Within only half a day, I saw the money go back into the fund account, and at the same time, my phone kept ringing nonstop.

Ezra called me again and again, more than ten times, like he had lost control.

I did not even check; I simply switched on airplane mode and stayed with my daughter while she drew.

Soon after, he rushed back quickly, staring at me and speaking.

“What are you doing, acting like this? Why did you contact the police?”

I quietly shut the drawing book and looked straight at him.

“I got back the money that belongs to my daughter. Is there any issue?”

“Or do you think I should report you as well?”

Seeing how calm I was, he could not hold back his anger; he suddenly seized my wrist.

“Come with me to the police station now and say you were wrong!”

With a loud slap, the room became quiet again.

I could barely recall how many times I had struck him because of Heidi, yet he still would not change.

“Ezra, that money was what you said you would never use, and now you spend it to please the mistress, is that it?”

Three years earlier, on Vera’s one-month celebration, Ezra and I set up a trust fund for her together, to keep her safe for her whole life.

He was the one who promised that no one would ever use this money.

“Yes, so what, Evie? I already stopped loving you long ago!”

“If not for this child, I would have married Heidi a long time ago!”

“You supported me before, I truly feel thankful, but now I’m telling you we have already settled everything!”

Ezra spoke many lines without stopping, every word hurting deeply.

I stared at his face, suddenly feeling a bit lost.

What was he saying…

When I was pregnant, he gently placed his ear on my stomach and happily said, “Baby, your dad and mom are both waiting for you; you need to arrive safe and healthy.”

After the baby came into the world, he changed diapers himself, picked up baby things, and softly said, “Evie, thank you, our little family is now whole.”

And he said, if not because of this child, we would have separated long ago.

My hands shook, and I cried out in a rough voice.

“Ezra, can you return what you owe me? Without me, you would be where you are today!”

Together with Vera’s weak crying, this argument suddenly ended.

Ezra glanced at me with impatience and spoke coldly, “Evie, believe whatever you like, I will not allow her to go to jail.”

“And for you, as long as you keep acting like you don’t know anything, this home will not fall apart, you can still stay as Mrs. Howard.”

After he finished speaking, the loud sound of the door shutting echoed.

So being happy means acting like you don’t know, but I no longer want that.

Vera looked at me with teary eyes, and I forced out a smile.

“Vera, don’t worry, Mom will take you away.”

That night, Ezra did not return at all, and that account showed their love updated again.

That lovely hand-in-hand picture strongly hurt my heart.

“With you here, I do not fear anything, love you!”

I quietly pressed like on that post.

Then I called my father.

“Dad, after one week, I will bring Vera back to England.”

The man on the other side of the call laughed loudly.

“My child, I know he cheats again, a foolish man who cannot control his body.”

“This time, do you still, like before, leave him a chance?”

I looked at the wedding picture on the wall and gave a firm answer.

“No, I want him to lose everything, worse than death!”

Ezra, you think you do not owe me anymore, but I want you to pay me back what you owe me.

From that day, Ezra didn’t come back home, not even hiding his cheating.

He treated cheating like something normal, like I was an air.

I looked at that account posting often, but didn’t feel the same sadness and pain as before.

“I said I wanted to see the world, he brought me to an auction, people thought I was Mrs. Howard.”

“I came to Paris with him, the Eiffel Tower saw our love.”

“I said I wanted a house, he gave me that villa in Fairview Heights!”

…

In only one week, their loving posts went over twenty.

I saved everyone, printed them on paper, and gave them to Attorney Harper.

“I don’t only want to take back the money he gave Heidi, I also want them to pay for the hurt they caused me.”

After dealing with these things, I went to the door of the storage room near the stairs in the villa and opened it.

I walked to the old safe covered in dust and took out that faded notebook.

It kept the memories of the past twenty years between Ezra and me, every line full of real feelings.

At the same time as I tore that notebook into pieces, my phone also got a message.

“Ms. Russo, the visa process for you and your daughter is done. Welcome to England.”

After dinner, I got a teasing message from Heidi.

“Evie, I know you have been watching my account. I posted it on purpose for you to see.”

“No matter how long we stayed apart, once I move my finger, he will come to me. I suggest you leave quickly, don’t wait until you are kicked out of the Howard family and truly feel ashamed!”

I showed a faint smile, typed a few words.

“You care so much about what I threw away, then keep it properly.”

As soon as that short line was sent, I could picture her angry face.

I once believed that once I received the divorce certificate, Ezra and I would fully separate.

But during this time, Heidi never planned to let me live peacefully.

On the way to bring Vera to her art class, a traffic accident happened.

Before I fainted, I clearly heard the driver make a call, his voice in panic.

“Damn, Miss Trevino, are you trying to get me killed!”

