Chapter 3

The coach fumbled for his phone with shaking hands, stammering.

"R-right, right... I'll... I'll call right now..."

A few seconds later, he looked at the boy's swollen, deformed face.

"He... his face is so badly injured, I don't even know which student this is."

I looked up, somewhat exasperated.

"Can't you check? How many students were supposed to come today? Eliminate the ones who called in sick and the ones present, and what's left..."

Derek cut in.

"No need to check. I know who it is."

He walked over and crouched in front of me, looking at the boy's face up close. His voice was soft but stabbed into my ears like needles.

"This is Ashton, isn't it? You don't even recognize your own son?"

"You were so worked up just now—I thought you knew. Or can't you accept the truth?"

I stared at him with wide eyes.

So he thought this was Ashton, which is why he'd done this?

Derek seemed very satisfied with my shocked expression. Seeing that my compressions hadn't stopped, he continued.

"Don't waste your energy. Haven't you noticed he hasn't responded after twenty minutes of CPR?"

"Because from the time he went underwater to when you pulled him out, it's been over ten minutes. The golden rescue window has long passed."

Hearing this, all strength left my body. I collapsed onto the ground, trembling slightly.

Was I still too late?

In my previous life, I couldn't save my own son. Now I couldn't save this boy either.

I stared hard at Derek.

"Why would you do this? Aren't you afraid of karma?!"

"Oh my, you're scaring me."

He patted his chest dramatically.

"What karma? The law? But I'm only eleven years old. Under the law, anyone under fourteen can't be held criminally responsible."

He was so close I could smell the orange shampoo in his hair.

These words and this scent had become my eternal nightmare in my previous life.

Looking at that face mixing malice with childish innocence, I finally couldn't suppress the hatred that had been churning through two lifetimes.

I grabbed his head and tried to push it toward the pool.

"So vicious at such a young age—today I'll let you taste..."

Cameron struck my head hard with his car keys, the key chain carving a long bloody gash across my forehead.

Seeing me release my grip, he pulled Derek behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What's done is done! Why are you taking it out on a child? My son is just a kid—what does he know about consequences? This was an accident!"

"An accident?"

I felt all the blood in my body rushing to my head.

"Go check the surveillance yourself! Three people holding a child's head and shoving it into the drain—you call that an accident?!"

Cameron turned to glance at his guilty-looking son, then slowly pulled out a card.

"So what do you want? Justice? Let me tell you—justice in this world depends on status and money!"

He stepped forward, the card nearly poking my nose.

"Do you know who my son is? His mother is the only daughter of HX Corporation's CEO!"

"And your son? Just some kid from an ordinary working-class family. Dead is dead. You expect us to pay with our lives?"

He casually threw the card at my face.

"There's a hundred thousand in this card. Password is six eights. Take the money and shut your mouth. Give your son a proper funeral."

"If you dare say one word outside, if you dare call the police... I guarantee you and your wife won't even find work sweeping streets in this city!"

Derek poked his head out from behind his father and made a face at me.

Not a trace of fear—only smugness.

The coach came to his senses and, not wanting things to escalate, advised in a low voice.

"Ashton's father, look—this was an accident. Since the other party has decided to settle privately, why don't we all take a step back?"

Take a step back?

I looked down at the bank card on the ground, then at the boy's cold body, and found it absurd.

A human life had been turned into a transaction, spoken of so casually.

My gaze swept over the boy's birthmark again, and I suddenly remembered who he was.

Since my son from an ordinary family didn't deserve their lives in return, let's see how many lives they'd need to pay for this boy.

Derek was still jabbering away.

"Look on the bright side. Money in hand is real. Your son is dead—just have another one..."

I slowly raised my head, my gaze moving to that face that didn't know the meaning of consequences.

"Your mother's money won't work this time."

He raised his chin.

"Say whatever you want. I'm not going to get in trouble anyway. My dad said the juvenile protection law is my shield!"

I gently wiped the blood from the boy's face, my fingertip brushing over that plum blossom birthmark.

Then I took off my jacket and covered him with it, wanting to give him a final measure of dignity.

"A shield?" I pulled my lips into a smile.

"Then you'd better pray that everyone in this world believes in the law."

Cameron frowned.

"What do you mean?"

I ignored him and sent out a message on my phone, then lowered my head and whispered in the boy's ear.

"Don't be afraid. Your mother will be here soon."

Then I dialed the police.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Cameron sensed something was wrong and demanded harshly.

"I'm telling you, this matter ends here today! If you dare..."