My son had been missing for three days and nights.

By the time the police found him, he was already dead.

I held his small body, his limbs broken, bruises covering every inch, not a single patch left uninjured, and I wept until I couldn’t breathe.

My wife vowed to make the culprit pay with his life.

Later, it was discovered that the killer had been her male assistant all along.

She had the assistant torn limb from limb and promised she would give me another son.

But a year later, as I cradled our newborn at his full-month banquet, she locked us in the basement.

“It’s all your fault. If you hadn’t grown jealous and used our son’s death to threaten me, I wouldn’t have had to kill Zayden with my own hands.”

“If you want a son so badly, then die together with that prostitute’s child.”

It turned out my wife had always despised me, believing I had schemed in the shadows, killed our son, and framed her assistant.

Even this younger boy had been born of a prostitute she paid to conceive with me.

She sealed the basement door and set the house ablaze.

When I awoke again, the police were delivering my son’s charred body.

I held his remains in my arms and made a call.

“I accept the research institute’s overseas assignment.”

In this life, since she wished to spend eternity with that assistant, I would grant her every wish.

——

Percival Jarrett lay in my arms, his body ice-cold.

My limbs had already grown stiff, my heart even more numb.

The agony I had endured in my previous life was repeating itself all over again.

I no longer knew how to react.

After the police left, Aria Ellison called.

I answered, but before I could say a word, her voice came cold through the line.

“Calix Jarrett, I’m warning you, don’t start spouting nonsense to the police.”

“Percival hurt Zayden Stratton’s dog, so I punished him by locking him in the basement for a few days. That way, Zayden wouldn’t retaliate against him. Percival wouldn’t have died. It was better for all of us.”

So she had been reborn, too.

She moved first and punished Percival over Zayden’s dog.

She claimed she had only locked Percival away.

But then why had Percival still died?

Why were all ten of his fingers rotting, blood seeping out, not a single part of him unhurt?

I couldn’t hold back the roar that burst from my throat into the phone.

“How could you lay hands on your son? He was only five years old; he hadn’t even had the chance to see how beautiful the world could be, and you killed him.”

My words left Aria momentarily stunned.

But after a pause, she let out a mocking laugh.

“Don’t exaggerate. I only punished him by locking him in the basement for a few days. How could he possibly die?”

Then Zayden’s voice came from the other end of the line.

“Sister Aria, is Brother Calix just jealous because you spent time with me and the puppy instead of going home, so he’s making up stories?”

“I told you we shouldn’t have locked Percival up. My dog only lost a bit of fur. It really wasn’t worth it.”

Hearing Zayden’s words made my stomach turn.

He always played the victim, pretending to be fragile just to twist Aria’s heart against me and my son.

Aria lowered her voice to comfort him.

“Your puppy is your precious baby. No one has the right to hurt it. Even if Percival is my own son, he had to be punished.”

“It was only locking him up for a few days. He wouldn’t have died. You can’t be so soft-hearted.”

Aria had never spoken so gently to me.

To our son, she had only ever screamed or raised her hand.

Then I heard Zayden sounding delighted.

Soon, muffled, suggestive kissing sounds drifted through the phone.

After a while, Aria’s voice returned sharp and scornful.

“You’re a grown man, yet all you care about is love and relationships instead of your career. Are you completely worthless? A parasite clinging to the Ellison name?”

“Your son is just like you, no trace of a true heir. If I had known, I would’ve strangled him the moment he was born.”

She never understood that the reason her son clung to her so desperately was because he loved her more than anything.

The thing he said most often was that he wanted to grow up fast so he could protect Mommy.

But in Aria’s eyes, this deep affection was nothing but worthless trash.

She never stopped mocking me and my son.

In the end, she even warned me to discipline him properly, or she’d lock him away forever and never let us see each other again.

My heart felt hollow and dead. I pulled out my phone and made the call.

“Professor Achilles, I’ll join you on the overseas assignment this Saturday.”

After I cremated my son’s body, only then did the Ellison elders finally arrive.

Alaric Ellison and Agatha Ellison saw the grandson, who had been so full of life just days before, now reduced to a small, cold box. Grief washed over them completely.

With bloodshot eyes, I clutched the box against my chest and knelt before them.

“Uncle, Auntie, thank you for all the care you’ve given me over the years.”

Seeing me kneel, they rushed forward to lift me up.

But I only bowed my head stubbornly to the ground.

“This bow is from both Percival and me. From today on, I owe the Ellison family nothing.”

From the moment they heard me change how I addressed them, they understood that everything was beyond saving.

That final bow had been my way of severing all ties with the Ellison family.

Alaric clutched his chest while Agatha beat her chest and stomped her feet.

“What sin is this? My precious grandson, killed by my own daughter.”

“Calix, we wronged you, we wronged Percival, and we wronged your parents most of all.”

Years ago, when my parents passed away, they had entrusted Alaric and Agatha to take care of me.

Because of that favor, I always gave in to Aria in everything.

I had hoped that by tolerating her, by loving her, I could change her.

But in the end, it had all been my own delusion.

