On New Year's Eve, the smell of a roast in the oven drifted through the house.

My grandmother walked over to me, with an old photograph in her hand, the edges worn soft with age.

"Is Zack almost home?"

My throat tightened. It had been three years. She could never remember that my younger brother was long gone.

I was the one who picked up his ashes.

At that moment, my phone rang. The moment I saw the name on the screen, the blood in my veins seemed to freeze.

I stepped out onto the balcony before answering, keeping my voice low.

"What is it?"

The voice on the other end of the line trembled. "It's been three years. Are you still angry? I've been waiting for you to come home. Our son has, too. We're downstairs."

Downstairs?

I walked over and looked down to see a tall figure and a small one standing together.

Through my phone, my son's voice came with a catch in his throat, saying, "Daddy…"

My thoughts snapped back into place.

I said flatly, "We've been divorced for a long time. He said he didn't want to stay with me."

Then, I hung up without another word.

My grandmother's hand was really cold. So cold it sent a shiver down my spine.

She went in closer toward me with a child-like wonder in her eyes.

"Zack is coming back, right? I heard it on the phone. Is he giving me a surprise?"

My heart tightened. It felt as if someone were squeezing it hard.

Zack and I had grown up without our parents. We survived on scraps because our grandmother raised us by scavenging trash.

She always said, "Once you two are old enough, I will finally get to enjoy my life."

The day Zack passed, he had sent me a message.

[Miles, I bought Grandma a red wool sweater. It will surely look good on her.]

Later, all I received was a bag. Inside was that red sweater, still with the tags on.

That was when our grandmother started losing her mind.

The doctor said it was too much of a shock. Alzheimer's.

I thought maybe forgetting the painful things was not entirely bad.

"Zack is working late. I told you, right? He's working extra on New Year's Eve; he'll get paid much more."

I held her hand and hugged it. She nodded and subconsciously played with my shirt pocket.

"Oh, yes. Zack said he was going to buy me new clothes, too."

My throat tightened so much that it hurt. I clenched my fists, unable to say a single word.

The red wool sweater was still in the bottom drawer of my closet. I did not dare to take it out.

Right at that moment, a knock came on the door.

Opening the door, cold air blew in.

My mother-in-law, Helen Morte, stood in the dimly lit corridor with a box of cake. She smiled at me.

"Miles, about your brother… Gemma was wrong. But so many years have passed. You should let it go. You and Gemma have a son together. They are waiting for you to go home."

I looked at her as she opened her mouth. Yet, I heard nothing. All I heard was a buzzing.

"Let it go? Gemma killed Zack because of her friend. You want me to just let it go?"

Helen's face paled.

I continued, saying, "I will never forgive her in this life. She can stop dreaming."

Then, I slammed the door in her face. Returning to my room, I leaned against the door and slowly slumped to the floor.

In the living room, my grandmother was still humming Zack's favorite nursery rhyme when he was little.

I lowered my hands and retrieved the photo from my pocket. It was taken on the day of Zack's graduation. He was wearing a cap and gown, grinning stupidly at the camera.

I pressed the photo to my chest.

"Zack, I'm sorry. I'm so useless. I can't make the people who hurt you pay the price. But I will never forget about it. One day, I'll avenge you!"

…

I did not sleep all night.

At dawn, I took the trash downstairs while the morning fog still had not cleared.

Someone suddenly grabbed me by the wrist. The trash bag fell onto the ground.

Gemma was standing there with her eyes bloodshot. She looked rather disheveled.

"Miles, let's talk."

Our son, Dash, got out of the car from the back passenger seat. He walked over to me and tugged at the hem of my shirt.

"Daddy, come home."

His words were like needles prickling my heart.

I gently pried his fingers off me before bending down to look him in the eye.

"Dash, I'm not your daddy."

His eyes instantly reddened.

I merely looked at him coldly. Back then, he said he did not want me as his father, so why was he so sad?

