My husband took our six-year-old son to meet his first love, using him as a cover. At some point, he sent our son to buy burn cream. My sweet boy then encountered a lunatic who stabbed him to death.

The pain in my heart was unbearable. When I saw the burn cream still in my son's hand, I broke down in tears.

Then my husband called. Instead of any concern or remorse, he yelled at me, "Look at the son you've raised, Shayla Joy! He burned Claire and didn't even apologize. Get him back here right now!"

…

When my son, Aiden Chappell, died in my arms, he was still clutching the tube of medicine. I sobbed uncontrollably as blood spilled from his mouth and he struggled to speak. At that moment, I dropped to my knees, begging the heavens to take my life instead of his.

My plea wasn't heard. They took Aiden away from me, and my world fell apart. I passed out from the grief. When I woke up, I was alone. Logan Chappell, my husband, called. He still didn't know what had happened to Aiden.

"Logan, Aiden… He—" I started to say, but Logan cut me off before I could finish.

"Shayla, look at the son you've raised! He burned Claire and didn't even apologize. Get him back here right now!" he demanded.

My heart sank. So it was them!

"Logan! Aiden is only six years old! You sent him out on his own to get burn cream, didn't you?" I questioned.

"And why shouldn't I? He deliberately spilled hot water on Claire. I just told him to go to the nearby pharmacy, and he ran off," Logan complained. "Shayla, this is the son you've raised. Tell him to come back and apologize to Claire."

I could hear Claire's voice in the background. "It's okay, Logan. I know Aiden doesn't like me. He's just a child. I can handle a little bit of pain."

"Don't defend him," Logan snapped. "Shayla, did you hear me? Bring Aiden over now!"

I was so furious that my vision went black for a second. Then I said, "Aiden won't be going back. If you want to blame someone, go find him yourself." I hung up and blocked Logan's number, my chest tightening in pain.

Ever since Claire Wheaton came back, Logan had been acting like a fool, abandoning even his own son. I knew I had to leave Logan. But before I did, I would make sure he and Claire paid the price for what they'd done.

I stayed with Aiden and contacted an agent to arrange his burial. "Don't worry, my son," I whispered, "Mommy won't let you die in vain."

After burying him, I returned home, exhausted. The moment I walked in, I came face-to-face with Logan and Claire.

"Where's Aiden, Shayla? Just look at what he did to Claire." Logan immediately started demanding answers.

Claire, standing next to him, her hand wrapped in bandages, said in her soft, manipulative voice, "Don't be mad, Shayla. Logan is just standing up for me. I—"

Smack!

I couldn't hold back any longer and slapped Claire across the face.

"You homewrecker!" I shouted.

"What're you doing, Shayla?!" Logan shoved me aside, and I fell hard, pain shooting through me. "Aiden turned out the way he did because he had a mother like you," he accused. "You still have the nerve to hit someone? Get Aiden out here right now!"

I looked up at Logan, pain searing through my body. I got up and charged at him with all the strength I had left, cursing, "You monster! You killed my son, and now you want him to apologize?! You two are the ones who should burn in hell!" I continued to yell, "You're no father, Logan. You're not even human!" I lunged at him, scratching and hitting.

Logan was momentarily stunned but then screamed, "Hold her down! She's crazy!"

Two bodyguards rushed in and pinned me to the floor. I struggled, but I couldn't break free.

Holding his face, Logan said angrily, "If I had known you'd turn out like this, I never would have married you."

"Yeah, but the one you wanted dumped you for someone richer and moved abroad. And now that you have money, she comes crawling back. You're pathetic, Logan!" I cried.

I exposed Logan's deepest insecurity, and he turned livid. He was about to explode when Claire conveniently stepped in. "Logan, don't... I never meant to leave like that. It wasn't on purpose. I didn't know that's how you felt about me," she sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Instantly, Logan's anger evaporated, and he rushed to comfort Claire. "I've never thought of you that way. You've always been perfect to me."

Perfect? I laughed, hard, until my chest hurt. It was all too ridiculous.

Logan looked at me with nothing but disgust.

Logan stormed up to me and grabbed a fistful of my hair. "This is your last chance, Shayla. Apologize and get Aiden here. Or else..."

I looked up at him, suddenly stopping mid-laugh. "Or else what? You'll divorce me and marry this woman? Is that it? Do you even have the guts to do it? Because if you do, I'll step aside right now. How about that? I locked my eyes onto his and screamed, "Come on, Logan! Say something! Do you have the guts or not?"

Logan froze. He let go of me, stumbling back a few steps. After a long pause, all he could mutter was, "You're crazy."

"I'm crazy? And what about you? You're no better. Logan, if you don't make a decision today, even I won't respect you. You're a coward, an absolute fool!" I hurled every insult I could think of at him, kicking the bodyguards near me as hard as I could.

I didn't care anymore. Aiden was gone, and no one could stop me from losing my mind.

It was only then that Logan seemed to realize I wasn't bluffing. He warned, "What's wrong with you, Shayla? Get a hold of yourself."

"Logan, you will never have your own child, not in this lifetime!" I screamed.

"What did you just say?" Logan asked incredulously.

Claire, who was standing off to the side, spoke up, "She's probably just in shock. Don't worry about Aiden. He's probably fine. Let's leave, Logan, I'm not feeling very well."

