My in-laws go on a jungle trip and are stung by venomous bees. An exorbitant sum is needed for their surgeries, so I hurriedly call my husband for help.

However, as soon as the call connects, he berates me. "They can die if you don't have money to treat them! Why waste the money? Your family isn't mine—what does it have to do with me if they die? Also, Chloe has no money for food. I'm transferring what we have to buy her a meal."

He hangs up abruptly and transfers whatever money I have.

Meanwhile, his parents die because we didn't pay to save them.

I rushed to the hospital and found my in-laws and their family lying in bed, barely hanging on to life.

The doctor told me to pay the fees, but I only had 200 dollars left on my phone. I had no choice but to call my husband, Daniel Ferguson.

The phone barely rang before Daniel hung up.

I refused to give up and called him again, but he hung up right away. Then, he blocked me.

The doctor stood next to me, clearly awkward. I pretended not to notice and asked, "Can I borrow your phone?"

He nodded and handed it to me. I quickly tried calling Daniel again.

As soon as he picked up, I hurriedly said, "Daniel, your whole family got stung by wasps. It's really serious! Transfer the money for the surgery to me now!"

I thought he would ask how much, but after two seconds of silence, he cursed at me, "Linda, if you want money, you don't have to curse my family!"

I was stunned, then quickly explained, "I'm not lying. They really were stung and are now in the ICU. We have to raise money immediately for the surgery."

I sped up my words, afraid Daniel would hang up again.

"Linda, are you reading from a script or something? You're talking way too fast. And your acting isn't good enough."

The doctor beside me couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed the phone and said, "Sir, your wife isn't acting. Your family urgently needs money for surgery."

He made it very clear, but Daniel still refused to believe it. He said coldly, "Did she even hire extras to help her out? Whatever. If her family needs money, that's not my problem."

His voice came through on speaker, loud and clear.

"It was your family in the ICU!"

The dial tone echoed through the silent hallway.

The doctor showed me the disconnected call and gave me a helpless look.

I knew I couldn't rely on Daniel. I called my relatives one by one, begging them for money, and finally managed to gather over a hundred thousand dollars.

I still needed 3,000 more for the surgery. Then, I remembered my credit card limit was 5,000 dollars and breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as I was about to pay, I received a notification on my phone that 2,000 dollars had been charged to my credit card.

I checked repeatedly to make sure. Before I could even react, I got a message saying another thousand dollars had been spent.

I was now a thousand dollars short for the surgery.

I immediately guessed that Daniel was behind it.

He always used my credit card to cover his expenses and never paid me back. If I asked, he claimed he was short on cash and told me to use my wedding fund.

In the end, my wedding fund was used to cover his expenses.

He even invested all of it in stocks without my permission and lost every cent.

He refused to agree to a divorce, so I had no choice but to look for a job to pay off the debt.

I wanted to call him, but I remembered he had already blocked me. I hurriedly borrowed another passerby's phone.

When the call connected, I demanded, "Daniel, did you just spend money on my credit card? Send it back right now."

He not only refused but got angry. "So what if I used your money? We're married, right? Why are you so stingy? Chloe didn't have money for food, so I treated her. Learn to do a good deed for once."

I retorted, "That money was for your family's surgery. If you don't return it now, they're really going to die!"

"They're your family. Don't pin this on me."

"Daniel, who are you talking to?"

I heard a woman's voice on the other end of the call. I was about to confront him, but he ended the call.

I didn't dare think about it any longer. Even if I couldn't afford surgery for everyone, I could still try to save a few of them.

But when I found the doctor again, he told me all six of them had lost their vital signs because they didn't get treated in time.

When I was looking at the bodies already covered with white sheets, a wave of emotions surged through me.

Their closest family treated their lives like a joke, sending them off without giving them any chance to survive.

I saw a wrist sticking out from under one of the sheets, with festering blisters that made me shudder.

Why would such dangerous wasps be found in a tourist area?

I realized this wasn't a simple accident. Someone must have done it on purpose.

I called the police and asked them to investigate.

After I went to the police station and gave my statement, they quickly found out that a man had bought and released those wasps.

The officers handed me a photo and asked if I recognized him.

I knew right away it was Eric Peterson, Chloe Peterson's younger brother.

Why did I remember him so clearly?

A year ago, Eric tried to take indecent photos of me, but I caught him.

When I reported it to the police, Daniel found out. Rather than taking my side, he threatened me with divorce and forced me to sign a settlement agreement.

At the time, I loved him so much I couldn't bear to leave. I knew that once we got divorced, there'd be no going back.

When I first got together with Daniel, I already knew he pined for someone else. But he never hid it. In fact, he introduced Chloe to me openly.

He swore he wouldn't make me jealous because of her. He also promised he'd cut off all contact with her.

But once Daniel had money, he forgot his promises and secretly stayed in touch with Chloe.

Because her brother was the one who caused me such distress, I kept my grievances to myself. I'd never forget his face.

I realized he had planned to target me this time too. But since he didn't know I hadn't gone on the trip, it ended up hurting Daniel's family instead. That made me feel a twinge of guilt.

Leaving the police station, I checked my phone and saw two messages that proved Daniel had caused his family's death by using the money meant for their surgery.

Suddenly, I noticed the second message mentioned a local hotel.

I finally realized what that woman's voice on Daniel's end had meant.

Checking the transaction history, I confirmed he'd booked a hotel room.

The first two-thousand-dollar charge was from a jewelry store.

I called and spoke to the staff, who told me that Daniel had placed a deposit on a diamond ring. That was when I finally understood that Daniel had been cheating on me.

