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.

After that, Larissa then dropped to her knees.

“Please, Ajax. Richard is sick. You can’t hurt him. Just hit me instead.”

Seeing her like that, I felt bored out of nowhere.

“Hit you, huh? Fine. I’ll end the life of that baby you’re carrying while I’m at it.”

I stood up, took the whip and struck out.

“No!” Richard shouted as he broke free and threw himself in front of Larissa.

At the last moment, Larissa did the unexpected. She grabbed the thorn-covered whip with her bare hand. Her palm was pierced at once. A sharp force hit me, throwing me back into the table and smashing the vase we had made together. Pain shot through my body.

When I blinked, Larissa was already supporting the half-unconscious Richard to his feet. He was covered in blood that came from her.

“Larissa, don’t go!” I cried.

However, she just paused with one hand on her belly while she clenched her teeth as she said, “Ajax, I’ve had four abortions for you. And now Richard was hurt today because of you.”

Her voice trembled when she continued, “If anything happens to Richard and my baby today, we won’t have kids!”

“How could you not understand this pain?” she asked.

How could I not understand? For four years, we had tried everything to make Larissa pregnant. From injections, medicines, to even prayers. I had thought the problem was me.

I fell to the floor and clutched the hem of her skirt.

“Larissa, don’t go. I- I’m in so much pain…”

“Stop pretending, Ajax. You weren’t hurt just now.”

Her face was strange, almost cold. She stepped forward and pulled my hand away. I bit back a scream.

“Larissa, if you take him away today, we’ll get divorced!” I heard myself say.

We had argued before. Sometimes, it would be serious and sometimes not. When I said that, Larissa would usually stay. But she helped Richard down the stairs without a second thought this time.

The bodyguards around me panicked, looking at the blood on the floor and afraid to touch me.

I spat out a mouthful of blood and, with my last strength, whispered, “Take me to the hospital.”

When I woke, my nose smelled of disinfectant. The doctor stood over me, his face full of regret.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Russell. Your injuries are serious. The chance of full recovery is small.”

His words hit me like a cold wave. For a long moment, I could not react. Then, I nodded slowly.

“Where’s Larissa?”

The doctor froze. This hospital was owned in half by Larissa, while I owned the rest of it. She had always said she wanted to keep me safe.

“Miss Hamilton is upstairs, with-”

He then stopped. Only then did I learn that Richard had been admitted to the same hospital. Even when there was nothing wrong, he always found reasons to bother Larissa.

“Sir, I should have told you earlier … but Miss Hamilton would not allow it.”

The doctor looked ashamed. He told me Richard had been treated here several times for lung cancer. He also said Larissa’s abortions had been done secretly in this hospital, with a professional medical team. I felt numb at the revelation. Larissa had hidden all this from me for years.

The doctor left quietly, reading the room like a man who had said too much. I tore the IV from my arm and forced myself out of bed in a thin hospital gown. I walked upstairs, but Richard was not in the ward.

My phone buzzed. It was the cemetery manager.

“Mr. Russell, please come quickly. Someone is digging the late Mrs. Russell’s grave!”

My heart froze. I drove to the cemetery as fast as I could. When I arrived, there he was. Richard stood up with his hands on his hips, as if he belonged there.