The waves had swept away my daughter during summer camp. Paul Hiddleston, the captain of the rescue team, rushed to the scene with his men at the very first moment.

I had thought my daughter was finally going to be saved, yet, after receiving a phone call, Paul stayed for less than three minutes before turning away.

His eyes had been filled with urgency. "Claire Reeves, there’s an emergency mission; someone’s life is at stake. I have to go first."

Half an hour later, I saw my daughter’s lifeless body brought back to shore by the waves.

Paul’s phone remained unreachable no matter how many times I tried.

That night, Arizona’s hot search lit up with news of Paul’s bravery, rescuing a beauty at a swimming pool.

In the video, Hailee Norman shyly hid in Paul’s arms, her cheeks flushing softly under the teasing of reporters.

"Of course I want to repay this life-saving grace by giving myself to him, but Paul already has someone in his heart…"

I immediately reposted the clip with the caption, [I step aside.]

In an instant, the topic exploded into a hot search.

Paul called, his voice sharp with reprimand. "Claire, what nonsense are you spouting?! Arizona is no longer under your family’s control! Who exactly do you think you’re trying to intimidate?!"

"If you piss me off, I’ll just…."

"Let’s divorce, Paul."

I cut the call without hesitation. Then I took a screenshot of Paul and Hailee tangled in each other’s arms and sent it to that familiar number.

[Clean the house. They should be buried alongside the child.]

——

No sooner had I sent the message than Paul called again, fury blazing through the line.

[Claire, I’ve shown you enough face already, haven’t I? And now you have the nerve to mention divorce? Fine, since you’re so defiant, I’ll give you what you want!]

The moment he finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Before me lay the divorce agreement, long ready.

Paul’s voice on the phone was cold and harsh, like issuing a command to a subordinate. "Sign it quickly. I don’t have time for empty talk."

The reason for divorce was, ‘Wife’s negligence causing child’s death’, which was stamped in bold letters, and my head spun.

I clutched the document, shaking uncontrollably.

"Paul, where is your conscience? Don’t you know how our daughter died? The pool at Waterfront Hotel was less than a meter deep, yet you chose to save that woman instead of her! You and Hailee were the ones who killed our daughter!"

Paul paused for two beats.

"Claire, if you don’t want a divorce, then say it. I’ll give you an out. Why look for excuses like this?"

"Waterfront Hotel’s swimming pool isn’t deep, but Hailee is terrified of water. Without me, she really would have died today. Claire, Hailee’s life has never been easy; it took so much for her to get here. I grew up poor, too, so I understand her desperation to live. She can’t come to harm.”

“Besides, we can have another child. Anyway, I have other matters to handle. I’m hanging up."

As soon as the call disconnected, Hailee’s voice drifted over from the delivery guy’s phone.

I quickly opened the app, and Hailee was in tears during a livestream.

"I just learned that Paul lost his child to save me… This is my fault. I’m a sinner. I never should have called for rescue when my life was in danger. Why… why wasn’t it me instead…"

Hailee wept, her tears falling without pause.

The livestream comments poured in without pause.

[Girl, it’s not your fault. If ordinary people face danger, are we supposed to just wait to die instead of calling for rescue?]

[Yes… I heard the captain’s daughter had an accident during summer camp; it’s clearly the mother’s carelessness. Otherwise, why send her to such a dangerous camp?]

[Exactly, she just couldn’t face the fact that she had killed her own child, so she shifted all the blame onto Hailee. Hailee, you did nothing wrong! Captain Hiddleston’s wife is the real murderer here!]

In moments, my social media was swamped, wave after wave of private messages pouring in.

[Bitch! It’s a shame for Captain Hiddleston to have such a useless wife! Why don’t you just drop dead?!]

[I hope you drown. I hope your next child drowns. I hope your whole family drowns!]

[If that’s how things are, then we common people might as well wait for death when trouble comes. Otherwise, just one rescue call, and we’d be dragged out and exposed by someone like you. Is there no justice left?!]

Among the endless tide of messages, one private message stood out, its profile picture showing two hands tightly interlocked.

[Sis, see? She really did nothing wrong. As a housewife, why don’t you show us all the tricks you have left?]

I tapped on the profile picture. It opened to reveal two pairs of hands tangled together on a large bed, the kind of image any adult would instantly understand.

The man’s hand bore a scar across the back, the same scar Paul had gotten when he shielded me from a knife.

But now, those hands pierced straight into my heart.

A wave of bone-deep exhaustion washed over me. Just as I was about to turn off my phone, that number called again.

The voice on the other end was hoarse, cold, and stripped of emotion.

"Leader, Hailee’s family background is a bit complicated. Do we need to adjust the removal plan?"

Of course, I understood that Paul’s position as captain of the rescue team existed only because of Hailee’s family.

But in this moment, I no longer cared.

