Chapter 1

Lucas' POV

When I walked out of the banquet hall, the hospital delivered the notice that my son was gone.

As soon as I thought about my bright, sensible 18-year-old leaving this world for good, the pain became overwhelming, and I wept until I fainted.

My son, Leo Hayes, had only wanted to help lighten the family's financial load, but instead he was hit by a vehicle and died a horrific death. When I saw his body, it was mangled so severely that it wasn't even recognizable.

Before his death, he had hoped above all else that his mother would be by his side. However, she was busy hosting a lavish graduation party for her childhood friend's son.

I held myself together just long enough to see Leo one last time. Afterward, I sat alone by the river for hours, until brilliant fireworks lit up the night sky. Out of habit, I reached for my phone, meaning to snap a photo and send it to Leo.

Fireworks had always been his favorite since he was a child, but he had never once asked to go watch them, because he knew how much we were struggling.

The fireworks burst across the sky in a dazzling display, then slowly came together to form the portraits of Madeline Shaw, her childhood friend, Jeffrey Locke, and Jeffrey's son, Melvin Locke.

And as the fireworks faded, they left behind the words "Happy Graduation, Melvin!"

That was what a real family of three looked like.

I stared blankly at the glowing portraits in the sky.

My phone slipped from my fingers, and the emotions I had kept buried for so long finally came crashing down.

In the past, Madeline had taken every last cent of our savings to cover the costs of Melvin's treatment, leaving our family to drown in debt.

To keep our family afloat and repay the debt, I worked myself to the bone day and night until my spine was permanently hunched and my body was plagued with ailments.

Even Leo juggled five part-time jobs. He waited tables at a restaurant, and even after a drunken customer broke one of his ribs, he never uttered a single word of complaint.

However, all that Leo and I had sacrificed to earn was practically nothing next to what Madeline had blown on just one fireworks show for Jeffrey and his son.

I sank into a crouch, sobbing so hard that I could barely breathe. I gasped desperately for breath, only to be hit by a wave of violent heaving and retching.

Every firework that burst overhead felt like another knife slicing into my heart, over and over without mercy.

It was well past midnight by the time I returned home.

The dingy little apartment was quiet except for Madeline's voice, drifting from inside as she talked on the phone.

"Maddie, you've spent all these years playing poor for Melvin and me. If Lucas ever learns the truth, won't he be angry with us?"

Madeline answered in a flat, indifferent tone, as if she were talking about something trivial.

"He won't. He and our son already have my love. A bit of suffering isn't going to hurt them. I'll never forget what you did for me back then. Now that Melvin's made it into university, I'll make it up to Lucas and Leo going forward."