I gripped my phone, wanting to tear that pair of adulterers apart. Any guilt I'd felt for Daniel disappeared.

I calmed down quickly, knowing I couldn't act recklessly. Otherwise, I might lose the evidence and let him twist the facts against me.

"Officer, someone charged 3,000 dollars on my credit card without my consent. He used it to book a hotel room. Can I get that money back?"

I went back to the police station and showed the officer my evidence.

The officer verified it and said they'd investigate. I nodded and went back to the hospital to handle the arrangements for Daniel's family's bodies.

In the morgue, six bodies were laid out in a row.

My phone rang sharply. It was Daniel.

I picked up, and his furious voice blasted through. "Linda, did you call the cops? Great, now everyone knows I cheated. I only used 3,000 dollars. Did you really have to take it this far?"

Looking at the bodies under their sheets, I still forced myself to ask, "Your family is in the morgue. Aren't you going to see them one last time?"

"That's your family. Your parents died because you're a jinx. Just have them cremated already. I'm sick of looking at them. Linda, stop changing the subject. Tell the cops we're legally married so they'll leave."

"What if I don't?"

"Then we'll get divorced."

Without thinking, I said, "Alright."

He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so decisively. After he had hung up, he called me several more times, but I blocked him.

I contacted the crematorium, and those six bodies became six urns of ashes.

I felt sad for them. Their closest family chose to spend the life-saving money on his mistress rather than save them.

I paid back the money I had borrowed and spent tens of thousands to buy them the best urns I could find.

I asked someone to transport the urns back home. Even stacked up, they didn't even reach my shoulders.

As soon as I opened the door, a force knocked me down. I fell into the urns, and they all hit the ground. Ashes spilled everywhere, and it was impossible to tell whose was whose.

I looked at the one who had pushed me.

Daniel stood over me, as if towering above gave him a sense of superiority.

Pointing at me, he raged, "You have the nerve to come back? If I hadn't shown them our marriage license, I'd be sitting in a cell right now! You really are a wicked woman!"

I stayed silent, struggling to pick up the spilled ashes and put them back in the urns.

Daniel got even angrier because I wouldn't respond.

He went inside, then came back and threw some documents and a pen onto the floor.

"I meant what I said on the phone. Since you don't treat me like your husband, we'll just get divorced. We're filing tomorrow. Here's the divorce agreement. Considering your whole family is gone, I'll keep the house, but I'll give you 1.5 million dollars. After that, we're strangers."

I read the contract and signed it without hesitation.

Daniel's eyes lit up with excitement.

He had been waiting so long for me to sign this so he could be with Chloe. It was no wonder he was thrilled.

He didn't even bother to hide it. He was smiling like he couldn't be happier.

I pushed the urns toward him. He asked, "Why are you giving me your family's ashes? That's bad luck!"

Even now, he had no clue those were his own family's remains.

I said firmly, "These are your family's ashes, not mine. You should keep them."

Terror flashed across his face, but it faded almost instantly.

He shoved the urns aside, causing them to spill once again.

They hit the ground even harder this time, mixing into one pile. There was no way to sort them out anymore.

I stared at him in shock. He frowned and scolded, "How did your parents raise someone like you? How could you curse my family? Where did you even dig up these ashes?"

I couldn't hold back any longer and gave him a hard slap.

Ignoring his stunned look, I gathered what ashes I could and placed them by the door.

"I'm not cursing you. It's up to you whether you believe it or not. I've done my best and never wronged you. Once we're divorced, we're nothing to each other."

With that, I pushed past him and went inside to pack up my things.

Daniel quietly stood in the doorway until he got a phone call. He walked off to answer it.

Once I was done packing, he was off the phone. When I was about to leave, he grabbed me from behind.

I thought maybe he'd finally understood, but he said, "Chloe told me everything."

"What?"

"She said her brother didn't do it on purpose. Your family's already gone, and nothing can change that. Her brother still has his whole future ahead of him. We can't let one mistake ruin his life. Can't you just be kind and sign the settlement agreement?"

I found it ridiculous that he was speaking up for the man who killed his own family.

"Daniel, that's six lives. You can just let that go?"

"Linda, if you can let this go, I'll give you another six hundred grand. Just sign."

"Alright. Transfer the money. Mark it as a voluntary gift."

I held out my payment code. Daniel didn't hesitate much and sent the money.

He hadn't been willing to save his own family, yet he'd gladly pay off the man who killed them.

After I received the money, I wrote up the settlement agreement and had Daniel sign it. I signed it too.

On my way out, Daniel told me to take those ashes with me.

I took the urns of his family, grabbed my luggage, and left the place I had lived for just two years.

Since Daniel wouldn't face reality, I decided to give him a push.

I called my parents and told them everything. I asked them to come with me to court the next day.

The next morning, when I arrived at the court, Daniel was already there, waiting impatiently.

"Linda, the court opens at nine, and it's already ten. Don't think I don't know your tricks. We're getting divorced no matter what."

"I was picking up my parents. That's why I'm late."

"Don't play dumb. You think I'll sympathize with you? Hurry up and finalize the divorce."

Moments later, we walked out of the court. We needed to go through a cooling-off period for three months. After that, Daniel and I would no longer be husband and wife.

Still, he didn't trust me. "Linda, I'm warning you. Don't pull any stunts. If anyone backs out during these three months, that person pays the other a million dollars."

I stayed silent, noticing my father walking toward us.

"Linda, did you hear me?"

Daniel tried to pull me aside, but then he spotted my father.

His expression turned from confusion to terror.

Before he could snap out of it, my father was already standing in front of him.

Daniel trembled and asked, "Dad... you... Weren't you supposed to be dead?"