When I rushed back from abroad, all that was left of my daughter, Anna, was a cold urn. Her husband, Lucas, clutched the urn, his face pale, head bowed in silence. Her son, Mason, had a glint of barely concealed delight in his eyes as he whispered, "Finally, Auntie Chloe can be my mom." Chloe stood beside them, weeping delicately, looking so fragile that a gust of wind might knock her over. She looked like the world's most innocent victim. I didn't understand. Since Anna had the courage to commit suicide, why didn't she just go crazy and take everyone down with her? Now she was gone, leaving them to enjoy their "happily ever after." I walked up and snatched the urn from Lucas's hands. Someone had to be the villain and finish this story properly. 1 Smack! I slapped Chloe hard across the face. She stumbled back, nearly falling to the ground. Mason's eyes widened. He rushed in front of Chloe, shielding her with his small body. "Grandma, why did you hit Auntie Chloe!" His voice was shrill, protesting for the "perfect future" he envisioned. I sneered, my gaze landing on Chloe's pristine white dress. That was a custom-made birthday gift Lucas had ordered for Anna just months ago. Back then, Anna had video-called me to show it off. Now it seemed the gift was just a guilt offering for his affair. I tilted my head, signaling the bodyguards behind me. The sound of tearing fabric and Chloe's screams pierced the air of the cemetery. Mason tried to stop the bodyguards, but his small frame was useless against the hulking men. "Grandma, you're too much! Mom agreed to give this dress to Auntie Chloe!" Mason's face turned red as he shouted at me, "You're just as unreasonable as Mom was!" I glared at him coldly, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him close. I ripped the protective amulet from his neck. Mason had been sickly as a child. Anna had walked miles, kowtowing every few steps to a temple, to get this amulet for him. "You don't deserve this!" My voice was cold as ice. Mason, rubbing the red mark on his neck, tried to act tough. "Who cares! I wouldn't wear that ugly thing if she hadn't forced me!" Chloe curled up on the ground, looking at Lucas with pathetic, pleading eyes, begging for protection. Lucas seemed not to see her. He walked forward like a lost soul and knelt before me. "Mom, please. Give Anna back to me." "You don't deserve to speak her name." I glanced at him coldly and turned to leave. "Enough," Arthur, my husband—Anna's father—finally spoke. "Fiona, what's done is done. Let Anna rest in peace." I let out a cold laugh, anger surging like a tide. "Rest in peace? While you all live happily? How can she rest?" 2 The next day, I brought a renovation crew and movers to Anna and Lucas's house. Lucas came from a humble background. I had opposed their relationship, not wanting my daughter to suffer. To marry Anna, Lucas worked day and night for five years to afford the down payment on this house. Moved by his dedication, Anna married him despite my objections. When Anna tried to convince me, her eyes sparkled as she described their future. She told me how hard Lucas worked, how great the location was, how it was near the best schools... After the down payment, Lucas had no money for renovations. So, Anna used all her savings—money she'd kept since childhood—to renovate and furnish the place herself. Anna said this was the starting point of their happiness. Every table, chair, and plant in this house was carefully chosen by Anna. Chloe... how dare she live here? I had the bodyguards throw Chloe out. Then I ordered the movers to take everything that belonged to Anna. As for the things that couldn't be moved, along with anything belonging to Lucas, Chloe, or Mason, I had them destroyed and thrown out. I then ordered the renovation crew to tear down everything—walls, floors, fixtures—and clear out the debris. When Lucas rushed back, all he saw was an empty concrete shell. It was as if Anna had never poured her heart into this place. "I'm giving you and Chloe a fresh start," I told Lucas with a mocking smile. This man never understood Anna's sacrifices. Now, I would make him lose her completely, leaving him nothing to hold onto. Lucas stood silent, his eyes wandering the empty room, searching for any trace of Anna. Chloe hid behind him, her voice weak and innocent. "Auntie Fiona, I'm sorry. I didn't take good care of Anna. You have every right to be angry." 