But when I saw the photo of Willy kissing Sophia’s swollen belly, his face glowing with pure joy, I realized the cruel truth—he had already built a family with someone else.

And my Little Treasure? In his eyes, my child was nothing more than an unwanted burden, like an inflamed appendix that needed to be cut away as soon as possible.

No wonder. No wonder that every year on Liam’s birthday, Willy had always made excuses about urgent business trips abroad.

Because his other child’s birthday was only three days after Liam’s. He had to be there early, making sure everything was perfect—making sure his "real" child never felt neglected.

Heartbroken, I exited the page and called my best friend overseas. “I want to work for your company as a jewelry appraiser. I’ll see you in three days.” I also asked her for a few favors.

After finishing, I went to Liam’s room. Everything was still the same—the bedding still in place, his tiny pillow still carrying the faint scent of milk. But Liam would never return to sleep in it again.

Underneath his pillow, I found a small wishing bottle. Inside was a note, written by his teacher, recording his birthday wish.

"The teacher said a man must be brave, so this year, I finally gathered the courage to tell Daddy that I wanted a birthday present. But before I could even finish my sentence, Daddy walked away angrily. Actually, all I wanted was for Daddy to stay with me on my birthday, even just for an hour. Thirty minutes would be fine. I’d be happy… really happy."

Tears blurred my vision. Willy, is this what you saw as ambition? Was a child’s innocent wish truly that unbearable for you?

I printed the divorce papers that night, then clung to Liam’s quilt, breathing in his scent as I sobbed until dawn.

***

The next morning, Willy, despite his usual obsession with cleanliness, personally cleaned my wound, changed my bandages and carefully wrapped them with gauze.

The nanny beside us looked envious of his attentiveness, but my heart was dead inside.

He noticed my swollen, red eyes and sighed, his voice full of pain.

“Carol, I know you miss Liam. I miss him even more than you do. But you need to take care of yourself. I’ve already lost my beloved child—I can’t lose you too. Why don’t you rest at home today? Let me handle Liam’s funeral.”

Leave it to you? Leave it to the very man who orchestrated my child’s murder? I swallowed back my bitter sarcasm and replied in a flat voice, “No need. I have to see Little Treasure off for the last time.”

At the funeral, from a distance, I saw Sophia and a teenage boy standing beside my mother-in-law, supporting her like the perfect daughter-in-law and grandson.

The boy was smiling as he spoke, making her laugh with joy. It was a solemn event, yet Sophia wore a luxurious red designer dress and even the boy was dressed in an eye-catching crimson suit. Unlike the rest of us dressed in mourning black, they stood out like guests at a celebration.

My mother-in-law, completely ignoring the grieving atmosphere, clung to them with obvious favoritism, doting on them as if they were her real family. To shield them from the sun, she even ordered a maid to hold an umbrella over them—as if Sophia were her rightful daughter-in-law and the boy her cherished grandson.

Then Sophia turned to me, curling her lips into a mocking smile. “Auntie, I’m fine under the sun. Carol is here, though. The sun is so harsh—better let her have the umbrella. After all, unlike me, she’s both childless and injured. She needs extra care.”

Hearing this, my mother-in-law sneered, her face twisting with disdain as she looked at me.

"It’s just a dead brat. What’s the big deal? Who are you trying to impress with those grieving eyes? Acting all high and mighty, completely forgetting the dignity of our Nelson Family."

She scoffed before continuing, "Even Sophia and Benny have better manners than you. The moment they landed, they rushed here to support me, bringing me expensive jade bracelets. They’re a thousand times more thoughtful than you, you ungrateful wretch."

She had always despised me. From the very start, she never thought I was good enough for Willy. And when I struggled for over a decade to conceive, she labeled me a useless hen who couldn’t lay eggs.

Later, when I finally had Liam, she hated him too. Because despite his young age, he always stood up for me. And in her eyes, that made him a traitor—an ungrateful child who sided against his own bloodline.

There was a time when Willy would have defended me, at least occasionally. But now, his gaze remained fixed on Sophia, his infatuated expression as if he were admiring the rarest of treasures.

Sophia didn’t even flinch under my stare. Instead, she smiled at me with quiet provocation before turning to my mother-in-law, gently holding her arm.

