I stumbled toward my mother's grave. Pierce stood there directing workers to dig it up.

"Stop!"

I rushed forward, shoved both workers down, and grabbed a hoe, blocking the grave.

Pierce pulled Daphne and Jared behind him and scoffed. "Lucia, didn't you say anything can be rented if the price is high enough? I already transferred the money for your mother's grave. So why are you freaking out now?"

I shook so hard my teeth chattered. Barely able to stand, I glared at him. "Are you even human?"

Pierce shrugged. "I'm playing by your rules. How does that make me the bad guy? Or is every kind of love sacred to you except our marriage? That one's cheap enough to put a price tag on?"

My nails dug into my palms, but I was too furious to feel it.

I couldn't understand it.

The man who once stood beside my mother's hospital bed and swore he'd protect me forever—how had he turned into this?

Daphne clutched a framed photo of Goldie, her eyes glossy with tears. "Forget it, Pierce. Goldie was family to Jared and me, but an animal is still an animal. Taking Lucia's mother's grave... it's wrong."

The second he saw her cry, Pierce's expression went cold.

"Lucia. Move."

I clenched my jaw. "Not happening."

He stepped beside me and leaned close. "Ellie's surgery is next month. You should really behave until then."

My whole body went numb. I stared at him in disbelief. "Ellie's your daughter. You're seriously using your own kid's life to threaten me?"

Pierce reached up and brushed my hair behind my ear.

His voice was gentle. His words weren't.

"She is. But Jared's my son too. The night before our wedding, Daphne came to see me. We drank too much and screwed up. You and Ellie already have money and status. You should be more understanding."

Cold sweat drenched my back. A sharp ringing filled my ears.

Ellie collapsing from a heart attack kept flashing through my head. Over and over.

Slowly, I lowered the hoe.

My legs felt like concrete as I stepped aside.

Jared instantly lit up. "Yay! That old lady finally moved out so Goldie can have the spot!"

He ripped my mother's photo off the headstone and grabbed the urn like he was about to smash it.

"Don't!"

My mind went blank as I threw myself at him.

I shielded the urn, but my head slammed hard against the stone.

The world spun. Blood blurred my vision red.

And still, the urn shattered in my arms. Ash scattered everywhere.

Jared got even more excited. He stomped all over the ashes again and again.

Daphne pretended to stop him. "Jared, stop being naughty. What if that dirty stuff stains your clothes and shoes? Then Pierce will have to wash them for you."

As she dragged Jared back, she "accidentally" dumped her entire boba tea onto my mother's ashes.

"Ah!"

Daphne stared at the mess with fake panic. "Lucia, I didn't mean to ruin your mom's ashes. What are we supposed to do now?"

She hid behind Pierce, barely holding back her smug smile.

"Lucia!" Pierce rushed over to help me up, his hands shaking as he wiped the blood from my forehead. "Does it hurt? Are you dizzy?"

I looked at the ashes scattered across the ground and completely snapped.

I shoved him away and swung my bag at that disgusting mother and son.

"I'll kill you!"

Before I could reach them, Pierce slammed a kick into me.

I crashed to the ground so hard it felt like my whole body shattered.

Pierce stood in front of Daphne, his face dark with rage.

"Lucia, you've seriously lost your mind. Attacking women and kids in public? Maybe a few days at the police station will calm you down."

He pulled out his phone and called the cops.

I was too weak to even get up. Blood filled my mouth, thick and metallic. My voice came out raw.

"They desecrated my mom's ashes like that, and you're seriously pretending not to see it?"

Pierce only checked whether Jared was hurt.

"He's just a kid. Why couldn't you talk things out? Besides, Daphne already tried to stop him."

The cops showed up fast. As they moved to put me in the squad car, I struggled. "Officer, I didn't even touch them!"

Daphne pointed at a bruise barely bigger than a fingernail on Jared's knee, tears pouring down her face. "She hurt my son like this. He's still so little. This could traumatize him forever!"

The two workers backed her up too.

I was taken to a detention center for disturbing the peace and sentenced to five full days.

The second I heard that, panic hit me. "Pierce, can't we settle this privately? You know Ellie's heart condition is serious. If she doesn't see me for five days, she'll panic. What if something happens to her?"

Pierce hesitated.

Daphne instantly wrapped herself around his arm. "Pierce, if you let this go now, Jared will think actions don't have consequences. He's still young. What if he grows up spoiled?"

Pierce's expression hardened immediately.

"Lucia, you were wrong. Let this be a lesson for both kids. I'll take care of Ellie. You can use this time to think about what you did."

"Pierce!"

I jumped up and tried to grab him, but an officer dragged me away to change.