3 I stared coldly at Chloe's pitiful act, the fire in my chest burning hotter. "Didn't take good care of Anna?" I repeated, my voice sharp as a blade. "Do you have the right to say that? If not for you, you ungrateful leech, would she have ended up like this?" Tears welled up in Chloe's eyes. She looked as if she wanted to speak but couldn't. Her helpless act made her look like the victim, painting me as the bully. Anna had lived a smooth life; she was too pure. She never stood a chance against Chloe. I stepped forward, grabbed Chloe by her hair, and dragged her out from behind Lucas. She screamed and struggled, tears streaming down her face. But my bodyguards held her fast. "Auntie Fiona, please! I know I was wrong, please let me go..." I took the scissors a bodyguard handed me. "Wrong?" I scoffed, hacking away at her hair. The snip, snip sound of scissors cutting through hair filled the room. "Your mistake is that you're still alive," I said coldly, continuing to cut. I was a grieving mother who had lost her daughter. Did I need to be rational? Chloe's hair fell to the floor in messy clumps, much like the lies she had woven over the years were finally unraveling. "When Anna first met you, you had just had your hair cut off by bullies like this. She saved you. She pulled you out of despair and protected you until today." Chloe trembled, tears falling to the floor, her voice choked. "I... I know she saved me..." "And yet?" I interrupted, stopping the scissors and staring at her ruined hair. "What did you do with her kindness? You betrayed her, stole everything from her, and caused the death of her unborn child!" "Lucas..." Chloe cried, gasping for breath, reaching out to him. Lucas kept his head down, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. He seemed deaf and blind to everything. His shoulders shook slightly as if stung. He looked up, eyes full of exhaustion and despair, voice raspy. "Mom... she... she's pregnant. I had no choice." Pregnant? I sneered, a sarcastic smile forming on my lips. Great. Now Chloe could experience another hardship Anna went through. 4 The next day, news that Chloe had moved into Anna and Lucas's marital home spread online. Someone soon dug up the fact that Chloe was pregnant. This confirmed the rumors that Lucas had cheated and, along with his mistress, drove his wife to suicide. Overnight, Lucas went from "young entrepreneur" and "handsome CEO" to the target of endless ridicule and curses. I was the one who leaked the news, but not just to ruin their reputation. I wanted them locked together. Chloe was pregnant. If Lucas abandoned her now, he would be branded as irresponsible on top of everything else. Regardless of his feelings for her now, he couldn't dump her. He had to swallow this bitter pill. Netizens started photoshopping "ghost marriage" pictures of them. The public waited for a wedding announcement but instead saw a missing person notice for Chloe. Unlike usual missing person cases that get shared with concern, the comments under Chloe's notice were full of sarcasm, accusing her of pulling a stunt for attention. Surprisingly, the first person to lose his cool and barge into my house was Arthur. Two police officers were with him. "Chloe is missing," he said, his voice low. I raised an eyebrow, glancing at the police, then coldly asked Arthur, "Are you notifying me or suspecting me?" "Fiona..." Arthur frowned, using his controlling tone. "I know you've always disliked her, but we watched her grow up..." "Child?" I laughed, cutting him off. "She destroyed my daughter. What is she to me? Or do you think I did something to her?" The officers shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. One of them spoke up. "Ms. Fiona, you had a conflict with Chloe before she disappeared. We need your cooperation." "Conflict?" I stood up, stepping closer. "I just lost my daughter. I have things to do. Do you think I care about a clown like her?" The officer glanced at the urn on the table. "There were witnesses at the cemetery." "The cemetery?" I looked him in the eye. "My daughter is dead. They tried to usurp everything she had. I was just getting justice for her." "Do you think warning a shameless homewrecker and an ungrateful wolf counts as a murder plot?" The officer hesitated, looking at the urn again. "You are a person of interest. This is routine. Please cooperate." "Suspect? What suspect? Was she kidnapped? Or arrested?" My tone was unfriendly. I didn't need to be normal or reasonable right now. "Maybe she's just hiding somewhere. She always used these stunts to grab attention and affection." "Fiona," Arthur interrupted again. My words clearly hit a nerve. He looked annoyed. When Anna went missing, Chloe had told him the exact same thing. So, he gave up looking for Anna. "We aren't accusing you," he said tiredly. "We just hope to find Chloe soon to avoid bigger problems." "You care about her so much," I looked at him coldly. "Did you ever care about your own daughter like this?" Arthur looked at Anna's urn, opened his mouth, then sighed wearily. "Anna's situation was my negligence. But you can't blame Chloe for that." I snorted, having nothing left to say to him. With no evidence, the police asked a few routine questions and left quickly.
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