Who Is Her Victim

My husband, David Wright, brought me and my three-month-old son, Leo Wright, to his parents' for the holidays. But while Leo was asleep, my niece, Lana Wright, and her classmates carried him upstairs and threw him down. My baby died right in front of me. I lost my mind. I scooped him up and tried to rush him to the hospital, but it was already too late. He was gone before we ever made it there. Because Lana was still a minor, she barely faced any consequences. The court ordered her family to pay eight hundred thousand dollars in compensation, but my sister-in-law, Ariel Whittaker, wailed and screamed, accusing me of trying to drive them to their deaths. I cried until I felt like my heart had been torn apart. All I wanted was justice. But David and my mother-in-law, Nancy Wright, only scolded me. “Lana is just a child too! Are you really going to destroy her life just because your son died?” I never got my revenge. In the end, grief and hatred hollowed me out. That winter, I died of a heart attack. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the holiday gathering. This time, I immediately called my parents and asked them to take my son away. But even then, my niece still threw a baby from upstairs. Chapter 1 I had just sent my son off and stepped into my mother-in-law, Nancy Wright’s courtyard when a loud crash rang out beside me. Bang! A baby, wrapped tightly in a blanket, slammed onto the stone tiles. Blood slowly stained the blanket red. I stood frozen, then slowly looked up. On the second floor stood Lana Wright, my husband David’s niece. She shot me a defiant look before turning and running off. David and Nancy rushed out after hearing the noise. The moment Nancy saw what had happened, she screamed. Her legs nearly gave out beneath her. David walked over shakily and glanced at the baby. “Nina,” he said, his voice trembling. “The baby... the baby isn’t breathing.” I didn’t even dare to look. I turned and charged straight up to the second floor. Lana had locked herself inside her room. I kicked the door hard. “Lana Wright, open the door! Who did you throw down there?” There was no answer from inside the room. But I could hear Lana laughing with her classmates. “Lana, what if they call the police? My mom won’t hit me, right?” “She won’t. It’s not like we did it on purpose. Besides, the police don’t arrest minors.” Their fearless words stabbed into my ears like needles. I started shaking uncontrollably. I threw all my strength into kicking that wooden door. “Get out here! Do you even understand what you just did? This is murder!” David, who had come up a step too late, quickly grabbed me. His eyes were red as he said, “Nina, calm down. Don’t scare them.” I stared at him with hatred in my eyes. He had been exactly like this in my last life too. Our son had died, and he was still worried I might scare his niece. Nancy wiped her tears and said, “Lana went a little too far this time, but Nina, don’t push it too much.” “Leo was only three months old. He’s gone, and that’s that. You two can try again and have another baby.” I went completely still. It took me a few seconds to realize what she meant. They thought the dead baby was my son. But I had just handed my son over to my parents. So who was the tiny body lying downstairs? Chapter 2 David came upstairs and wrapped his arms around me. “Nina, I swear I’ll get justice for Leo,” he said. “But Lana is still young. She doesn’t know any better...” Before he could finish, I shoved him away. “What do you mean she doesn’t know any better? If she’s that clueless, why doesn’t she jump herself?” Then I grabbed a chair and smashed it hard against the door. The wooden door rattled violently, shaking so hard it felt as if the whole house was trembling with it. “Lana Wright, get out here! If you don’t, I’ll break this door down!” Why should she get to kill someone and act like nothing happened? Even if the baby who died today wasn’t mine, I was still going to get justice for them. When she saw how hard I was smashing the door, Lana shouted from inside, “Stop! If you keep hitting it, I’ll jump!” I was panting from the effort. I turned, rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a chef’s knife, and hacked it into the door. The blade sank deep into the wood and wouldn’t come loose. “Then jump. If you don’t, I’ll get in there and beat you myself!” Lana finally couldn’t take the pressure anymore and opened the door. She looked irritated and bored, as if none of this had anything to do with her. “Who did you throw down there?” She lifted her chin and rocked lazily on her feet, looking completely unconcerned. “Your son. Who else?” I slapped her across the face. The sharp crack snapped her head to the side. Tears instantly filled her eyes. Lana clutched her face and stared at me in disbelief. “What right do you have to hit me? Even my mom never hit me, you bitch!” I slapped her again. “That’s exactly why you turned into such a spoiled little monster. Your mother never taught you right from wrong!” Then I grabbed her by the collar and shouted through gritted teeth, “I’ll ask you one more time. Who did you throw downstairs?” This time, Lana finally quieted down. Covering