"Victoria, this trick of yours, pretending to be caught and then pulling back, won't work on me." Dexter picked up the lamp again and began to break my right hand fingers, one by one.

The family photo and Leslie's blood-stained shirt fell out of my pocket.

He casually kicked them aside, ordered the bodyguards to threw me into the saltwater pool in the basement.

I didn't cry out in pain the whole night, but instead, I laughed and murmured strange phrases.

The maids passed by outside said that Madam had truly gone mad.

In truth, I was just closing my eyes, chanting incantations for Leslie, gathered his soul and prayed for his blessing. I was also waiting for that moment to come.

At that time, Leslie and I would have no further connection with Dexter. Let those past memories be a dream! I silently counted the hours.

Until the evening of the next day, the sound of the basement door opening interrupted my thoughts.

Dexter entered, he held a phone stand for a livestream, with Emma beside him.

He said, "Huh, this group of bodyguards still can't find Leslie's whereabouts, but it's fine, he cares so much about you, his mom. If he sees the livestream and sees you like this, he will definitely come out obediently and it will be a great way to boost Emma's popularity."

Emma had been supported by Dexter for many years and had long become a big-time streamer in the metaphysics channel, with millions of followers.

As soon as the stream started, fans saw my tragic appearance and the heat quickly surged.

They said, "Damn, who is this? She's so beautiful, but her whole body is covered in blood, so stimulating."

"I heard she's the wife of Mr. Nelson, who killed her son and disposed of the body, leaving no trace of him ..." one of the viewers chimed in.

"Oh my god, so vicious, what a waste of her face and figure, she doesn't deserve it. Emma and Mr. Nelson are much better matched, we must punish this third party!" Another person commented.

Heard that Dexter not only didn't avenge Leslie, but also turned the truth upside down, my wounds hurt even more, a sharp pain stabbed through me.

I numbly clutched the soul gathering stone and crawled out of the saltwater pool, hoped to find a quiet place to continue.

But I angered Dexter, who dragged me back and struck me with a whip. He said, "Looks like you're still being disobedient, time for some proper punishment."

He whipped me several more times, made my already frail body rolled on the floor. With a thud, the soul gathering stone fell from my arms and hit the ground.

In an instant, my body trembled and my previously numb eyes showed intense fluctuation.

I reached to pick it up, but Dexter grabbed it first, suspiciously asked, "What is this?"

"Give it back to me!" I cried out helplessly.

The livestream room was full of metaphysics enthusiasts, eagerly answered, "I recognize this, it's the Soul Binding Stone, a very sinister item."

"Yes, I've heard it can make a person's soul waver, even causing their soul to scatter." Another person said.

Dexter suddenly raised his head, gritted his teeth and questioned me, "No wonder Amanda has been unwell these past few days and I've been feeling a discomfort in my heart, so you've been using this thing to harm people!"

He repeatedly claimed he didn't believe in feudal superstitions, but when it came to something potentially dangerous for his precious child, he panicked more than anyone else.

A mortal eye couldn't tell the difference between the Soul Binding Stone and the Soul Gathering Stone, one small difference in name, but their effects were completely opposite.

"No, this is the Soul Gathering Stone! It's used to gather Leslie's soul." I barely propped up my bloody body and glared at him with hatred and said, "If you still care about Leslie even a little, then put it down!"

Fans in the livestream room started mocking, "Oh, still arguing? So fierce, don't give it to her."

Dexter tightly gripped the Soul Gathering Stone, his gaze uncertain.

Emma's eyes flickered and with a sound of 'oh', she walked over, "How about I ask Victoria? After all, we're both mothers, we can talk."

But after she got close to me, she secretly spat on my face and smugly whispered.

"How does it feel to lose a son and be misunderstood? All it took was making Amanda sick to get rid of you and your son. Not a bad deal at all," she sneered.

"I didn't expect your son to be so easy to deal with. I thought a child with two color eyes would be very clever."

She continued, "That day, he didn't want to go to the amusement park. He planned to stay home and keep you, the neglected mother, company. But I told him if he didn't go, I'd make Amanda cry to Dexter. Then Dexter would definitely scold you. The little bastard was so worried you'd be sad, he immediately followed me."

I looked up in disbelief, my eyes bloodshot and in my mind, I could see Leslie tried to please Emma humbly for my sake.

She relished my pain, patted my face and mocked, "Before putting him in the rocking horse, I lied to him, saying I'd help you speak well of him in front of Dexter. He immediately gave up struggling and, when his face was covered, he even spoke in a soft, obedient voice, saying, 'Aunt Emma, you must praise mom in front of dad, mom always cries secretly at night.'"

"Hahaha, he is just like you, a fool," she laughed.

Every word seemed to stab at my heart, it caused my limbs to tremble uncontrollably.

I opened my mouth and bit her shoulder hard.

"Ah!" She screamed and pushed me away, ran into Dexter's arms, cried and made him feel sorry for her in front of the livestream.

Dexter said, "Leslie, did you see? Your mom is such a malicious woman. If you come over obediently, you'll still be my good son. As for this woman, better off without her."

My tears had already dried up and I hoarsely said, "Dexter, don't ... I'll say it one last time, put down the Soul Gathering Stone, or you'll regret it. I will definitely send you all to the eighteen layers of hell."

"Huh, do you really think you're King of Hell? Just stay here. When Leslie comes back, we'll let you out." He followed the instructions from the livestream room, poured dog blood on the Soul Gathering Stone, threw it into the fire pit and walked away with Emma.

The Soul Gathering Stone immediately lost its effect and turned into an ordinary stone. In that instant, my heart fell.

Thunder rumbled above Nelson's residence and evil energy gathered in the air.

I screamed Leslie's name in despair, picked up a broken piece of porcelain and without hesitation, slit my throat.

***

Dexter carried Emma to Leslie's bedroom and spent the night with her.

He was deliberately tried to disgust me, to break my pride, waited for me to beg for mercy.

But the next day, he didn't hear from the butler that I was willing to apologize and the thunder was still unusually loud, continuously rumbled.

Felt a little frustrated, he pushed Emma aside and opened the livestream homepage.

After watching for a while, he sneered, "These people actually think Victoria wants to commit suicide? Impossible. She wouldn't bear to leave Leslie."

One of the bodyguards finally couldn't resist his guilty conscience and fell to his knees, trembled while said, "Mr. Nelson ... The boy ... he's already dead."