Logan patted Claire reassuringly before leaving with her. The bodyguards roughly shoved me to the floor before following them out. I lay there, laughing hysterically until the metallic taste of blood suddenly filled my mouth. My vision went black, and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was still lying on the floor. I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Just look at yourself, Shayla. This was the marriage you fought so hard for, and now you've lost everything. Even your son. And you still held out hope for this man?

Shaking my head, I got up. I didn't care what anyone thought of me anymore, but the one person who couldn't look down on me was Logan. He had caused the death of my son, and I swore I would take back everything I had given him.

A company's image was everything to a big company as big as Logan's. When he first started his business, he didn't have enough capital. It was my savings that allowed him to get his business off the ground. I remember him holding me then, saying, "Shayla, what's mine is yours. Once I make it big, I'll make sure you live a good life."

How laughable that I believed him. Now, what was mine, was mine. I'd take back what I was owed, even without him.

I gathered all the evidence I could, but Logan and Claire were careful. I couldn't find any proof of their affair, so my only option was to contact a lawyer. Logan was worth millions now. If we divorced, I'd be entitled to about 50%. If I could prove he'd been unfaithful, however, I'd get more.

I forced myself to calm down. Aiden was gone, but I wouldn't let the people who caused his death get away with it. Not Logan, and definitely not Claire. She left all those years ago and suddenly came back to find Logan. I didn't believe for a second that it was out of the goodness of her heart.

I went through my finances and decided to hire a private investigator. It was money well spent.

When I read the report before me, I couldn't help but laugh. Oh Logan, if only you knew what kind of person your precious first love really was, I wonder what you would've thought. But that wasn't my concern anymore.

With the report in hand, I rushed home, only to find Logan sitting in the living room. For once, he wasn't with Claire.

He sat on the couch, staring at me coldly, as he asked, "Where's Aiden? It's been days, and I haven't seen him. Where did you send him?"

This whole situation was laughable. Aiden was already gone. If Logan had cared even a little, he would have found the death certificate in the drawer by the coffee table. All he had to do was pull it open, but of course, he didn't.

I looked at him, a hint of mockery in my eyes. "Do you even care about your son?"

"What kind of question is that? If it weren't for him, Claire wouldn't have been burned," Logan retorted.

"Stop blaming Aiden for that! I don't want to hear another word from you, and I definitely don't want anything more to do with you. We're getting a divorce," I declared as I pulled out the divorce papers.

Logan immediately exploded with anger. "How many times do I have to say it?! There's nothing going on between me and Claire! We're just friends!"

"Just friends? She caused Aiden's death! She's my enemy!" I cried.

"You're impossible." He pulled out his phone and shoved it in my face. "Look for yourself. Aiden did burn her."

On the surveillance footage, I saw Aiden carefully carrying a large glass of hot water, his little hands turning red from the heat. He switched hands back and forth, trembling as he made his way over to Claire.

As he set the glass down, Claire quickly got up and praised, "You're such a good boy, Aiden. Let me take that."

She then "accidentally" bumped into Aiden, who stumbled back a few steps, and the glass tipped over. Then, she immediately let out a scream.

"See? That's how she got burned!" Logan exclaimed.

I found it ridiculous, questioning, "Are you blind, Logan? Didn't you see that Aiden was the real victim? She's an adult, and she couldn't even hold onto a glass of water? How could you call yourself a father? You let a woman order your son around! Doesn't that bother you in the slightest?"

Logan got even angrier as he countered, "How could she have held onto something that hot?"

"Oh, so you admit it was that hot?" I shot back, raising my hand to slap him hard across the face. "You're a monster! Aiden was your son! Instead of helping him, you made a six-year-old fetch piping hot water for a grown woman. What's wrong with you? Are your hands broken?"

The thought of Aiden being timid and obedient, doing whatever they told him, tore my heart to pieces.

Logan, humiliated and furious, grabbed me by the throat. "Shayla, I've been patient with you, yet you dare treat me like this?"

"Why not? Your son is dead. Dead because of you and that woman. So either we get divorced, or I'll take you down with me," I threatened.

My madness made Logan loosen his grip. When he saw the divorce papers I was holding, his rage flared up again. " A divorce? In your dreams!" He then ordered, "I'm giving you three days to get Aiden back here."

I calmed down and replied, "You're so rich, why don't you go look it up? Section 16, Plot 30 at West Peace Cemetery. I'll wait."

"You're crazy!" Logan shouted before storming out, but he pulled out his phone as he left. I knew he believed me.

I let out a cold laugh and edited the surveillance video before sending it to Claire, saying, [See? He refused to divorce me. What does that make you? A pathetic loser. You throw yourself at him, but he's just toying with you.]

I looked forward to seeing what Claire would do next.

That night, the private investigator sent me a few photos of Logan and Claire together. Just as I expected, Claire was in a panic, desperate to meet with Logan. It didn't take long before they were all over each other. Logan finally gave in to temptation, and Claire even sent me photos, taunting me by saying, [You've lost.]

I snorted and immediately sent Aiden's death certificate and cemetery information to Logan. I texted him, [Logan, Aiden hasn't even been dead a week and you're already in bed with the person responsible for his death? Where's your conscience?]