Chapter 1

A sudden fire engulfed our home, trapping my mother-in-law and a pet dog inside the raging flames.

Shawna, my husband Max's childhood friend and a rescue team member, rushed to the scene. Yet, she insisted on saving the dog first.

The consequence? My mother-in-law burned to death.

Afterward, I dragged Shawna to court. But the day before the trial, I received a chilling video: my son, Leo, was dangling upside down, hundreds of feet in the air.

My CEO husband stood before me, his eyes cold and unfeeling.

"Shawna was just strictly following rescue protocols. You save those with a chance of survival. Your mother was already dead when Shawna rushed in. Your current actions are nothing but malicious revenge."

"Don't you realize you've severely damaged Shawna's reputation and disrupted her daily life? I'm giving you five minutes. If you don't drop the lawsuit, I can't guarantee that rope on the helicopter won't snap."

Turns out, Max had always believed it was *my* mother who died. That's why he'd stooped so low, threatening our son's life to force me to withdraw the suit.

I looked at him, my expression blank.

"Withdrawing the lawsuit requires the victim's family to sign off. I don't have that right."

Hearing my refusal, Max’s face hardened, his gaze growing even colder.

"Seraphina, I'm not discussing this with you; I'm *telling* you!"

"Your mother was already dead by the time Shawna got there. She only brought the dog out of kindness, and you’re twisting it into a reason to get back at her. You’re truly vile, it’s sickening!"

"Leo is only five years old. He can't hold on up there for long. You'd better make your choice quickly."

I looked at Max, so smug and confident, and my heart turned to ice.

To clear Shawna’s name, he was willing to threaten our own son's life.

I was dying to see if he'd still wear that expression if he knew it was *his* mother who died!

Max's father, Vincent, was a brutal alcoholic. Every time he drank, he'd beat Max and Evelyn. Once, to protect Max, Evelyn had a leg broken by Vincent.

From that day on, Max swore he'd protect his mother with his life.

Later, Max and Evelyn escaped their fractured home. He clawed his way to his current position, using every means possible, all to give Evelyn a better life.

Max's filial piety was legendary. Once, his father secretly found Evelyn, demanding money.

Max mobilized all his resources that very night, and by the next day, Vincent was in prison.

Sentence: life imprisonment.

I thought of Evelyn, such a good woman, burned alive when there was still hope for rescue. I couldn't help but sigh.

"Max, Evelyn was standing at the window, desperately calling for help before she burned to death. She wanted to live so badly. Can you really bear to see her die in vain?"

Max just stared at me coldly, tossing a withdrawal application onto the table in front of me.

"That was just a final flicker of life before the end. Besides, your mother was over fifty; she'd lived long enough."

"And if she really could've survived, she would've held on until the rescue team got back to her. Since she didn't wait for them, it means she deserved to die."

I saw a hint of disdain flash in Max's eyes, and a chill shot through my heart.

"Max, do you know that the last name Evelyn called out before she died was yours? She hoped so much that you would save her!"

Max scoffed.

"I'm not a miracle worker. Calling my name won't save her. Besides, the fire was so fierce that day; even if the rescue team had gone for her first, your mother might not have made it out alive."

"Just sign the withdrawal application! Don't waste any more time."

Max roughly pressed on my shoulder, forcing me to look at his phone screen.

The image showed Leo, dangling upside down hundreds of feet in the air, trembling uncontrollably.

"Mommy, save me! I'm so scared."

I stared at my son on the screen, horrified, and a surge of rage boiled within me.

"Max, our son was born after three agonizing years of IVF, and you're dangling him hundreds of feet in the air for Shawna? Are you even human?"

Max looked at Leo on the screen, his face utterly devoid of emotion.

"Whether Leo comes down safely depends on whether you sign that withdrawal application."

Watching Leo on the screen, almost unconscious, I clenched my fists tightly.

"Fine, I'll sign it."

As the words left my lips, Max finally cracked a slight smile. He picked up his phone and gave an order to the person on the other end.

"Bring the child down!"