Cast Back into the Crowd

Although the chapel offered parking closer to the top, I always chose to leave my car at the bottom so I could descend the path step by step.The route consisted of a challenging 8,000 stone steps, and by the time I reached the end, my tears had typically dried.As I approached my car, however, my phone rang once more. It was an unfamiliar number, but the voice coming through was unmistakable. "Even if you refuse to see me, you must at least allow me to see my son."I ended the call right away and blocked that number, too. For a full five years, my life had been entirely free of Marcello, and I was thriving in that absence.I drove back to the office, and as soon as I stepped in, my assistant wore a troubled expression. "Ma'am, that partner we've been negotiating with for months just pulled out."I looked up, asking, "What was their reason? Our product quality and pricing are both competitive."She appeared equally baffled. "I pressed for details, and they implied that we might h

However, just as I prepared to initiate the divorce proceedings, Jacob was diagnosed with acute leukemia.The doctors explained that a bone marrow transplant offered the best chance for recovery. I underwent testing immediately, but I was not a match.In my despair, Marcello's test results came back positive, transforming him into my final lifeline for saving our son.For Jacob's sake, I postponed the divorce. Marcello donated bone marrow twice, and both procedures succeeded, gradually stabilizing Jacob's condition.But then, Chloe announced her pregnancy. She consulted a supposed mystic who proclaimed that her child was a lucky star for the Golden family, destined to bring unending prosperity. The entire household treated the unborn baby like a precious gem.Chloe complained that her current room had poor orientation and coveted our master bedroom. Marcello permitted her to evict me to a storage room.She then insisted that Jacob's well-lit room would be ideal for her child's nu

Marcello coughed up a mouthful of blood, his voice trembling. "They must have suffered immensely. Jacob was always so afraid of pain."The bodyguards regarded his broken state with evident scorn. "We secured the door with heavy iron chains, allowing smoke to seep through every crevice. The woman screamed relentlessly for help. To provide evidence for Miss Bennett, we captured the entire event on the cellar's security camera."He retrieved his phone and played the video.In the footage, I pounded my fists against the door repeatedly until my knuckles cracked and blood streamed down the metal surface, yet I appeared oblivious to the pain.Jacob huddled tightly in my arms, his breath growing faint and his face turning a sickly purple. He called out weakly to me, his voice fading until it ceased entirely.I felt his body temperature drop in my embrace, his heartbeat slowing to a stop. I clung to him desperately, refusing to let go even as choking smoke filled my lungs and flames ignit

Yet those recollections now appeared as macabre jests, tainted by Jacob's blood.Unable to endure it longer, my father confronted him and escorted him to the mountain chapel to view Jacob's memorial plaque.Marcello crumpled before it, weeping like a helpless child. He banged his head against the ground repeatedly, crying out, "I'm sorry, Jacob. It was all my fault."He even presented transfer documents for all shares in the Golden Group, intending to compensate me financially, but I rejected them without a second glance.Soon after, unseen influences appeared to activate. One month following Chloe's death sentence, the Golden Group faced severe scrutiny for tax evasion. Accounts were frozen, stock prices plummeted, and the vast corporation teetered on the brink of collapse overnight.Marcello descended into utter ruin. The former pinnacle executive became a despised fugitive, evading creditors and struggling for basic sustenance.One day, after I left the office building, he eme