My father-in-law was dragged for a kilometer by a drunk female driver on his way home from a late-night community dance.

When I received the call, he was lying in the morgue, his face unrecognizable.

After watching the surveillance video provided by the police, I gnashed my teeth in anger and swore to seek justice for my father-in-law.

But the next day, my husband met me at a restaurant and slammed a document in my face.

“Emily Carter, the dead cannot return. Your father is gone, but Natalie is only twenty-one—she still has the best years ahead of her. You can’t be so heartless as to make her waste her youth tied to a dead man!”

“Sign the agreement, and I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars as compensation for your father. This case is finished.”

“Otherwise, you won’t get a cent!”

I didn’t sign.

Later, Daniel Carter kept his word and didn’t let me receive a single dime.

But he knelt on the courthouse steps, smashing his forehead until it bled, begging for a retrial!

——

“You—what did you just say?”

“Fifty thousand? Settle privately?”

I stared at Daniel, momentarily stunned.

The one lying in the morgue now is his father!

When Daniel was a child, his family was destitute. His mother, unable to endure the hardship, abandoned him in his cradle and ran off with another man.

It was his father-in-law who raised him alone.

To protect him from any harm, he never remarried.

“Why? Do you think it’s too little?”

I opened my mouth, my voice trembling as I explained, “This isn’t about the money, Daniel.”

“The man in the accident, he… he… was our father!”

I was afraid he wouldn’t accept it, so I spoke cautiously.

But he glanced at his watch and frowned impatiently.

“I know. You don’t need to keep repeating it.”

“Since you don’t think it’s too little, then just sign it. Don’t waste my time—I have things to do.”

I flipped open the agreement in front of me, unsure where to begin, until a line of words pierced my eyes, making my pupils contract sharply.

It actually described my father-in-law bending over to tie his shoelaces as an intentional scam.

Because he was supposedly scamming Natalie, he happened to be unwell and failed to notice her condition.

This was a complete reversal of right and wrong.

I clutched the thin sheet of paper and asked Daniel, “Did you go to the police station and watch the surveillance video?”

He irritably took a sip of his drink, leaning back in his chair with a careless look, his tone rising.

“What? What do you expect me to see? Your dad scamming someone?”

“He’s so old, and still trying to cheat a young girl. Emily, if you’re not ashamed, I am!”

“He didn’t scam anyone!”

“Daniel, he raised you for more than thirty years. You know him better than anyone. Don’t slander him like this.”

Curious stares swept over me.

I shoved the document back.

Perhaps under his influence, my sorrow and fear slowly dulled. “What do you mean by ‘support me’? He’s your dad. Are you out of your mind, Daniel?”

I thought I was being clear, but Daniel seemed to understand nothing.

He scolded me impatiently.

Then, as if remembering something, his tone softened.

“Emily, I know it’s hard for you to accept your father-in-law’s death, and that’s natural.”

“But think about it logically. Your dad was old. He made no real contribution to the family, and he still relied on you to support him. He was already a burden.”

“If he were still alive, he couldn’t even earn five thousand, let alone fifty thousand, right?”

“We should face reality. If you really think fifty thousand is too little, then name your price.”

In an instant, I seemed to grasp the truth.

I looked up at Daniel Carter, my voice edged with sarcasm. “When you’re old and can’t earn money, you’re a burden to the family? Your life can be slandered, bought for fifty thousand dollars…”

“Daniel, is that how you see your own father?”

“Shut up.”

Daniel shot his feet like a lit firecracker and hurled the drink in front of him straight into my face.

“Emily Carter, how can you be so ungrateful?”

“I’m thinking about you, yet you accuse my father. What kind of daughter-in-law are you?”

“You don’t want to sign the agreement? Fine. But I’m telling you, if you sue, you won’t get a penny.”

With that, he yanked the private settlement agreement from the table and stormed out of the restaurant.

My eyes trailed his back until he reached the door.

The answer was plain as day.

I wanted to laugh, but all I felt was crushing despair.

My parents don’t have jobs.

But that’s because they once worked for public agencies for twenty years. When the economy declined, their group of senior employees was laid off.

Although retired, their pensions never decreased through the years.

I once urged them to travel, to enjoy life, but they refused.

They lived frugally, using their savings to support Daniel and me.

Daniel had no mother, so whenever we faced difficulties, my parents stepped in to help raise the children.

Even Daniel’s current law firm was started with money my parents raised—selling their large house to move into a smaller one.

He forgot all of that sacrifice.

