When Larissa Hamilton was at her poorest, my mother threw a check for thirty million dollars at her.

My mother barked an order, “Just take the money and leave Ajax forever!”

Larissa didn’t argue. She quietly took the check and disappeared. Not long after, she joined New York’s elite social circles and rose faster than anyone expected, becoming one of the richest women in the city.

That same year, Larissa transferred everything she owned to me. Her savings, properties and shares. She left nothing for herself. Not only that, but she also hired a team of top lawyers for me and a group of people who would protect me no matter what happened.

Larissa told me that she wanted to make me the happiest man in the world.

But on our wedding day, she made me wait for twelve long hours. In the end, what I received wasn’t her. Instead, it was the news that her adopted brother, who was recently released from a mental hospital, had run over my mother again and again with his car, killing her on the spot.

Along with that came a letter of apology from the woman I loved most. Immediately, I grabbed a dagger and pressed it against my own neck.

“Either he is behind bars or I will kill myself!”

Larissa just sat there as she smoked an entire pack of cigarettes in silence before slowly taking the blood-stained dagger from my hand. Later, her adopted brother was sentenced to five years in prison. But four years into our marriage, I came across an anonymous post she had made online.

[I’ve had four abortions for him. But now I’m pregnant again. If I have another abortion, I’ll never be able to have children. Should I keep the baby?]

People online were confused, so she explained further in her post.

[My lover was sentenced to five years in prison. He couldn’t stand the suffering, so he pretended to be sick to avoid staying inside. I’m just afraid that if I give birth next year, it might delay his early release.]

I read the post over and over again, then quietly picked up my phone and called someone.

“Please check whether Larissa’s adopted brother has actually been in prison all these years.”

——

Less than three minutes later, I received an answer.

“Larissa’s adopted brother, Richard Burton, was indeed sentenced to five years. But shortly after entering prison, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Still, whether that’s true or not … ”

My fists turned white. My nails dug deep into my skin, but I felt no pain. The voice on the other end shook slightly.

“For the past few years, Richard has been pretending to have cancer. Meanwhile, Larissa secretly became pregnant several times. Each time, she had an abortion just before giving birth. She claimed it was her own choice … and … ”

“Enough. Stop talking.”

My voice caught in my throat as I wiped a tear from my face with cold fingers.

“Find out where Richard has been hiding all these years.”

After the call ended, I looked again at the post. Someone had replied to her.

[You’ve had several abortions? They weren’t your husband’s, right? I understand. I’ve been through this too.]

[Even if your husband doesn’t know whose child it was, it doesn’t matter. It’s still your baby. You’ve already done enough for the man at home.]

The last comment and the small line below it that said ‘liked by the poster’, stabbed straight into my eyes. So, this was the woman who had promised to love me with all her heart. I logged out of the account. But by mistake, I opened another system on my computer.

Larissa once told me that from now on, every password and lock in our home would use numbers only I knew. But that night, I typed again and again until the system froze for ten minutes. Still, I couldn’t unlock it.

I sat there for a long time, staring blankly at the screen. Then I typed again. This time, I entered the date Richard had been sentenced.

Ding!

It was successfully unlocked.

What appeared before me were more than 1,500 photos of Richard. It was then that I realized just how many ways the same man could be photographed from every angle, in every place. Each photo had a note beside it, written carefully in her familiar handwriting.

At that moment, my dear wife finally helped me see the truth. What had she been doing all those nights when she said she was working overtime? What had she been up to during our trips, during the Spring Festival, Valentine’s Day, Children’s Day, Christmas and even on my birthday?

I opened each photo one by one, reading every word she had written, forcing myself to relive their four years together in the cruelest way possible.

On the third day after Richard was sent away, I found a letter he had written to Larissa. It was short, only a few words.

[Larissa, I feel so bad.]

After that, during the four years Richard was supposed to spend in prison, he had traveled the world. So tell me, did my mother, who had been run over again and again by his car and died, deserve this?

I slammed my fist against the wall until blood came, leaving a dark red handprint. My hands were shaking as I saved the evidence to my drive, then I logged out.

A new message appeared on my phone from an address I did not know. Every house listed there was worth hundreds of billions. I gave a bitter smile and felt the small box in my pocket.

I eventually thought to myself, ‘Larissa, I don’t want you anymore.’

Then, a voice I knew well cut through my thoughts.

“What don’t you want?”

Only then did I realize I had said the words out loud. I couldn’t hide the tears. So, I turned and held Larissa without thinking.

“Larissa, I miss my mom.”

Her body tensed for a second, then relaxed. She wiped my cheeks with a kiss. Her eyes were soft and full of the same love I had known.

“For the rest of your life, you have me.”

“You?” I asked.

“Larissa, are you really with me in your heart?”

I could sense the air between us had changed today.

“What’s wrong? Who made you angry?” she asked, worried.

“Larissa, are you hiding something from me?”

Her clear eyes met mine and she laughed, a little too quickly.

“How would I dare? What nonsense did you see online this time?”

“Really?” I asked as I stepped away from her.

“Then I want to go to the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville to see Richard.”

The room went cold.

