My wife Isabella’s old flame, Liam, had end-stage kidney failure. She went live online, begging the internet to find me. A psychic user commented: "That man is already dead. His spirit is hovering right over your shoulder." She scoffed, then dangled our young son over the edge of a cliff, shouting at me. "Trying to dodge donating a kidney for Liam? Now you're teaming up with psychics to spin these lies?" "Ethan, if you don't show yourself right now, I'll make this little brat pay for your cowardice!" The live chat went wild: "Why's the gold digger hiding? The proof of him cheating with those models was rock solid! Playing dead now?" "Yeah! Like father, like son. The dad's trash, what good can the kid be?" "Teach that scum-pair a lesson they won't forget!" The wind howled around the cliff edge. My six-year-old son, Leo, was crying, screaming "Daddy!" Hearing him only fueled Isabella's rage. "Shut up! Just go down!" Then she cut the rope, letting our son plummet into the abyss. When my elderly mother came looking for me and Leo, it just made Isabella angrier. "You old hag! Tell me where your son is hiding!" "You dare delay Liam's transplant? See if I don't whip you to death!" She had a whip, dipped in saltwater. Each lash tore into my mom’s skin, leaving raw, bleeding wounds. To force me out of hiding, she even locked my mother in a dark basement, cutting her repeatedly, day after day. Not until my skeletal remains were dug up from the woods out back. Only then did she finally break down, clutching my ashes, wanting to join me in death. 1 In the livestream, the chat scrolled furiously, filled with insults. Suddenly, a highlighted comment slowly drifted across the center of the screen: 【The child's father is truly dead. His spirit… is hovering right over your shoulder.】 Isabella froze, glancing behind her instinctively. Nothing but wild grass swaying in the wind. She sneered, "What kind of charlatan is this? Utter nonsense!" "Ethan just posted a video on his feed – yacht party with models, living it up. How could he be dead?" "Oh, I get it. Maybe he overexerted himself? Died on top of some woman?" The chat exploded again, a flood of comments saying I deserved it if I was dead. Isabella’s fingers tightened on the rope, loosening it further. Leo’s body swayed precariously in the air. She threatened me again, "Ethan, I'm giving you five more minutes!" "If you don't show up, I'm throwing this little brat down to his death!" The highlighted comment reappeared: 【He was drained of his blood. His resentment is too strong; he hasn't moved on…】 Isabella laughed mockingly and kicked the user out of her livestream. "We live in a scientific age, and people still believe this supernatural crap? If I said I was the King of the Underworld, would you believe me?" As she spoke, she moved to cut the rope holding Leo. I lunged forward desperately, trying to grab my son, but my hands passed right through his body. "Isabella!" I screamed at her, "Isn't my death enough? Why are you hurting our son?" But she couldn't hear me. A year ago, Isabella’s old flame, Liam, suffered from debilitating chest pains, but doctors couldn't find the cause. Some quack doctor told her that using blood drawn directly from my heart as a catalyst could cure Liam. Without a second thought, she had me tied up, letting that quack puncture my chest, aiming for my heart. The piercing agony made me beg her, "Let me go… please… I'll die if this continues…" She just frowned impatiently, her tone cold. "It’s just a little blood. Worst case, I'll have the maid cook you some pork liver to replenish it. You're a grown man, stop being so dramatic." As the blood kept draining, I lost the strength to argue. Breathing became harder and harder. After I died, my resentment was so intense I couldn't move on. I could only linger near Isabella, watching her and Liam live their blissful life together. In the year since my death, she never once thought of me, not even bothering with our son. Now, because Liam had kidney failure, she finally remembered she had a husband. Too bad I couldn't help her precious Liam anymore. But my poor son… having to suffer like this because of me. "Isabella, I'm begging you, let Leo go. He's so young, he doesn't understand anything…" My voice was like a pebble dropped into the ocean, making no ripples. "Ethan! Five minutes are up! You're really not coming out, are you?" "Fine! Since you don't care, I'll just toss this little monster down!" "No…" "Izzy." As I cried out, Liam’s weak voice sounded. "Don't hurt Leo for my sake. He's your son, and I'm just… an outsider." "If I have to die, I accept it. Maybe this is just my fate. I only want you to be happy…" I turned my head. Liam was in a wheelchair, his face pale, looking extremely ill. Isabella’s eyes filled with pain. She rushed to his side, gripping his hand tightly. "It's just a minor thing, it'll be okay. Once I find Ethan, we can cure you." Saying that, she stood up and cut the rope. "NO—" Leo fell straight down the cliff face. His terrified screams echoed through the valley. My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. I wanted to jump after him but found myself bound to the cliff edge. All I could do was collapse to my knees, the soul-crushing agony threatening to consume me entirely. 2 In the hospital corridor, the private investigator called Isabella. "Ms. Rossi, we've conducted a comprehensive search. We haven't found any trace of your husband." "How is that possible?" Isabella cut him off, sending him the video. "He just posted this today. Didn't you find this location?" "We checked that area, ma'am. According to the marina staff, no yachts went out today, and no one saw your husband." He hesitated, then asked quietly, "When was the last time you actually saw your husband?" The last time Isabella saw me was the day she took my heart's blood. After that, she never thought of me again. I couldn't understand why videos of me were still appearing after my death. Isabella seemed to remember something. She gave the investigator another address to check. It was the place where my blood was taken – the quack doctor's illegal clinic. "Izzy…" Just then, Liam emerged from his hospital room, his voice weak. "Haven't they found Ethan yet?" He coughed lightly into his fist. "If they can't, just let it go. If he doesn't want to help, I understand." Seeing Liam blaming himself made Isabella's resentment towards me deepen. "It's just donating a kidney! It's not like I'm asking for his life! Men from poor backgrounds are always so dramatic." I couldn't help but laugh, a hollow sound only I could hear. This past year, watching them together, I thought my heart had turned to stone. But hearing her words, my spirit still trembled. I really shouldn't have harbored such foolish dreams. I shouldn't have dreamed of marrying Isabella Rossi, the heiress, and certainly not of winning even a sliver of her affection through my own efforts. 