At the crematorium, I stood behind the thick glass window, watching two tiny caskets being pushed into the roaring incinerator. I didn't shed a single tear.

Perhaps when a person endures pain beyond the limits of sanity, the brain simply shuts down in order to survive. I was completely numb.

However, Eleanor collapsed in the viewing room, clutching her chest as paramedics rushed in.

When it was all over, I sat on a wooden bench, tightly holding two small, delicate urns. They were so light.

My vibrant, cheerful, beautiful children had all been reduced to ash.

I pressed my lips against the warm wood.

"Let's go somewhere far away, my sweet angels," I whispered to the quiet room. "Mommy is taking you far, far away. We're never coming back to this awful place."

That night, the Vance estate was covered in flowers and candles. In the center of the massive living room, two large portraits of Liam and Lily were surrounded by a sea of white lilies. In the photos, their smiles were bright, their missing front teeth making them look heartbreakingly innocent.

I knelt on a cushion before the altar, keeping vigil day and night. I didn't eat, barely drank water; I just kept a silent watch, keeping my children company on their final journey.

This world is too cruel, my babies, I thought, looking at their radiant smiles. In your next life, just be a little kitten or puppy. But make sure you find Mommy. Okay?

For three days, Julian never showed up once.

The security team I sent to find him returned looking deeply ashamed.

"Mrs. Vance... we couldn't reach him," the head of security stammered. "His assistant said he flew Ms. Bennett to Switzerland to consult with a world-renowned obstetrician about the baby's health. He turned off his private phone."

Grandma Eleanor, who insisted on staying at the estate in her wheelchair, looked at me with a gaze of agonizing shame.

She had called him dozens of times, but every call went straight to voicemail. In a fit of rage, she hurled her phone against the marble wall, smashing it to pieces.

"Absolutely lawless!" she roared, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. "To miss his own children's funeral for a homewrecking whore! The Vance bloodline should never have birthed such a beast!"

She wheeled herself over to me, took my cold hands, and wept. "Serena, our entire family has failed you. I failed to discipline Julian. I let him turn into this monster. I am so, so sorry."

I didn't react, my gaze locked on the urns. "It's okay, Grandma. It's not your fault."

"Now," I said, "I just want to take my babies and leave."

It wasn't until the third night that Julian finally appeared.

He strolled leisurely into the grand living room with Chloe on his arm. Dressed in designer resort wear, they were tanned and relaxed. They didn't even glance at the altar.

Wrapped up in their own little world, they completely failed to notice me kneeling in the shadows of the floral arrangements.

Chloe pressed her manicured hand against Julian's chest, lightly tracing his collarbone, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "Baby, this room is so big and spooky. I've never done it in a place like this before... it makes me kind of want you."

Julian chuckled softly, a hint of doting in his voice, and pulled her close by the waist. "Whatever my good girl wants, she gets. Right here on this rug."

Their eyes filled with lust, they started kissing passionately, their moans echoing through the cavernous room.

Right in front of my children's memorial.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted the warm, coppery tang of my own blood. My nails dug into my palms until the skin broke.

I wanted to grab the ceremonial candle snuffer and drive it through their skulls.

Suddenly, Chloe pulled back to catch her breath and saw the altar. She shrieked, burying her face in Julian's chest. "Oh my god! Julian, look!"

Julian's head snapped up. When he saw the portraits and me kneeling in the corner, the lust in his eyes instantly morphed into blazing fury. He stormed over, towering above me.

"Serena, have you completely lost your mind?!" he roared. "Faking phone calls wasn't enough, and now you drag my grandmother into this sick farce? Have I been too lenient with you?!"

He looked around, staring at the solemn memorial with utter disgust.

"You really went all out! A fake funeral, hanging the kids' pictures? Are you trying to curse this house?! If you scare Chloe into losing our baby, I will make you pay with your life!"

I looked up at the man I had loved for ten years. There was nothing left in my chest but endless hatred.

