After three years abroad on a top-secret mission, I finally returned to my homeland.

With permission granted, I came home, filled with excitement, thinking I’d finally see my wife and mother again. But the moment I arrived, that joy was crushed.

At the entrance of my house, my mother was crouched inside a small, doghouse-like shelter. In front of her sat a metal basin. She was lying on the ground like a dog, eating rotten food from it.

A man stood nearby, watching her with a mocking smile.

“If you want someone to blame, blame your useless son. He died young and left you here to suffer alone!”

He raised his hand mid-sentence and slapped my mother across the face.

My mother flinched but didn’t say a word. She lowered her head and quickly swallowed the stinking, spoiled food.

Furious, I stepped forward and kicked the man aside. Then I pulled my mother up, tears streaming down my face.

I had risked my life for the country, thinking I was protecting the people I loved.

But this—this was how my mother had been treated in my absence? Locked in a kennel, eating moldy scraps, like she was some stray animal?

——

Her eyes, once so warm, were now clouded and dull. She looked up at me but couldn’t recognize me.

“Boy, leave quickly!” she said, trembling. “You hit Emily Prescott’s secretary, she won’t let you go!”

“Emily Prescott’s secretary? He did this to you?” My voice shook with rage.

“Just go!” she said again, desperate. “They’ll hurt you too!”

“I know you mean well,” she added, her voice breaking, “but it’s useless. Ever since my son disappeared, she’s been tormenting me. If I hadn’t been waiting for him to come home... I would’ve ended it all long ago.”

Her words broke something inside me.

I had trusted others to take care of her. I had believed my mother would live peacefully while I was away. But I was wrong.

Behind me, the man I had kicked was getting back up. He wiped the blood from his mouth and glared at me.

“You’re dead!” he spat. “You think you can touch me? Do you know who my boss is? She’s the law around here! You mess with me, you dead!”

I looked at him, my anger cold now, steady. Without a word, I took out my phone and called Emily.

“Hello? Who is this?” she answered, her voice flat and emotionless.

“So, you’re the queen of the capital now?” I said coolly.

There was a pause on the line. Then she replied, “I don’t know who you are. But if you’re calling to threaten me, I’ll find you. And when I do, no one will be able to save you.”

Her words cut deep. She didn’t even recognize my voice. She hadn’t saved my number. In just three years, she had completely erased me from her life.

I clenched the phone tighter, every last trace of patience gone.

“I’m at your house right now,” I said flatly. “You have thirty minutes. Get back here immediately.”

There was silence. Then panic bled into her voice.

“You’re at my house? What did you do to my secretary?! You’d better not touch him. Stay right there! If anything happens to Tyler Morgan, I won’t let you off the hook!”

On the other end of the phone, Emily's voice rang out with suppressed anger.

And I laughed out coldly as I listened to Emily's words.

She had long since forgotten the mountainous oath she once made with me.

I still remember that at that time, when I left, she had once said to me that she would take good care of my mother, and even, promised that she would treat my mother as if she was her own mother.

However, it never occurred to me that after only a few years since I left, she had already changed her heart.

She even sat back and watched her own assistant bully my mom.

At this moment, all the love I had for Emily had long since disappeared.

I hung up the phone and looked at Tyler in front of me, at this moment, I couldn't wait to get him killed.

At the same time, I also gave my leader a call.

I questioned him, all these years, said to take care of my mom, is that how to take care of it?

On the other end of the phone, the leader listened to me and was also completely frozen.

"Jason, because you participated in a secret mission, we couldn't come out, but at that time, I had already asked people to take care of your family!"

"I also didn't expect that they would do something like this!"

On the other end of the phone, the leader was equally furious.

"Jason, don't worry, bullying and insulting a military family member, no matter who the other party is, I definitely won't be able to let it go, I'll send someone over right now!"

He hung up the phone angrily, and just as I put down the phone, I saw Tyler climbing up.

He looked at me, his face full of gloom, staring at me viciously, "You're finished!"

"You have no idea what my boss represents in the capital!"

"Let me tell you, Ms. Prescott in the capital, that's the sky, no matter who it is, whoever messes with Ms. Prescott, won't have a good ending!"

