A tragic incident occurred at the company, and the victims’ families were too distraught to be calmed.

George Johnson, holding his entire life savings, begged me to take him to the company to help appease the families.

When my husband learned I was bringing my father-in-law with money, he didn’t want others to benefit. He immediately ordered his secretary:

“Bella, arrange an accident for her dad. Let those families vent their anger, and you’ll get half the money.”

A flicker of delight flashed in her eyes, but she pretended to pout, using my threat against her as an excuse:

“Richard, I’m scared! Mrs. Johnson said if anyone touched her things, she’d tear them apart…”

Richard sneered:

“What’s there to be afraid of? Everything she owns is mine! I’ll use her dad’s presence to put those troublemakers in their place.”

It wasn’t until I saw the company group chat that I learned George had been locked inside a warehouse full of flammable and explosive materials by the angry families.

I begged Richard to save my father-in-law, but instead, he shouted to the families:

“Didn’t you want an explanation? She’s the one who pushed your son to work overtime, which drove him to suicide!”

Hearing this, the families completely lost control. They beat him harder, and in the end, they set the warehouse on fire.

As flames shot skyward, Bella panicked and ordered people to put out the fire, but Richard stopped her:

“Leave it. That old bastard will live forever anyway!”

He then handed George’s bank card to Bella:

“You little temptress, you’re really winning me over. This dog-eat-dog scheme was brilliant—perfect!”

By the time I risked everything to pull George out, he had already stopped breathing.

When Richard heard he was dead, he didn’t even frown. Instead, he gathered me and the shaken families in his office:

“One life for another. Your dad’s life for their son’s. We’ll call it even!”

He had actually orchestrated his own father’s death just to save the one million the families demanded!

I immediately called the police:

“Sign this settlement yourself and hand it to law enforcement!”

…

Richard slapped the phone out of my hand, the screen shattering instantly.

“Olivia, are you trying to ruin me further? The goods in that warehouse were worth millions, and your dad destroyed them all! I didn’t hold you or him accountable—you should be grateful!”

“Don’t think I don’t know what your dad was up to! He saw my company in trouble and tried to profit from the chaos! Luckily those families survived, or I’d have to die to repay their loss!”

Seeing Richard defend the families’ actions, they grew indignant too:

“That’s right! Your dad cursed our son, saying he deserved to die. We just argued back, and he lit the flammable materials, trying to take us down with him!”

I froze.

How could George ever say such a thing?

A guilty flicker crossed Richard’s eyes, and I understood instantly. He truly was a master at manipulating people.

George was brought by me to the company—he couldn’t die without clarity. And that young graduate shouldn’t have died unclear either, nor should his parents have been turned into pawns without knowing it.

I insisted on calling the police for a full investigation.

Seeing I wouldn’t yield, Richard dragged me into his office by force:

“Olivia, the families already agreed to settle. Why can’t you let it go? Do you want to see me and the company destroyed? Don’t you realize if the company faces a wrongful-death lawsuit, it will ruin our chance to go public?”

“Your dad’s life in exchange for peace—isn’t that better? I’ve practically solved your retirement problem for you. Shouldn’t you thank me?”

I couldn’t believe Richard could see a living life this way.

My furious gaze cut him deeply, and he raised his hand, ready to slap me awake.

But I was quicker—I grabbed a fruit knife and drove it hard into his palm.

Bella walked in just in time to see this, her face draining of color:

“Olivia, it’s all my fault. I’ll kneel if you want—just don’t hurt Richard…”

She grabbed at the knife as I tried to stab Richard again, wincing in pain.

Infuriated, Richard kicked me to the ground and struck me repeatedly in the stomach.

Seeing me curled up in agony, coughing blood, Bella pretended to plead for me:

“Richard, don’t blame her. She just can’t accept her dad’s tragic death.”

Richard quickly pulled her into his arms, comforting her:

“Bella, only you are pure-hearted. Can you believe it? If that old man were still alive, he’d be here blackmailing me for money right now!”

Bella cried harder:

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t exposed Mrs. Johnson for embezzling company funds, she wouldn’t have been fired by the Board of Directors. Her dad wouldn’t have died for money…”

“It’s me—I’m guilty. I should go turn myself in to the police!”

Her tears only made Richard’s heart ache, and he kicked me twice more.

“Bella, how can this be your fault? Exposing a parasite is a great achievement! If she weren’t my wife, she’d already be slaving in a sweatshop! As for her dad’s accident, it had nothing to do with you. He must have said something that set those families off. If he wanted to die, who could’ve stopped him?”

