When He Unknowingly Defended His Mother’s Killer

Aria's POV

My mother-in-law was killed when my husband’s assistant ran a red light and hit her. Yet somehow, the court ruled that she was just trying to scam some money.

Still trying to defend her, I filed three lawsuits, but also lost all three.

Just as I was about to appeal for the fourth time, I discovered that her body had been stolen.

I was about to call the police when my husband, Caleb Morgan, a lawyer, showed up and tossed two thousand onto the table.

“You should already know,” he said coldly, “I’ve never lost a case. No matter how much evidence you think you have, your mother’s lawsuit will never win. If I said your mom was faking it, she's faking it. All your appeals are just your way of trying to squeeze out more compensation. But don’t bother, I already had her body sold on the black market and got two grands for it. Consider that as the full value of her life. And stop bothering Brielle.”

That was when it hit me. He thought it was my mother who died.

I pushed the money back toward him. “I don’t have the right to take this.”

——

He frowned, his voice suddenly sharp. “What, two grands’ not enough for you? Aria, get this straight. Your mother was unemployed. For someone like her, earning two grands with her life is already a miracle. Don’t get greedy.”

I shook my head. “You misunderstand. I mean, you should be the one keeping this money.”

Caleb's brows knitted tightly, disgust flashing across his face. “Are you out of your mind? This is the money made from selling your own mother’s corpse. What does that have to do with me? Do you really think I’d take that kind of dirty money?”

Caleb grew up with only his mother. His father died early, and it was his mom who worked multiple jobs to raise him and pay for his law school dream, ruining her health in the process.

Witnessing all that, he devoted his life to his mom.

I used to wonder why, after his mother’s death, he never once went home, why he devoted himself completely to defending Brielle Carter, the assistant who killed her.

Now I knew. He thought it was my mother who died, not his.

I looked him straight in the eye and said calmly, “Caleb, I suggest you return that money and buy Mom’s body back. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

But it seemed he didn't get what I had said as he scoffed. “Do you even know what the black market is like? Once something’s sold there, you think you can just buy it back? Your mother’s body has probably been chopped into pieces by now. There’s no getting her back. So, just take the money and stop causing trouble.”

She wasn’t my biological mother, but she was still a human being. She’d been killed without reason, branded a scammer, and now her body had been sold off by her own son.

The thought of her fate made my chest ache.

“Caleb,” I said quietly, “since you know exactly how bodies are treated on the black market, how could you still do that to Mom? Doesn’t it bother you at all?”

He gave a mocking smile. “Why would it? She’s your mom, not mine. And besides, the dead don’t feel pain. Selling her body for cash at least gave her some worth. She should’ve watched where she was going. Getting killed was bad enough, but she also traumatized Brielle for days.”

I stared at him, speechless. For a moment, I couldn’t even imagine how he’d react if he found out that the woman sold to the black market was actually his own mother.

When I didn’t reply, he added casually, “Honestly, I always thought your mom looked like the short-lived type. Even if she hadn’t been hit, she wouldn’t have lasted long. So, just take the money and be grateful.”