My wife killed our daughter. It was because Lily, our daughter, accidentally scratched my wife’s first love during dance class. For that, my wife, Mina, dragged Lily into the dance studio and forced her through the same routine, again and again, until our daughter’s hip fractured and she collapsed on the floor, silent. But Mina felt no remorse. Instead, she accused me of spoiling Lily and, to punish me, froze all my credit cards. When the hospital needed money for Lily’s emergency surgery, I knelt on the floor and begged Mina over the phone. "She only scratched Ethan because she was in so much pain! I'll get on my knees and beg for her forgiveness, I'll do anything! Please, just give me the money. If we wait any longer, Lily will die." But my wife was annoyed. I had interrupted her and her precious Ethan while they were discussing what new positions to try the next time they went to a hotel. "Leo, are you even fit to be a father?" she sneered. "Lily was perfectly fine when I was stretching her legs just now, and you have the nerve to tell me she’s critically ill?" Then she hung up. All I could do was watch in despair as my daughter’s body grew colder and colder in my arms. After the doctors wheeled Lily into the operating room, I called my father-in-law overseas. "Dad," I said, my voice hollow. "Let's call off our agreement. I never fell in love with Mina. I'm going to find Amy." 1 My father-in-law was stunned. "Leo, what are you talking about? Didn't we have an agreement? After Amy fell into a coma, you were to marry her sister, Mina, to keep our family together. Things have been fine for years, haven't they? Why are you talking about leaving now?" A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I told him everything. He was silent for a moment, then exploded with rage. "She's gone too far! Who gave her the right to do such a thing? Leo, don't worry. Lily will be alright." But at that exact moment, the doors to the operating room burst open. A surgeon in white scrubs yelled, his voice frantic. "Where's the family? We need the family! The patient's life is in danger! We're moving her to the ICU to monitor her vital signs. Go pay the fees, now!" I didn't dare hesitate. As I rushed to the front desk, I could hear my father-in-law's anxious voice on the phone. "Leo, we'll be back in three days! You have to keep us updated on Lily's condition!" But when I got to the payment counter, I discovered the truth. My cards had been frozen. I frantically called my wife, but the line was busy. When she finally picked up, her voice was a furious torrent. "Leo, what is your problem with Ethan? I've told you a hundred times, we're just dance partners! Nothing more! We're about to go on stage for the competition, why do you keep calling?" For Lily's sake, I swallowed my anger and explained. "It doesn't matter. Just unblock the card, right now." After we married, I had given her control of all my finances. She was utterly impatient. "Are you even a father, Leo? You'd stoop so low as to use your own daughter as an excuse just to stop me from dancing with Ethan? Wasn't she perfectly fine when I was helping her with her stretches? You've spoiled her so much she can't handle a bit of pain. I was just toughening her up!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Mina! It's because you broke her hip! She wasn't quiet because the pain stopped. She was quiet because she couldn't feel her legs anymore!" I wanted to say more, but she had already hung up. A nurse rushed over, her face grim. "What are you waiting for? Your daughter is dying! If you don't pay, how are we supposed to save her?" I had no choice. I scrambled to get a loan online, called friends, begged for money. But by the time I had scraped it all together, it was too late. A doctor emerged from the ICU, his head bowed, and delivered the devastating news. Lily had bled out internally. She was gone. The world spun, and I collapsed against the wall, hollowed out by a grief too deep for tears. I held no shred of affection for Mina anymore. I booked a ticket on a ship leaving in seven days. Once Lily’s funeral was over, I would leave this place of sorrow for good. 2 After arranging everything for Lily, I sat exhausted in the cold, sterile morgue. My phone buzzed. It was a new post from my wife on social media. The photo showed her and Ethan, wrapped in a tight embrace, holding a trophy high as a crowd applauded. The caption read: "A lifetime of art, a lifetime of love." How tragic. Her own daughter was dying in an ICU, her body now lying cold in a morgue, and all she could think about was dancing with her first love. My father-in-law called. "Leo... how is Lily?" My eyes, empty and dull, stared at the small, shrouded form on the steel table. "She's dead," I said, my voice flat. I heard a violent fit of coughing on the other end of the line. "How could... I'll call Mina right now. Leo, don't panic. She must have just lost her head for a moment. I'll talk to her, I'll bring her to her senses." Talk to her. Always talking. Years ago, when my fiancée, Mina's older sister Amy, suddenly fell into a vegetative state right before our wedding, he had