Chapter 1Dr. Marcus Kane was the medical world's "Golden Hands"—and everyone knew he was completely devoted to his daughter.
Our daughter Emma had been fighting kidney failure for three years. Finally, we found a matching kidney.
Right before she went into surgery, Marcus grabbed my hand, his eyes red with tears.
"Liv, don't worry. I'll give our daughter a second chance at life."
Of course I wasn't worried.
But barely thirty minutes after the OR lights came on, his assistant came running out, sobbing, and collapsed on his knees in front of me.
I stumbled into the operating room.
Empty room. Emma covered in blood.
"Mrs. Kane, Dr. Kane said Emma could wait, but Dr. Reynolds' son couldn't. He took Emma's kidney and left..."
The words hit me like lightning. I called Marcus frantically.
He never picked up. Not even when Emma's body went cold.
On my way to the morgue, Sophia Reynolds posted on social media:
[False alarm! My precious boy is perfectly healthy! his gross kidney makes perfect dog food for our Buddy!]
In the video, Sophia's dog was eating what should have saved my daughter.
I screamed and called my father.
"Dad, I want them to pay for Emma's life!"
—
Three hours later, I was in the morgue cleaning blood off Emma's body when Marcus finally called back.
Loud music blared from his end. He sounded cheerful.
"Hey babe, why so many missed calls? Did Emma miss her daddy..."
"Why did you abandon our daughter on that operating table?! Marcus, you promised me! You said you'd SAVE HER!"
I was screaming.
He went quiet for a few seconds.
Then his voice got all gentle again.
"Liv, I'm sorry I had to leave, but Sophia's situation was really urgent. Don't worry though—I've got news about another kidney for Emma. We can schedule surgery soon..."
"Marcus, Emma is already—"
"Marcus, what are you doing? Connor says he's not feeling well again. Come check on him!"
"Liv, we'll talk when I get home. I'm dealing with something urgent right now. Gotta go."
"Marcus—!"
Dial tone.
I held Emma's cold little hand and collapsed on the floor.
The morgue was freezing, but sweat was soaking through my shirt.
Ice-cold dread crept up my spine.
Emma's last words echoed in my head:
"Mommy, Daddy said Connor was in more danger. He had to go save him. I said okay. I'm brave, right? I can wait for Daddy to come back... Don't be mad at Daddy..."
But her beloved "hero daddy" had abandoned her when she needed him most.
Marcus was the top kidney transplant specialist in the country.
One glance at a decade-old report and he could diagnose anything.
I didn't believe for a second that he didn't know Sophia's son was misdiagnosed.
He just wanted to show off for his young student.
I used to turn a blind eye to his bullshit.
But this time, he killed my daughter.
This time, he'd pay!
Half-conscious, I answered my father's call.
"Liv, I'll be back in three days. Don't worry. Those animals who killed Emma won't live to see another month!"
Dad's steady voice and the gunfire in the background calmed me down.
I knew those bastards' time was up.
After hanging up, I held my cold daughter tight and sobbed in that empty morgue...
Chapter 2
Emma loved quiet, so I only invited close friends to her funeral.
Everyone noticed Marcus wasn't there—the man they called the ultimate "girl dad."
They kept calling him.
I knew he wouldn't pick up.
Sure enough, Marcus never showed. Not even for the final goodbye.
I held back the crushing pain and squeezed Emma's little hand one last time.
Maybe it was better this way—letting her go in peace without that bastard there.
But just as they were about to close the coffin, a cemetery worker stumbled in.
His face was pale as he grabbed my hand.
"Mrs. Kane, there's a problem. Someone's taken your daughter's burial plot..."
I followed him to the gravesite and saw Sophia arguing with the staff.
"What's your problem?! This spot is the best! If you delay our Buddy's burial, you'll all pay for it!"
The worker looked reluctant.
"I'm sorry, but this plot is already reserved. Besides, this is a human cemetery. Your dog really doesn't belong here..."
"That's not your call. Who reserved it? Get them here—we'll pay them off."
Marcus rubbed Sophia's back while glaring at the worker.
Sophia got bolder.
She snuggled against Marcus, then slapped the worker across the face.
"You heard him! Get them here!"
"No need. I reserved the plot."
I pushed through the crowd toward them.
The moment Marcus saw me, he shoved Sophia away and rushed over, panic in his eyes.
"Liv, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at the hospital with Emma? Why are you buying cemetery plots?!"