I shrugged Gemma's hand off me.

"I have nothing to say to you. We were over three years ago."

She was trembling.

"He saved my life. I had no choice back then. Miles, I promise you. I will treat you well in the future."

Her words ripped open the wounds I had barely managed to close: fresh, raw, and bleeding again.

I cut her off with a cold laugh.

"Just because you had no choice, so you chose to let my brother die?"

Just because Howard Clan was her savior, she had chosen to sacrifice Zack.

Zack was stabbed 99 times by Howard's younger brother, Henry.

When I took Henry to court, my wife, who was an attorney who had never lost a case, chose to stand opposite me.

I did not know where she found the so-called evidence. She claimed that Zack had tried to sexually assault a young girl and that it was Henry who tried to rescue her, so he had accidentally stabbed Zack.

Our son, Dash, testified in court. He said that he saw Zack trying to harm the girl.

Just like that, Zack became the scorn of society. However, he was just a good kid. He would even spend some of his hard-earned money to feed the strays.

After the hearing, I cornered Gemma at the parking lot.

She loosened her tie, her voice tired, like she was dealing with an unreasonable child.

"The evidence is complete, Miles. Zack had indeed done something wrong."

I slapped her.

Later, I found out that it was not Zack who assaulted the girl; Zack was the hero standing up for her.

Yet, Gemma got all the witnesses to change their statements.

Thinking back about it at that moment, I did not hit her hard enough.

My eyes reddened as I took a step backward.

"Get lost. I don't want to see you."

Before she could speak again, a fist slammed into my face.

Howard stood right in front of me and said, "The incident was all my fault. Henry is my only family. I was the one who begged Gemma. This has nothing to do with her. If you want someone to blame, you can blame me.

"But she loves you so much. She has been waiting for you for the past three years. You can't talk to her like that."

I glared at him icily before kicking him right in the abdomen.

"You have no right to speak to me."

I lifted my leg, about to kick him again.

When he cowered and curled up, Gemma finally reacted. She went up to protect him and yelled, "Enough with this madness! At least Zack is still alive! Howard has been tormented by guilt for so many years that he now has serious depression. You can't blame him."

Their entire act disgusted me.

I chuckled mockingly, saying, "What a shameless couple. If you don't want me to hit him, then don't appear in front of me ever again."

Zack was still alive?

That was the biggest joke I heard that year.

Gemma had never paid attention to my family's situation. She did not know anything about it.

After Zack was falsely accused, unable to accept his situation, he killed himself in his prison cell.

However, since Gemma and I were strangers, there was no need for me to tell her all those things anymore.

Gemma grabbed my hand tightly, not letting me go. She said in a low voice, enunciating, "Our conflict stays between us. It has nothing to do with Howard. Apologize to him at once."

Dash was hiding behind her leg, showing half of his face. In the same tone, he said, "Daddy, apologize. You're in the wrong."

I looked at him.

Gemma was often busy at work, so I had to quit my job to raise him.

Yet, three years ago, in that courtroom, with that same innocent expression, he had spoken those fatal words.

My already shattered heart was strangely calm at that moment.

I slowly relaxed my shoulders, even managing a faint smile.

"Alright, let me go. I'll apologize."

The moment Gemma let me go, I grabbed Howard by his perfectly coiffed hair and smashed his head to the ground with all my might.

When I was forcefully torn away from him, I saw him lying on the ground, limp.

His forehead had a huge gash. Blood was streaming down half of his face.

How thrilling. Finally, some justice.

Gemma quickly rushed over to protect Howard.

"Miles, are you mad?!"

I sniggered. "I'll advise you not to appear in front of me ever again. If not, every time I see him, I'll hit him. Trust me, I have nothing left to lose."

Gemma's chest rose and fell sharply. For the first time, there was a crack in her expression.

Finally, she helped the moaning Howard up and headed to the car without looking back.

"You'll regret this," she said.