"I'm not acting, Julian," my voice was dead. "Believe whatever you want."

My defiance seemed to trigger something dark inside him. His face twisted, and without warning, he kicked me squarely in the chest.

The force threw me backward, my ribs cracking as I slammed into the hardwood floor.

"How dare you talk back?!" Julian bellowed. "Since you're so unrepentant and clearly unfit to be a mother, bring the twins here immediately! Have them acknowledge Chloe as their new mother!"

"If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll never learn to know your place!"

A dull, suffocating pain radiated from my chest. But I didn't make a sound. I absolutely would not give him the satisfaction.

Seeing me silent and expressionless, Julian became convinced I was still putting on an act.

He sneered. "Bring me the pliers."

His private bodyguards hesitated for a second, but Julian's glare commanded absolute obedience. Two men pinned me to the floor. Another handed Julian a heavy pair of metal pliers.

"I'm going to expose your lies right here and now," Julian said softly.

The agony was blinding. A sickening crunch echoed in my skull as he ruthlessly yanked out two of my back teeth.

Blood poured from my mouth, making me choke and gag.

Through the blood and tears of pain, my gaze locked onto him, burning with a demonic hatred.

"They're dead," I mumbled, blood running down my chin. "Their ashes are in the urns right behind you. Are you satisfied now, you monster?"

Julian froze.

For a split second, a flash of panic crossed his eyes.

But then, he let out a harsh bark of laughter.

"Serena, you truly have no bottom line. First a fake funeral, and now fake ashes?"

"I never realized you were so malicious. Do you really think I don't know what you're up to? You're terrified that Chloe's baby will threaten you and the twins' inheritance. So you orchestrated this disgusting stunt!"

He threw the bloody pliers onto the floor. "Listen to me loud and clear. I don't need your family's backing anymore. Stop acting like you're still the boss. Vance Enterprises is mine now."

He turned around, wrapped an arm around Chloe, and started to walk away.

Watching his retreating back, my thoughts drifted to the past.

When I was twenty, my parents died in a plane crash. I had to drop out of Stanford to take over the Sterling family's business empire.

I spent my days sparring with ruthless executives, negotiating deals while pushing through sickness, bearing the weight of thousands of employees on my shoulders.

When it came time to marry, I had plenty of aristocratic heirs to choose from. But I chose Julian.

He was brilliant but came from a poor background, born into a declining family.

Back then, he was gentle and humble, and he looked at me like I was his entire world. I handed my entire empire over to him and stepped into the background, letting him shine and regain his dignity.

Then Chloe returned from Europe. His "first love."

The first time he hired her, he hid it from me.

Then came the second lie, the third lie, until my marriage was nothing but an empty shell. Every time I looked at Liam and Lily, I had to swallow my pride, just to keep their family intact.

But I never in my wildest dreams imagined he would kill them for her.

In just six years, the man who had sworn to protect me turned me into an accessory and completely suffocated my soul.

I loved the wrong man. And the price I paid was my children's lives.

Just as they reached the living room doors, Chloe suddenly gasped, clutching her slightly swelling belly with an exaggerated look of pain on her face.

"Julian! Oh, it hurts!" she whimpered. "The vibe in this room... it's so gloomy, it's making the baby uncomfortable. He's kicking... I think Serena's curse is hurting him!"

Julian went pale with panic. As her knees buckled, he caught her. "Don't be scared, baby. I'm right here. I'll destroy this entire room right now."

I was horrified, my eyes widening.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I screamed, "Julian! Don't you dare!"

He didn't even look at me, just roared at his security detail, "Tear it down! Smash everything to pieces!"

The men in suits pulled baseball bats and crowbars from the security armory.

"No! Stop!" I shrieked, dragging my broken body across the floor. "Please! Stop it!"

Wood splintered, glass shattered, and the smiling portraits of my children were ripped from the walls and trampled underfoot. The noise was deafening, like a violent symphony of destruction.