In his eyes, my father’s life wasn’t even worth fifty thousand.

Twelve years into our marriage, I finally realized Daniel never loved me.

Love shapes everything in a person, but so does contempt.

When I stepped out of the restaurant, Daniel’s car was still parked out front.

The girl in red sat in the passenger seat, pouting as he carefully applied her lipstick. She laughed, leaned in, and kissed him.

I watched through the windshield, their playfulness cutting deep.

When Daniel saw me, his smile froze, his face unashamed.

The girl glanced my way, curious, and at that moment, he floored the accelerator, driving straight past me.

It had rained earlier, leaving a puddle at the curb.

The tires splashed dirty water all over me.

I returned home drenched and shaken. My son, Aaron, rushed toward me, his little arms hovering mid-air.

“Mom, what happened? Did you fall?”

My heart twisted violently.

I crouched and pulled my boy tight into my arms.

My mother, hearing him, quickly set aside her knitting and hurried into the bathroom. She came back with a half-damp towel and pressed it into my hands.

“Didn’t you go to dinner with Daniel? How did you end up like this?”

Grief weighed heavy, but I forced a smile. “I slipped on the way back.”

After I’d cleaned myself up, she drew me aside and whispered, “What are Daniel’s plans for Mr. Carter’s case?”

Remembering his words before storming off, I hesitated.

“He… he said he’d sue.”

“A lawsuit, then. That’s good. We need to give Mr. Carter an explanation.”

My mother nodded, pulled a bank card from her pocket, and pressed it into my hand.

“This is the little money your dad and I have saved all these years. You’ll need plenty for this. Take it now. If you run into trouble, tell us.”

“Mom, I’ll head home first. Your dad’s waiting for me to cook dinner.”

She patted my hand, turned, and walked out.

I chased her to the door, card in hand, but it slammed shut, trapping me inside.

The bank card in my hand felt like fire, searing every nerve in my body.

I want a divorce!

But I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell my parents that all their years of unwavering love meant nothing in Daniel Carter’s eyes.

And among those worthless people was me…

That night, Daniel didn’t come home, and I didn’t return to the master bedroom.

I held my son, curled in his crib, and stayed awake until dawn.

At sunrise, I rose to prepare breakfast.

Daniel opened the door and walked in, his eyes scanning the room.

Not seeing our child, he sat down at the table.

He drummed his fingers and called out, “Shall we talk?”

My eyes flicked to the bright red stain on his collar, and I sat across from him.

He cleared his throat, pulled two documents from his bag, and shoved them toward me.

One was a divorce agreement. The other, a private settlement from yesterday.

“Since you saw everything, I won’t hide it anymore.”

“Her name is Natalie Brooks. We’ve known each other a while.”

“I wasn’t planning to divorce you, but she’s pregnant with my child, and the doctor said… her health isn’t fit for an abortion.”

Natalie Brooks?

My hand froze on the divorce papers. I stared at Daniel in shock.

I’d only heard that name at the police station two days ago.

Thinking back to yesterday, it all clicked, absurd as it was.

Daniel let the woman who killed his father carry his baby?

Seeing my silence, Daniel’s voice softened, almost pleading.

“Emily, she’s only twenty-two. Please, let her go—for the sake of our sixteen years together.”

“If you’ll sign this settlement, I’ll give you the house and the car in my name.”

“And we raised the compensation to a hundred thousand.”

It was laughable. We’d been together sixteen years, and this was the first time he humbled himself to me—over the woman who killed his father.

I picked up the divorce agreement, flipped through it, and held out my hand.

He thought I agreed. His face lit up. He quickly pulled a pen from his bag and pressed it into my palm.

I signed and pushed both agreements back.

“I’ll agree to the divorce. But the private settlement—I don’t have the authority to sign.”

I was being truthful.

But Daniel heard only defiance.

He leaned back, faced dark, chest heaving, then hurled the pen at me.

“Emily Carter, I’m being civil because of our past. Don’t think I’m begging.”

“That was your father. If you don’t have the right, who does?”

“The truth is, you just won’t let Natalie go. You’re cruel. Your whole family is cruel.”

“What did you just say?”

My fists clenched, fury boiling.

He could insult me—but why humiliate my family?

He slammed the table, stood, and leaned down until his face was inches from mine.

“I said your whole family is cruel. Your father deserved to be hit by that car!”

Slap!

I struck him across the face with everything I had.

Daniel’s head snapped to the side. After a pause, he raised his hand and seized my hair.

“Emily Carter, did I ever give you any respect?”