Chapter 1

In a matter of minutes, 20 thousand dollars hit my account just like that. I was the one who'd asked for a divorce, so of course my wife's mother, Connie Bronson, couldn't wait to see me gone.

Ever since Shawn Quill started showing off his so-called lie-detecting skills, my reputation had been completely trashed.

After I got a vasectomy, my recovery hadn't gone well, and I'd gone to the urologist a few times. Shawn had twisted that into "proof" that I had some disgusting STD.

Every month, I used my own money to feed and care for stray cats. Shawn had turned that into a rumor that I was secretly keeping some college student on the side.

Every single time, my wife, Eunice Quill, believed him without question. Everyone else did, too. I'd long since become the biggest joke in their wealthy little circle.

Unable to take the humiliation, I'd kicked up a fuss and fought back more than once. But whenever I'd tried to defend myself, I'd just come off looking crazy and stupid.

"You believe everything he says. Shouldn't you know better than anyone what I'm really like?"

But Eunice had just watched my outbursts with that same calm expression. "You were the one who lied first. Shawn just didn't want everyone to be kept in the dark. How do you have the nerve to throw this tantrum here?"

Now, our son Callum Riverson's life was hanging by a thread. For someone worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the money she needed to save him was nothing, barely a rounding error. Even so, she'd chosen to believe Shawn's so-called lie-detecting ability and had me kicked out.

That was when I gave up. If she didn't want to believe me, I was done begging her to.

I'd barely stepped out of the cab at the hospital when a nurse pushed a gurney toward me. "Mr. Riverson, I'm so sorry for your loss."

It had happened just moments ago.

I squeezed my eyes shut. The grief was so deep that it felt hollow. I couldn't even cry. Callum's hands and feet were ice-cold. No matter how I tried to warm them, they wouldn't heat up.

I moved like a zombie, handling the paperwork, getting the death certificate, and seeing Callum one last time.

Eunice finally wired over 50 thousand dollars, then called me. She sounded like she was tossing a bone to a stray dog. "Just be honest with me if you want to buy something in the future. You don't need to lie to me. When you're out shopping, pick up a few outfits for Callum—"

I cut her off with a raw, ragged roar, "He's already dead!"

There was a short silence. Then, I heard Shawn's mocking voice on the other end. "Eunice, Finn must be mad he couldn't get that limited-edition watch. Honestly, he's not faking it very well."

With that, he made Eunice's blood boil again. "How can you curse Callum like that? You're the one who wanted the money, and now you're the one refusing it. You may not be tired of this, but I am!"

She hung up right after that. Once the line went dead, the world went quiet again.

It felt like my heart had been chopped into tiny pieces. The pain was so sharp that it left my whole body drenched in cold sweat.

I had no idea how I even got to the crematorium. By the time I finished all the paperwork for the cremation, Connie had sent over the divorce agreement Eunice had already signed.

I wiped away my tears that wouldn't stop flowing and signed the agreement without hesitation, my hand shaking the whole time.