"I want to go home... I want to go home..."

I wailed at the top of my lungs in the hospital room, throwing pillows and water cups onto the floor.

Amelia pushed the door open, and her brows instantly knitted together.

She hurried over and grabbed my flailing hands.

"Okay, okay. We're going home. I’ll take you home right now."

She knew very well that I was now an irrational madman.

To calm me down, she immediately had her assistant handle the discharge paperwork.

She helped me off the hospital bed and carried me all the way to the underground parking garage.

After settling me into the backseat of her black Maybach, she climbed in right beside me.

Inside the black Maybach, Amelia held me in her arms, her chin resting beside my ear.

"Damien, from now on, I'll be your legs. Wherever you want to go, I'll carry you there.

"For the rest of my life, I'll never let go of your hand."

I leaned against her chest and listened to her steady heartbeat.

So it seemed the heartbeat of a cold-blooded animal was no different from that of a normal person.

The car stopped in front of the Morgan estate.

Amelia carried me into the living room.

The moment I looked up, my gaze locked onto the object in the center of the room.

A portrait and an urn stood in the middle of the living room.

It was a Chihuahua Liam had raised.

Amelia placed me in a wheelchair and pushed me in front of it. Suddenly, she reached out and pressed down hard on the back of my neck.

"Kneel and pray, Damien."

Her voice was soft, but it carried an authority that could not be resisted.

Since my legs were completely useless, I fell straight out of the wheelchair and landed heavily on my knees before the dead dog's portrait.

Amelia crouched down and stroked my face.

"Our baby was lost due to premature illness. A priest said we need to pray for other living creatures so our baby's soul can rest in peace. Can you offer a few prayers for the dog?"

She looked at me gently.

"Why aren't you praying? Don't you want our baby to rest in peace?"

I stared at the dog's portrait.

For the past three years, every morning at six o'clock, Amelia had unfailingly woken me up and forced me to kneel here and pray.

She said it was to help our dead daughter pass on peacefully.

If my prayers weren't loud enough, she would punish me by not letting me eat for the entire day.

For three years, my knees were frequently bruised and bloodied, and I had exhausted every tear I possessed.

It turned out I hadn't been offering prayers to my daughter, but to a dog.

My stomach churned violently.

I collapsed onto the floor and opened my mouth.

"Blegh."

Amelia immediately covered her nose and took two disgusted steps backward.

Then she shouted dramatically, "Mrs. Garcia! Come clean this up! Damien is acting up again!"

She grabbed a tissue and carelessly wiped my mouth before taking me back to the second-floor bedroom.

After throwing me onto the bed, she turned and went into the bathroom.

I rolled off the bed and dragged my crippled legs with both hands as I slowly crawled toward the space beneath it.

From a narrow gap at the very back, I pulled out an old cell phone I had hidden there six months ago.

Hundreds of text messages flooded in instantly.

Every single one was from Liam.

In a photo, Liam was shirtless, pinning Amelia down on the deck of a luxury yacht.

The caption stated, [The yacht Amelia bought for me. You've probably never even seen one, cripple.]

The next photo was of the two of them wearing custom attire worth a fortune, kissing.]

[What an idiot. Amelia is about to transfer all of the Johnsons’ shares to Ben. Thanks to you and the death of your entire family, my son and I are set.]

I recalled three years ago when I ignored the pain in my stomach and stayed awake for three consecutive nights helping Amelia write the proposal that secured the multibillion-dollar project.

On the night of the celebration banquet, she handed me a bowl of oatmeal.

She said the company was still in its early stages and that we needed to learn to live frugally.

Then I looked at the final message on the phone.

Liam had suddenly sent a voice recording.

I tapped it open.

"I hired the guy who smashed your head. Amelia made you pray to my dog every day because she wanted to vent my anger. Watching you crawl on the floor like a dog was the most satisfying thing ever. Hahaha..."

I turned off the phone before raising my head and stared at the calendar on the wall.

Three days later would be my wedding anniversary with Amelia.

It would also be the day she planned to use my shares to hold the wedding of the century with Liam.

I pulled out my backup phone and dialed a hidden overseas number.

"It's me.

"Prepare to receive me. In three days, I want the Morgans gone."

That afternoon, Amelia pushed my wheelchair into the backyard of the Morgan estate.

Today was Amelia's grandfather, Noah Morgan's eightieth birthday celebration.

He sat in a large armchair, holding Amelia and Liam's son, Ben, in his arms. The wrinkles on his face deepened as he smiled.

"Oh, my precious grandson! So smart!"

Amelia pushed me closer, and the smile on Noah's face instantly disappeared.