At that moment, a major client called, demanding to know why the promised shipment hadn’t been delivered.

Richard glanced at me, sighed, and explained apologetically:

“Mr. Miller, I didn’t want to air dirty laundry, but I can’t hide it anymore. My father-in-law suddenly lost his mind and burned down my warehouse…”

Hearing that Richard had lost millions in goods, and that the culprit was already dead, the client held back further demands, reluctantly offering sympathy.

When the call ended, Richard’s tears dried instantly.

I couldn’t help but clap.

If he weren’t in business, he’d be a star in Hollywood.

“Olivia, you saw it yourself. Our client is tolerating this only because of the mess you caused. If you want your dad’s body properly buried, do as I say. I might even give him a decent funeral.”

I wasn’t a fool. In an instant, I realized George had been his pawn all along.

The claim about burned goods was nonsense! The truth was the company’s poor management had delayed production.

And that young man’s suicide? It was clearly tied to Richard working people like animals.

Before I could reply, Richard shoved a video at me.

It showed his men dumping George’s body into a dumpster like trash.

Whether or not it was my dad, no one deserved such humiliation.

I couldn’t help but scream:

“Richard, do you realize the man who died was your father?”

Richard pocketed his phone and sneered:

“Exactly! Because I considered him my father, I spared him the consequences of this disaster. Otherwise, even selling him for parts a hundred times wouldn’t cover my loss!”

He raised his still-bleeding hand and snarled:

“If you don’t want me to charge you with assault—and deny you the chance to attend his funeral—you’d better behave!”

Cold fear crawled up my spine.

I never thought all my years of supporting him would produce such a heartless monster.

If he couldn’t even recognize his own father, why should I play the villain?

When he finally realized who had really died, I hoped he would regret it.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way. You write the settlement, you sign it.”

Seeing me hesitate to sign, Richard sneered with disdain:

“Now you feel guilty about your dad, worried he’ll haunt you? Too late for that!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this myself. If I let you sign, I’d be afraid the old man would crawl out of his coffin in anger.”

So he did know this was despicable!

But this wasn’t the first vile thing he had done.

Earlier that year, he embezzled millions from a project and lost it all to gambling.

I was newly pregnant and didn’t want him to get into trouble, so I mortgaged the suburban house my parents had given me to cover his losses.

He thought it was a mysterious investor bailing him out again. He said someone had to take the blame, and told me to admit it while I stayed home to carry the pregnancy.

I thought, since it was our company and our money, it didn’t matter much. I let him handle it.

But what did he do? He had Bella expose me, ruining my reputation.

We fought bitterly, and I miscarried silently.

He insisted it was deliberate on my part, claiming I’d aborted in anger, and from then on, we grew distant.

I had loved him for years and couldn’t cut ties so easily. While I tried everything to salvage our marriage, he brought death into the company.

And now, he had killed his own father.

In that moment, I hated my blindness, and I knew I had to divorce him.

The families signed the settlement and left the company cheerfully.

I finally found George’s body.

Exhausted, I hauled him out of the dumpster. Richard pinched his nose and mocked me:

“Olivia, aren’t you disgusted? Or are you trying to do a little extra penance for your sins?”

Always the cunning businessman, his psychological games never ended.

I ignored him, but as we passed, he deliberately bumped my shoulder.

George had been a large man, and I was already drained from lifting him. The jolt made the body slip from my arms.

The thud made my heart shudder.

Richard feigned shock:

“Olivia, is this how you treat your own father? Aren’t you afraid he’ll rise from the dead?”

If George could see this, he’d truly die of anger again.

If I had known Richard was this monstrous, I would have sent him to prison when he first embezzled money.

Looking at George’s lifeless body, grief swallowed me whole.

My silence only fueled Richard’s contempt:

“Olivia, stop acting. Admit you used your dad as a tool—it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone already knows what kind of woman you are.”

“Let me handle this corpse. You don’t need to worry about the funeral.”

Onlookers immediately praised Richard for being compassionate and loyal, despising me even more.

“Her father’s death is just karma!”

“With a daughter like her, no wonder the family is cursed!”

“Only Richard would still stay married to her. Any other man would’ve divorced her long ago!”

Richard waved off the crowd and called the Funeral Home.

He even arranged for an embalmer to restore George’s appearance.

He had killed his own father—so it was only fitting he handle the funeral.

And it was only right he see with his own eyes whose charred body this really was.

The funeral staff arrived quickly.