"Now, I’m finally giving this to you," Cindy had said back then, placing the crystal globe in my hands. "Because I want you to know that in this lifetime, I’ll give you both a life of wealth and endless love—love that belongs only to you. I’ll stand by you as we take care of your mother. We’ll always be a family, and we’ll never be apart.”

But she didn’t keep her promise.

She fell for Eugene—the clumsy, part-time nanny we’d hired. Even though he repeatedly spilled scalding tea on me or accidentally dropped our daughter, she always defended him.

“Vance, Eugene is still young. He didn’t mean it,” she would say. “Besides, Louise is too delicate. A few knocks will toughen her up.”

“Doesn’t Eugene remind you of yourself when you were younger? Working odd jobs to make ends meet. You’ve been through storms too—don’t be the one to tear someone else’s umbrella.”

...

When we arrived at the funeral home, Cindy barked a few more warnings at me before yanking me inside roughly.

But as soon as I stepped into my daughter’s memorial room, I froze, utterly speechless.

The traditional white mourning banners had all been replaced with festive red decorations—it looked more like a wedding hall than a funeral.

From the speakers blared a cheerful song, A Good Day, drawing confused and disapproving stares from the people nearby.

And there—Eugene was sitting on my daughter’s corpse, giggling as he smeared her tiny face with lipstick, completely disfiguring her appearance.

“What the hell are you doing?!” I snapped.

I kicked over the sound system and rushed at him, yanking him off her body with all the strength I had.

Caught off guard, Eugene twisted his ankle and stumbled backward.

Cindy rushed to catch him, glaring at me with fury in her eyes.

“Vance! Did everything I just said go in one ear and out the other?! How dare you lay a hand on Eugene?! Apologize—now!”

“Are you blind, Cindy? This is Louise’s funeral!” I shouted, my eyes burning with rage. “And you let Eugene turn it into a celebration—defiling her body, playing wedding music, humiliating her! Is he cursing her even in death?!”

Even Cindy seemed momentarily stunned.

But Eugene quickly began to cry, his voice trembling as he spoke, “Mr. Santos, you were always busy with work and barely spent time with Louise. I was the only one who knew she loved the color red... and that song A Good Day. She’d ask me to sing it to her again and again.”

“She also loved playing makeup games with me. I just wanted her to leave this world happy, even if she was a bit spoiled and mischievous when alive. You can’t use your outdated traditions to erase what she loved.”

Cindy turned to me, her voice calm but cold.

“You heard him. Compared to you, a heartless father, Eugene clearly cared more about Louise. And you dare disrespect his kindness? Come on, apologize to him.”

I laughed bitterly, stunned by her audacity. I’m the heartless one? I didn’t care about Louise?

Despite the demands of my job, I’d been there for Louise nearly every step of the way—every school event, every doctor’s appointment, every sleepless night. I’d collapsed from exhaustion more than once trying to juggle the company and raising her.

And what about Cindy? Since the day our daughter was born, she’d always claimed she was too busy with work. She never changed a single diaper—not even once. What right did she have to stand here and judge me?

I pointed at Eugene, my voice shaking with fury.

“You filthy homewrecker, shut your mouth! If you hadn’t stuffed my daughter into that trunk, she wouldn’t have suffocated to death! And now you dare smear her memory, desecrate her body? Aren’t you afraid of karma?!”

The crowd began to swell, people murmuring and exchanging horrified glances.

Eugene curled his lips into a smug smirk.

“Mr. Santos, I was trying to save your dignity, but you just kept slandering me—accusing me of abusing Louise with no proof. Got any evidence?”

That’s right... The evidence. The USB... Cindy had already destroyed it.

Seeing the despair in my expression, Eugene’s smirk deepened. He pulled out his phone with a flourish.

“But I have proof—videos of you ignoring Louise, of her crying herself hoarse because she missed you. Want to take a look?”

Eugene pressed play.

At once, the sound of Louise’s cries echoed from his phone.

“Daddy... I want Daddy...”

Because the screen was facing only me, I could see everything clearly—Eugene was slapping Louise, one blow after another. That’s why she was crying and calling out for me.

But her sobs were so loud, they drowned out the sound of the slaps.

“Louise, be good. Your dad’s just busy right now,” Eugene coaxed, his tone was sickeningly sweet. “Uncle made you some mango puree—it’s so sweet! Come on, let’s eat it all up, okay?”

Moments later, her crying stopped.

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

Eugene knew Louise was allergic to mangoes.

She didn’t stop crying because she was comforted—she stopped because her throat had swelled shut from the allergic reaction. She physically couldn’t cry anymore.

Eugene smugly put away his phone.

The people surrounding us, unaware of what the video really showed, began to scold me instead.

“I’ve never seen such a heartless father! So obsessed with money he can’t even care for his own child. If it weren’t for this young man, the girl would’ve cried herself sick!”

“He’s the one who probably left his kid in the trunk just to shut her up. Bet he was off signing some stupid deal and didn’t want to be bothered!”

“This young man isn’t even related to the family and still tried to make sure the kid left the world smiling. And what does the real father do? Shows up just to yell and hit people. What kind of man is that? Parents like him deserve to be beaten!”

They were already grieving their own losses, and now they’d found a target for all that rage.

Like a swarm of hornets, they rushed at me—slapping my face, spitting on me, pelting me with rotten eggs. Fingernails raked across my skin, leaving long, bloody gashes.