I threw away all my pride and dignity. The former heir to the Sterling family knelt on the floor, clinging to Julian's expensive Italian leather shoes, weeping tears of blood.

"Please, make them stop! I know I was wrong! Julian, I give up! I don't want the title of Mrs. Vance! All the money, all the shares, you can have it all! Please, just don't touch my babies' altar anymore!"

My heart-rending cries would have drawn pity from a demon, but Julian just looked down at me with cold indifference.

He kicked me away, breaking my grip, and pointed at the two mahogany boxes on the main pedestal. "Bring me the trash she put in those boxes."

A bodyguard grabbed the urns and brought them over.

I shook my head frantically, screaming at the top of my lungs, "No! No! God, please no!"

I tried to lunge forward, but a heavy boot pressed down on my spine, pinning me firmly to the floor. I could only watch helplessly as Julian handed the urns to Chloe.

She opened the lid to Liam's urn and waved a hand in front of her nose, feigning disgust.

"Ew, baby, it stinks. It's just full of dirty gray powder. Serena, are you sick in the head? Using this filthy stuff to fake your kids' deaths? I never wanted to compete with you, why are you doing this to me?"

Then, she looked me dead in the eye, a wicked, triumphant smirk playing on her lips.

She tilted her hands, and the urns slipped through her fingers.

Crash.

The mahogany slammed into the marble floor, shattering into pieces. The pale, ashen remains of my six-year-old babies exploded into a cloud of dust, scattering across the floor and mixing with the dirt from the bodyguards' shoes.

"Oops," Chloe said, covering her mouth with her hand in mock surprise. "My bad. The baby just kicked too hard, and I dropped it. I'm so clumsy."

Lying on the floor, watching my children's remains be desecrated, the last shred of my humanity completely shattered. The grief vanished, replaced by an all-consuming, apocalyptic hatred.

"Liam! Lily!" I roared, struggling frantically to break free from the men holding me down, my eyes almost bleeding from the pressure. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill both of you!"

Julian stepped forward and delivered a vicious backhand slap to my face. The crack echoed through the room.

"Shut your filthy mouth!" he snarled. "It's just fireplace ash! If you scare the baby in Chloe's belly, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

My cheek slammed into the ground. Half my face swelled up instantly, one eye puffing shut. I lay gasping and bleeding in my children's ashes.

A cold sneer touched the corner of Chloe's mouth as she leaned closer to Julian. "Julian, darling... do you think Serena's going to curse my pregnancy? What if her evil energy makes our baby come out deformed? If anything happens to him, I'll kill myself."

Julian stroked her hair. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I know exactly how to fix her attitude. Take her down to the vivarium. Let her spend the night with my collection."

The bodyguards hauled me up by my hair.

I stopped fighting. They dragged me like a ragdoll down the winding stone stairs into the estate's subterranean level, straight into Julian's climate-controlled vault, where he kept his illegal collection of rare, highly venomous spiders and scorpions.

They threw me into the dark glass enclosure and locked the heavy steel door.

Within minutes, I felt them. Hundreds of tiny, sharp legs skittering across my bare arms, legs, and face. Then came the stingers.

It was a localized, blinding agony that spread like wildfire through my entire nervous system. I collapsed to the floor, screaming until my voice gave out.

But even as the neurotoxins ravaged my body, the physical pain couldn't touch the void deep within my soul.

Was this how my babies felt?

I thought deliriously, tears mixing with the blood on my face.

When the coyotes attacked? When the vultures pecked at them? Were they crying for Mommy, too?

My blood seeped into the floorboards. My agonized screams echoed through the ventilation shafts, reaching upstairs.

Sitting in the living room, Julian heard the screams.

An inexplicable wave of unease suddenly gripped his chest.

For a fleeting moment, he considered telling the guards to let me out.

