Before my grandfather died, he held my hand tight, urgently placing a shining, openwork golden cross in my palm. He kept saying, “The soul goes to heaven, but if you make even a small mistake, it will go to hell.”

After that, I wore the cross around my neck.

My life changed quickly; it felt like luck was finally on my side and I earned a hundred million dollars overnight.

But after I married Luther Edwards, the cross around my neck slowly lost its shine.

Luther and I were deeply in love; I brought him homemade meals every day.

Until I reached his office early with lunch and saw a scene that would change my life forever.

In the office lounge, Luther kissed his childhood sweetheart, Calliope Collins, who was sitting on him.

Calliope’s bra hung loose on Luther’s arm and she laughed as she pressed his head against her chest.

"Listen to Lyra’s son’s heart, isn’t it full of life?"

In that moment, I felt my breath stop and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart by a giant hand.

"It was most lively when it was in my body. I lied to her, saying the organ transplant papers were company documents and only a fool like her would sign them."

My body started to shake wildly. I never thought that my trust in my husband would take my son’s life!

Just as I tried hard to push down a sob in my throat, Luther’s slightly excited voice reached my ears.

"Then, we’ll push Lyra aside and all her money will be ours and the child’s."

At that moment, the cross around my neck broke.

A piece of cloth with my grandfather’s handwriting slipped out…

…A month after marrying Luther, the cross around my neck fully lost its light.

I believed maybe it was using its last strength to bring me to my loving husband, so I didn’t think much of it.

I never guessed this was the cross’s warning to me.

Until my fourth wedding anniversary, I got an unnamed package.

Inside was a pregnancy ultrasound report, clearly showing: Calliope Collins, six weeks pregnant.

At that moment, I felt a chill move through my body, my eyes stuck on the report.

Wasn’t Calliope Luther’s childhood sweetheart?

He told me he never had feelings for Calliope.

But he and she were now having a child.

I held the report, grabbed my prepared lunch and rushed to Luther’s company ahead of time.

I wanted to hear his explanation.

I noticed a split in the cross pendant around my neck, running down the entire length.

The unease in my heart grew, making it hard to breathe.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I saw Luther kissing Calliope’s exposed lap.

All the questions I wanted to ask stuck in my throat and tears slid down my face on their own.

At that moment, Calliope noticed me at the doorway. She raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of challenge and asked the man on top of her in a weak voice, "Baby, do you think Lyra will know her son’s heart is in my body?"

"She’ll never know. I lied to her, saying the organ transplant papers were company documents and only a fool like her would sign them."

Organ transplant papers?

I killed him!

My trust in my husband killed my son!

I could no longer hear the sounds around me; my ears rang and everything before my eyes started to blur. Their voices echoed in my mind.

Three months ago, I got a call from the doctor saying they had found a matching heart. My son had waited since birth; he finally didn’t have to be jealous of other children anymore and could run freely.

Hugged my kid, tears running down my face. I did not look at the papers Luther gave me; trusting him, I signed them.

But in this moment, I did not notice the dim red shine of the cross on my chest.

Three days later, my son passed in an operation accident.

Luther calmed me, telling me how all surgeries have issues and kept near me, scared I would pass out.

I wept on his shoulder, again stating, "I just got you now. Grandpa is gone, now my son is gone, I only have you left."

I yet recall his warm face as he held my face, promising.

"I will forever stay by your side, I will not allow you be harmed."

Now it looks like he was scared I would learn he had quietly handed my son's heart to his childhood sweetheart.

My back felt as if it was being pressed by a heavy rock; I nearly dropped to my knees.

My fingers held the door frame hard, my body rocking as I aimed to leave that place of pain, when Luther's final lines hit my now broken heart like a knife.

"Our kid needs a good place. One month from now, we will plan a car crash to end Lyra and grab all she has. If it was not for her money, I would not have wed a boring, mindless woman like her."

My own eyes tightened and my eyes rose with pain when I looked hard at this man in this space.

In this moment, I felt he seemed truly gross.

Instantly, the cross near the throat broke all the way.

"Nope!" I yelled, wildly bending low to grab the bits, the sole item Grandpa gave me.

But I suddenly hit a worn piece from a rag holding on to my grandpa’s writing over this…

My shout caught the notice of the two people inside. They quickly fixed their clothes and stepped out.

Seeing someone step out, I softly slipped the cloth strip into my pocket. I had a deep suspicion that no one should learn about it.

Making sure the cloth would not drop out, I pushed myself to stand up.

I lifted my head and met Luther's eyes. I caught a quick look of dislike in them.

My heart tightened and I squeezed my hands hard.

"Lyra, what are you doing here?" Luther asked softly, but with a bit of dry tone.

I was ready to speak when my eyes moved to the pendant around Calliope's neck.

Wasn’t this the pendant I got for my boy to guard his safety?

He lived with heart disease from birth. I wished him a calm life, so I found a pendant showing health for him to keep on.

But in the few days he stayed in the hospital, the pendant suddenly went missing.

It showed that Luther had taken the pendant and handed it to his childhood sweetheart.

My boy heart was taken too, even the pendant!

I pushed myself up and rushed at Calliope, trying to grab the pendant.

"Who gave you permission to wear this?"

The next moment, Luther caught my arm and my face suddenly heated with pain.

