Chapter 3

The sales associate hesitated for a few seconds. “If the packaging is unopened, yes. Once it’s opened, we don’t accept returns or exchanges unless there’s a manufacturing defect.”

I smiled. “Got it. Thank you.”

That ungrateful little brat Billy did not deserve any of the love I had given him.

When I finished my shopping and returned to the car, James was watching the livestream with a worried look on his face.

“Ms. Stefani, something’s happening at your house.”

I waved my hand. “Ignore it. Drive slowly on the way back. As slowly as you possibly can.”

James was confused, but he followed my instructions anyway. After all, I was the one signing his paychecks, not Greg.

Greg and Lori had hired a wave of paid trolls online, so more than ten thousand people had joined the livestream before Billy even uttered his lines.

[What could have driven this poor kid to jump off a building?]

[Where’s the fire department? Someone, save him!]

Greg was in charge of setting up the livestream equipment, while Lori had called the fire department and asked them to send a rescue crew.

Billy only dared to go this far because he knew the safety cushion below would keep him from dying.

A crowd had gathered in front of my building, all eager to watch the spectacle.

I sat in the car and watched the livestream with keen interest.

James was clearly worried. “Ms. Stefani, are you sure I shouldn’t drive faster?”

“Relax. Someone who really intends to die would jump the moment they opened the window. They wouldn’t set up a livestream first. This isn’t a suicide attempt. It’s blackmail.”

The last time around, I was so terrified that I had lost all capacity for reason. It was obvious that someone had coached those lines into Billy. A ten-year-old child could never have come up with all of that on his own.

My words made everything click for James. He had heard plenty about how well I treated Billy, so he immediately took my side.

“I’ll drive even slower then.”

I nodded in satisfaction. On the screen, the real show had begun.

Just as they had the last time around, they were viciously tearing my name to shreds. It was as if they had spent every day living in misery under my roof.

In reality, after Greg married me, I gave him a generous monthly allowance so that he would never have to work. He spent his days driving luxury cars and enjoying himself.

However, nothing was ever enough for him. He did not just want an allowance. He wanted everything I owned.

After Billy finished delivering his lines, he instinctively looked down, only to discover that the rescue cushion that should have been waiting below was nowhere in sight. The ground was packed with onlookers instead.

If he jumped, the fall would kill him.

Our apartment was only on the fifth floor, but to Billy, the drop beneath his feet might as well have been bottomless.

However, he had just delivered his grand final declaration. It would have been terribly disappointing if he backed out at that point.

The viewers soon realized that something was off. Hidden safely behind their screens, their cruelty began to surface.

[Jump already. What are you waiting for?]

[Are you too scared now that you’ve seen how high it is? Just come down, kid.]

[Are you jumping or not? I’m waiting. If you’re not doing it, I’m leaving.]

Greg saw the comments flooding the livestream as well. He could not understand why Billy was hesitating when they had already planned everything in advance.

Lori quietly slipped away to check outside and finally realized that there was no rescue cushion below.

She broke out in a cold sweat at once and leaned in to whisper in Greg’s ear.

“We can’t let Billy jump! The fire department isn’t here yet. If he jumps now, he’ll die!”

With no other choice, Greg had to keep the performance going. He screamed himself hoarse as he called for the firefighters.

They did not know that I had instructed Penny to block the entrance to the apartment complex with a car. Regular vehicles could still squeeze past, but something as large as a fire truck would never get through.

The crowd below had grown tired of waiting. Seeing that Billy still would not jump, they concluded that he had simply lost his nerve.

Disappointed that they had not gotten the spectacle they came for, the crowd grew restless. Someone shouted, “Just jump already!”

More and more people joined in, jeering at him and urging him to jump.

The situation was beginning to spiral out of control.