Time was tight.
Dad could only put me into his backpack and take me to the place they called a private lounge.
But the moment he stepped into the room, I saw Mom in the center of the crowd, with Adrian's arm wrapped around her waist.
The air froze for a second.
Dad reacted first. He lowered his eyes stiffly, walked over, and knelt down to pour drinks for them.
Mom's face turned iron gray. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him up roughly. "What are you doing here?
"Daniel, I told you our family isn't short on money anymore. Why are you still coming out to entertain clients for cash? Why are you degrading yourself like this?"
I clearly saw humiliation flash through Dad's eyes.
He pressed his lips together, then calmly said, "Then give me two thousand dollars. I still need two thousand to buy Caleb a grave."
He made it sound so real.
Mom stared at him, half shocked and half uncertain.
Adrian's eyes shifted. He covered his lips and laughed. "Buy what grave?
"Daniel, you're not about to say Caleb is already dead, are you? Come on. I just saw him at the hospital earlier."
Mom believed him. Anger made the veins at her temples bulge. "Daniel!
"Caleb is your son. How can you curse him like that?"
Dad's lips moved. He probably wanted to explain, but in the end, he said nothing.
He knelt down again and silently poured drinks for them.
Smack!
Mom knocked the bottle out of his hand. It smashed to the floor, and shards flew up, cutting Dad's ankle.
She seemed so angry that she laughed instead. "Fine!
"Since you insist on being so pathetic, since you insist on earning this dirty money, I'll help you.
"Get down and bark like a dog. Crawl around the coffee table. One thousand per lap."
Adrian smiled and egged her on from the side. "Daniel seems desperate for money. He must have run into real trouble.
"How about this? Crawl two laps, and I'll add another thousand."
Dad's body trembled violently. His fingers gripped the strap of the backpack.
I knew he wanted to swing the bag at their heads, curse them out, and walk away.
But then he thought of me, still not buried.
So his legs slowly bent, and he got down on his hands and knees, truly crawling around the coffee table like a dog.
Mom's friends roared with laughter.
"Hahaha, I can't believe there are men this pathetic in the world!"
"Meredith, how could a man like this ever deserve you? You might as well divorce him and marry Adrian."
Adrian gave Dad a smug smile and winked.
Someone stepped on Dad's fingers. Bright red blood spread across the floor, and pain drained the color from his face.
"No, don't bully Dad like that!"
I rushed forward, wanting to push them away, but I could not touch any of them.
I could only kneel down too, kowtowing to Mom over and over. "Mom, Mom, save Dad! Please, Caleb is begging you!"
But Mom only watched Dad with complicated eyes. I did not know what she was thinking. She never spoke.
Suddenly, Adrian noticed something and raised an eyebrow. "Why is Daniel still carrying a bag?
"How can he look like a dog with a bag on? Take it off."
Dad instinctively protected the bag and shook his head wildly. "No! You can't! Don't touch my Caleb!"
But it was useless. The bag was soon snatched away and handed to Adrian.
Adrian pulled out my urn. When he saw Dad's pupils tremble and Dad lunged to grab it back, he smiled brightly.
Then he tossed the urn once in his hand and threw it out the window.
Outside the window was the river. How was that any different from scattering me into nothing?
I instinctively tried to catch the urn, but the next second, I heard it hit the water.
"Caleb!"
Dad screamed. At last, he broke free and rushed forward, shoving Adrian aside before trying to jump after it.
"Dad!"
Thankfully, Mom reacted quickly and grabbed him. Her face was ugly as she shouted, "Are you insane, Daniel?"
Dad's legs went so weak he could barely stand. He finally broke down and sobbed, "That was Caleb!
"Meredith, that was our Caleb!"
Mom frowned.
Just then, Adrian hissed and clutched his ankle. "It hurts...
"Daniel pushed me just now. It hurts so badly... Meredith, did my old ankle injury flare up? I'm scared..."
"I'll take you to the hospital!"
Mom instantly pushed Dad's words to the back of her mind. She helped Adrian up and hurried away.
Before leaving the room, she turned back and gave Dad a cold look. "Daniel!
"If anything happens to Adrian, I'll make it so you can't live and can't die."
The room was soon empty.
Dad sat on the floor in a daze.
I went to hug him.
His tears fell like broken beads, landing on me again and again. They burned so badly it hurt, and they made me want to cry too.
I did not know how long passed before he finally braced himself and staggered to his feet.
"Caleb."
He murmured my name softly. "I have to get Caleb back..."
He stumbled out of the room.
Along the way, countless people stared at him strangely. Many pointed at him and whispered.
"Isn't that the man everyone online is talking about..."
Dad heard them. He took out his phone and looked, then froze in place as if he had turned to wood.
I leaned over and saw that the screen was filled with old photos of Dad doing all kinds of jobs to support me and pay for Mom's medical bills.
There were photos of him dressed revealingly while working at lounges.
There were photos of him in black formal clothes, hired to stand at funerals.
There were photos of him in different costumes, playing background corpses on film sets.
People online called Dad filthy and shameless. They said he would do anything for money, that he must have slept with many rich women, and that he was not afraid of catching diseases.
I did not understand what all those words meant.
But I knew Dad had stopped crying, and yet the sadness around him was like seawater, almost drowning me.
His phone dinged. Mom sent a voice message.
Dad tapped play numbly.
Mom said, "Daniel, you almost caused Adrian's old injury to flare up. I released the things online to teach you a lesson.
"When Adrian has calmed down, I'll clarify for you."
Dad did those jobs for me and for her. How could she do this to him?
I was so angry I jumped in place, and I hurt for Dad so badly that tears kept falling.
But Dad showed no expression. The light from his phone made his face look frighteningly pale.
"There he is!"
A shout came from somewhere. A crowd rushed toward Dad with dark camera lenses raised, surrounding him in the middle.
"Are you Mr. Daniel Mercer? Is it true you became the kept man of multiple wealthy women for money?"
"Rumor says Ms. Stone is divorcing you because you cheated with several women and contracted a disease. Is that true?"
"Can you respond?"
"Is your child Caleb already dead? Did he inherit your disease?"
"Did you cause his death? Do you think he regrets being your son?"
"No! That's not true! Stop lying!"
I shouted back until my face felt hot, but no one heard me.
Their cameras kept pushing closer, even hitting Dad.
Their questions slowly blended together, and every sentence carried my name.
Dad stayed silent, but his gaze slowly fell on the black river not far away.
His lips moved.
No sound came out, but somehow I understood what he said.
He said, "Caleb, don't be afraid. Dad is coming to keep you company."
My heart lurched. A terrible feeling rose in me, and I instinctively reached out to pull him, but my hand closed on empty air.
He pushed through the crowd, took two steps forward, climbed over the railing, and jumped straight into the river.
"Dad!"
I screamed until my soul felt torn apart and tried to jump after him.
But everything went black. When I opened my eyes again, I was beside Mom at the hospital.
It was all her fault! All of it! She bullied Dad!
Dad had jumped into the river, and she was still with that bad man.
I rushed at her, punching and kicking, but I could not touch her at all.
Bang!
The hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.
Mom's assistant rushed in, her face terrifyingly grim. "Ms. Stone, something happened. Your husband jumped into the river."
"What did you say?!"
Mom shot to her feet. Just then, the hospital called.
"Are you Caleb Mercer's family? He passed away three days ago. When will you come in to complete the death certificate?"