Alaric still tried to keep me, saying they would bring Aria back and stand up for me.

I only shook my head softly, held Percival’s urn, and turned to leave.

Stand up for me for what?

I wasn’t the one who died. It was Percival.

And Percival was already gone.

Even justice for him meant nothing anymore.

When I returned home and had just set Percival’s urn in place, Aria came back.

Before I could speak, she slapped me hard across the face.

“What do you think you are, running to my parents to complain?”

“I just locked Percival up for a few days to teach him a lesson so he wouldn’t cause trouble again, and you dare lie to my parents, saying he’s dead?”

I looked at her, hysterical over Zayden as always, and felt no more pain, only an endless regret.

When I stayed silent for a long time, Aria assumed I was admitting guilt.

She slapped me again.

“Remember this: I am your sky. You have no right to defy me.”

“Even Percival was just a product of you forcing me to give birth. Don’t you ever forget that?”

She still resented me for drugging and forcing her in the past.

No matter how many times I explained it wasn’t me, that it was Alaric and Agatha who planned it, she never believed me.

The first half of my life had been completely trapped by the Ellison family.

And now, I was actually freed through my son’s death.

I no longer looked at her. I stood up in silence, ready to leave.

Aria, surprised that I wasn’t arguing like before, seemed caught off guard.

She thought perhaps locking Percival up had gone too far.

So, for once, she tried to ease the tension.

“Fine, I know you loved Percival, but Zayden’s dog was hurt by him. I had no choice but to punish him.”

“You don’t want Percival to die tragically again like in the last life, do you?”

Aria believed she was helping Percival avoid a disaster.

I suddenly turned to look at her.

“If Percival still ends up being killed in this life, will you avenge him like you did in the last one?”

My tone was firm, leaving no room for Aria to hesitate.

But she only thought I was making things difficult for her.

“Are you mentally ill? Why are you cursing your son to die for no reason?”

“I already said I punished Percival. Zayden won’t touch him again. Stop overreacting.”

After she spoke, she yanked the ring off my finger.

“Zayden’s been feeling down lately. This ring is a unique design I had custom-made. I’ll use it to cheer him up.”

I looked at her in shock.

Aria turned her head away, guilt flickering across her face.

“It’s only temporary. Once I light sky lanterns and get him the world’s most expensive diamond ring, I’ll give this back to you.”

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t like second-hand things. Don’t be so petty.”

She looked completely justified as if that wasn’t our wedding ring.

As if no vows of loyalty had ever been engraved on it.

Before I could speak, she clutched the ring and turned to leave.

As she passed the shelf where Percival’s urn was placed, she suddenly stopped.

“What’s this?”

Percival finally received his mother’s attention.

But it had only come after his death.

I choked up, my voice low as I answered slowly.

“It’s Percival’s…”

My words were cut short by a phone call. Aria glanced at the screen and quickly walked away.

I watched her figure grow smaller and finished the sentence to the empty room.

“…ashes.”

It was just as well she hadn’t heard.

Even better, I didn’t have to see her pretend to be shocked.

Or watch her put on a show of false grief in front of Percival’s urn.

Though perhaps that was only my own wishful thinking.

More likely, she would have said coldly, “Dead is dead.”

The next day, I packed my things and went to the company one last time.

As soon as I handed my resignation letter to HR, one of my subordinates stopped me.

“Brother Calix, are you leaving because President Aria gave the department manager position to Zayden?”

I looked at him, my expression stiff.

“You’re saying Zayden has already taken over the whole department?”

But Zayden had only ever been Aria’s assistant.

He had never managed any external projects.

How could he possibly lead an entire department?

My subordinate looked furious.

“You don’t know that scumbag? He strutted in today like he owned the place. Just seeing his face made me sick.”

No sooner had he finished than Zayden walked out of the office, his tone sharp as a blade.

“You’re fired. Pack your things and get out.”

My subordinate roared in anger.

“On what grounds?”

Zayden looked smug, his eyes glinting with disdain.

“On the grounds that I’m your superior. If I say go, you go.”

Then he paused, lips curling into a sneer. “Unless you kneel and apologize.”

My subordinate’s face went red with rage, and he lunged forward to strike him, but I reached out and stopped him.

Only then did Zayden pretend to notice me.

“Oh, so it’s Manager Jarrett, no, Mr. Jarrett.”

He thought for a moment, and then a sinister smile spread across his face.

“Since your former subordinate caused trouble, as his ex-supervisor, you should clean up his mess.”

He looked down at me, his tone dripping with disdain.

“Kneel and bow for him.”

At those words, discontented murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Seeing the commotion outside the office, Aria quickly stepped out.

The moment Zayden spotted her, his expression shifted in an instant.

Aria walked up to me, her voice sharp. “What’s going on? Are you bullying Zayden again?”

Before I could open my mouth, Zayden spoke up, his tone sickeningly gentle.

“Sister Aria, don’t blame Brother Calix. I stole his position, so he’s upset. That’s understandable.”

I stood there in silence, watching him put on his performance.

Aria’s eyes softened when she looked at Zayden, but when they turned to me, they brimmed with hatred.