Her voice sounded rough as she asked, “What are you saying? Why would you go there when everything is fine-”

Before she could finish, I cut her off.

“Richard isn’t in prison, is he?”

“He’s only been inside for three days over the past four years, isn’t that right?”

“Larissa, tell me!” I shouted.

My eyes burned and my nails buried into my palm until blood showed. Larissa grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my face, trying to stop me from hurting myself.

“Okay, Ajax, listen. I can explain,” she spoke quickly, but her phone then vibrated as soon as she began.

Three short rings and one long. It was her emergency ringtone. Larissa had told me once that she and her assistant used that pattern for urgent night calls. I had trusted her for four years without ever checking.

Today, I looked at it. But she was faster. She didn’t answer the call, however. Instead, she hung up.

“Ajax, I have to handle some business. I’ll explain when I get back.”

She was trying to calm me, to find words. I said ‘OK’ even though I did not mean to be calm.

Blood from my nails stained the sheets, but Larissa didn’t even look. She used to change the sheets herself. Instead, she told the servants to clean and hurried to put on her shoes.

Her phone rang again. This time, I wasn’t beside her. She answered at once. The soft voice she used sounded real.

“I didn’t mean to hang up on you … Be good, don’t cause trouble.”

“What do you want to eat? Okay, I’ll be there. I’ll stand in line and buy it for you.”

“I’ll only be with you tonight. Don’t cry.”

I knew she would not come back tonight. And I knew what I had said was true in one way. I would find Richard. I wanted him dead.

Not long after that, I watched the CCTV footage. On that footage, I saw how Miss Larissa Hamilton, one of the most powerful businesswomen in New York, standing in line at a street food stall.

Since Larissa often showed up in the financial-related news, lots of people recognized her. Passersby raised their phones and filmed, whispering about what they saw.

“Oh my god! Rich people also eat from street stalls?”

“She must be buying food for her husband. People said Miss Hamilton really loves her husband. I heard she bought a pair of emerald rings from a former prince at Sotheby’s. The bracelet that came with them is worth ten million dollars!”

On the dressing table lay that golden bracelet I had polished until it was smooth. Larissa had said it looked perfect on her and had spent a long time taking photos of it. In the end, it had been an unnecessary showpiece.

Larissa bought what Richard wanted, got into the car and drove as she dodged several CCTVs to his home. But he was not there. The CCTVS Richard had installed for Larissa’s convenience had already been hacked by the men I hired.

I smiled to myself as I said, “Larissa, you don’t need to look for him. I already invited Richard to tea.”

Her graceful shape froze.

“Ajax, don’t be impulsive!” she cried.

But no matter how she shouted, I ignored her.

I shut off the CCTV footage and had a servant hold Richard’s mouth so he couldn’t make noise.

“He’s too loud! Give him a few slaps to wake him up.”

Richard’s eyes were full of anger. After being slapped many times, he spat out the bloody rag.

“So what if they catch me? Larissa will come and save me!” he shouted back, sneering.

“Besides, Larissa already said it. Your mother will die of old age. Once that hag died, I’m the most important person to her,” he added, smiling through blood.

Richard then shamelessly went on, “Oh no! The child she’s carrying and I are Larissa’s true family. We matter a hundred times more than an impotent like you who can’t help a woman bear children!”

I forced my face to stay calm, then pulled out a dagger and lunged.

“Then I’ll make you a eunuch!” I shouted as I hissed.

The blade was only a centimeter from Richard’s groin when a strong force slammed into my wrist and knocked it away. I heard the dagger hit the floor beside my ear and felt the sharp crack of my wrist bone almost breaking. Pain ripped through me and I shouted in pain before curling onto the ground.

When I looked up, Larissa stood between me and Richard, trying to pull him away from my men. Richard wept, long tears running down his face.

“Larissa, my face and body hurt so much. Why do you all want me dead? Do I deserve this?” he begged.

“I never meant to kill Mrs. Russell back then. I was careless!” he continued.

Larissa just looked at Richard with eyes full of sorrow. In fact, she did not even bother to see me lying on the floor.

“Ajax, let him go!” she begged.

After that, both Larissa and Richard helped me sit up and put me back on the sofa. I looked at her and gave my choice.

“Today, you can only choose between me and Richard.”

Larissa stared at me, unable to believe what I asked.

“Must you really make this so hard for me?” she whispered.

I felt anger and something like laughter at the same time.

“Hard?” I repeated.

“I only want the man who killed my mother to go to jail. Is that so difficult?”

I threw the whip with iron spikes at her feet.

“Or you can whip him ninety-nine times yourself. I’ll pretend I saw none of this and let him go.”

Richard shook with fear, but he still spat cruel words as he shouted, “You devil! No wonder you couldn’t get Larissa pregnant. No wonder your mother died early, you damned impotent!”

“I did want to kill my mother. Do you know what she said before she died? She was crying and calling your name.”

I sat back on the sofa, my face hard and empty.

“Larissa, I’ll count to three. If you don’t do it, we’ll get divorced.”

Larissa looked torn. She took the whip, her hands shaking and handed it to the bodyguard.