Chapter 2

As I watched Libby and Louie disappear down the hall, every agonizing memory came rushing back.

Two years ago, Libby had come to me in the exact same way.

Louie had hit someone while driving drunk, and Libby had knelt before me, begging me to take the blame.

"Kieran, it's only three years. It'll be over before you know it… This new deal is huge for Louie. He can't have a criminal record! Just help him this once, please. Just this last time.

"Don't worry. I'll pay you well. I'll even handle everything for Trista and get her into the best school! Please help him… I'm begging you…"

When I saw her tear-streaked face and thought of our daughter, I said yes.

I still loved her back then, foolishly believing that sacrificing myself could somehow save our marriage.

However, life behind bars was pure hell.

It was as if the other inmates were acting on someone's orders. Whenever free time rolled around, they would gang up on me.

They stole my meals, poured water over my mattress, and stabbed my thighs with toothbrushes they'd sharpened into shanks.

Going hungry was a daily reality, and getting beaten half to death was routine.

The guards turned a blind eye to all of it, sometimes even locking me in solitary confinement just to torment me.

It went on for three years—three endless, agonizing years.

I endured those miserable years in prison, kept alive only by the desperate hope of seeing Trista when I got out.

Yet on the day I was finally released, all that waited for me was the news of her death.

She had been crossing the street when a car that ran a red light crashed into her and threw her into the air.

As no one could pay her medical bills, she missed her chance at emergency treatment.

When I contacted the hospital, they told me my account was empty. Someone had drained every last cent just days after I went to prison.

Trista never went to any prestigious schools, either. Libby hadn't taken care of her.

I fell to my knees in the hospital morgue, staring at Trista's pale face, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The very next day, my heart stopped beating.

"Daddy…"

I whipped around to find Trista's translucent ghost standing behind me.

She tilted her head, her big eyes brimming with confusion. "Why did Mommy call me a bastard? Am I not your daughter?"

I crouched down to hold her, but my arms passed straight through her formless silhouette.

"Of course, you are, Trista…" I said.

"Then, why didn't Mommy want us anymore?" Trista sobbed softly. "I miss her so much…"

As I looked up in the direction Libby had gone, an endless tide of hatred surged from the depths of my soul.

She hadn't just destroyed me. She didn't even care that Trista was dead.

She refused to even acknowledge Trista as our child, calling her a bastard from beginning to end.

Suddenly, a heavy tug pulled at my spirit.

An invisible force dragged me forward, forcing me right onto Libby's car.

It seemed my soul was bound to this heartless woman.

Libby steered with one hand and dialed with the other. "Find Kieran right now! I want him located, dead or alive!"

Louie asked anxiously, "Libby, what if he really is dead?"

"No way!" Libby said firmly.

"He made such a fuss about serving a few years for you. Someone who values his life that much couldn't possibly be dead. Don't worry. We still have Trista. He wouldn't dare say no."

Floating in the backseat, I stared at Libby's pristine profile and suddenly felt an urge to laugh.

Right. To a woman like her, a man like me didn't even have the right to die.

Trista had somehow followed me into the car. I didn't know why, but we could touch each other now. Resting her head on my lap, she whispered, "Daddy, does Mommy not like me?"

My eyes burned. I offered her a forced smile. "No, sweetie… Mommy is just… really busy."

"She's always so busy… I waited for her every single day, but she never even called me once…"

I turned my face away, not daring to let her see the twisted rage contorting my features.

I thought to myself, "Libby, do you hear that? Trista waited for you until the moment she died!"'