“Auntie, you mustn’t get upset at your age. If you don’t mind, from now on, let Benny be your grandson.”

Grandmother’s expression instantly brightened, her previous scorn toward me replaced by pure delight as she showered Sophia with praises for her thoughtfulness.

Sophia then pulled the teenage boy beside her forward, her smile never faltering. “It’s been a while, Carol. My apologies—we only just flew in from overseas and didn’t have time to change. But you’re so magnanimous, I’m sure you won’t mind, right?”

She then turned to the boy beside her. “By the way, this is my son, Benny Nelson.”

The boy, a striking resemblance to Willy with about five or six shared features, looked me up and down with open disdain before smirking arrogantly. “Auntie, you’re so ugly.”

Before I could react, he turned to Willy and held out his hand expectantly. “Dad, you promised me a gift when Mom and I returned to Chicago. The day after tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. Last year, you only gave me ninety-nine presents—this year, I want a hundred.”

His words, his deliberate humiliation, burned like acid. But Willy ignored my presence, his attention solely on the boy as he helplessly chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Got it.”

With that, he pulled out a long-life lock—the same one I had painstakingly believed was meant for my Liam—and gently fastened it around Benny’s neck with an expression full of love and pride. But that wasn’t enough. Willy snapped his fingers and outside the funeral home, a dozen sports cars—each painted in vibrant, blinding colors—rolled into view.

“Here,” Willy said, grinning indulgently. “Dad knows you like bright colors. These are all yours.”

Sophia pouted playfully, clinging to Willy’s arm. “Willy, what about me? You can’t just spoil your son.”

Willy chuckled, gently tapping her nose. “Of course, I haven’t forgotten you.”

At his signal, two attendants stepped forward from each car, carrying more than thirty sets of exquisite jewelry. The collection varied in style and material, but they all had one thing in common—they were priceless.

One particular set caught my eye. It was a piece once worn by a royal consort from an ancient dynasty, something so rare and historical that its worth was incalculable.

Sophia gasped in delight, throwing her arms around Willy’s neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek. She beamed like a young girl, her excitement unrestrained. “Wow! Aren’t these the pieces from that European royal auction a few days ago? Even the cheapest set would cost hundreds of millions. Willy, you bought them all for me? You still love us so much. But spending so much money—Carol won’t be mad, right?”

I clenched my fists as my son’s funeral transformed into a grotesque showcase of luxury cars and jewelry.

I stood there in my outdated black mourning suit, my face bare of makeup, my swollen eyes betraying nights of grief. Beside me, Sophia sparkled—her designer red dress flawless, her makeup exquisite, her presence dazzling.

The absurdity of it all nearly made me laugh.

Over the years, what had Willy ever given to Liam? Compared to just one of Benny’s sports cars, my son had received next to nothing. How ridiculous.

Willy seemed to remember I was still there. His expression turned slightly awkward as he tried to explain, “Carol, don’t take this the wrong way. Sophia and Benny have been living abroad for so long—this is just the way they are.”

“You heard it too, didn’t you? Mom has already acknowledged Benny as her grandson. It’s natural for him to call me ‘Dad.’ He’s about to celebrate his birthday and I just wanted to show some affection. As for the lock…”

Before he could finish, Sophia suddenly stumbled, swaying dramatically as she collapsed into his arms. “Willy, my head… I feel so dizzy… I think I might have heatstroke.”

Willy immediately turned his back to me, his full attention on her. “How could that happen? I built that summer resort just for you, so you wouldn’t suffer in the heat. You should’ve been resting there, but you insisted on coming to this miserable place. Come on, I’ll take you somewhere to rest.”

And just like that, without so much as a glance at the urn containing his son’s ashes, he scooped Sophia up in his arms and walked away.

I endured the taunts and scorn of those around me as I bent down and picked up Liam's urn, holding it close to my chest. It's okay, baby. Daddy may not love you, but Mommy does.

Just as I was about to place the urn into the grave, Benny rammed into me with force, sending me stumbling backward. My grip loosened and the urn slipped from my hands, shattering into pieces upon impact. In a cruel instant, Little Treasure’s ashes spilled across the cold, unforgiving ground.

