"So now you're insisting that these old bones are your grandmother, right? Fine, Charlee, I'll pretend this is your grandmother's ashes.

"But what difference does it make? Who knows what kind of disease she might have been harboring?

"Well, wasn't she bitten by Ryan? Maybe she was carrying rabies. I'm doing you a favor by helping clean her up!"

For a moment, I thought my hearing had failed me.

Otherwise, how could I possibly be hearing such vile words from him?

But he was the man who once promised to help me take care of my grandmother in her old age.

Now, his every word suggested that even in death, my grandmother was still filthy.

I lunged forward and grabbed onto Phillip's leg, but instead of stopping, he only pressed down harder.

Amidst the noises, I thought I heard the sound of bones shifting out of place.

Even though he knew he was stepping on my hand, Phillip did not stop.

All because he believed I had pushed Elaina.

I didn't know when Phillip finally decided to stop.

All I knew was that by the time I lay exhausted in the rain...

He took two steps toward me. But then, Elaina gasped in pain, holding her hand.

"Phillip, my hand hurts so much."

Through my blurred vision, I saw Phillip immediately turn back, holding Elaina's hand and blowing on it to soothe her.

"Why is there so much blood? Does it still hurt, Elaina?"

"I'm fine, Phillip. Please take Charlee to the doctor. Her hand seems injured too."

"Why bother with her? Elaina, you're too kind. If Charlee had the strength to carry around an urn, then she surely has the strength to walk herself to the hospital. She's just faking it."

Before I blacked out...

I saw Phillip wrap his arms around Elaina as they left the parking lot together.

When I woke up, I was already in the hospital.

It was the staff who had notified me to claim my grandmother's body who saved me and brought me to the emergency room.

I thanked them, and since my injuries were not serious, I was discharged soon after.

I needed to retrieve the surveillance footage showing Elaina setting her dog on my grandmother.

That would be the evidence I needed to sue her for murder.

The incident had taken place in a remote park where few people usually went.

It was precisely because of this that my grandmother did not receive timely medical help.

After searching for a while, I finally found the surveillance camera.

It had been installed by the children of an elderly woman who lived alone.

They said that before the elderly woman's husband had passed away, the couple used to stroll through the park together frequently.

So, the elderly woman would come here for a walk every evening after dinner.

Her family had installed the camera for her safety.

With the family's consent, I copied the footage of Elaina's crime and saved it to my phone.

But what I had not expected was...

The moment I left the park and entered a surveillance blind spot...

I ran into Elaina.

"Charlee, hand it over, and I'll let you go," she said.

Elaina stepped out of a van, followed by several burly men.

Instinctively, I took two steps back, preparing to run.

But before I could react, they snatched my phone away.

The next thing I knew, a baseball bat struck the back of my head.

Everything went black as I lost consciousness.

Before I fainted, I saw Elaina burning my phone.

When I opened my eyes, my mouth was taped shut, and I was tied to a chair.

Elaina approached, grabbed my chin, and whispered.

"Does this place look familiar? I chose it especially to end everything."

I looked around and realized that Elaina had brought me back to my grandmother's old house.

The house was old and dilapidated, which was why Phillip had never set foot inside.

He always said it was too dirty.

And he claimed to be allergic to dust.

Now, I realized that it was not dust he was allergic to.

It was people like us, those from the lower rungs of society.

I also noticed that Elaina was wearing a jade bracelet that had belonged to my grandmother.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, Elaina waved the bracelet in front of me.

"This is the only thing that's worth keeping in the shabby house. Don't worry, I'll play with it for a few days and then burn it to join that old hag."

I lunged at her in a rage, but the burly men behind me pinned me back into the chair.

To this day, I still couldn't understand it.

How Phillip could have developed feelings for a woman like her?

As I lowered my head, I noticed that the floor beneath me was covered with my grandmother's remaining ashes.

Elaina had deliberately spread them there to torment me.

"Well," she said, "I just realized that letting you die like this is too easy.

"How about I get Phillip to send you hell instead?

"Charlee, what do you think? Do you think Phillip would burn you alive for me?"

Hearing the word...

I felt a wave of panic wash over me, and I began struggling desperately to free myself from the ropes.

But no matter how much my wrists bled, the ropes remained tight.

Then Elaina called Phillip right in front of me.

She told Phillip she had been playing with matches and had accidentally set fire to an old house.

She was afraid someone might find out and accuse her of arson.

So she wanted Phillip to come over and help her deal with it.

Hearing this, Phillip immediately interrupted his meeting and rushed to the scene.

When he arrived, the fire was still just a small flame.

Elaina had locked me in the inner room.

Through a crack in the door, I saw her crying pitifully in Phillip's arms.

"Phillip, I was so scared. What if someone sees and reports me for illegal arson?"

Phillip stroked her back gently and reassured her.

"Don't worry, Elaina. Even if someone discovers and tries to sue you, I'll have Charlee handle your case.

"You know she's a top lawyer, and she's never lost a case."

It felt like my heart was being torn apart by some ferocious beast.

It hurt so much.

"Besides," Phillip continued, "I've thought of a way to help you."

Then, I saw Phillip pull several cans of gasoline from the trunk of his car.

Then he began pouring them around the house.

The smell of gasoline filled my nose, making me feel nauseous.

I struggled with all my might, but no sound escaped my mouth.

"It's just an abandoned old house," Phillip said, "No one will care if it burns down.

"But it has to be destroyed. If any trace of arson is left behind, you might get into trouble."

He tapped Elaina on the nose affectionately as he said this.

I felt like my nose was sealed shut as well, overwhelmed by a suffocating pressure.

To protect Elaina...

Phillip was actually going to burn down my grandmother's old house.

I thrashed against the door, my muffled cries echoing in the room.

Phillip heard the noise and glanced in the direction of the door crack, frowning.

"Is there a dog in there? Elaina, stand behind me. Dogs in places like this are usually rabid. Be careful not to catch something."

Standing behind him, Elaina flashed me a smug smile through the crack in the door, raising her wrist to show off the jade bracelet.

Phillip flicked on his lighter, the flame casting a sneering glow on his face.

"Rabid dogs should burn along with all this filth."