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.

Richard was directing several workers.

"Dig this grave. This land has a good view. It’s perfect for burying my dog. He'll be reborn as a human in his next life!"

"Richard, what are you doing?"

Without further ado, I rushed over and punched him hard. However, Richard wasn’t surprised at my punch. Instead, he smiled.

"You've arrived just in time. We can dig out your mother's bones later so we don't have to throw them in the trash, polluting the environment."

With a slight nod, he began digging the grave with shovels.

"No!"

I was about to stop him when the bodyguards around me pinned me to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The bodyguards looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Russell. Miss Hamilton says that her brother is ill, so his wish should be prioritized."

"Him? Prioritized?"

"But those are my mother's ashes! Let me go!"

"Shut up!" Richard shouted as he stepped on my fingers, squeezing them hard.

The louder I screamed, the harder he stomped on me. I watched helplessly as my mother's bone fragments were dug out and scattered to the ground by the wind. Meanwhile, I was struggling to scrape the ground with my fingertips so badly that I left a trail of blood.

Richard only released his grip when he saw me struggling until I was exhausted. He held the dog's urn and was about to place it in my mother's grave. Suddenly, I stood up with all my strength. I slapped the pink urn away with one hand.

After that, I slapped Richard across the face with my backhand. The moment the dog's urn fell, Richard collapsed into Larissa's arms as he sobbed like crazy.

"Larissa, my dog ​​is dead. I want to bury it in Mrs. Russell's grave so it can be reborn as a human in the next life … "

"What have I done wrong? Why is Ajax doing this to me?!"

"My lungs hurt so much. Am I really that sick, Larissa?"

The moment I saw Larissa's expression, it was the scariest I had ever seen.

"Ajax, why do you keep failing to get me?"

"Whether Richard is sick or not, it won't affect your status in any way, even if I'm pregnant with his child. Why are you so determined to kill him?"

"This time, you've crossed the line. You must pay the price."

As Larissa spoke, she had someone write a letter of apology and had the bodyguard forcibly cut my finger and press a bloody handprint. She then stepped closer. The tip of her high heel raised my chin.

"I'll hold a press conference tomorrow. At that conference, you must admit in front of the reporters that it was your mother who deliberately crashed into Richard's car."

For a moment, I was unable to understand her.

"Richard's been hiding for years. He's suffered long enough. I guess there's nothing wrong in clearing his name now."

"Absolutely not!" I raised my eyes and roared.

Larissa's eyes darkened.

"I remember your father's grave is nearby. Do you want to see him dug up?"

When I still said nothing, she slightly gave a nod to the bodyguards. They bodyguards silently stepped forward.

"Wait, Larissa!"

It made me panic.

"Don't dig, I beg you, don't disturb my dad’s eternal peace too … "

I couldn’t help but tear up, which she gently wiped.

"Well then, obey me."

After that, Larissa took me back to the car. However, she still stayed with Richard. She had my mother's bones thrown on an empty ground like garbage. Meanwhile, the pet dog's urn was placed inside.

I could only look blankly at the view outside. The next day, I was pushed in front of the reporters. Cameras were all directed at me.

"Mr. Russell, was your mother's death the result of an attempted blackmail attempt?"

"Is this your way of marrying into a wealthy family?"

"Mr. Burton’s adolescence was ruined by you. Do you want to apologize to him?"

I still couldn’t recall how I made my apology or left the press conference. People in the street surely threw rotten eggs at my face as they shouted.

“Your mother was a slut who slept with thousands. Now she pretends to be a victim so you can marry rich!”

“Your family is bankrupt, so you’re using lies to get money? Go to hell!”

My bodyguard tried to hold me back, but it felt vague as if he was nothing but a shadow. Just as I was about to get into Larissa’s car, the crowd suddenly surged. They pushed me toward the opposite side. I yelled for help.

Through the chaos, I saw Richard inside the car as he clutched his head. Larissa reached to touch his face and said something I could not hear. Then, the car door slammed and they drove off.

Someone pulled me aside and pressed a small paper into my hand. A masked stranger whispered quickly, “Mr. Russell, don’t forget. You still have people in this world who will stand for justice.”