talked me into marrying Mina instead. He begged me not to break the family ties. He'd even threatened to keep me from visiting Amy if I didn't agree. So I agreed. But a few years into our marriage, Mina started cheating on me with her first love, Ethan. And my in-laws talked me into staying, for Lily's sake. So I endured it, our marriage a hollow shell. But now Lily was dead. And they still wanted to talk? I suppressed a wave of fury and refused coldly. "We're past that point. There's nothing left to say. Dad, I'm divorcing her." I left the hospital and went home to find a proper dress for Lily to be buried in. To my surprise, the front door was ajar. Through the dim light of the living room, I saw two intertwined shadows moving on the bedroom wall. "Mina, that loser Leo still doesn't know you're pregnant with my child. What's your plan?" "You saw how he always has Lily setting herself against me. I might be willing to be the other woman, but I won't let my child be bullied!" Then came Mina's icy voice. "Don't worry, Ethan, my love. You're the only one I've ever loved. Leo is just a con artist. If he hadn't lied to my dad back then, pretending he paid for his medical bills, we would never have been forced apart. You were the one who paid for it! From now on, our child will be my only real child. Lily was never the daughter I wanted." Hearing her words felt like a thousand knives twisting in my heart. As I was carrying Lily to the ambulance, her face was as white as a sheet, but her small hand clutched my sleeve, and she was trying to comfort me. "Daddy, don't worry. It doesn't hurt anymore. Mommy was so happy with my progress today. As long as I dance well, Mommy and Daddy won't fight anymore." Tears streamed down my face. My poor, sweet girl. She never knew. Even in death, she never knew. She hadn't progressed. She had been broken. And in the end, she was killed by the mother she adored. I couldn't take it anymore. I kicked the bedroom door open. "Mina! You have a heart of stone! You killed Lily, and you have the nerve to be in here with him?" They weren't surprised by my sudden entrance. Mina just looked at me with disgust. "Leo, I have told you countless times, Ethan and I are dance partners! What we do in bed is for our art! I always help him with his... physical needs before a performance. Why must you always be so small-minded and jealous of our connection?" 3 I wanted to laugh, but before I could speak, Ethan put on a pitiful expression. "Mina, that child Lily was never one for hardship. Leo just spoiled her too much, that's why he's always had it out for me. Fine, I'll just leave." Mina flew into a rage. "Leo, look what you've done! Apologize to Ethan, right now! You and your daughter will never understand the sacrifices he makes." His sacrifices? For the first two years of our marriage, Mina and I were happy. Then her first love, Ethan, reappeared. Mina became a different person, out at all hours, neglecting everything to dance with him. She even forced Lily, who hated dancing, to be coached by him. I told her again and again that Lily didn't want to dance, that Ethan was hurting her. Lily would come home covered in bruises. But Mina ignored it all, claiming it was just strict training for Lily's own good, and scolding me for being too soft. She pushed Lily every single day. "What are you standing there for? Apologize! And where's Lily? Did you hide her again so she could slack off?" I trembled with rage, pointing a finger at Mina's face. "Lily. Is. Dead," I said, each word a block of ice. "She's dead! You killed her!" Mina was still dismissive, her voice dripping with contempt. "Leo, I can understand you having a problem with Ethan. But my patience has its limits. Apologize to him right now, or we're getting a divorce." My rage turned into manic laughter. "Hah! Fine! A divorce! I've wanted a divorce for a long time!" Mina stumbled back, a look of disbelief on her face. After all, in the past, even when she brought Ethan home for dinner and I had to sleep on the sofa while he slept in my bed, I never said a word. My sudden resolution shocked her. Ethan got up and dressed, stepping in front of Mina to shield her. "Leo, who do you think you're yelling at? Mina is your wife, the woman who has stood by you. What kind of man are you?" Looking at his smug face, remembering all the suffering Lily endured, a red-hot fury exploded in my brain. I lost all reason. I lunged forward, aiming a kick at him. But he dodged with a dancer's grace, pretending to fall. As he went down, he kicked out at my supporting leg, sending me crashing to the floor. A sharp, piercing pain shot through the back of my head as if something sharp had been driven into it. A loud ringing filled my ears. Through the haze, I could only hear Mina's frantic cries. "Ethan! Ethan, are you okay?" She turned on me, her rage absolute, kicking and punching me. "Leo, how dare you hit Ethan! How dare you!" I was powerless to resist, my mind a swirling vortex of pain and confusion. I passed out before the ambulance arrived. When I woke up, I was staring at the clean white ceiling of a hospital room. A nurse was by my side, changing a