3 "Daddy, are you okay?" A familiar voice reached my ears. I snapped my eyes open to see Leo standing beside me. He'd just been thrown off the cliff. I thought I'd never see him again, but here he was, with me. I hugged him tightly, tears blurring my vision. "I'm so sorry… Daddy was useless…" But Leo used his small hands to wipe away my tears, smiling at me. "Don't cry, Daddy. I missed you so much this past year. It's great that I can finally be with you!" Suddenly, his little face scrunched up. "It's just… Grandma won't be able to find me. She must be really sad…" Before he finished speaking, I saw my mom enter the hospital room. The moment Isabella saw my mom, her face darkened. "What are you doing here?" The disdain in her eyes was unmistakable. Ever since we got married, she’d looked down on my mom, thinking her background wasn't good enough. She'd even kicked her out and sent her back to her hometown while I was away. "I came to see Ethan and Leo," my mom said timidly. "Ethan hasn't contacted me once this year. I was worried something happened, so I came to…" Leo whispered urgently, "Oh no, Daddy, I never told Grandma you died. She thinks you're still alive." Isabella, that vicious woman, already disliked my mom. Now, convinced I was deliberately hiding from her, she would never let my mom off easily. "Mom, run! Get out of here!" I yelled frantically, but my mom couldn't hear me. 4 In the next second, Isabella grabbed my mom by the collar, her eyes fierce. "Tell me! Where is that bastard Ethan hiding?" My mom trembled, terrified, not understanding Isabella's fury, but quickly tried to explain: "I haven't seen Ethan in a long time. I know you don't like me, I'll leave right now." Isabella sneered, shoving her to the ground. "Looks like you won't talk unless I teach you a lesson!" She waved for a bodyguard to bring the whip and, without hesitation, lashed out at my mom. "Get Ethan out here right now, or I'll whip you to death!" My mom curled up on the floor in agony, crying out for mercy: "Ethan really hasn't contacted me… Did you two have a fight?" "I'll call him, tell him to come back and apologize…" With trembling hands, she pulled her old phone from her pocket, struggling to dial my number. My heart felt like it was being shredded, the pain almost suffocating me. But all I could do was watch, helpless. Leo clung to my hand, tears streaming down his face. "Daddy, Grandma's not going to die, is she…?" After my mom managed to dial my number, Isabella snatched the phone away. "Ethan, I'm giving you ten minutes." "If you don't come to the hospital, don't blame me for what happens to your mother!" However, only the cold, automated voice message played from the other end. Isabella frowned, checked the number, and dialed again. Still switched off. Her face instantly turned menacing. The whip in her hand cracked down violently on my mother again. "You're conspiring with Ethan to trick me, aren't you?" "Tell me! Where is Ethan!" My mom scrambled backward, stammering: "Please, don't be hasty, maybe Ethan's phone just died…" "Died?" Isabella scoffed, her whipping relentless. Soon, my mom was covered in welts, blood staining the floor. But Isabella showed no sign of stopping. "He posted a video today, partying with a bunch of women on a yacht, having the time of his life, and now his phone is dead? Who are you kidding!" "I bet he just doesn't want to save Liam and deliberately went into hiding!" "You old hag, just die!" I rushed towards my mom, trying to shield her, but the whip passed through me, striking her again. At that moment, my heart felt like it was tearing apart. I turned and knelt before Isabella, pleading with her. "Isabella! I'm right here! Hit me if you want, just hit me! Please, let my mom go…" But she couldn't see or hear me. Leo spun around frantically beside me, his small face etched with terror and helplessness. He threw himself beside my mom, shaking her gently. "Grandma! Can you hear me? If you can, run! You'll die if you stay here!" "Isabella is a bad woman! She won't spare you!" My mom stared blankly into the void, her gaze slowly fading. "Mom—" Trembling, I reached out to hold her, only to pass through her again. My nails dug into my palms. Why… Loving the wrong person, I accepted it! Giving up my life for it, I accepted that too! But what did my son and my mother do wrong? 5 "That's enough, Izzy," Liam said softly. "Don't hurt others for my sake. This is my fate, I accept it." "No!" Isabella looked at my mom's lifeless body, the anger still burning inside her. She couldn't let it go. She whipped my mom a few more times before finally dropping the whip. "Lock this old hag up," she ordered. "Cut her once every day until Ethan shows himself." She walked to Liam's bedside, shedding all her aggression, taking his hand gently. "Don't think about anything right now. Just rest. Leave everything to me." Liam could have spoken up while my mom was being beaten, but he stayed silent. Only when she was near death did he put on his phony act of kindness. I’d seen through him long ago. But Isabella trusted him unconditionally. No matter what I said, she wouldn't listen. Suddenly, Liam's gaze shifted towards me, his eyes challenging. He… he could see me?! Before I could probe further, he closed his eyes and lay back down.
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