her face, she said, “It was Leo. But I didn’t mean to do it. I just wanted to see what would happen if he fell. “I didn’t think he would die.” Chapter 3 I looked into the room. The window was wide open, and the cold wind came rushing in. Lana’s classmates huddled by the bed, too scared to say a word. They were already in elementary school. How could they not know this was dangerous? David tried to reason with me. “Lana already admitted her mistake. Honey, you’ve vented enough. Let’s just bury the baby.” I found it absurd. A life was gone, and all she had to do was say she was sorry? Nancy rushed up and wrapped her arms around Lana. Stroking her face with heartache, she muttered, “You hit her so hard. Look, her face is swollen up.” Her face was only swollen from a slap. But that baby had lost their entire life. I shoved Nancy away, grabbed Lana by the hair, and dragged her toward the window. “Didn’t you say you didn’t know what would happen if someone fell? Why don’t you try it yourself?” Lana burst into tears, struggling as she cried, “No! I don’t want to! I’ll die if I fall! You’ll go to jail if you kill me! You’ll go to jail!” So she did know people could go to jail. And she did it anyway. In both lifetimes, I could never understand how a child’s heart could be this cruel. Pain shot through my arm. David yanked me away, and the force sent my head slamming into the wall. Warm blood trickled down the wall. David stood protectively in front of Lana, his face full of disgust. “Are you done yet? Our son is already dead. Why are you taking it out on a child? Maybe you should have watched him better.” He and Nancy both stood in front of Lana, guarding her from me. In my last life, I had already figured it out. They were the real family, bound by blood. My three-month-old son and I meant nothing. I pressed a hand to my forehead, trembling as I took out my phone to call the police. But my husband kicked it out of my hand. “This is a family matter. Why are you calling the police? “Lana isn’t even eighteen yet. Calling the police won’t do anything.” I braced myself against the wall and stood up, looking at him in utter disappointment. “The one who died is your son. And you still won’t do anything?” When he saw the blood on my forehead, a flicker of guilt crossed his eyes. “Nina, we can have another child. “But I only have one niece.” Chapter 4 What a good man. So devoted to his family. Back then, that was exactly what I had liked about him. He was filial. He treated his family well. I never imagined that same quality would become the blade pointed at me. He had never once seen my son and me as his real family. In his heart, only his own blood relatives mattered. Even Lana mattered more than his biological son. I turned to go downstairs, but my sister-in-law, Ariel Whittaker, rushed over and shouldered past me. She threw herself toward Lana and wrapped her arms around her, furious. “What gives you the right to hit my daughter? I can’t even bear to hit her myself. Who do you think you are?” I was shaking with rage. “Why don’t you ask what your daughter did? “Your son died, and now you’re blaming my daughter? If you want to blame someone, blame your son for being unlucky!” I hated them so much. But right now, all I could think about was the baby who had just fallen from upstairs. Who was he? How had he ended up in Nancy’s house? “Ariel, you have a child too. If the one who died today had been your child, would you still be able to say that?” Ariel’s pupils shrank. She pointed at me and cursed, “You shameless lunatic. Your son died, so now you’re cursing my family, aren’t you? If you ask me, your son deserved to die! Good riddance!” I grabbed my phone with its shattered screen and headed straight downstairs. Nancy shouted anxiously, “Stop her! She’s going to call the police!” Ariel sneered. “So what if she does? Lana won’t go to prison anyway.” “Are you stupid? If she calls the police and sues us, we’ll have to pay compensation!” Ariel suddenly understood, and the disgust on her face deepened. “David, look at the wife you married. Her own son is dead, and she still has the energy to scheme against us!” David chased after me, his face dark with anger. But I had already sent a text to my parents, telling them to call the police. He lunged forward to snatch my phone. When he saw the message I had sent, he was so furious that he slapped me across the face. “I told you this is a family matter. Why do you insist on calling the police?” “My brother’s family isn’t well-off to begin with. Are you trying to extort them? How did I never realize you were this vicious?” I clutched my chest and let out a hopeless laugh. Yes, I was vicious. I hated them so much I wished their whole family would die. Without saying a word, I kept walking downstairs. I needed to know who that baby was. A vague answer had already formed in my heart. But I didn’t dare believe it. Chapter 5 Given I ignored him, David panicked and followed me downstairs. Just as I was about to step outside, he grabbed my shoulders tightly. “Nina, stop making a scene, okay? I already checked the baby. It’s gone. “Let’s bury it and pretend none of this ever happened, all right?” I pushed him away without