dressing on my head. Mina was nowhere in sight. The nurse saw I was awake and spoke urgently. "Don't move! What were you thinking? There was a needle stuck in the back of your head, and you didn't even call for help! If your neighbor hadn't found you, you'd be dead." The words sent a chill through me. The ambulance Mina had called wasn't for me. It was for Ethan. He had faked his fall and didn't have a scratch on him, yet she had been frantic with worry. Meanwhile, I was nearly dead from a needle in my skull, and she hadn't given me a second thought. I closed my eyes, my heart turning to ash. Just then, the door flew open and Mina stormed in, her eyes glaring at me with pure hatred. "Leo, you broke Ethan's nose. You will atone for it by giving him one of your ribs." 4 Mina waved her hand, and a group of doctors rushed in. I fought with all my strength, but they overpowered me and forced me into an operating room. They cracked me open, without anesthesia, and ripped out a piece of my rib. The pain was so intense I passed out. When I woke up, I was gripping the bedsheets so hard my knuckles were white, my eyes fixed on Mina with pure, undiluted hatred. Ethan couldn't have had a broken nose. It was all a lie. "Mina," I rasped, "remember this feeling. This is how much pain Lily was in before she died. And just like me, she was wrongly accused by you until the very end." Mina's anger only grew. "Leo, you keep cursing Lily, wishing her dead. What is wrong with you? Did you really think you could hide her from me, stop her from dancing? I already sent Ethan to the house to find her. Your coddling is useless!" What? I couldn't believe it. Ignoring the searing pain in my side, I scrambled out of bed and rushed home. I would not let that vile dog touch a single thing that belonged to my precious daughter. That man was a monster. The real reason my father-in-law had pushed me to marry Mina was to protect her sister. Years ago, a sex scandal between Ethan, who was her dance teacher, and her sister Amy had caused Amy to have a car accident in a moment of distraction. She had woken up with no memory of anyone or anything. I had stayed by her side, posing as her fiancé, to help her get through her art school exams. But who could have guessed that Mina would rekindle her old flame with Ethan? When I stumbled into the house, I found Ethan holding a pair of my daughter's underwear to his face, inhaling deeply. "Ah, delicious! I think next time, I'll get to touch the little beauty's chest. I bet she's developing beautifully." Lily was dead, and he still dared to desecrate her memory. A firestorm of rage erupted in my chest. I grabbed a chair and smashed it over his head. He crumpled to the floor, his face contorting with fury. He was about to retaliate, but then his expression suddenly changed. He looked at me with feigned terror. "Mina, help me! He's hitting me just because I was tidying up Lily's clothes! He said I was dirty!" I whipped my head around in surprise. Mina had followed me. She was staring at me, her eyes burning with rage. "Leo, apologize! Apologize to Ethan!" I choked back my fury. "Mina, he's a pervert! Didn't you see what he was just doing with Lily's clothes?" She completely lost it, slapping me hard across the face. "Shut up, Leo! You're the pervert!" I was still weak from my injury. The blow sent me to the floor, and a tearing pain ripped through my chest. Mina didn't even glance at me. She rushed to help Ethan up. "Leo, we're getting a divorce! And you will give Lily back to me right now. I think Ethan is right. The way you dote on her... I suspect you're the real sicko here." A tragic smile spread across my face. "I've already told you three times. Lily is dead. Killed by the mother she loved more than anyone." She still didn't believe me. She shrieked, "Leo, do you really think my patience is infinite? Say that again, and I'll make sure you never see Lily for the rest of your life!" Just then, a voice, tight with suppressed rage, boomed from the doorway. "Mina! Look at what you've done! How could you get mixed up with this scum again? Have you really forgotten what happened all those years ago?" Mina was stunned to see her father. Then her glare shot back to me. "Leo, you've gone too far. My father's illness can only be treated overseas. Ethan spent a fortune to send him there, and you dragged him back! Do you have no conscience?" "Enough!" It was her father who answered, his eyes cold. "Mina, you disappoint me more than you can imagine. Who told you it was Ethan who paid for my treatment?" Ethan shrank back, suddenly silent. Mina, annoyed by his cowardice, still stood her ground. "Dad, I know Leo has tricked you. You don't know what he's like. He has unnatural feelings for his own daughter, Lily. He spoils her rotten..." SLAP! Her father, trembling with rage, struck her across the face. Then, his face etched with sorrow, he thrust a piece of paper in front of her. Lily's death certificate. "Read this. Read it carefully. Lily is dead! Dead! Killed by the mother she adored. Are you satisfied now?" Mina's pupils shrank. Utter disbelief.
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