"You wait for Ms. Prescott to come back, at that time, I'll torture you!"

Tyler looked at me viciously, her eyes full of anger.

And mom was on the side, listening to my words, her face was full of tension as she said, "Young man, hurry up and go!"

"I know you mean well, but, boy, you really can't fight them!"

"Mr. Morgan, please spare him! He's just trying to take care of me!"

Mom spoke out in Tyler's direction.

I looked at mom with a face full of heartache.

Mom was already completely blind, three years ago, when I left, she could still vaguely see my outline, and at that time, the doctor had told me that as long as she was well taken care of, Mom's eyes would be able to recover.

But three years have passed, and my mom's eyes not only didn't get better, but also got worse.

At this moment, I realized how much my mom had been wronged in these three years.

For Emily, all I had left at this moment was hatred.

Tyler, on the other hand, looked at mom's pleading appearance and laughed coldly as she spoke out, "You want to plead for him?"

"Then you will kneel down and beg me!"

Upon hearing this, mom was ready to kneel down, but in the next second, she was pulled by me.

At this moment, I had already burst into tears!

"Mom! It's me ... I'm back!"

I pulled my mom's hand and called out softly to her.

Upon hearing my words, mom froze, and in the next moment, her palm stroked my cheek in panic.

"Jason, is it really you? Jason, you're okay? You're finally back!"

"They all said you were dead, I didn't believe them, my child, you're finally back!"

I listened to my mom's words, and at this moment, my heart had long been like a knife.

I panicked and helped my mom up, my eyes had long been filled with tears.

"Mom, I'm back, don't worry, I'm not leaving!"

I gently assured my mother, “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m here now.”

But she gripped my arm tightly, her voice filled with fear. “Jason, you need to leave quickly! Emily isn’t the same person she used to be. She’s changed.”

Without waiting for a response, she added bitterly, “All she cares about now is that pretty boy.”

Hearing her words, my heart ached. I held her hand and said softly, “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will hurt you.”

Just then, Tyler stepped forward, his eyes sharp and cold. “So, you’re Jason Whitaker?” he sneered. “I thought you were dead.”

He glared at me with clear hatred. “I never expected you to actually come back.”

Then he smirked. “What do you think showing up now will make Emily change her mind?”

He took a step closer and spoke with venom, “Let me tell you something, Emily is mine now. If you’re smart, you’ll sign the divorce papers, take your blind mother, and disappear!”

His tone grew more arrogant. “You think you still have a place in her life? You’re nothing now. She’s far beyond your reach.”

I looked him in the eye, my voice calm but cold. “Whatever happens between me and Emily is none of your business.”

He let out a mocking laugh. “You really don’t know, do you?”

With a smug grin, he leaned in. “Emily is pregnant with my child. That’s right. She’s mine now.”

I stared at him without flinching, my eyes frosty. He had no idea how deep the trouble he’d stepped into really was.

As for Emily… I didn’t feel like saying another word about her.

The moment I saw how my mother had suffered, I knew Emily would have to pay for what she allowed to happen.

Tyler continued, his tone full of threats. “I’m Emily’s man now. She has powerful connections in high places.”

“With just one word from her, you’ll be finished.”

“You should kneel down with your blind mother right now and bark like a dog or I swear, I’ll make you regret it!”

I didn’t move. My gaze never wavered.

But my mother, terrified, tried to kneel. “I’ll kneel. Please, just don’t hurt my child!”

I quickly held her back and whispered, “Mom, don’t be afraid. As long as I’m here, no one will lay a finger on you.”

Then I turned to Tyler, my voice sharp and steady. “Even if Emily herself comes, I’ll make her pay for what she’s done.”

A cold female voice suddenly echoed from the doorway. “Oh? You’re going to make me pay?”

I turned and saw Emily marching in, surrounded by bodyguards.

The moment her eyes met mine, she stopped in her tracks, stunned.

Her belly was large, she was clearly pregnant.

“Jason?” she asked, visibly shocked. “You’re... back?”

She instinctively placed a hand on her stomach, panic flickering across her face.

But when she met my cold, emotionless eyes, she quickly regained her pride. Her tone turned sharp.

“You still have the nerve to come back?”