I didn't even want to imagine what Ellie would go through after five days alone with Daphne and Jared.

The fear crushed me. I paced nonstop inside the tiny cell.

That night, I finally broke down.

I collapsed onto the hard bunk, and the pain from everything that happened finally hit all at once.

I closed my eyes, hoping sleep would make the time pass faster.

Less than five minutes later, someone jolted me awake.

A man in the next cell leaned against the bars and whistled. "You're hurt pretty bad. Figured I should wake you in case you died quietly over there."

I turned my back to him and ignored him.

Five minutes later, he woke me up again.

I barely got a second of uninterrupted sleep that whole night.

By morning, I was slumped against the wall, exhausted.

I tried to ask the guard to let me use the bathroom.

But the guy across from me always seemed to know. Every single time before I could speak, he called the guard over first.

I held it until my stomach cramped and cold sweat drenched my back.

Right before I blacked out, he smirked. "Pretty girl, that's what happens when you mess with people you shouldn't."

That's when I realized Pierce had paid someone to make my life hell in here.

I didn't even have the energy to hate him anymore.

I just wanted time to move faster.

By the fifth day, I'd been reduced to skin and bones.

Pierce was already waiting outside the detention center.

The second he saw me, pain flashed across his face.

He walked over and pulled me into his arms. "Did you learn your lesson? Your mom's ashes weren't completely ruined. I had someone gather what was left and place it in a new urn. She's been reburied in a better cemetery plot. Once you recover, I'll take you there."

I didn't answer. I shoved him away.

Then I pulled the papers from my bag and stuffed them into his hands.

"The money you paid for my mom's grave wasn't enough. Sign."

The second Pierce saw the words 'Property Transfer Agreement', his expression turned ice-cold.

"Wow, Lucia Leighton. Seriously? I actually felt sorry for you. I cleared my whole schedule to pick you up and take you somewhere to relax, and this is the crap you pull? I should've known not to waste my time on you."

He yanked out a pen and signed without hesitation.

Then he threw the pen and documents onto the ground before getting into his car and driving off without a single glance back.

I stood there watching the pen crack in half.

It was the gift I gave him for our third dating anniversary.

The first thing he ever signed with it was our marriage certificate.

I picked up the papers and pulled out the divorce agreement clipped behind the property transfer contract.

Staring at his bold signature, I laughed and cried at the same time.

Once Ellie's surgery was over, we'd really be over for good.

"Mommy!"

I spun around.

Ellie jumped out of a cab and ran straight into my arms.

"Ellie! Why'd you take a cab here by yourself? That's dangerous!"

She buried her face against my chest, voice shaking. "Mommy, I missed you so much. I snuck out."

My chest tightened. "Did anyone bully you while you were staying with Daddy?"

I held her face gently. She shook her head but wouldn't look at me.

My stomach dropped. I reached to check.

She grabbed her sleeve tight. "I'm okay, Mommy. Jared and I were just playing a game. I kept losing, so—"

"Be good. Let me see."

When I wouldn't back down, she finally let go.

I slowly rolled up her sleeve. The second I saw the cluster of red marks covering her arm, my heart almost stopped.

Ellie quickly wiped my tears. "Mommy, it doesn't hurt. Don't cry..."

I clenched my jaw. "Does Daddy know Jared pinched you like this?"

Her lips trembled. "He knows. He was gonna stop it, but Ms. Roach said it was just a game. If I lost, I had to take the punishment. Otherwise, when I grow up, I won't know how to handle losing..."

Just hearing it made it hard to breathe.

"Ellie, don't be scared. I'm not leaving you again. I won't let this happen again."

***

Finally, surgery day came. I watched them wheel Ellie into the OR.

I exhaled slowly and dropped into a chair outside, praying everything would go okay.

Before the surgery even finished, another deposit notification lit up my phone.

I hadn't even opened the note when the OR doors slammed open.

The doctors rushed out, blood still smeared across their gloves.

My whole body went numb. I grabbed the last doctor by the coat. "My daughter's still in surgery. Where are you going?"

I looked inside. Ellie's chest was already cut open.

The line on the heart monitor barely moved.

The doctor shook me off. "Mr. Emery's son had a sudden allergic reaction. The whole hospital's been called over to revive him. We have to pause the surgery."

"You're not leaving!"

My voice cracked. My hands shook as I yanked out my bank card. "How much did he pay you? I'll double it. Just finish my daughter's surgery!"

Scared it still wouldn't be enough, I grabbed my phone to transfer the money right there.

That was when I finally read the note attached to the deposit notification.

It was the fee Pierce paid to pull the doctors away.