Dressed in a custom-tailored suit, Liam immediately stepped forward and patted Noah's chest.

"Grandpa, don't be upset. Damien isn't in good health, and he's not right in the head. Everyone should be a little more understanding."

Noah let out a cold snort and jabbed the tip of his cane at the wheel of my wheelchair.

"Understanding? He's a jinx who brought ruin to his entire family! Just looking at him is bad luck!"

I stared at Noah's harsh face.

Then I grabbed a set of glass cups from the table and smashed them onto the ground.

Crash!

Fragments scattered everywhere.

Pointing at Noah, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Blood! Take my blood! The old man is dying! Take my blood and save him!"

The area instantly fell silent.

Five years ago, Noah suffered massive blood loss during surgery for kidney failure.

Ignoring my weakened condition, I donated a full 800cc of blood and pulled him back from death's door.

Doing so nearly cost me my life.

Noah flew into a rage. He jumped to his feet and pointed at my nose as he cursed.

"You lunatic! What nonsense are you talking about? Your blood is filthy! Draining it all was a blessing that let you climb into the Morgans!"

I turned to look at Amelia.

She wasn't looking at me at all.

Instead, she was sitting on a sofa, perched on Liam's lap.

Peeling a grape with her fingers, she fed it into Liam's mouth.

After he finished eating it, Amelia pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned her hands. Then she casually waved to the bodyguards.

"Push Damien farther away. Don't let him disturb Grandpa or the guests."

The bodyguards immediately stepped forward and roughly dragged my wheelchair backward.

Holding their wine glasses, the guests pointed and whispered without restraint.

"See that? The former business genius is nothing more than a drooling cripple now."

"Ms. Morgan has already done more than enough for him. Besides, she and Liam already have a child. He's the real son-in-law."

I wiped the moisture from my face.

Using my hands, I turned the wheels myself and slowly rolled toward the back garden.

After passing along a stone path, I stopped outside a huge glass greenhouse.

The lights inside were off, but by the moonlight, I could see everything clearly.

Amelia was straddling Liam's lap, and the two of them were tangled together.

Liam gripped her waist with both hands.

"Honey, does it feel good?"

Breathing heavily, Amelia covered his mouth with her hand.

"Keep your voice down. What if that idiot comes looking for us..."

Then she turned her head.

Her gaze passed through the transparent glass and met my eyes.

Liam followed her line of sight and looked over.

Not only did he not stop, but he deliberately moved closer to her.

Looking directly at me, he exaggerated each word with his lips.

"Cripple."

A twisted excitement flashed through Amelia's eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned around and let Liam press her against the glass.

Dull thuds echoed through the greenhouse.

I watched the shameless scene before me.

Expressionless, I turned my wheelchair away.

‘Since everything had been my own wishful thinking and the two of you were worse than animals, I'll give you exactly what you want.’

I wheeled myself into the most secluded corner of the garden.

From inside my sleeve, I pulled out a photograph.

In the picture, my sister wore a ponytail and smiled brightly.

Now, she was locked behind the iron doors of a psychiatric hospital, injected with large doses of sedatives every day.

Tears burst from my eyes.

"Wow. You're crying pretty hard."

Liam straightened his rumpled clothes and walked over from the direction of the greenhouse.

"Stop pretending, Damien. I know you're not really crazy."

He bent down and used the filthiest words he could think of to provoke me.

"Did you get a good look outside the greenhouse just now? Amelia likes men like me. You're a cripple who can't even feel the lower half of his body. You can't even move your hips. What's the point of living?"

I bit my lip hard and refused to make a sound.

Liam curled his lip in disdain.

"Your sl*t of a sister got what she deserved, too. Before her face was ruined, she even begged me to spare you."

He suddenly grabbed my hair and forced me to raise my head.

"Do you know what happened to your premature daughter after she was born?

"To prove that she didn't love you, Amelia personally took your daughter out of the incubator and threw her into the kitchen meat grinder.

"The sound it made... the sound of those bones breaking... it was beautiful.

"You're useless! You couldn't even protect your own child!"

It was as if my mind had exploded, blood surging throughout my body straight to my head.

Liam clapped his hands smugly.

"Do you know why Amelia insisted on injecting you with the toxin? She's afraid you'll regain your senses and go to the police, ruining our wedding of the century the day after tomorrow.

"She wants you to become a complete idiot to shut you up forever!"

"Ah!"

I let out a roar.

Grabbing a shard of broken glass from the ground, I lunged at Liam's leg.

Before I could even touch his pant leg, Liam suddenly cried out.