expression. But in the next second, my pupils shrank. The spot where the baby had been lying was now empty. I grabbed David by the collar and demanded, “Where is the baby? What did you do with him?” Police sirens sounded outside the courtyard. Two officers walked in and asked, “Who called the police?” David clamped a hand over my mouth and forced out a smile. “Officers, my wife dialed the wrong number. Sorry for the trouble.” Nancy and Ariel hurried downstairs too. Nancy pointed at me and snapped, “She’s crazy. It was just an argument between the couple, but she wants to call the police over every little family issue.” The officers looked doubtful, but they seemed to think it was just a domestic dispute. They took a brief statement and left. Only after the police were completely gone did David finally let go of me. “Nina, do you think I’m not devastated that the baby is dead? “But if you insist on making this public, how is Lana supposed to face her classmates afterward? And what will people think of our family?” I wiped the cold tears from my face. “Is any of that worth more than a life?” I looked around, searching for the baby. But they were nowhere to be found. I searched every corner of the house, but I couldn’t find the child who had died. Then my gaze landed on the outhouse. When Ariel saw me heading toward it, she quickly grabbed me. “The outhouse toilet is broken. Go somewhere else.” I shook her off coldly and walked toward the outhouse. A foul stench hit me in the face. Then I saw a corner of the bright red baby blanket floating in the filth below. My whole body shook. A furious, broken roar tore from my chest. “Are you people even human?” Chapter 6 Ariel still looked smug, as if she was proud of what she had done. “If I hadn’t been smart, you really would have scammed us. Once someone is dead, they're just a body. We don't have money to pay you.” Lana hid behind Ariel and shouted at me, “You’re a terrible woman! Your son died, and now you’re trying to scam us out of money. You’re shameless! “Your son was only three months old, and you’re already trying to squeeze hundreds of thousands out of us. What, are you planning to get rich every time you have a baby?” Nancy and David kept trying to persuade me to let it go. David held my arm and said, “I’ll buy you a handbag tomorrow. Stop being angry. It’s just one child. We can have another.” I was so furious at this family that my whole body went weak. Right now, only one thought remained in my mind. I had to know who that baby was. “Get him out,” I said. “We... we’ll bury him.” David frowned and looked at the filthy outhouse with obvious disgust. He clearly didn’t want to do it. I couldn’t help letting out a bitter laugh. “That child is connected to you by blood, and you’re disgusted by him?” David took a deep breath and resigned himself to it, reaching for the scoop. But Ariel blocked him, staring at me warily. “David, your wife is tricking you. The second you get that baby out, she’ll call the police! “Then she’ll drag your niece to court. Do you know how much our family will have to pay?” Lana tugged at his clothes too. “Uncle David, I don’t want to pay money. If we pay, I won’t be able to go to school anymore!” David tossed the scoop aside and said to me, “The baby is already dead. Stop disturbing his peace.” I closed my eyes. “Don’t regret this.” With that, I stumbled toward the courtyard gate. Ariel panicked and grabbed my wrist tightly. “Where do you think you’re going? I’m telling you, don’t even think about running off to call the police! “You have to stay here until after the holidays. Then we’ll just say your son accidentally fell into the outhouse!” By the time the holidays were over, there would be no evidence left to prove he had fallen from upstairs. Nancy came over with a rope and tied my wrists together. “Nina, be good. As long as you behave, we won't do anything to harm you.” I struggled twice, but the rope only tightened. I looked at David, pleading. “Do you really think I’m calling the police just to extort money?” David looked away. “Nina, behave. Stop doing things that hurt this family.” While my hands were tied, Lana rushed up and slapped me hard across the face. She made a face at me and mocked, “Weren’t you so tough? Come on, hit me if you can! Come on!” I gritted my teeth, trembling so hard I could barely stand. But with my hands bound tightly, I couldn’t even fight back. “You’re rotten,” I said through clenched teeth. “You were born rotten.” That only made Lana more excited. She kicked me hard in the lower abdomen. Pain tore through the scar from my C-section, and I bit down hard on my lip. I hoped David still had even a shred of feeling left for me as his wife. I hoped he would untie me. But he only focused on comforting Ariel and said casually, “How much strength can a child have? You scared her earlier. Just let her blow off some steam.” Lana kicked me in the stomach again, taunting me. “Your son deserved to die! He deserved to die!” “Who the hell said my grandson is dead?” A furious roar rang out, followed by the sound of police sirens once again. My parents were standing at the gate with the police. And in their arms was my living, breathing son.