It would be a lie to say I wasn’t heartbroken. But it was true—I had lost all hope.
I gave a bitter smile and shook my head. Since Daniel Brooks was so firm in his own beliefs, there was nothing left for me to say.
“Where are Jason’s and my things?”
My question, so out of line with what he expected, enraged him. Daniel threw me hard to the ground.
“Why are you bringing that up? Do you have any idea how much your post has hurt Chloe Miller?”
He shoved his phone in front of me, the screen displaying my post.
“You even hired trolls to bully Chloe, just a young girl. How could she possibly endure such hateful comments?”
But the comments were nothing more than netizens questioning reasonably, asking Chloe to provide proper safety measures at her lodge.
In his eyes, that turned into me hiring people to slander her.
Looking closer, I noticed something chilling: under every comment, there was the same IP, an account named Brooks defending Chloe’s “innocent mistake.”
Who else could it have been but him?
I let out a hollow laugh, filled with sorrow.
“Daniel Brooks, let’s get a divorce.”
His expression darkened instantly.
“Emma Carter, what nonsense are you spouting now?”
Nonsense? My beloved son was dead, and I had finally reached despair, ready to give up. But in his eyes, it was just me throwing a tantrum.
In the past, he grew closer and closer to Chloe, staying out overnight again and again just to make her happy.
At first, I couldn’t accept that the man who once held only me and our son in his heart had changed. I cried, I raged—but it was useless. Eventually, I gave up.
And in the end, it cost my son his life.
My voice was hoarse as I forced out the words:
“Daniel Brooks, haven’t you always wanted to get rid of me and Jason?”
“Emma!” he bellowed, his eyes filled with shadows.
“Is it so hard for you to just apologize to Chloe?”
“If you apologize, everything will go back to the way it was. I just want to give Chloe some justice. Why make such a big deal out of it?”
“Besides, Chloe is pregnant. Don’t you think you’re deliberately trying to upset her? When her baby is born, we’ll be a family. Jason will even have a sibling. What’s wrong with that? You should have a conscience!”
Conscience?
I suddenly laughed, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.
How I longed to scream at him—Our son is dead!
He was killed because of your precious Chloe!
But conscience meant nothing to me now.
And I knew—he would never believe me. He would only cling stubbornly to his own version of the truth.
So I deliberately provoked him:
“No need. Jason and I don’t want to be tied to you anymore. He said he doesn’t need a father like you, so we’re stepping away.”
Rage twisted Daniel’s face, as if he had just been toyed with.
He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
“I knew it—you’ve been lying to me from the start!”
“Where’s Jason? I’ll have someone bring him back. I’ll show you how I punish a boy for lying!”
“With a careless mother like you, of course he’s learned to spew lies too!”
His teeth clenched so tightly his jaw trembled, his chest rising and falling violently.
He had always been harsh with Jason, grooming him as the heir to the Brooks legacy. From a young age, he drilled into him the need for honesty, forbidding lies.
And now, he believed Jason had struck at the very core of his principles.
He hastily dialed his assistant.
“Hurry and find Jason! Bring him back immediately!”
The assistant stammered on the other end, trembling:
“M-Mr. Brooks, young Jason should be at his riding lesson today…”
Daniel froze, realization dawning far too late. He hung up quickly and dialed the riding instructor instead.
