Chapter 1 Dead Parents

Yuna rushed down the stairs in a frenzied rage, and I was forced to follow after her by some invisible power.

As she stomped away, she pulled out her phone and made a call. Her voice softened into something sweet as soon as the call connected. "Joe, don't worry. Leave the association to me."

I could hear Joe Farrell's voice over the phone, filled with his usual gentle warmth. "Did you talk to Finn? Why don't we just let it be? I'll find a way myself."

"There's no way I'd just let it be," Yuna blustered. "How can you side with him at this time? "You wouldn't be implicated if he weren't foolish enough to leave evidence behind!"

When I heard that, it felt like my heart was being sawed out of my chest with a blunt knife.

Joe had been the mastermind behind that fraud case years ago. He asked me to help him out, claiming that I had to take the fall since I was legally involved in the company.

He even said Yuna would be nicer to me if I helped him out this once.

I believed him.

However, she never once visited me in the three years I was wrongfully imprisoned. The only time she contacted me was to ask if I had let anything slip about my deal with Joe.

"Yuna, Finn is actually..." Joe spoke with great hesitance.

"Don't defend him!" Yuna slammed the car door shut behind her as she clambered in. "You've been waiting so long to be included in the Trade Association's elections. I'll lose it if you fail all because that piece of old news got dug up.

"Finn Chance must take the blame. He owes you that much."

After a few moments of silence, Joe responded in an even softer tone. "Be mindful of how you get it done. Don't cause too much of a fuss."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Yuna made another call after ending her call with him.

"Don, where do Finn's parents live? Send me their address."

I felt a pang of shock.

Was she really going to hurt my parents?

It had been five years. I was never able to see them one last time.

According to Eliza, my father collapsed when he heard what happened to me. He had passed on before the ambulance could rescue him.

My mother lasted three more days before she too passed away. She had collapsed right before my father's funeral altar, never to open her eyes again.

When they passed, not a single family member or friend had stayed by their side.

"Got it." Yuna glanced at the address and started the car. "You refuse to show your face, huh? Well, I wonder whether you'd stay dead if I squeezed your parents for answers."

As I hovered over the passenger seat, I couldn't help but notice the cold lines of her face.

This woman was once the person I loved to the point of death.

We'd been married for three years, and she had spat on me for being a coward for the entirety of our marriage. She despised how unambitious and untalented I was compared to Joe.

However, I was the one who would help her with her company's financial issues until 3 a.m. when she was just starting out. I hadn't complained that I was tired despite having spent the entire day working away.

For her birthday, she wanted to try the cake from a famous bakery on the west side of the city. So, I willingly queued for four whole hours just to get it for her. When I presented it to her, she took one look at it and said she didn't want it anymore.

I never once held a grudge against her for that.

I thought that she would open her heart to me as long as I was nice to her.

How hilarious.

The car pulled to a stop before an old building.

Yuna's heels clacked against the staircase as she headed up. She knocked and knocked, but no one answered the door.

…

Instead, she attracted the attention of the old man who lived next door.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked.

"Do Finn Chance's parents live here?"

The old man looked her up and down. "Who are you to them?"

"I am..." Yuna paused. "I'm their daughter-in-law."

"Daughter-in-law?" He gave her a strange look. "Why didn't you take care of their last affairs when they passed back then?"

She was stunned.

"What did you just say?"

"They're dead. Both of them." He waved at her dismissively as he continued blandly, "After what happened to his son, Chance passed away on the spot. His wife didn't last more than a few days afterward.

"Everyone in the neighborhood helped with the funerals. Their ashes are still stored in the crematorium, uncollected."

I watched as Yuna abruptly clenched her fingers around her phone. Her knuckles were stark white.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone.

It was a message from Joe.

"I just received news that the federal office is going to reopen the investigation into the case from back then. Yuna, I'm afraid they'll find out about me."

Yuna inhaled sharply when she read the text, squashing the minuscule amount of hesitation she felt. "Don't worry. I'll get Finn to surrender himself tomorrow," she replied.

After the message was sent, she plastered on a smile as she spoke to the old man. "They're dead. What a guy. He would even go as far as to curse his parents just to get away from me. Fine. Tell Finn I'll feed their ashes to the goddamned dogs if he doesn't show up in three days."