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.

Given I ignored him, David panicked and followed me downstairs.

Just as I was about to step outside, he grabbed my shoulders tightly.

“Nina, stop making a scene, okay? I already checked the baby. It’s gone.

“Let’s bury it and pretend none of this ever happened, all right?”

I pushed him away without expression.

But in the next second, my pupils shrank.

The spot where the baby had been lying was now empty.

I grabbed David by the collar and demanded, “Where is the baby? What did you do with him?”

Police sirens sounded outside the courtyard.

Two officers walked in and asked, “Who called the police?”

David clamped a hand over my mouth and forced out a smile.

“Officers, my wife dialed the wrong number. Sorry for the trouble.”

Nancy and Ariel hurried downstairs too.

Nancy pointed at me and snapped, “She’s crazy. It was just an argument between the couple, but she wants to call the police over every little family issue.”

The officers looked doubtful, but they seemed to think it was just a domestic dispute.

They took a brief statement and left.

Only after the police were completely gone did David finally let go of me.

“Nina, do you think I’m not devastated that the baby is dead?

“But if you insist on making this public, how is Lana supposed to face her classmates afterward? And what will people think of our family?”

I wiped the cold tears from my face.

“Is any of that worth more than a life?”

I looked around, searching for the baby.

But they were nowhere to be found.

I searched every corner of the house, but I couldn’t find the child who had died.

Then my gaze landed on the outhouse.

When Ariel saw me heading toward it, she quickly grabbed me.

“The outhouse toilet is broken. Go somewhere else.”

I shook her off coldly and walked toward the outhouse.

A foul stench hit me in the face.

Then I saw a corner of the bright red baby blanket floating in the filth below.

My whole body shook.

A furious, broken roar tore from my chest.

“Are you people even human?”