On our tenth wedding anniversary, my husband from the Brooks family suddenly canceled our family trip.

Not wanting to ruin my son Jason’s excitement, I decided to bring along my best friend, Grace Johnson.

To my shock, the countryside lodge owner turned out to be my husband Daniel Brooks’s childhood sweetheart, Chloe Miller. She warmly greeted us, took our luggage, and even upgraded us to a hillside villa for free.

But that night, several rattlesnakes slithered inside, and Jason was bitten into unconsciousness.

I begged Chloe to drive us to the hospital, but she refused, saying she was too tired.

Grace and I had no choice but to carry Jason on our backs and walk for eight hours straight until we finally reached the hospital. Watching my son being rushed into the ICU, I wrote a warning post online through tears.

The next second, Chloe spread a vicious rumor that we had been playing some twisted three–person game and that’s why we ended up in the hospital. Overnight, my comment section was flooded with curses and insults.

Meanwhile, the doctor told me there was only one type of serum that could save Jason—but the hospital had run out.

I called my CEO husband, begging him to use his connections to get the serum. Instead, his voice was cold as ice:

“Why are you slandering Chloe’s lodge online? Having Jason act out a sob story won’t work!”

I cried and pleaded,

“It’s all my fault. I’ll take the blame. But please, just get the serum and save our son!”

Daniel remained indifferent.

“If you want the serum, then get down on your knees and beg Chloe for it.”

He was about to hang up. Jason was wheeled out of the ICU, barely breathing. The attending doctor shook his head in regret.

“I want… to talk to Dad…” Jason’s voice was weak and hoarse.

Eyes brimming with tears, I quickly pressed the phone to his ear.

“Dad…”

Daniel paused, then sneered softly:

“Emma Carter, at least make your act convincing. Did you find some middle-aged man to pretend to be Jason and call me Dad?”

“Do you have no conscience at all? You still won’t apologize to Chloe, is that it?”

I snatched the phone back, sobbing:

“Daniel! Jason is dying! You can say whatever you want about me, but can’t you at least believe him?”

“He’s on his last breath, and you still insult him like this?”

Daniel chuckled.

“You think I’m a fool? There are no rattlesnakes near Chloe’s lodge. Who would just get bitten out of nowhere?”

“If you’re going to lie, at least do your homework. Delete that post right now. If anything happens to Chloe, you won’t escape the consequences!”

“I won’t delete it! Everything I wrote is true—Jason really was bitten!”

“Enough. You don’t deserve to be his mother if you’re teaching him to lie for you at such a young age. I’m swamped with company affairs—I don’t have time for your nonsense!”

My anger exploded.

“Daniel Brooks, you bastard! You’ll kill your own son like this!”

Even the doctor beside me couldn’t hold back and shouted,

“Sir, your son has indeed been poisoned. You can’t just let him die like this!”

But before the doctor could finish, Daniel hung up.

I collapsed by Jason’s bedside, sobbing his name over and over. Grace wrapped her arms around me, blaming herself while cursing Daniel:

“He’s an absolute monster! What kind of man does this?”

“If only I had paid more attention back then… maybe…”

I shook my head, knowing it wasn’t her fault.

Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine Daniel would abandon his own son’s life for another woman.

Jason, his tiny body covered with tubes, lifted a frail finger to respond to me—leaving behind two silent streams of tears.

I turned and fell to my knees before the doctor, begging desperately for him to save my son.

The doctor lowered his eyes with pity but shook his head helplessly.

“The best window for administering the serum has already passed. Even a miracle worker couldn’t bring him back now…”

I collapsed to the ground in despair, watching as the heart monitor released its sharp beeping sounds.

Jason, filled with disappointment toward his father, finally closed his eyes that once held such a fierce will to live.

My heart bled, my tears streamed endlessly as I kissed his little face again and again, unable to let him go.

In that moment, I swore silently to myself—I would never allow my son’s death to be in vain.

After sending Jason’s body to the morgue, I stepped out into the pouring rain and walked with determination back to the lodge.

Jason’s belongings were still there—his favorite toys.

On his fifth birthday, Daniel Brooks and I had given him a Spider-Man action figure.

He always said it was like a superhero that would protect him from every bad guy.

But at the end of his life, Jason discovered the greatest villain of all—was his own father.

When I reached the lodge, I saw crowds gathered at the entrance, arms full of flower baskets and banners supporting Chloe Miller.

It was almost festive.

The largest, most eye-catching banner had a bold signature: Daniel Brooks.

“Owner Chloe stands tall against online abuse—evil people will get what they deserve!”

The sight stabbed at my heart.

Daniel, as you wished—your son has been taken by heaven.

