"Devin, what are you thinking? Such a high dose of chloramphenicol will definitely cause fetal deformities! You can be stubborn about other things, but Yvonne is five months pregnant! The further along she is, the greater the harm to her and the baby!" Ava exclaimed.

That day, I called Yvonne countless times, but no one answered.

Louis then sent me a text. "Devin, stop calling. Ms. Larson's phone is with me."

The moment I looked up, I saw Louis standing there as he watched me with a triumphant smile.

Furious, I charged at him. "I'm calling the police! I'll have you arrested!"

"Oh?" Louis smiled contemptuously.

"What crime have I actually committed? What serious consequences have occurred? Besides, even if I get arrested, I'll be out before long.

"Also, your daughter really likes me. When I get out and pick her up from school, do you think she'll come with me? Devin, do you think your daughter can withstand the turmoil?"

He was actually threatening me using my young daughter.

I was filled with rage and resentment, but in the end, I gave in. I knew deep down that I couldn't confront such a madman head-on.

That was the first time in my life I felt so powerless and pathetic.

Moreover, Yvonne's physical condition was critical and couldn't be delayed. Ava said that if we delayed any further, her life would be in danger.

Left with no choice, I gave Yvonne sleeping pills, and the surgery was scheduled for that afternoon. With trembling hands, I personally signed the form and chose to give up our daughter.

From the moment I learned of her existence to the moment I lost her forever, only five months had passed.

When the doctors wheeled Yvonne out of the operating room, she gradually regained some consciousness. Her gaze was filled with pain and hatred.

Her face was pale as she asked me in a trembling voice, "Where is the baby?"

Yvonne's hand slowly moved to her now-flat stomach. "You killed our child! Why?"

I was about to explain when I caught a glimpse of Louis standing behind her, watching me coldly.

Under pressure, I could only say, "The fetus had serious developmental issues. We had no choice but to terminate the pregnancy."

At that moment, Yvonne, who was always so composed, completely lost it.

"Devin! How could my daughter have had problems? I went for my prenatal check-ups on time every month! She was always fine! How dare you make this decision on your own? Was she only your child?

"What did I ever do to you for you to treat me like this?"

From that day on, the love in her eyes when she looked at me was gone, replaced entirely by loathing. No matter how I tried to explain Louis' schemes, she would either respond with a cold laugh, slap me, or simply not listen. She dragged her suitcase with her and moved into her company.

Our relationship ultimately fell apart.

…

After Louis left, I saw Yvonne frown, her expression full of concern. In the end, she still took out her phone and made a call.

"Help me investigate where Devin has been all these years. I need to find him as soon as possible!"

I looked at her haggard, pale face. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and a bitter feeling filled my heart.

However, Yvonne's investigations came up with nothing—because, by then, I was already no longer among the living. My body lay buried underground.

The next morning, Louis called Yvonne.

"I heard you were investigating Devin's whereabouts, so I checked things out. I didn't find his specific location, but it seems Ava might know something…"

When she heard Ava's name, Yvonne's gaze instantly turned dark and sinister.

I didn't get it. Ava was once her closest friend, but from some point on, Yvonne had come to despise her intensely.

Without another word, Yvonne drove straight to the hospital to look for Ava. She kicked open the consultation room door.

"Where have you hidden Devin?" Yvonne roared with a furious expression.

Ava remained unmoved by her anger and simply continued to organize patient records on her computer with her head down.

Seeing this, Yvonne charged forward and grabbed Ava by the collar. "Say something, you shameless thing!"

Ava stood up abruptly and slapped her hard across the face.

"Shameless? Yvonne, can you have some propriety when you speak?"

Yvonne fell to the ground, disheveled from the slap. She glared viciously at Ava.

Ava's expression was as cold as ice, as if she were seemingly lost in painful memories.

"Devin is dead. Please show some basic respect for the husband you once loved deeply."

Yvonne simply didn't believe I was dead. In her view, everything I did was to evade the responsibility of donating bone marrow to our daughter. It was just a selfish act.

"How could Devin be dead? For your sake, he heartlessly aborted our child and then pinned the blame on Louis! It's utterly absurd!

"If my eldest daughter weren't critically ill, why would I be here begging him? I'd rather die than have anything to do with him again!"

Ava stared angrily at Yvonne. Her voice trembled as she said, "Yvonne, there was nothing between us. And Devin died two years ago! Someone tried to call you then, but you didn't answer any of the calls!

"He had no parents and was an orphan. The call eventually came to me, and I was the one who handled his funeral arrangements!

"Did you know? He was caught in a landslide, buried under the earth and rocks. By the time people found him, it was too late. The scene was horrific… His body had been mauled by wild animals from the mountains. That image is something I still can't forget!"

Yvonne became even more dismissive, sneering. "I didn't expect you to learn how to lie too. You've truly learned well from him. If he had to die, he should have waited until after donating bone marrow to our daughter! I hate him so much that I wish he were torn to pieces!"

"You're unbelievable!"

Ava was shaking with anger as she walked toward Yvonne with her phone out. She tapped her fingers incessantly on the screen.

"You don't believe me, right? Fine, I'll show you the evidence!"

Finally, she found a video from two years ago and thrust the phone screen before Yvonne. "Take a good look! Can't you even recognize the man you were married to for seven years?"

Yvonne's face turned ashen as she snatched the phone and looked down at the video.

The footage was gruesome. The person was buried in the earth and rocks of the landslide, with the surroundings in disarray. Their flesh had been torn by wild animals, and their entrails scattered. Half their face was bitten off, revealing a horrifying, bloody cavity.

Yvonne's fingers trembled violently, because the remaining half of the face was that of the husband she had loved for seven years and hated for two—the face she had once loved most.