"No adjustments. Proceed as planned."

"And keep a record of those slandering me online. Trace them along the network cables, and give them something they won’t forget."

Did they think they could hide forever behind a keyboard?

Fools. Ignorant, reckless fools.

Paul thought the Reeves family’s business at home had withered away. But he had never known that the true power of the Reeves family had always been abroad.

For nearly a century, the Reeves family had commanded its own underground army overseas. Making someone vanish from the face of the earth was as effortless as lifting a finger.

Sure enough, the moment I ended the call, the very footage Paul had been desperate to bury since the day of the incident landed in my hands.

I opened it. Hailee lounged in a revealing swimsuit, striking flirtatious poses with her friends while casually dialing the rescue hotline.

I didn’t need to see more. With a flick of my finger, I forwarded the video online.

Before the main course, I thought it was only fair to serve them a little appetizer.

Once everything was set in motion, I drove straight toward the funeral home.

My daughter’s white dress was snarled with seaweed, the green tendrils coiled tightly like a cruel embrace. The chill of her skin crept up through my fingers, piercing straight into my heart, a thousand sharp needles pressing in until I could barely draw breath.

I clutched her tiny, cold hand and cried, my sobs echoing through the still air.

Then, after a long, aching silence, my phone blared to life, its ringtone harsh and jarring in the morgue.

Paul’s voice thundered through the line, his teeth clenched in rage.

"Claire, what vile methods did you use to get those videos?!"

The words hung heavy before he caught himself, fumbling to amend them.

"Claire, who’s the bastard that made those fake videos for you?! Do you even understand how much trouble you’ve brought to Hailee by putting those lies online?!"

A delicate, tear-filled voice followed, trembling at his side.

"Paul, I’m so frightened… I just received another threatening message…"

"Paul, please… can you put away all these photos of the child? They scare me too much…"

Hailee’s plea made my chest tighten.

I gripped the phone until my knuckles whitened, my voice trembling. "Photos of the child? Where are you right now?"

Paul’s voice came back, edged with frustration.

"Where do you think? We’re at home! Because of you, the place is surrounded by insane netizens. If we’re not here, where else would we be?"

Then came the sharp, sudden crash of breaking glass from the other end. "Paul, the photo frame just fell by itself… I swear it wasn’t me…"

"It’s fine, it’s fine. She’s already gone. A photo frame won’t bring her back. Hailee, don’t be frightened…"

My legs buckled, and I clung to the doorframe to keep from collapsing.

From the other end of the line came Hailee’s syrupy, teasing voice once more.

I ended the call and tore home like a madwoman.

I had pictured thousands of possible, unforgivable scenes in my mind. Yet, the moment I pushed open the door, my chest still caved in completely.

Every one of my daughter’s photo frames lay shattered, her pictures strewn in chaos across the floor.

The grand family portrait in the living room was hidden under a thick black cloth, its presence smothered.

In my daughter’s bedroom, Hailee was digging through drawers, flinging their contents to the floor as she complained.

"Paul, why did your daughter have such outdated anime? She’s so young and already has awful taste. This is all garbage!"

Paul’s voice came from the kitchen, gentle yet dismissive as he tended to the stove.

"If you don’t like it, throw it away. From now on, that room is yours to handle…"

A dizzy spell gripped me, and I clenched my fists so hard my nails broke skin. The sharp pain was the only thing keeping me grounded.

With all my strength, I slammed the door and charged toward my daughter’s room.

The loud noise instantly caught Hailee and Paul’s attention.

Hailee turned just as I grabbed her by the hair and yanked her out of the room.

Then I slapped her hard.

“You filthy bitch! Do you think you have the right to enter my daughter’s room whenever you want?”

Hailee froze from the blow, but one slap wouldn’t satisfy me.

I fixed my gaze on her and raised my hand again.

Before it fell, Paul grabbed my wrist and, gathering all his force, kicked me hard in the stomach.

The searing pain forced me to curl into a trembling ball before I collapsed to the floor.

My back slammed hard against the corner of a table, and warm blood trickled slowly down my spine.

Paul gently stroked Hailee’s cheek with one hand, then stormed forward, bent down sharply, and grabbed me by the collar.

Bloodshot eyes blazing, he roared, “Claire! What the hell is wrong with you? You posted those videos online and caused so much trouble for Hailee, and I haven’t even made you apologize! Instead, you’re hitting people? Where are your manners?”

Two hot tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

Meeting his fierce gaze, I pointed toward my daughter’s room, my voice trembling as I said, “Paul, our daughter just passed away, and you let this woman trample over her belongings. Do you even deserve to be called a father? Seeing your daughter’s photos crushed beneath that woman’s feet, don’t you feel even a flicker of sadness or guilt?”

An unreadable emotion flickered in Paul’s gaze.

He turned toward the shoe-stained photos and dropped into a heavy silence.