By the time Richard arrived, the funeral was almost over.

Everyone who had come to say goodbye was gone.

Only I remained.

I wanted a little more time with Chloe.

She'd always been clingy.

And she was afraid of the dark.

"Richard, see? I told you Selena was lying. If this were really a funeral, why is nobody here? This is obviously another stunt to get you to come home."

Grace's voice cut through the silence.

Richard's face darkened.

"Selena, I never thought you'd go this far. You actually staged a funeral? If Grace hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed it. What gives you the right to curse Chloe like this?"

Grace and David stood behind him.

Neither of them wore black.

Bright colors stood out against the gray sky.

Grace slipped her arm through Richard's and held David's hand with the other.

Like she'd won.

"Richard, don't be mad," Grace said softly. "Selena only did this because she loves you and wants you home more. She's just confused."

Then she turned to me.

"Selena, please don't misunderstand. We're new here. We don't know anyone. Richard is the only person we can rely on, so we've had to bother him a lot."

She sighed dramatically.

"But you really shouldn't use Chloe like this. We're both mothers. How could anyone joke about a child's funeral?"

She reached for my arm.

I shoved her away.

"Ah!"

Grace stumbled backward.

Richard caught her instantly.

"Grace, are you okay?"

The concern in his voice was immediate.

Grace shrank into his arms and looked at me.

The fear on her face lasted only a second.

The hatred underneath it didn't.

"Selena!" Richard snapped. "That's enough. How can you put your hands on someone?"

I looked at them.

At how naturally they stood together.

At how easily he protected her.

They'd crossed every line a long time ago.

A tired sigh escaped me.

I was exhausted.

Completely exhausted.

"Richard, let's get divorced."

"What?"

Everything went still.

The anger vanished from his face.

Shock took its place.

He immediately let go of Grace and grabbed my freezing hand.

"Selena, stop. Divorce isn't something you throw around. Grace and I are over. I have you and Chloe now. I would never—"

"I'm not joking."

I cut him off.

"I'll have Paul send you the papers. Let's end this."

Paul was my butler.

I pulled my hand away and turned to leave with Chloe's urn.

Then something slammed into my back.

Pain shot through me.

I lost my balance and crashed to the ground.

The urn slipped from my hands.

"No!"

I lunged for it.

But before I could reach it, a foot kicked it away.

"Bad woman! You bullied my mommy! I hate you!"

David.

The urn hit the ground.

The lid popped off.

Ashes scattered everywhere.

My heart stopped.

"No... no..."

I scrambled across the ground, desperately gathering Chloe's ashes with shaking hands.

"Waaah! Mommy, it hurts!"

Grace rushed over and pulled David into her arms.

Her eyes filled with tears.

When she looked at me again, her gaze was pure venom. "Selena, no matter what happened, you shouldn't touch a child. He's just a little boy.

"Besides, why keep pretending? Richard already knows this funeral is fake. Who even knows what's inside that thing?"

Just like always, Richard stood beside her.

Without a second thought.

"How did you become so vicious?" he snapped. "You'd even hurt a child."

I hugged the ashes I'd managed to save tightly against my chest.

"Get out!"

My voice cracked on the scream.

I wasn't wasting another second on people like them.

Holding Chloe close, I turned and walked away.

Grace suddenly grabbed my arm and tearfully pleaded, "Please, if you're mad, take it out on me. My son is still little. Don't make things hard for him."

She broke down in front of me.

"David is so young. Please don't let Chloe keep bullying him. I'm begging you."

Grace looked pathetic when she cried.

And of course, Richard helped her up right away.

"What happened? What bullying?"

"It's my fault. I upset Selena. Chloe is still young, so maybe she doesn't know any better. She... she told the kids at kindergarten I was a homewrecker. That I ruined your marriage."

Grace sobbed harder.

"They called David a bastard. They all bullied him. I don't know what to do anymore..."

Richard turned on me instantly.

"Selena, you've gone too far. Why drag kids into adult problems?"

My fists clenched so hard my knuckles went white.

My shoulders shook with rage.

Slandering me wasn't enough.

Now they were slandering my daughter.

At her own funeral.

Smack!

I couldn't take it anymore.

My palm cracked across Grace's face.

"How dare you smear my daughter? Try it again, and I swear, you'll regret it."

Grace froze.

Richard exploded and yanked her into his arms.

"Selena, what the hell are you doing? Honestly, I can believe Chloe did that. She must've learned it from you."

I stared at him.

I couldn't believe those words had come from Chloe's father.

Grace had no proof.

Not one shred.

And Richard still believed Chloe was a bully.

The rage inside me snapped.

Smack!

My hand struck Richard across the face.

"Chloe was your daughter. One baseless accusation, and you decide she's that kind of kid? I'm so disappointed in you."

Richard stood there, stunned.

For once, he had nothing to say.

I looked at all three of them. "I'm not letting this go. All of you are going to pay."

This time, Grace actually looked scared.

She shrank closer to Richard and pulled David behind her.

After the funeral, I hired the best private investigator in Almeda City.

I wanted everything on Grace.

At the same time, I told Avery to buy as many shares of Dorrondale Hospital as possible.

I would make sure Richard never worked in Almeda City again.

He would pay for what he did today.

***

Third-Person POV

After the funeral, Richard moved into Grace's apartment completely.

Half a month later, he finally returned to the hospital.

And immediately, something felt off.

His coworkers kept looking at him weird.

With pity.

With sympathy.

"Richard, you're finally back. We knew you'd get through this. I know this must be brutal. If it were me, I don't think I could move on that fast."

Richard stared blankly at his friend. "Nick, what are you talking about?"

Dread crawled up his spine.

Nick added, "This is Chloe's death certificate. Please give it to your wife. She was overwhelmed last time and left it at the hospital."

Richard froze.

Death certificate?

Chloe was really dead?

No.

Impossible.

Wasn't this just one of Selena's tricks?

How could Chloe be dead?

"What... What are you talking about? Chloe can't be dead. You're joking, right? This isn't funny. Tell me this isn't real."

Richard grabbed Nick by the collar.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His voice was almost begging.

He needed it to be fake.

But reality hit him straight in the face.

Everyone around him looked at him with pity.

Some even turned away to wipe their tears.

Then the department head appeared. "Dr. Herrera. My office."

Inside, he got straight to the point. "Dr. Herrera, you're being terminated."

"What?"

Richard's face went white.

"Why? What did I do? Why am I being fired?"