Inside, I heard sobbing. Chloe’s delicate voice drifted out:

“Daniel, it’s so kind of you to come all the way here. I can’t even bear to look at my phone anymore—the app keeps showing me Emma’s post…”

“I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m so scared people will still curse me…”

Daniel, who should have been working at the company, replied with a voice as cold as frost:

“Don’t be afraid. I already told her to delete it. If she refuses, I’ll see how long she can keep up her little act in the hospital.”

His words froze my heart over with ice.

“Daniel, hearing you say that makes me feel so much better,” Chloe whispered.

Daniel’s eyes softened, his hands tenderly covering her belly.

“Take care of yourself. You finally have a baby—don’t let the stress harm it.”

At that moment, my chest felt like it was crushed by thunder.

My son was dead, yet the woman who killed him carried a child!

I stumbled inside, pale as a corpse.

When Daniel saw my disheveled appearance, his expression immediately shifted.

“Done with your little show? Chloe has endured so much abuse because of you. Hurry up and apologize to her!”

I ignored him, walking straight past and heading for the room.

“Stop pretending to be coy! Did you delete that post or not?”

Seeing me unresponsive, his face darkened as he rushed after me.

But when I entered the room, I froze. It was completely empty—our luggage had vanished.

My heart clenched. I turned, wanting to ask Chloe where our things had gone.

Daniel grabbed my wrist in a crushing grip, fury blazing in his eyes.

“Did you not understand me? I told you to apologize to Chloe!”

In that instant, the numb stillness inside me shattered into an eruption of rage.

Jason had called out to him, and he hadn’t cared.

Jason had died waiting for him, and he remained unmoved.

When I returned covered in mud and rain, he sneered at me.

But now, just because of a warning post that threatened another woman’s reputation—he burned with fury beyond control.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t heartbroken. But it was true—I had lost all hope.

I gave a bitter smile and shook my head. Since Daniel Brooks was so firm in his own beliefs, there was nothing left for me to say.

“Where are Jason’s and my things?”

My question, so out of line with what he expected, enraged him. Daniel threw me hard to the ground.

“Why are you bringing that up? Do you have any idea how much your post has hurt Chloe Miller?”

He shoved his phone in front of me, the screen displaying my post.

“You even hired trolls to bully Chloe, just a young girl. How could she possibly endure such hateful comments?”

But the comments were nothing more than netizens questioning reasonably, asking Chloe to provide proper safety measures at her lodge.

In his eyes, that turned into me hiring people to slander her.

Looking closer, I noticed something chilling: under every comment, there was the same IP, an account named Brooks defending Chloe’s “innocent mistake.”

Who else could it have been but him?

I let out a hollow laugh, filled with sorrow.

“Daniel Brooks, let’s get a divorce.”

His expression darkened instantly.

“Emma Carter, what nonsense are you spouting now?”

Nonsense? My beloved son was dead, and I had finally reached despair, ready to give up. But in his eyes, it was just me throwing a tantrum.

In the past, he grew closer and closer to Chloe, staying out overnight again and again just to make her happy.

At first, I couldn’t accept that the man who once held only me and our son in his heart had changed. I cried, I raged—but it was useless. Eventually, I gave up.

And in the end, it cost my son his life.

My voice was hoarse as I forced out the words:

“Daniel Brooks, haven’t you always wanted to get rid of me and Jason?”

“Emma!” he bellowed, his eyes filled with shadows.

“Is it so hard for you to just apologize to Chloe?”

“If you apologize, everything will go back to the way it was. I just want to give Chloe some justice. Why make such a big deal out of it?”

“Besides, Chloe is pregnant. Don’t you think you’re deliberately trying to upset her? When her baby is born, we’ll be a family. Jason will even have a sibling. What’s wrong with that? You should have a conscience!”

Conscience?

I suddenly laughed, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.

How I longed to scream at him—Our son is dead!

He was killed because of your precious Chloe!

But conscience meant nothing to me now.

And I knew—he would never believe me. He would only cling stubbornly to his own version of the truth.

So I deliberately provoked him:

“No need. Jason and I don’t want to be tied to you anymore. He said he doesn’t need a father like you, so we’re stepping away.”

Rage twisted Daniel’s face, as if he had just been toyed with.

He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

“I knew it—you’ve been lying to me from the start!”

“Where’s Jason? I’ll have someone bring him back. I’ll show you how I punish a boy for lying!”

“With a careless mother like you, of course he’s learned to spew lies too!”

His teeth clenched so tightly his jaw trembled, his chest rising and falling violently.

He had always been harsh with Jason, grooming him as the heir to the Brooks legacy. From a young age, he drilled into him the need for honesty, forbidding lies.

And now, he believed Jason had struck at the very core of his principles.

He hastily dialed his assistant.

“Hurry and find Jason! Bring him back immediately!”

The assistant stammered on the other end, trembling:

“M-Mr. Brooks, young Jason should be at his riding lesson today…”

Daniel froze, realization dawning far too late. He hung up quickly and dialed the riding instructor instead.