But Chloe sensed his hesitation. She sighed pitifully. "Julian... if my foster parents hadn't forced me to move to Europe six years ago, we'd be married by now. We'd have our own cute little kids running around. And instead, I'm treated like some dirty secret, getting bullied by your wife."

The tactic worked instantly.

The flicker of pity in Julian's eyes was replaced by cold resolve. He pulled her into his arms. "I know, baby. I'm sorry. Don't let that crazy woman ruin your night. Let's go home."

Before leaving the estate, he instructed the head of security, "Keep her in there until dawn. Tomorrow, drag her and the kids to my corporate office. Make them kneel and apologize to Chloe."

I was left in the dark.

It wasn't until 3 A.M. that Grandma Eleanor forced the doors open, wielding a shotgun and threatening the security staff.

By the time they pulled me out, I could barely breathe, covered head to toe in welts and blood.

Eleanor held me and wept, immediately calling her private medical team to administer antivenom.

Once I was finally stabilized, I didn't rest. Refusing painkillers, I dragged my battered body back to the living room.

With bloody fingers, I crawled across the floor, meticulously sweeping up every speck of ash, every splinter of wood, doing my absolute best to separate them from the dirt.

I placed my babies into a temporary container, held them tightly to my chest, and walked out of the Vance estate without looking back, leaving it behind forever.

That night, using the secret offshore accounts I had maintained since my days as CEO of the Sterling Group, I legally erased my identity.

I signed the divorce papers, left them on the kitchen island of our penthouse, and boarded an untraceable private jet.

The next afternoon, Julian was sitting in his spacious corner office, gently massaging Chloe's swollen feet as she lounged on his leather sofa.

He was waiting for me and the twins to show up and beg for his forgiveness.

However, the heavy office doors suddenly burst open.

His executive assistant rushed in, pale and sweating profusely.

"Mr. Vance! Sir, it's a disaster. Mrs. Vance has completely vanished! Her tracker is offline, and her accounts have been closed!"

Julian's hands froze, a dark expression washing over his face. "What the hell? If she ran off, what about the kids? Who's taking care of them?"

The assistant swallowed hard, his whole body trembling.

"Sir... Liam and Lily... they're dead."

Julian froze. The penthouse office was suffocatingly silent, save for the low hum of the air conditioning.

"What did you just say?" Julian's voice was terrifyingly low.

Before the assistant could repeat himself, the office doors were shoved open. Grandma Eleanor strode in, leaning on her cane, flanked by personal bodyguards. Her face was a mask of pure, unadulterated fury.

"You despicable, heartless monster!" Eleanor roared, her voice echoing against the floor-to-ceiling windows. "You don't deserve the Vance name!"

Julian stood up, wiping his hands with a towel, looking both annoyed and confused. "Grandma, what are you doing here? Don't tell me Serena dragged you into this, too. Did she pay off my assistant to come in here and lie to me? Tell her to stop playing these childish games. I'm not falling for it."

Eleanor didn't say a word. She marched right up to him, raised her cane, and cracked it hard against the side of his head.

Julian stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding temple in shock.

"Over this cheap bitch," Eleanor spat, pointing a trembling, ringed finger at Chloe cowering on the couch, "you destroyed your own children's memorial! You scattered their ashes on the floor! And you still have the gall to blame Serena?! She's gone, Julian! You pushed her over the edge, and she's gone!"

Sensing the drastic shift in the room's atmosphere, Chloe immediately deployed her trump card. Tears pooled in her wide eyes as she clumsily slid off the couch and fell to her knees before Eleanor.

"Mrs. Vance, please!" Chloe sobbed, looking the picture of pathetic innocence.

"If you're angry, hit me, but don't hurt Julian! I know Serena hates me, but the baby in my belly is a Vance! I'm just a helpless woman who loves your grandson. Why is Serena trying to drive me to suicide?"

Her usual tactics never failed to bring men to heel. But Eleanor Vance had navigated fifty years in corporate America and high society; she could spot fake tears from a mile away.