I covered my face in shock. "This is our son’s thing!"

Luther softly steadied Calliope, his tone turning cold. "He’s dead! Calliope is not doing well either. Can you be a bit kinder?"

I stared at the unfamiliar face in front of me and could not stop a short laugh.

"Luther, let’s get a divorce."

"Divorce?" Luther acted like he heard a joke. He stepped over to me and looked straight at me.

"I handle all your assets. If we divorce, you walk out with nothing!"

Suddenly, his tone eased, but his hand stayed on Calliope's waist.

"Lyra, stay calm. Calliope is pregnant; just let her have what she wants."

He was sure I did not truly want to end things; he was sure of my love for him.

I pushed down a sob. "I will come find you in five days to sign the divorce papers."

Then, I stumbled out of the company and only when I dropped into my car seat did I break down crying.

Tears soaked my shirt, my arms and legs went numb and I could not breathe.

Just then, my phone buzzed and two images showed up.

The first image was a bottle of Vitamin C that Luther had handed me to help my body after losing my boy.

The next image was a test sheet.

It clearly showed that the white pills held a large amount of cimetidine.

Further down, the words "sterilization" showed in big print.

My hands squeezed my phone tight, staring at it over and over in shock.

So, the sweet tonic I thought I had was a drug that would stop me from having kids again.

I had personally delivered my boy’s heart straight into his lover’s arms.

They greedily wanted all I had, driving me to this spot! My sight went blurry and I smashed my phone against the car glass, shutting my eyes to stop myself from looking more, my body shaking.

I recalled how, after I lost my son, Luther dropped everything to stay beside me.

He studied with a nutritionist to help his health, personally handing me this box of vitamins, his voice soft.

"Vitamin C lifts your body defenses, Lyra. I will watch you take it each day from now on. Our kid is gone; I do not want anything else to hit you."

Back then, I trusted his love for me.

Tears ran down my face, my arms and legs went numb and my head grew cloudy.

Now it all looked like a lie!

I drew in a deep breath, my look turning cold.

Since he turned on me, do not blame me for being hard.

Five days from now, I will make those two pay!

I picked up my phone, saved the picture Calliope had just sent and sent it to my lawyer, then tapped her number.

"Hello, Attorney Evans, I want to divorce Luther. Please draft a divorce agreement for me.”

After ending the lawyer call, I called my assistant

I told her to watch Luther's company moves and reach out to the shareholders who had always been unhappy with him.

After ending the call, I recalled the cloth strip my grandpa had left. I opened the cloth I had been holding in my hand.

The writing on it was blurred by my sweaty hands, but I could faintly see four digits: 1547.

I wrinkled my brows, staring at the digits on the cloth. My grandpa had never spoken of this cloth to me.

But back when we lived in our hometown, grandpa had buried a locked metal box under a big tree in the yard.

He used a shovel to mark that bit of land, then brushed my eyes, saying, "Lyra, you must go back to your place."

At that time, I did not get it; I just whined to my grandpa.

So, could this be the box code?

Where exactly was my place?

I stared at the spaced numbers and an idea popped into my mind.

Did one match one of my lost children?

And what did five mean? I tried hard to search my early childhood memories, but I could not recall anything before I was three.

From all I can remember, I had always stayed with my grandpa; I had never seen my parents.

I stared at the cloth strip in front of me, managing to carefully put it away.

Then, I drove home. Five days later, nothing tied to Luther would stay in the house anymore.

Back home, my hands shook as I picked up a suitcase and stuffed it with all the things Luther owned from the bedroom.

I opened a drawer, my eyes pausing. Inside were the overalls Luther and I had chosen for our boy.

These were my boy’s favorite overalls. I still recall him smiling as he put them on and hugging both our necks.

"Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, can I run free in these?"

Back then, Luther gently turned our son around and we even planned a trip to Paris together after he got better.

Tears rose in my eyes. If the surgery had worked, he could run free now.

However, my son’s heart was beating inside the woman in front of me! Tears dropped on the overalls and my heart felt like a heavy stone pressed down on it, making it hard to breathe.

Just as I finished emptying my bedroom, the door pushed open.

"Lyra? You were packing earlier. Give the room to Calliope."

I turned around at the voice and saw Luther holding two big suitcases in one hand and his other arm wrapped around Calliope's waist, ordering me like it was nothing.

"What?"

I frowned, my hands squeezing the overalls tight.

"Calliope is pregnant. This is the biggest room of yours. Give it to her to rest and heal."

Calliope leaned on him, lifting a brow in a proud way, her eyes full of confidence.

"The property deed for this place is under my name!"

I stared right into Luther's eyes and said each word clearly.

"Ah? But a few days ago, I was feeling sick from morning sickness and Luther gave me this place as a comfort gift."

Calliope, acting shocked, shook Luther's arm.

Luther gave the house away?

This place was our wedding home!

On our wedding night, he happily showed me each corner of the house he had designed for us.

The suitcase in my hand dropped to the floor. My anger rose fast and with shaking hands, I moved forward and hit Calliope across the face.

Calliope held her face, tears rising in her eyes and threw herself into Luther's arms.

"She hit me!"

Luther's face turned cold, his voice tight with anger. "Lyra, how have you turned so hard to deal with! She is pregnant and you hit her! You’re so mean!"