“You never said there was a child in the car, and she belongs to the Howard family!”

After that, I could no longer hear anything and sank into deep darkness.

When I slowly opened my eyes, my head had bandages, and a needle was in the back of my hand.

When she saw I was awake, the nurse quickly went to get the doctor, but I suddenly sat up and pulled the needle out.

“Where is my child! How is she?!”

The nurse firmly held me back, trying to calm me.

“Ms. Russo, please stay calm! Your daughter is being treated, she will be alright!”

I struggled hard to get free, shouting in a rough voice.

“I need to stay with her; if I’m not there, she will be scared!”

The nurse looked at me with worry, gently comforting me.

“Ms. Russo, you have a light concussion now. You cannot leave the room! The doctors are with your child, she will be fine!”

Vera’s little face came into my thoughts.

She had always been terrified of pain. When she learned to walk, she cried for her mother after her first fall. It hurt so much, how could she endure it…

Even after hearing the nurse’s words, uneasiness and panic still surged in my chest.

A deep fear wrapped around me tightly.

As I waited outside the emergency room, I nervously called Ezra’s number.

“Vera and I were in a car accident.”

The person on the other side heard and quickly responded.

“Which hospital? I will come right away.”

After giving him the hospital’s address, a long time passed, yet he still did not appear.

I called his phone again. This time, his voice sounded very irritated.

“Evie, just to make me return, you would even say something like this about your daughter? Have you no shame?”

Facing his sudden blame, I spoke with anger rising inside me.

“I am not lying, she is being rescued!”

The person on the other end stayed silent for a few seconds, then the call ended without a word.

Right after that, Heidi sent me a message with a very revealing video.

In the video, the man was shirtless, speaking to her in a drawn-out tone.

“I love you… Shall we stay together forever?”

The video had the man’s heavy breathing and the woman’s sweet, teasing voice.

“Evie, did you see it? Take your daughter and go die together. Even if you die, he won’t look at you!”

I felt a strong, sick feeling in my chest. That filthy pair of man and woman were so disgusting!

The emergency room light turned off, and I got up in panic.

When the doctor saw me, he shook his head helplessly.

I became afraid and grabbed his sleeve. “What happened to my child?!”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Russo, we did all we could.”

“The kid’s life is kept, but right now there’s no way to wake up; she may be in a coma for the rest of her life.”

At that time, my tears flowed out, my whole body lost strength, and I fell to the ground.

“What are you saying, in a coma… she’s just three years old!”

“I’m begging you to save her, okay!”

The doctor helped me stand, but my whole body had no energy.

A faint feeling came, and I lost consciousness.

After that, in my ears, the doctor’s urgent voice kept repeating.

“Evie, don’t sleep. Think of your child, think of your family!”

“The patient’s pulse is too slow, hurry and bring the defibrillator!”

Tears ran down from the corners of my eyes.

In my thoughts, like a turning light, these past twenty years kept showing again and again.

There was my parents’ soft support. “Our Evie is amazing, she will surely become the strongest cello player!”

There were Ezra’s sweet whispers by my side. “Evie, if I ever hurt you, you mustn’t forgive me easily!”

And my child’s first line when learning to talk. “Mom, I love you!”

..…

Yet at last, everything that stayed was Ezra’s harsh blame, his sickened look, slowly eating me away, little by little.

Too loud, this place.

Why didn’t people who broke true love suffer like being stabbed by countless needles? Why did those who got hurt have to walk in fear?

Ezra, I hated you, I hated you so deeply…

I wanted to stay alive, to see you get punished myself.

When I opened my eyes again, a known voice gently reached my left ear.

He said, “Evie, I’m here to bring you back home.”

How could it be him!

Vera, lying in a coma for many years, had already turned into an unchangeable reality, yet what made my anger grow even more was when our kid was being saved, he was still wrapped in bed together with Heidi.

I had to make them suffer the cost!

I used a huge amount of money to hire a private investigator, fully check the facts of the crash, and hand over all the proof one by one to the court, charging Heidi with intentional homicide.

During these several days at the hospital, I took care of all matters, while Ezra had no updates at all.

Right before boarding onto the Russo family’s private jet, I picked up a call from Harper.

“Ms. Russo, with help from Mr. Rivas, the divorce papers were already secured earlier, and at the same time, the court has now taken the car crash case.”

“Congrats to you, starting a fresh life, hope everything goes well for you in England.”

When the plane passed over the skies of Kansas, I smiled with ease.

After going through the gates of death once, I didn’t choose to leave quietly anymore,

I wanted all of you to fall into hell, never to come back!

While watching the clouds moving outside the window, I lifted my lips into a smile.

“Ezra, from now on, Kansas isn’t my safe place anymore, but your endless hell!”