Eleanor let out a terrifying laugh. "What a cheap actress. You were the one whispering poison in his ear. You manipulated him into punishing my great-grandchildren. You orchestrated their deaths, you vicious little psychopath. I will see you burn in hell before I die!"

Eleanor signaled to her guards: "Grab her and throw her out the window!"

The guards stepped forward. Chloe screamed and scrambled backward.

"Stop!" Julian bellowed, throwing himself between them, his chest heaving. "Nobody touches her! She's pregnant! I won't let any of you lay a finger on her!"

He turned to his grandmother, his eyes full of defensive rage.

Eleanor looked at Julian in shock: "Liam and Lily are dead! They were killed by this bitch! And you're still protecting her?"

Julian was in complete denial: "Liam and Lily are dead? Serena is gone? Impossible!"

"That scheming woman actually got you to come all the way downtown just to harass Chloe?!"

"It's all the kids' fault! I was busy taking care of Chloe's baby, and those little brats threw a massive tantrum just because we didn't go to some theme park! They're exactly like their mother—stubborn and self-righteous!"

"If I hadn't sent them to the desert to teach them a lesson, they'd grow up to be totally useless!"

Julian pointed at the door. "Tell Serena to end this farce right now! Tell her to bring the kids here, get on her knees, and apologize to Chloe, or I will divorce her and strip her of everything she owns!"

Eleanor stared at him. The fire in her eyes slowly melted away, replaced by a profound disgust.

She raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. The strike was so vicious it sounded like a gunshot.

"You animal!" she whispered, her voice choking.

"Liam and Lily were only six, barely out of kindergarten, what do they know about corporate discipline?!"

"You spend all your days messing around with that slut, but when did you ever care about your real daughter and son?!"

Eleanor's chest heaved as she pointed a shaking finger at Chloe's pale face. "For this tramp, you murdered your own children. You destroyed your family."

"You kept saying Serena was being unreasonable," Eleanor continued, her voice rising with grief.

"Have you forgotten who she is? Have you forgotten that she gave up the Sterling family throne, gave up her entire fortune, and endured the mockery of high society just to marry a nobody like you?!"

"She rebuilt Vance Enterprises from the ruins! Without her, you'd be destitute on the streets! And this is how you repay her?!"

Julian froze, his cheek burning red. The undeniable certainty in his grandmother's tone began to chip away at his stubborn wall of denial.

"Grandma... what are you saying?" he stammered, his mask of confidence instantly crumbling. "Are... are you telling the truth?"

Eleanor didn't answer. She turned toward the door and gave a nod.

Two LAPD detectives in plain clothes walked into the office carrying manila folders.

"Mr. Julian Vance?" the lead detective, Miller, asked, looking exhausted. "We've been trying to contact you for days. We're here regarding the investigation into the deaths of Liam and Lily Vance."

Julian gasped. He backed up until his spine hit his desk. "No... no, no, no. There must be some mistake."

Detective Miller opened his folder and placed the official death certificates from the LA County Coroner on the desk.

"The bodies were found a week ago in a remote sector of the Mojave Desert," Miller stated professionally, though his eyes held nothing but contempt.

Julian's eyes locked onto the black text. Cause of death: Severe dehydration, hyperthermia, and massive blood loss due to animal predation.

"No..." Julian whispered, his legs giving out as he slid down the edge of the desk.

Miller tossed a few photos onto the desk. "We don't normally show these, but given your evasive behavior, you need to see them."

The photos showed the desert floor, featuring small, mangled, sun-scorched bodies in tattered clothes. But on the remains of their severed arms, identical birthmarks were clearly visible—the very marks Julian used to kiss.

Finally, Detective Miller placed a scorched Apple Watch on the desk. "We recovered this from the boy's wrist. The lab managed to extract the last recorded voice memo."

Miller pressed play.

The room filled with a burst of static, followed by the howling of the desert wind. Then, a tiny, raspy, trembling voice spoke. It was Liam.

