It was at Harley's funeral.

The first love of my husband, Stephen Chandler, killed my daughter, Harley, in a hit-and-run accident.

Stephen, who was a lawyer, worked so hard to help her get away with the punishment. She thus got a letter of understanding.

When I questioned him, he looked impatient. He said, "Mia feels guilty. Harley can't come back to life. What else do you want?"

"What did I want?"

"I want her to pay the price for Harley's life."

Of course, I won't spare Stephen either."

...

——

"Baby, I'm your mother. Open your eyes and look at me..."

Harley lay on the bed, surrounded by medical equipment.

Hardly had I picked up the cake when I received a call from the traffic police.

Before I could walk far, my cell phone rang!

The person over the phone told me that Harley had been in a car accident and that she was being treated at the hospital.

My mind went blank. Then I couldn't hear what was being said on the other end.

I dropped the cake and ran to the hospital.

While running, I called Stephen, but the call kept getting disconnected.

When I arrived at the hospital, Harley was still being treated.

The doctor told me that her spleen was ruptured. Her sternum and lumbar vertebrae were fractured in multiple places. She had varying degrees of bleeding and brain damage. They told me to be mentally prepared.

I, who had been holding myself back, couldn't control my emotions anymore.

I knelt at the door of the operating room, silently sobbing and howling. It felt like someone was tightly squeezing my chest with a gigantic hand, preventing me from making any sound.

At that moment, I received a message from Stephen. [Something happened to Mia. I must be with her. I can't come back home to celebrate Harley's birthday today. Tell her I will make it up to her twice as much next year.]

I immediately wiped away my tears and called him.

This time, the call was quickly connected.

I didn't even have a chance to say anything.

Stephen said indifferently, "Chloe Hawk, can you be sensible? Mia is a stranger here. Can't I help her? Can you stop being jealous and suspicious all the time?"

As I was about to say something, Mia Hunt called him gently.

Stephen immediately hung up the phone.

I was extremely anxious. I sent him several messages. [Harley is in trouble. She is being treated at the hospital.]

[According to the doctor, her condition is not good. Please come over quickly.]

But he didn't reply to any of my messages.

When I called him again, his phone was turned off.

At this time, Harley was pushed out of the operating room. I immediately went up to her.

The doctor shook his head regretfully, saying, "We have done our best. Her family should see her for the last time."

At that moment, I was helpless.

My vision blurred. I almost fell. The nurse quickly supported me.

"I can't believe it."

"A few hours ago, my daughter was lively. She is now lying in bed with a ventilator, barely breathing."

I suppressed my grief and called my family.

My mother was crying her eyes out.

My father's eyes were red. After searching around, he didn't find Stephen. He suppressed his anger and asked, "Harley is dying here. Where is Stephen Chandler?"

I shook my head while crying.

My father got angry and scolded a few words.

Then he made several phone calls to Stephen.

He, who has a wide network, soon stormed out of the hospital angrily.

I had no time to spare for anything else. I was wholeheartedly focused on Harley.

Suddenly, Harley weakly shouted, "Mommy..."

...

I immediately grabbed her little hand, saying, "Mommy is here. Baby, mommy is here."

Harley struggled to open her eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. She asked, "Mom, where is Daddy?"

"I saw his car. I wanted to find Daddy, but Daddy didn't see Harley. He hit Harley, but Harley won't blame him. Harley wants Daddy..."

Her voice became lower and lower. Then she suddenly vomited blood in large mouthfuls.

Blood sprayed onto the oxygen mask, staining my eyes red. I desperately called out to her, holding onto her tightly.

Several doctors rushed up and pulled me away. Before they had a chance to take her to the operating room, they began to rescue her.

The heart resuscitation and defibrillator repeatedly sent her small body flying.

Her brain, like a malfunctioning machine, emitted a sharp explosion sound.

There were layers upon layers in front of my eyes. I couldn't see anything.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

A series of instrument sounds woke me up.

My mom turned around and burst into tears.

I looked at the doctor numbly and said, "Continue. Why did you stop?"

The doctor bowed to the corpse.

He said to me, "I'm sorry. The patient has died!"

"Nonsense!"

I rushed over and imitated the doctor's actions to perform CPR on her. I said, "She's not dead. Her heart is beating. If you won't save her, I'll save her myself."

I pressed down with my palm again and again. Tears welled up in my eyes, falling on her face and chest.

Choking on my words, I said, "She's only 6 years old. How could she possibly die? She's not dead!"

My mom rushed over and hugged me, saying, "Chloe, Harley is gone."

I stubbornly said, "She's not dead. She won't die!"

"She's only 6 years old."

"Harley is only 6 years old. She's so well-behaved and cute. It's my damn fault. Why didn't I bring her with me? Why didn't I watch over her? Why did I go get that damn cake?"

"It's all my fault!"

I slapped myself hard in the face.

A surge of hatred spread through my whole body.

I learned from the traffic police that the one who had killed Harley in the car accident was Mia Hunt!

After watching the video of the incident, I knew everything.

Mia was driving Stephen's car. Harley thought it was Stephen. She rushed over excitedly, but Mia hit her and ran away.

"What's ridiculous is that Harley thought it was her father who had been in the car until she died. She smiled, saying it's not his fault."

"Stephen, her daddy, abandoned her and stayed with the woman who had killed her!"

Stephen lied to me, telling me that he had sent the car for repairs, but it turned out he had lent it to Mia.

After Harley's death, my father took Stephen to the hospital by force.

...

He was covered in mud. His face was bruised all over. My father grabbed him and restrained him.

He was no longer the majestic and great lawyer usually.

Stephen saw me. Looking guilty, he said, "Chloe, I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

I didn't respond.

I slapped him.

Stephen wanted to argue further, saying, "Chloe, believe me. My phone ran out of battery. I didn't see the messages you sent."

I looked at him indifferently, saying, "What about Mia?"

Stephen became anxious, saying, "It has nothing to do with her. She didn't know that person was Harley. It was an accident."

At this point, he was protecting Mia. A sense of desolation surged in my heart.

While we were speaking, Mia rushed out from somewhere and stood in front of him.

Her eyes were filled with tears. Looking both pitiful and brave, she said, "Chloe, if you have any grievances, come at me. It has nothing to do with Stephen."

I sneered.

"I'm looking for you!"

Amidst her exclamation, I grabbed her hair and slammed her head hard against the bedpost.

The intense pain made her scream.

Stephen looked shocked, intending to go forward to check on her. My father stopped him.

I grabbed her head and banged it against the wall a few more times.

Blood was dripping down her forehead.

Her face turned pale.

For a moment, I eagerly wanted to kill her.

"I can tolerate her taking away Stephen, but Harley is my life. Whoever touches her will die!"

Mia knelt on the ground, continuously pleading and begging for forgiveness. She said, "I'm sorry, Chloe. It wasn't intentional. Harley suddenly rushed out. I couldn't step on the brake in time."

"I know that saying anything now is useless. I'm willing to double your losses."

"Compensation?"

I sneered,

"Okay!"

I looked down at her, saying indifferently, "Give me your life as compensation!"