David came upstairs and wrapped his arms around me.

“Nina, I swear I’ll get justice for Leo,” he said. “But Lana is still young. She doesn’t know any better...”

Before he could finish, I shoved him away.

“What do you mean she doesn’t know any better? If she’s that clueless, why doesn’t she jump herself?”

Then I grabbed a chair and smashed it hard against the door.

The wooden door rattled violently, shaking so hard it felt as if the whole house was trembling with it.

“Lana Wright, get out here! If you don’t, I’ll break this door down!”

Why should she get to kill someone and act like nothing happened?

Even if the baby who died today wasn’t mine, I was still going to get justice for them.

When she saw how hard I was smashing the door, Lana shouted from inside, “Stop! If you keep hitting it, I’ll jump!”

I was panting from the effort. I turned, rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a chef’s knife, and hacked it into the door.

The blade sank deep into the wood and wouldn’t come loose.

“Then jump. If you don’t, I’ll get in there and beat you myself!”

Lana finally couldn’t take the pressure anymore and opened the door.

She looked irritated and bored, as if none of this had anything to do with her.

“Who did you throw down there?”

She lifted her chin and rocked lazily on her feet, looking completely unconcerned.

“Your son. Who else?”

I slapped her across the face.

The sharp crack snapped her head to the side.

Tears instantly filled her eyes. Lana clutched her face and stared at me in disbelief.

“What right do you have to hit me? Even my mom never hit me, you bitch!”

I slapped her again.

“That’s exactly why you turned into such a spoiled little monster. Your mother never taught you right from wrong!”

Then I grabbed her by the collar and shouted through gritted teeth, “I’ll ask you one more time. Who did you throw downstairs?”

This time, Lana finally quieted down.

Covering her face, she said, “It was Leo. But I didn’t mean to do it. I just wanted to see what would happen if he fell.

“I didn’t think he would die.”

I looked into the room.

The window was wide open, and the cold wind came rushing in.

Lana’s classmates huddled by the bed, too scared to say a word.

They were already in elementary school.

How could they not know this was dangerous?

David tried to reason with me.

“Lana already admitted her mistake. Honey, you’ve vented enough. Let’s just bury the baby.”

I found it absurd.

A life was gone, and all she had to do was say she was sorry?

Nancy rushed up and wrapped her arms around Lana. Stroking her face with heartache, she muttered, “You hit her so hard. Look, her face is swollen up.”

Her face was only swollen from a slap.

But that baby had lost their entire life.

I shoved Nancy away, grabbed Lana by the hair, and dragged her toward the window.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t know what would happen if someone fell? Why don’t you try it yourself?”

Lana burst into tears, struggling as she cried, “No! I don’t want to! I’ll die if I fall! You’ll go to jail if you kill me! You’ll go to jail!”

So she did know people could go to jail.

And she did it anyway.

In both lifetimes, I could never understand how a child’s heart could be this cruel.

Pain shot through my arm.

David yanked me away, and the force sent my head slamming into the wall.

Warm blood trickled down the wall.

David stood protectively in front of Lana, his face full of disgust.

“Are you done yet? Our son is already dead. Why are you taking it out on a child? Maybe you should have watched him better.”

He and Nancy both stood in front of Lana, guarding her from me.

In my last life, I had already figured it out.

They were the real family, bound by blood.

My three-month-old son and I meant nothing.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, trembling as I took out my phone to call the police.

But my husband kicked it out of my hand.

“This is a family matter. Why are you calling the police?

“Lana isn’t even eighteen yet. Calling the police won’t do anything.”

I braced myself against the wall and stood up, looking at him in utter disappointment.

“The one who died is your son. And you still won’t do anything?”

When he saw the blood on my forehead, a flicker of guilt crossed his eyes.

“Nina, we can have another child.

“But I only have one niece.”

What a good man.

So devoted to his family.

Back then, that was exactly what I had liked about him. He was filial. He treated his family well.

I never imagined that same quality would become the blade pointed at me.

He had never once seen my son and me as his real family.

In his heart, only his own blood relatives mattered.

Even Lana mattered more than his biological son.

I turned to go downstairs, but my sister-in-law, Ariel Whittaker, rushed over and shouldered past me.

She threw herself toward Lana and wrapped her arms around her, furious.

“What gives you the right to hit my daughter? I can’t even bear to hit her myself. Who do you think you are?”

I was shaking with rage.

“Why don’t you ask what your daughter did?

“Your son died, and now you’re blaming my daughter? If you want to blame someone, blame your son for being unlucky!”

I hated them so much.

But right now, all I could think about was the baby who had just fallen from upstairs.

Who was he?

How had he ended up in Nancy’s house?

“Ariel, you have a child too. If the one who died today had been your child, would you still be able to say that?”

Ariel’s pupils shrank. She pointed at me and cursed, “You shameless lunatic. Your son died, so now you’re cursing my family, aren’t you? If you ask me, your son deserved to die! Good riddance!”

I grabbed my phone with its shattered screen and headed straight downstairs.

Nancy shouted anxiously, “Stop her! She’s going to call the police!”

Ariel sneered. “So what if she does? Lana won’t go to prison anyway.”

“Are you stupid? If she calls the police and sues us, we’ll have to pay compensation!”

Ariel suddenly understood, and the disgust on her face deepened.

“David, look at the wife you married. Her own son is dead, and she still has the energy to scheme against us!”

David chased after me, his face dark with anger.

But I had already sent a text to my parents, telling them to call the police.

He lunged forward to snatch my phone. When he saw the message I had sent, he was so furious that he slapped me across the face.

“I told you this is a family matter. Why do you insist on calling the police?”

“My brother’s family isn’t well-off to begin with. Are you trying to extort them? How did I never realize you were this vicious?”

I clutched my chest and let out a hopeless laugh.

Yes, I was vicious.

I hated them so much I wished their whole family would die.

Without saying a word, I kept walking downstairs.

I needed to know who that baby was.

A vague answer had already formed in my heart.

But I didn’t dare believe it.