"Daddy... please come get us. We're sorry, we won't ask to go to Disney anymore, we promise. Please, it's so hot out here, and we don't have any water. Lily fell asleep, and she won't wake up. There are coyotes howling outside. Daddy, I'm so scared. We want Mommy... please..."

The recording stopped.

Grandma Eleanor let out a gut-wrenching wail, burying her face in her hands. "My babies... my poor, sweet babies."

Julian stared at the Apple Watch. Everything blurred. He felt as if the walls of the penthouse were closing in on him. A violent pain shot through his chest; he thought he was having a heart attack.

"Why..." Julian gasped for air, his hands clawing at his chest, his eyes wide with horror. "Why didn't they have water? They had survival training... I paid for it..."

He looked up, tears streaming down his face, his mind in absolute chaos.

"I didn't mean to. I swear to God, I just wanted to scare them! I was mad at Serena! I wasn't trying to kill them!"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chloe crawled over to him and grabbed his arm. "

Julian, baby, this isn't your fault! You were just being a strict dad! It's Serena's fault! She spoiled them and made them incapable of surviving! Maybe they were just destined to die young! It was fate!"

Julian's head snapped toward her. For the first time, he didn't see a fragile victim; he saw a hideous, parasitic monster.

"Shut up," he growled, his voice laced with lethal menace. "Keep your fucking mouth shut."

He turned his bloodshot eyes to his executive assistant, who was still cowering by the door.

"I ordered a private security team to tail them from a distance. I ordered them to drop coolers of water and protein bars at the three-mile mark. Why wasn't it done?!"

The assistant burst into tears. "Mr. Vance, forgive me! Ms. Bennett... she intercepted the orders!"

"She paid off the security team to leave the perimeter entirely. She had logistics pull all the water and food."

"When the rescue team called to say the kids were missing, she answered the phone! She told them to lie and say the kids were safe at home! She did all of it!"

Eleanor threw a thick stack of printed documents onto the floor. "While we're getting to the truth, take a look at these. Your precious 'first love' wasn't forced to go to Europe. She left you because you went broke, and she became a sugar baby for a Russian oligarch in Monaco! After being charged with fraud, she fled back here."

"She's five months pregnant, Julian. You've only been sleeping with her for three. The baby in her belly isn't even yours!"

Eleanor spat on the floor by Chloe's feet, turned her wheelchair, and rolled out of the office, the detectives right behind her.

Chloe's face went deathly pale as she scrambled backward, waving her hands frantically. "Lies! They're all lies! Julian, you have to believe me! Serena forged those documents! The baby is yours!"

Julian slowly stood up. He felt like a ghost haunting his own body. The reality of what he had done crashed over him like a tsunami of broken glass, bringing agonizing pain.

He had mocked his wife, tortured her, and even smashed the ashes of his murdered children. All for a whore, and all for his fragile, pathetic ego.

"You played me," Julian whispered, stalking toward her like a predator.

"No, Julian! Please!"

He lunged at her, grabbed her by the throat, and hurled her violently across the room. Chloe hit the edge of the heavy glass coffee table with a shriek.

She crumpled to the floor, clutching her stomach as a pool of dark red blood began to seep through her white designer dress.

"My baby! Julian, save me!" she screamed, writhing in agony.

Julian stood over her, his eyes dead and hollow. Instead of reaching out, he pulled his foot back and kicked her viciously in the ribs.

"Guards!" he bellowed.

Two burly men rushed in.

"Take this trash to the state asylum," Julian ordered, his voice devoid of humanity. "Throw her in a padded cell. No visitors. No painkillers. Keep her alive, and make sure she suffers every single day for the rest of her life."

As they dragged a screaming, blood-soaked Chloe out of the office, leaving a trail of blood on the white carpet, Julian stumbled backward.

He grabbed his car keys and sprinted for the private elevator. "Serena. I have to find Serena."