Chapter 2 A Mother's Vengeance

The date of the trial was drawing closer.

"Alright. Tell Nikolai to come back. I'll apologize."

Nikolai returned to the family estate that evening. The lingering scent of women's perfume clung to him, while hickeys lined the left side of his neck and shoulder. As a woman myself, I knew exactly what Daphne was trying to convey.

It was a deliberate display, a way of flaunting her victory.

"Anthea, you'll always be my wife no matter what. My men will always recognize you as their ma'am." Nikolai pulled me tightly into his arms, burying his nose in the crook of my neck and breathing in my scent.

"Is that so?" I pretended to be docile and pushed Nikolai onto the bed. "Wait here. I have a surprise for you."

I left the room, locked the door from the outside with a heavy iron lock, and quickly drove straight to a law firm. There, I received the exact same refusal I'd been hearing everywhere else.

"Mrs. Edevane, Mr. Edevane has already given us his instructions. If I take your case, my entire family will be dragged into the river and drowned."

And so, I contacted lawyers overseas instead.

The sound of high heels approached from behind. When I looked up, I saw Daphne in a white dress, accompanied by several Edevane family bodyguards.

"Anthea, how did you manage to make such a mess of yourself? Nikolai has already signed the settlement agreement. I saved his life. Do you really think all this struggling is going to accomplish anything?"

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

Three years earlier, Nikolai had been ambushed by remnants of the Astral Society and shot into unconsciousness. I had led my people straight into a hail of bullets and taken three shots myself to get him out alive.

By then, I was too badly injured to escape, so I had no choice but to entrust Daphne with getting Nikolai to safety.

I had never imagined that Daphne would steal the credit for saving him. I certainly had never expected Nikolai to send our twins and me down a road to ruin because of it.

"I told you. I will avenge my sons!"

I abruptly drew the dagger I had concealed up my sleeve. The Edevane bodyguards rushing toward me barely had time to react before I swiftly slashed their throats. Then, I drove the blade straight toward Daphne's heart.

A gunshot rang out with a loud bang. The bullet tore straight through my lower abdomen.

Nikolai strode toward me and shielded Daphne behind him. "Anthea, I taught you everything you know. Did you really think you could fool me?"

Daphne clutched the edge of Nikolai's shirt and began to sob pitifully. "Nikolai, please don't hurt Anthea. This was all my fault. I can apologize to her on my knees. I'm willing to give her my life if that's what she wants."

"Don't bother. Those who refuse to obey deserve to be punished."

On the eve of the trial, public opinion online suddenly turned against us while I was holding a funeral for my sons. Over the course of a single night, every piece of evidence related to the accident was destroyed.

What had clearly been a deliberate hit-and-run was rewritten as an ordinary accident in which the chauffeur was supposedly blameless.

"This poor chauffeur. He just happened to run into two spoiled, badly behaved kids."

"The kids could claim ignorance, but what's the parents' excuse? They couldn't even keep an eye on their sons, and now they're suing the chauffeur? They really have no shame!"

"I heard the children's father already signed a settlement agreement, but the mother still refuses to let it go. I bet she's just trying to extort money!"

"Children turn out the way their mothers raise them. If you ask me, those two brats deserved to die!"

The internet was flooded with vicious insults.

An angry mob of netizens stormed the funeral hall, smashing everything in sight. They even carved the most vile and degrading words imaginable into my twins' memorial tablets.

I desperately shielded my sons' urns with my body, but there was only so much one person could withstand against a crowd.

The gunshot wound in my lower abdomen tore open again, and blood seeped through the bandages.