I immediately dialed the nurse, who picked up almost at once. Her voice came through, breathless and panicked:
“Ms. Shaw, why didn’t you answer earlier? Your mother… she attempted suicide. Her condition—her boss—”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest. I hung up and rushed outside to hail a taxi straight to the nursing home.
When I arrived, a nurse stood trembling by the ward door, her face Shaw, one hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.
“Ms. Shaw… the scene inside is terrible. Please prepare yourself…”
The moment I stepped inside, the metallic stench of blood assaulted my senses.
The walls were stained deep red. My mother’s lifeless body knelt in front of the scorched microwave, charred and unrecognizable from the neck down.
“Why? Why did it come to this?!”
The nurse’s voice quivered as she explained:
“We… we don’t know. A group of men came last night claiming to be friends of Miss Quinn. They said they were asked to visit your mother on her behalf. They refused to let us monitor or guard the door.”
“Mr. Doyle gave strict orders that Miss Quinn’s instructions should be treated as his own. We… we didn’t dare disobey. The men stayed inside for a long time before they finally left. When I came this morning to change your mother’s dressings, I saw her kneeling, head inside the microwave. At first, I thought she was looking for something… but then it exploded.”
My mind reeled. A memory flashed through my head.
Before leaving yesterday, threatened and paranoid, I had quietly asked a sympathetic caregiver to install a hidden camera in the room.
I’d gone to the restroom to whisper the instructions, just in case Ben was still watching me.
That caregiver owed me a favor—and though she didn’t dare openly defy Ben, she still helped me this time.
I connected my phone to the feed and scrolled through the overnight footage.
What I saw made my blood boil and my vision go red with fury.
They humiliated my mother.
One of the men even leaned in and threatened her, his tone cruel and low:
“Old woman, we just filmed a video of you. If we release it online, do you think your daughter will survive the fallout?”
“Mr. Doyle’s only daughter now is Cassandra. He didn’t bat an eye when she killed your granddaughter. He even forced your daughter to hand over the evidence.”
“If you want to protect her reputation, you’d better convince her to divorce Mr. Doyle and leave his house quietly. Otherwise, we’ll make you and your daughter famous on the internet—and not in a good way.”
My mother sat silently through the night.
Then, just before dawn, she switched on the microwave.
As if she knew there was a camera in the room, she looked directly into the lens and smiled—a small, calm, heart-wrenching smile.
“Serena,” she whispered. “Mom didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not afraid of their threats. But I know Ben’s using me to control you. I don’t care what the world says—but I can’t be your burden any longer.”
“Mom is leaving now. Go look after our Lily. You have to live, and you must stay far, far away from that monster. I’m sorry I brought this pain to you.”
I couldn’t bear to watch another second.
I fell to my knees and clung to my mother’s lifeless body, sobbing uncontrollably.
Just then, my phone rang. A strange number flashed on the screen.
“Hello? I found your daughter’s watch… It was lying in front of the Aurora Tower. Can you come and pick it up?”
My heart stopped.
That watch. It was my birthday gift to Lily—a custom smartwatch with a hidden video recording function. She never took it off unless absolutely necessary.
Could she have… left behind evidence?
After arranging for my mother’s body to be transported to the funeral home, I rushed to Aurora Tower to retrieve the watch.
When I turned it on, I found hundreds of video files stored inside.
Each one was damning.
Each one captured Cassandra’s cruelty—every slap, every threat, every manipulation. Including the footage from the day my daughter died.
Rage coiled in my chest like a firestorm ready to erupt.
I took out my phone and called Ben’s most relentless business rival—the man who had once promised that I’d always have a place at his side.
“You once told me your company would always welcome me—does that offer still stand?”
His voice on the other end was calm, even cheerful.
“Of course. My team and I are here in America right now, negotiating a few partnerships. You’re welcome to name your terms.”
“Then I need a favor. And I’ll make it worth your while.”
…
After the call ended, I drafted both my resignation letter and divorce petition. Then I headed straight to the office.
As I passed by the tea room, I caught sight of Cassandra chatting on the phone, her voice smug and gloating, completely unaware of what was coming.