I yanked my hand away and looked up at him, fighting back tears.
"Marcus, how dare you mention Emma? This plot is for—"
"Marcus, come quick! Look at Connor—why is he so pale?!"
His panic instantly shifted to concern.
He ran to the boy, checking him over gently.
"It's okay, Connor..."
Sophia gave Marcus an adoring look, then walked over to me.
Her eyes were full of smugness, but her voice dripped fake sympathy.
"Sorry, Mrs. Kane. I didn't know you reserved this plot. But you don't look like you need it anytime soon. Why not let our Buddy have it? The poor thing ate something bad and died. Look how upset our Connor is..."
"Get out!"
Sophia froze with unbelievable face.
Seconds later, her sobs echoed through the entire cemetery.
Marcus slowly stood and walked toward me, his voice colder than I'd ever heard it.
"Liv, I know you're mad about Emma's surgery, but don't take it out on Sophia. You saw Connor's condition. You're a mother—can't you show some compassion?"
He turned to the worker.
"My wife doesn't need this plot anymore. Give it to Miss Reynolds. Handle the paperwork..."
"Give hell! Marcus! Get out! Take that bitch and her brat and get the fuck out of here!"
Marcus slapped me across the face.
"Enough! Olivia! I've put up with your attitude long enough!"
"Can't you show some humanity?! Can you use this plot? Can I? Since neither of us needs it, what's wrong with letting them have it?!"
I couldn't take his arrogance anymore.
I grabbed his collar and stared him down.
"You can't use it, I can't use it, but Emma can! My daughter Emma! She is dead! Because you walked out on her, she died on that operating table!"
Chapter 3
The moment I spoke, the entire place went dead silent.
Marcus turned to stare at the headstone, his face blank.
But within seconds, he was back to normal.
A knowing smirk spread across his face.
"Olivia, you've really outdone yourself. I'm gone for two days and now you're using Emma's death to scare me?!"
"But I'm not an idiot. Connor was just texting with Emma last night. And today you're telling me my precious daughter is dead? Olivia, if you're gonna lie, at least use your brain."
"Whatever. I'm done arguing. You married into the Kane family, so you follow Kane family rules! Sophia gets this plot!"
He motioned to the worker.
"Go process the transfer paperwork!"
Two minutes later, the worker reluctantly handed me the documents.
I raised my hand to tear them up.
Marcus kicked me in the stomach, then grabbed my hand and scraped it against the rough headstone until it bled.
He pressed my bloody handprint onto the paper.
I glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
"You bastard! Don't forget what my family does for a living! If you keep treating me like this..."
He slapped me before I could finish.
"Don't keep throwing your family in my face. This is a civilized society—nobody does that violent shit anymore!"
"I'm telling you, Olivia, I've put up with you for way too long! If you hadn't given me such an adorable daughter, I would've dumped your ass ages ago! Trashy, low-class garbage!"
He kicked me aside, wrapped his arm around Sophia, took Connor's hand, and walked away without looking back.
All over Sophia's dead dog. Marcus had finally dropped the act completely.
He seemed to forget that everything he had came from my family's support.
We put him on top. We could drag him straight to hell!
I stumbled back to the funeral home and clutched Emma's ashes to my chest.
"Emma, don't worry. Mommy won't let you go unavenged..."
On the drive home, Marcus called—a rare occurrence.
His voice was awkward, uneasy, testing the waters.
"Liv, I haven't seen Emma in days. Send me a video so I can see how she's doing..."
"Okay."
I hung up before he could finish and sent him an old video of Emma.
He called back immediately, his voice much lighter.
"Liv, I love when you're this cooperative. Stop scaring me with Emma's death, okay? You freaked out Sophia and Connor today. Tomorrow's Connor's birthday—I'll come home and spend time with Emma after we celebrate."
"Oh, and about today at the cemetery—that can't happen again. Come to Connor's birthday party tomorrow and apologize to Sophia. She's my star student, after all. We'll be seeing a lot of each other, so let's keep things civil..."
"Fine. I'll be there."
"Actually, my dad bought me an island last month. Let's have Connor's party there—the kid will love it. Consider it a gift from me."
Marcus paused, then broke into a grin.
"Perfect! Liv, I love your generous spirit. That's exactly what we'll do!"
After he hung up, I texted Dad confirming they'll be on the island.
When he texted back his confirmation, I finally felt at peace.