I turned to Cindy, silently begging for help.

She shifted her feet slightly—but then Eugene pouted dramatically.

“Cindy, you promised you’d always protect me. If you help him now, it’s like admitting I’m a murderer. If word of that goes out, my future will be ruined. Are you going to break your promise?”

Cindy’s face hardened.

“Vance,” she said coldly, “you falsely accused Eugene first. If you won’t apologize, then this is just a bit of punishment.”

I didn’t know how long the beating went on. Eventually, the crowd grew tired and dispersed.

Battered and broken, I slowly picked myself up off the ground.

Cindy reached out to help me. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

I jerked away from her touch and slapped her across the face.

“Cindy, we’re getting a divorce. I’ll leave the company too. From now on, you and I are strangers.”

Her eyes immediately flared with rage. “You’re threatening me with divorce?! This is all your fault! I only wanted to give Eugene a fair chance!”

I didn’t reply. I just turned away and gently lifted Louise’s lifeless body, wiping the smeared makeup from her tiny face before walking toward the cremation chamber.

Cindy tried to follow, but I turned and roared, “Get out!”

She stopped in her tracks, stunned into silence by the look in my eyes.

I didn’t look back.

I stayed outside the cremation room all night, listening to the low rumble of the furnace, tears falling silently down my face.

“Louise... I’m sorry. Daddy failed you...”

—

The next morning, I arranged for Louise’s ashes to be temporarily stored at the funeral home.

I could no longer rely on Cindy for anything. I had to get out of this city—with Louise and my mother—and never look back.

When I came out, both Cindy and Eugene were gone.

My phone had been discarded on the ground.

The screen lit up and countless missed calls flooded the screen, all from the nursing home.

I immediately called the caregiver back. The line connected almost instantly.

Her voice on the other end was tinged with panic.

“Mr. Santos, why didn’t you answer your phone? Your mother... she tried to take her own life—her head...”

I didn’t wait to hear the rest. I rushed out, hailed a cab, and raced to the nursing home.

Outside the room, the nurse stood pale-faced, hand over her mouth, gagging uncontrollably.

“Mr. Santos... the scene inside is... horrifying. Please, prepare yourself...”

Inside, blood was everywhere.

My mother’s body was kneeling in front of a charred and exploded microwave, her head reduced to an unrecognizable, bloody mess above the neck.

“Why... why would she do this?!”

“We don’t know either,” the nurse stammered. “Last night, some men came by. Said they were friends of Mr. Delgado and had been sent to visit your mother. They wouldn't allow us to stay in the room while they were there.”

“President Contreras told us that Mr. Delgado’s instructions were as good as hers. We didn’t dare disobey. They stayed there for a long time... and left late. When I came this morning to change your mother’s bandages, I saw her with her head inside the microwave. I thought she was looking for something. Just as I was about to go in—it exploded...”

A terrible thought struck me. I rushed to the corner of the room and found the pinhole camera.

Because of Cindy’s threat yesterday, I’d used a bathroom break as cover and asked the nurse to help me install a hidden camera in my mother’s room. I helped her in the past, so while she didn’t dare openly go against Cindy, she quietly did me this one favor.

I connected the camera to my phone and began reviewing last night’s footage.

What I saw made my blood boil and my vision blurred with rage.

They humiliated my mother.

They even threatened her.

“Old hag, we recorded everything we did to you. Want to guess what will happen if we leak those videos? Think your son would have any dignity left?”

“President Contreras only cares about Eugene now. She didn’t even blink when he killed your granddaughter. And she’s already forcing your son to destroy all the evidence.”

“If you don’t want your son publicly ruined, you’d better talk him into divorcing Cindy and walking away with nothing. Otherwise, we’ll make sure your entire family gets wiped off the internet—and maybe off this earth.”

My mother sat in silence all night on the bed. Then, just before dawn, she turned on the microwave.

As if she knew there was a camera watching, she looked straight at the lens and gave a soft, gentle smile.

“Vance... Mom has never done anything to be ashamed of. I’m not afraid of their threats. But I know Cindy is using me to control you.”

“I don’t care about gossip or disgrace... but I won’t be your burden any longer.”

“I’m going to take care of Louise now, so you must protect yourself. Stay away from those monsters."

"I’m sorry. I dragged you into this…”

I couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

Clutching my mother’s body, I broke down in heart-wrenching sobs.

Suddenly, my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

“Hello? I found your daughter’s smartwatch. It was outside the Starlight Tower. Can you come pick it up?”

My heart skipped a beat.

Louise’s smartwatch had a built-in video recorder.

It was a birthday gift I’d given her. She never took it off unless she absolutely had to. Could she have left behind evidence for me?

After arranging for my mother’s body to be taken to the funeral home, I rushed to Starlight Tower and retrieved the watch.

There were hundreds of video clips stored inside—all documenting how Eugene had abused Louise.

Including footage from the day she died.

Rage consumed me, searing through every vein. Without hesitation, I dialed the number of Cindy’s business rival.

“You once told me your company doors would always be open for me. Does that offer still stand?”

A woman’s pleasant voice came through the line, tinged with delight.

“Of course. As it happens, my team and I are currently in New Haven negotiating a deal. Name your terms.”

“Good. I need your help with something.”

...

After the call ended, I packed my resignation letter and divorce papers, and headed for the company.

As I passed the break room, I overheard Eugene on the phone, his voice full of smug arrogance.