"Mom, are you blind? How can you be so careless?" Benny sneered, brushing imaginary dust from his designer suit. "Do you have any idea how much these clothes cost? My father bought them for me and now they're tainted with bad luck! Do you think you can afford to compensate me?" His voice dripped with arrogance and disdain.

I barely had time to process the horror of what had just happened before he pulled a water bottle from his pocket, its inside packed with cigarette butts. He tossed it toward me with an exaggerated smirk.

"Auntie, don’t say I’m heartless. Here, use this to collect your son’s ashes."

My hands trembled with rage as I turned to my mother-in-law, my last shred of hope clinging to the possibility that she might show a sliver of compassion. "Please," I whispered. "Help me get another urn. We need to keep Liam's ashes safe."

But she merely arched a brow, her lips curling in distaste.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped. "If you weren’t so useless, the urn wouldn’t have broken in the first place! That water bottle is good enough. Don’t expect me to waste money on that little ingrate. Now hurry up and bury him—I have a mahjong game to get to."

My breath caught in my throat. Before I could protest, Benny kicked me aside, scooped Liam’s ashes into the filthy bottle and carelessly tossed it into the grave. Without hesitation, the workers sealed the grave shut, burying my child in disgrace.

A scream of anguish built in my chest, but I swallowed it down, my body shaking with fury. How could they? How could they do this to my baby?

I turned and stormed into the funeral hall, searching for Willy. My heart pounded as I threw open the door—only to freeze in horror at the sight before me.

There, in front of Little Treasure’s altar, Willy and Sophia were tangled together, their bodies bare and shamelessly intertwined.

"Willy… Benny is getting older now and he must feel lonely," Sophia purred, her fingers tracing circles against his chest. "I want to give you another child."

Willy hesitated. "Sophia, all these years, I’ve already done so much to keep Benny hidden from your husband. I’ve separated you two to protect you. If we do this again, it’ll be too risky. And… this is Liam’s spiritual hall. We can’t…"

Sophia reached below him, her voice thick with seduction. "Willy, for you, I’m willing to endure anything. My husband is never home—he’ll never find out."

She arched her back, her lips brushing against his ear. "Besides, we’ve never done it in a spiritual hall before. Don’t you want to try? You’ve been so stressed these past few days. Let me take care of you..."

Veins bulged at Willy’s temple, his restraint slipping. A moment later, he crushed his lips against hers, his hands roaming freely over her body.

I couldn’t bear to watch another second. My hands trembled violently as I recorded everything, capturing every disgusting second of their betrayal before turning on my heel and running out. My knees buckled and I collapsed in front of Liam’s tombstone, my entire body convulsing with rage and grief.

Tears streamed down my face as I threw paper money into the fire pot, my hands shaking uncontrollably. Ten years of marriage and this was what it all came to. A joke. A cruel, twisted joke.

Just then, a foot struck the fire pot, sending embers flying. Sparks seared my skin, making me flinch in pain. Sophia stood before me, her lips curled into a victorious smile.

"Carol," she drawled, her voice laced with mockery. "Did you enjoy watching Willy and me have our fun? Even if you burn a mountain of paper money, your short-lived little brat will never come back."

I gritted my teeth, fists clenched at my sides, but she wasn’t finished yet. She took a slow step forward, her eyes gleaming with cruelty.

"You know, if you had just stayed barren, I wouldn’t have even bothered with you. But you had the audacity to have a child with Willy? That was your first mistake. No one—no one—will ever take a single cent away from my son."

Her voice turned cold as ice. "The family's fortune belongs to me and my child. Willy loves me. He loves us. He even got rid of your son for me." She leaned in, her lips nearly brushing my ear. "To be a woman as pitiful as you… it’s honestly humiliating. If I were you, I’d just bash my head against a rock and end it all."

Something inside me snapped. My hand flew up, ready to strike, but before I could touch her, Sophia suddenly let out a sharp cry and tumbled down the stone steps.

I barely had time to react before a strong hand shoved me backward. I stumbled, barely catching myself as Willy rushed forward—his arms reaching out to catch her just in time.

He cradled Sophia against his chest, his face twisted with fury as he turned on me.

"Carol!" he roared. "Are you insane?! Who gave you the right to lay a hand on Sophia?!"