At that time, I did not expect Gemma to be so ruthless, but even if I did, I would never yield to her.

I had just returned home when my phone rang.

My manager at the office said with a distant voice, "Miles, the company is reorganizing its structure. Your position has been eliminated. Are you free to come in this afternoon? Come in and complete the exit paperwork."

I had been fired.

I would not believe it if I were told that Gemma was not involved in this. She was a powerful and famous attorney; it was too easy for her to destroy someone's livelihood.

That afternoon, I calmly finished the paperwork and received my final month's pay.

Before I left the building, the receptionist secretly handed me a box of biscuits. She said, "Miles, take care."

On the way back, I bought my grandmother's favorite strawberries and clutched them in my hands.

I had just entered the house when she walked over to me. She did not ask me where Zack was, as usual. She merely opened up her arms and pulled me into her arms, hugging me tightly.

She patted me on the back, just like when she was putting me to bed when I was young.

"Miles, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll always be here for you."

I stiffened as the bag of strawberries fell to the ground. The emotions I had been holding back all afternoon finally broke at her words. Tears kept falling.

I never expected that Howard would show up before Gemma did.

He blocked me in an alley outside the neighborhood. The bandage on his temple had not even been removed yet, but the smile on his face was unbearable.

"Your brother's grave must be covered with moss by now, huh?"

He went in closer and said, "You still want to fight me? Your brother is a rapist. He should have died earlier!"

I raised my hand, but he retreated as if he had prepared that. He chuckled smugly.

Right at this moment, a tiny, frail figure stumbled into view.

My grandmother stood in front of me, raising a knife and shielding me.

"Don't you dare bully Miles! You evil man!"

"Get lost, you crazy old woman!" Howard was about to push her aside.

Everything that happened next happened too quickly.

My grandmother somehow found strength and pounced on Howard.

Howard screamed as he was pinned to the ground. A knife slashed across his face from his ear to his mouth.

"Ah! My face!" Howard wailed.

My grandmother was still on top of him. She raised the knife, covered in blood, and turned to look at me.

"Miles, don't worry. I'll protect you."

Howard looked at someone behind me and yelled, "Gemma, save me! Help me!"

Without missing a single beat, Gemma kicked my grandmother in the waist. Her frail figure fell over just like that and knocked against the wall. She let out a muffled grunt.

The knife fell to the ground with a clang.

"Grandma!" I rushed over.

Grandma curled up, but she held my wrist. Her forehead had a gash. Blood was seeping through her white hair, but she still smiled at me.

"Miles, no one will dare to bully you anymore."

Gemma helped the almost unconscious Howard up. When she passed me by, she said, "This isn't over."

In court, Gemma's expression was ice cold.

"My client has suffered permanent facial nerve damage, classified as a level six disability. Even if the defendant suffers from severe mental illness and lacks full criminal responsibility, the danger she poses to society cannot be ignored.

"I recommend she be transferred to Serenity Care Nursing Home. I'm confident the doctors there will take good care of her."

Others might not know, but Serenity Care belonged to Gemma. If my grandmother were sent there, I would no longer be able to see her in this life.

I clenched my fists tightly.

My attorney argued desperately, but it was useless. Gemma was at the top of her game for a reason.

In just a few words, she rendered my attorney speechless.

Gemma sneered and said, "Miles, I regret showing Zack any mercy. I should have let him rot in prison."

The judge banged his gavel.

"The defendant, Iris Leigh, due to severe mental illness, is to be transferred to Serenity Care Nursing Home for mandatory treatment and supervision."

My sight went black as I dug my nails into my palm. It hurt me so much that I felt numb.

Gemma had a look of victory, accompanied by Howard's smug face.

It felt like all the strength had been drained from my body.

At that moment, Gemma's phone vibrated. She looked at it, and her indifferent expression instantly changed into shock.

"Miles, why is my assistant saying that Zack had died three years ago?"