Chapter 1

I was introducing my girlfriend of three years, Chloe, to my parents when she shattered the dinner-table peace.

"Leo," Chloe asked, voice deceptively light, "if your mom and I both were drowning, who would you save?"

I froze, caught off guard. It felt completely out of place to ask something like that in front of my parents.

But then my mom, Eleanor, leaned forward, her expression serious. "I'd like to hear your answer, too, son."

The air instantly thickened, turning tense. Feeling annoyed and cornered, I blurted out without thinking, "You only have one mom, you can always find another girlfriend. I choose Mom!"

Chloe's face didn't just fall - it collapsed. Regret surged in me, and I moved to comfort her.

But before I could, she grabbed a fruit knife from the table and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged it into her own heart.

Blood erupted in a terrifying gush, splattering across my face. Chloe died right there, in front of us.

That horrific moment became a relentless nightmare in my mind.

After Chloe's funeral, I stumbled back home, numb and exhausted.

My mom suddenly turned to my dad,her gaze oddly intense.

"Richard, I've always wanted to know..." she began, her voice soft and deadly. "If your mom and I fell into the water, who would you save?"

...