He snatched the glass from my hand and viciously slashed his own arm.

Blood immediately poured out. Then he collapsed onto the ground and began wailing.

"Help! Damien is trying to kill me!"

A figure rushed over.

Amelia kicked me hard in the chest, and I spat out a mouthful of blood.

Pointing at me, Amelia shouted furiously, "You mad dog! How dare you hurt Liam!"

Clutching his bleeding arm, Liam threw himself into Amelia's embrace.

"Honey, Damien is jealous that we have a son. He said he was going to kill me! He even cursed Noah and wished for him to die soon!"

After hearing that, Amelia flew into a rage.

She rushed over, grabbed my collar, and hauled me halfway off the ground.

"You twisted animal! You were the one who couldn't behave yourself. And because of it, your father went to prison, and your sister went insane. How dare you be jealous of Liam?

"Our premature baby was God’s will! It was retribution!"

My mouth was full of blood as I stared into her eyes.

"Retribution?"

My voice was hoarse as I questioned her word by word.

"Amelia, tell me. Where are my daughter's remains? What about my father's innocence?

"Look me in the eye and answer me!"

Amelia's gaze flickered.

She immediately raised her voice, trying to cover her guilt.

"That worthless girl died from illness while your father got exactly what he deserved! Stop acting crazy!

"Men! Hold him down and make him apologize to Liam!"

Two bodyguards rushed forward and pinned my shoulders and head to the ground.

Using the last of my strength, I bit down on a bodyguard's wrist.

The bodyguard cried out in pain and let go.

Amelia was furious.

"Beat him! Beat him until he submits!"

The beating left me barely conscious, my vision blurring.

Amelia looked at me coldly.

Then she turned and helped Liam to his feet.

"Throw him out. Don't let him dirty the Morgans’ property."

I closed my eyes.

‘The Morgans, Amelia, your end has come.’

The next day, Amelia didn't come home.

My phone screen lit up.

It was a string of messages from her, along with transfer records.

[Transfer: $500,000.]

[Damien, I was too impulsive last night. Grandpa was there. I had no choice but to put on a show for him.

[Ben is just a child. Don't hold it against him.]

With a few casual words, she brushed aside everything that had happened.

[Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. Behave and stay at the villa. Don't make trouble again. Once I'm finished with my business, I'll come pick you up.]

I looked at the disgusting messages, then switched off the voice recorder in my hand.

On the keyboard, I sent a smiling emoji.

[Okay. I'll always be your most obedient husband.]

Two seconds later, Amelia replied.

[That's more like it. As long as you're obedient, the position of Morgans’ son-in-law will always be yours.]

I let out a cold laugh before forwarding all the evidence of financial fraud within Amelia's company to my friend.

On the morning of our anniversary, I made an encrypted phone call.

"The Morgan Group's core secrets, priced at thirty million dollars for the package. Transfer the money to my overseas account within three minutes."

The transaction was completed instantly.

At noon, Amelia video-called me.

On the screen, she was wearing a custom-made white gown, her face glowing with happiness.

"Damien, I had a custom suit made for you. I've already sent someone to deliver it. Change into it and come over. Hurry and enjoy all the attention."

Proudly, she showed off the luxury of the event venue.

After hanging up, I turned on the giant television in the living room.

The Morgan Group's yearly gala on a luxury yacht was being livestreamed.

Wearing an outrageously expensive formal outfit, Liam stood beside Amelia like the master of the house. His arm was around her shoulders as they accepted interviews from media outlets across the city.

I picked up a lighter and set the curtains on fire.

The flames instantly spread to the ceiling.

Then I pushed open the front door and got into the disguised vehicle my friend had prepared long ago.

The car sped down the coastal highway.

I opened my laptop and scheduled an email to be sent automatically. The recipients were every major media outlet in the city, along with the police.

When the car stopped at the edge of a cliff, I leaned on my cane and slowly struggled to my feet.

Below the cliff, a black speedboat was waiting for me.

I hurled my phone into the deep sea.

‘Amelia, goodbye.’

At the yacht celebration, the music was deafening.

Amelia gazed at Liam with affectionate eyes as Liam dropped to one knee and raised a diamond ring tenderly.

Just as he was about to slide it onto Amelia's finger—

Bang!

The doors were violently kicked open.

Armed police officers and firefighters rushed inside. Holding up an arrest warrant, the lead officer shouted in front of hundreds of media cameras.

"Amelia Morgan! Your husband, Damien Johnson, has set himself on fire at the villa!

"At the scene, we discovered conclusive evidence of murder-for-hire and financial fraud!

"You’re under arrest! Put your hands on your head!"