I didn't sleep all night. In the morning, my father got dressed and said to me, "I'm going to town today to buy some wedding things. You stay home and behave yourself."

I didn't respond and waited for my father to leave.

I immediately got up, rummaging through the boxes and cabinets. I still didn't give up. I must find some evidence at home to prove that my father was a murderer and make sure Sandra couldn't get married.

I searched for a long time and finally found a red note under my father's mattress. It had Sandra's name and her birth date.

What's even weirder was that there was a date of March 4th on the back of the note, the third day after my father and Sandra married.

Could this be some kind of curse? Would Sandra die on March 4th?

I quickly searched again and actually found the birthdate of my ninety-ninth stepmother, Mackenzie Broom, from last year.

It made me even more certain that my father was absolutely a serial killer.

I hurriedly took the slips of paper and went to find Sandra.

When I got to her house, she wasn't there.

The neighbor told me Sandra had gone to the market.

When I arrived at the vegetable market, I saw Sandra carrying a basket and chatting with a butcher.

"Sandra, what are you planning to buy?" the butcher asked with a smile.

Sandra pointed at the meat on the cutting board and chirped, "I want to buy some of those to make a soup for my husband on our wedding day."

The butcher cut off a piece of meat and offered a blessing, "Then I wish you a son soon!"

But I cut in between them, grabbed Sandra and tried to pull her away.

Sandra struggled to break free, her face contorting with anger again. "Dominic, I'm going to be your stepmom! If you dare harass me again, I'll give you a good beating!"

I tried my best to stay calm, took the red slip of paper from my pocket and handed it to Sandra.

Sandra looked at the paper and asked what it was.

I said, "Isn't this your birthdate? And there's a date here for the third day after your wedding."

Sandra frowned slightly. "So what?"

I pointed at the paper in her hand, my face serious. "I suspect my dad knows some kind of black magic. He's going to kill you on the third day after you get married!"

Sandra scoffed and cursed, "You're a lunatic."

I was about to grab her when she started shouting in the market, yelling that I was a pervert and that I was molesting her in broad daylight.

The people in the market didn't understand what was happening and pinned me to the ground, then dragged me straight to the police station.

When we got to the police station, Mark, the officer, asked me what was going on.

I told him my father was a serial killer who had murdered ninety-nine wives and was now planning to kill his hundredth.

Mark was shocked and asked if I had any evidence.

I handed him the slip of paper with Mackenzie's birthdate on it and told them that was the evidence.

The officers exchanged glances, thinking I was being unreasonable.

They asked Sandra what her relationship was with me and Sandra told them truthfully that she would be my stepmother.

As for yelling about being molested in the market, it was just a temporary measure.

Because I kept trying to persuade her not to marry my father, saying he was a murderer and she thought I had paranoid delusions.

After hearing this, the officers said they understood and asked Sandra to call my father and have him come to the police station to pick me up.

My father arrived in a hurry after receiving the call. After hearing Mark's description of the situation, he took off his belt and started whipping me furiously.

My father beat me so badly that my skin was torn and bruised. I screamed in pain again and again. In the end, they tied me up tightly and dragged me back home.

At home, it was just me and my father. He looked at me and asked, "Dominic, what exactly do you want?"

I retorted as I gritted my teeth, "I want you to confess your crimes and then I want the police to execute you!"

My father's face filled with disappointment. "That's not going to happen. If you really don't like it, fine, I just won't marry your classmate."

I thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed.

Without wasting time, my father went to find Sandra in the village and called off the engagement.

After that, he went off alone to patrol the deep forests.

That same day, Sandra showed up at our house, looking heartbroken. She pushed open the door, saw me and immediately dropped to her knees in front of me. "Dominic, why did you break me and your dad up?"

"Don't you know how deeply I love your dad? You just don't understand!"

I looked at Sandra's red eyes and felt that she was like a lunatic.

Maybe Sandra made too much noise when she broke into my house, so the villagers gathered around.

I tried to pull Sandra up from the ground, but she started rolling around and wailing, "Dominic, I hate you! I hate you so much!"

She even pulled out a small knife and slashed it towards her wrist. "If you don't let me marry your dad, I'll die right here in front of you!"

The villagers were shocked and immediately started blaming me. "This Dominic, what a heartless kid! His old man wants to marry, but he keeps causing trouble!"

"Since when does a son get to boss his dad around?"

"Exactly! He's even driven the poor girl to try and kill herself!"

"I'm telling you, having a son like him is the worst bad luck imaginable!"

Seeing that Sandra was about to cut her artery, I shouted loudly, "Alright! I won't stop you anymore! Sandra, just stop making a scene! If you want to marry my dad, then go ahead! I absolutely won't interfere!"

Sandra immediately put the knife away and stopped crying and making a fuss.

I watched Sandra leave with the crowd of villagers, then sat alone on the floor for a long time, lost in thought.

I couldn't understand it. My father had so many wives die on him. They would have seen him as a jinx long ago in any other village.

How could they still be happy to see him get married?

This whole thing definitely wasn't simple. It felt like there was a huge secret hidden beneath the surface.

***

At night, my father came home from the deep mountains and forests. I told him that Sandra had come to our house to make trouble. I had no choice but to agree to let her marry him as his wife.

My father groaned and said casually, "If you don't object, then we can get married normally as before."

Looking at my father's gaunt old face, I asked with a puzzled expression, "Do you love Sandra?"

My father took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and puffed. As he exhaled the smoke, he said, "What's love got to do with it? If someone's willing to marry this older man, I'll marry her. In this day and age, you'd be a fool to pass up a good deal."

I really couldn't wrap my head around all this, so I asked, "Then, would you ever kill Sandra?"

My father slammed his hand hard on the table and retorted loudly, "I would never kill anyone! I'll disown you if you dare talk nonsense like that again!"

I just couldn't let it go. I had to get to the bottom of it. "Then, if you don't kill people, how come all ninety-nine of your wives died? And how come these villagers know so many of your wives have died, yet they still support you getting married?"

"Do you know some dark magic that lets you control people?"

Dad flew into a rage, grabbed me by the collar and threw me out of the house. "Dominic, I'm disowning you! Get out!"

Just like that, I was kicked out of my own home.

The day of the wedding arrived. I watched as Sandra, dressed in her wedding dress, took my dad's hand and entered the honeymoon chamber. At that moment, my heart shattered into a million pieces.

So, I secretly went outside and drank myself into a stupor for three days and three nights. When I finally woke up, I found countless villagers surrounding our house. It turned out Sandra hadn't died.