“I’ve never seen someone recognize a dog as their father—I have to witness this!”

“Me too! I’ll bring a gift for the dog’s new daughter!”

“Dr. Hayes, amazing! Transplanting a human heart into a dog—that’s a breakthrough that could break species barriers. You should publish in Nature!”

As ridiculous as it was, Ethan actually took it seriously.

“I’ll write a report tomorrow and submit it to the hospital!”

Looking at his smug grin, I almost laughed.

“You’d better bury your father first before rushing off to be a dog’s son!”

Seeing that I wasn’t as angry as he’d expected, Ethan froze.

“What… what do you mean?”

Before I could answer, Chloe grabbed his arm.

“What else could she mean? She’s just jealous you treat me so well—acting like some petty schoolgirl!”

Ethan’s face darkened.

“Nora, aren’t you too old to still be this childish and jealous?”

“Go home and get ready. On your dad’s burial day, we’ll hold that recognition banquet!”

“That way, your dad can watch you recognize your new ‘dog dad’ and rest in peace!”

“This is a divorce agreement…”

My words were drowned out by their laughter. Ethan didn’t even glance at the papers—he tore them up and flung the pieces in my face.

Ethan, when you learn the truth, I hope you rot in hell.

He wouldn’t even claim his father’s body. I hadn’t wanted to interfere either.

But the hospital kept calling, insisting someone come to the morgue to collect it.

Two days later, Mr. Hayes’s corpse was unrecognizable—already decomposing.

“Ms. Lane, Dr. Hayes instructed us that even though he’s a relative, he can’t take up public resources.”

I looked around—the morgue clearly had empty freezers.

“Dr. Hayes told us to shut them off for energy saving.”

I shook with rage. He was so sure the body was my father’s that he deliberately desecrated it.

My father, Dr. Lane, had been a renowned cardiac specialist and had given Ethan countless resources and mentorship.

Without my dad’s connections, Ethan never would have become head of surgery at such a young age.

And yet, instead of gratitude, he behaved like a heartless ingrate.

Despite the stench burning my nose, I couldn’t bear to leave Mr. Hayes like that.

I contacted the funeral home to give him a proper farewell.

He had always been a man who valued cleanliness, so I paid top dollar for a mortuary makeup artist to restore his face so he could leave this world with dignity.

Even though my father was in poor health, he forced himself to attend the funeral—he and Mr. Hayes had been close friends for years.

“Where’s Ethan? How could he not be here for such an important moment—his own father’s farewell?”

I didn’t want my father to worry, so I made up an excuse.

Seeing sweat bead on his forehead, I called a car to send him home first.

As we brushed past each other, Ethan rubbed his eyes.

“Strange… was I seeing things? Like a ghost in broad daylight?”

Chloe tugged his sleeve.

“Come on, Ethan! After Buddy recognizes his new daughter, we still have to rush back to work on the paper!”

“I already leaked your latest results to the press—you’re going to be the first in the world to break species barriers!”

“And I’ll get second author and land on the Dean’s List!”

Chloe entered in a bright red dress, Buddy in her arms, clinging to Ethan’s side, just as I was bowing to the guests.

An obnoxiously cheerful song blasted through the funeral hall.

Chloe strutted up first, slammed Mr. Hayes’s portrait to the floor, and sneered at the body in the casket.

“Ugh, corpses look so ugly. Ethan, don’t let Buddy get scared!”

She grabbed a flower basket and hurled it onto Mr. Hayes’s face, the lush stems and petals covering his features.

A few neighbors couldn’t stand it and shoved the hysterical Chloe aside.

“Ethan, are you really going to watch this lunatic desecrate your father like that?”

Chloe’s eyes were rimmed red. Ethan pulled her close, scowling at the people who’d stepped in.

“Mind your own business.”

“This is a family matter. Who are you to tell us what to do?”

“Out. Now. Don’t delay Buddy’s recognition ceremony!”

Seeing a son indulge others in trampling his father, the onlookers shook their heads as if he were insane. No one wanted to waste anger on such an unfilial man, and they drifted away.

After the guests were gone, Chloe “accidentally” knocked over a candle beside the casket.

The wreaths and funeral offerings stacked nearby caught at once—flames roared up around the coffin.

“Chloe, the dead deserve respect—aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?”

I barely touched her, yet Chloe threw herself to the floor and began to sob theatrically.

“Nora, did I give you too much face? How dare you hit Chloe in front of me?”

I met Ethan’s blazing stare and pointed at the casket, my voice hoarse.

“Are you blind? Can’t you see how they’re defiling your dad?”

Ethan turned by reflex—and froze when he saw the watch on Mr. Hayes’s wrist.

“Why is my dad’s watch here?”

He’d bought that watch with his summer job wages his freshman year. The hands had broken later, and though the family could afford a new one, Mr. Hayes had refused to replace it.

He’d said it was his son’s heart, a keepsake for life.

Panic flickered across Ethan’s face. He started forward to look closer, but Chloe yanked his arm.

“Ethan, she’s tricking you again.”

“Last time she Photoshopped ‘proof’ your uncle died; now she’s waving a busted old watch around. Her father died, so she can’t stand to see anyone else’s dad rest in peace.”

“How dark can someone’s heart be? Come here, let me hold you…”

They clung to each other. Ethan tamped down that quiver of doubt and glared at me with disgust.

“The dead get cremated anyway. Chloe’s helping you save energy for the cremation chamber.”

“Perfect timing—before your dad turns fully to ash, we’ll finish the ‘recognize-your-dog-dad’ process. He can rest easy then!”

At his gloating, I suddenly laughed.

“If you’re so eager to call a dog your father, get on your knees now.”

“And may your ancestors not rise up in that first week after his passing to settle accounts with you.”

My words rattled Ethan. Chloe stepped in front of me to block my path.

“Stepmom, Buddy came out injured today just to recognize his new daughter. How can you walk away now?”

“Ethan, say something…”

Ethan snapped back to himself and kicked the back of my knee when I wasn’t looking.

“Chloe kindly found you a dad. Don’t be ungrateful.”

“Today you’ll recognize him—whether you like it or not.”

He forced my head down—crack, crack—onto the floor. Blood seeped from my forehead and he didn’t even flinch.

Chloe stood there cradling the dog, smug.

“Buddy, sweetheart, from now on you’re a proud dog-dad with a daughter!”

I struggled to my feet, fury burning through me.

“Ethan, I want a divorce.”

Ethan snapped his head toward me, emotion churning in his eyes.

“Divorce?”

“Nora, I get that you’re grieving your father, but that’s no excuse to act out.”

I slammed the divorce papers into his chest.

“Ethan, if you refuse to sign, then for your desecration of the body today—I won’t let this go.”