Chapter 1

Five years after Liam DeLuise went bankrupt and skipped town, he suddenly returned, richer than ever.

While I was waiting in line at the hospital pharmacy to pick up lifesaving medication, he kidnapped my eight-year-old son, Teddy Molson.

He called me on video. I immediately recognized the abandoned industrial park on the west side of town behind him.

On the screen, Teddy, who had a heart condition, was suspended over a pool of water inside an abandoned warehouse. His skin had turned purple from the cold.

Liam sneered into the camera.

“You really are one hell of a friend, Dave! When I went bankrupt, you refused to help me and even stole my woman! Bet you never thought I’d make it back on top, did you?

“Now, I’m going to make you feel what it’s like to lose the person you love most!”

He raised the metal pipe, ready to break Teddy’s knee with it.

My eyes burned with panic as I screamed at the screen.

“Don’t touch him, Liam! He’s your son!”

Chapter 1

My screams echoed down the empty hospital corridor and drew startled looks from everyone nearby.

I did not care. I stared desperately at my phone. I was terrified that Liam might do something drastic.

“Hahaha! Dave, have you been watching so many soap operas that you’ve lost your mind?”

Liam laughed so hard that there were tears in his eyes.

He leaned into the camera. His face that was twisted with hatred filled the entire screen.

“To save this little fool, you’d even humiliate yourself by claiming that your wife cheated on you? Do you take me for a three-year-old?”

“I’m not lying! Just think about the timing…”

“Shut up!” Liam cut me off viciously. He grabbed Teddy by his thin collar and hauled him off his feet.

“Look at him! In what way does he resemble me? He’s the runt you and that harlot Jennifer had behind my back!”

Teddy whimpered in pain.

He wore nothing but a thin thermal shirt. Beneath him was an abandoned steel tank filled with filthy water.

The bitter early-winter wind swept through the warehouse. His lips had turned blue. His face was deathly pale.

“Daddy, help me! It’s so cold.”

His faint cries broke my heart.

“Liam! If you want revenge, take it out on me! Let him down first. He has a congenital heart condition. His heart can’t handle the shock or the cold!”

I raced out of the hospital and hailed a cab.

“Take me to the abandoned industrial park on the west side! Hurry! I’ll pay for any tickets, just get me there!”

“A heart condition?” Liam sneered when he heard me and released his grip. “Serves him right! Even God is disgusted by what you two did. This is your punishment!”

With a splash, Teddy plunged into the freezing water.

The filthy water rose above his chest. He had never learned to swim. In his panic, he could not find his footing.

He thrashed desperately and choked on mouthful after mouthful of water. The sight of him struggling tore me apart.

“Is your heart breaking?” Liam walked over to the tank and looked down at Teddy. His eyes were gleaming with vindictive satisfaction.

“Dave, when I went bankrupt, my creditors hunted me down like a dog until I had to flee the country. What did you do, then?

“You were supposed to be my best friend, but instead of helping me, you took advantage of my absence and slept with the woman I loved!”

“You have no idea what really happened back then!” I was trembling with rage.

“Just get him out of the water! I’ll explain everything to you in person!”

“Save it!”

Liam swung the metal pipe down hard against the edge of the tank. It sent chips of concrete flying.

Teddy had only just managed to regain his footing when a piece grazed his face. A thin red scratch appeared on his cheek.

“Dave, I want you to call Jennifer right now. Tell her you’re divorcing her and throwing her out with nothing! Otherwise, I’ll leave this little runt in the freezing water until he dies!”

I did not obey him immediately.

At that hour, Jennifer Molson was driving home from the highway.

If I told her Teddy had been kidnapped, I was afraid she might panic and get into an accident on the road.

As I looked at Liam on the screen, a surge of anger rose inside me.

He had no idea what had really happened back then.

Chapter 2

Five years ago, Liam’s investments failed. His company went under and left him millions of dollars in debt.

That night, he had sent me a text.

[Take care of Jen for me.]

Then, he disappeared without a trace.

By the time I reached the apartment they shared, the creditors had smashed up the place and left.

Jennifer was curled up alone amid the wreckage. She was sobbing uncontrollably.

Liam had been my best friend since college. I could not bear to leave her homeless. I offered to let her stay in my spare apartment until she got back on her feet.

However, two weeks after Liam disappeared, Jennifer suddenly collapsed in the bathroom.

At the hospital, we learned that she was nearly two months pregnant.

The baby was Liam’s.

When Jennifer woke up, she ran a hand over her still-flat stomach. Her eyes had been frighteningly vacant.

She wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but the doctor warned that because of an underlying medical condition, doing so could leave her permanently infertile.

To make matters worse, the doctor warned that follow-up prenatal tests carried a high risk of detecting abnormal cardiac development in the fetus.

Jennifer fell apart.

She knew that with unmarried parents and a father who had fled the town to escape his debts, the child would grow up facing endless judgment and ridicule.

That day, she gripped my hand and sobbed so hard she could barely breathe.

“Dave, please, I’m begging you. Help me. I can’t let my baby come into the world without a father. I can’t let him grow up being mocked as the illegitimate son of a fugitive debtor.

“Your parents have been pressuring you to get married, haven’t they? Could we pretend to be married? We only have to be together long enough to give him a legitimate family. Once everything blows over, we’ll get a divorce.

“I’ll even sign an agreement promising to cover every cent of his expenses myself!”

Seeing her reduced to begging and thinking of how my parents threatened to kill themselves almost every day if I refused to settle down, I finally gave in.

For five years, ours had been a marriage in name only, built on mutual respect rather than love. I had loved Teddy as if he were my own family.

I never imagined Liam would suddenly return, much less kidnap his own son!

“Are you going to call her or not?” In the video, Liam lost patience and kicked Teddy.

Teddy cried out as he fell into the water again.

Clutching his chest, he gasped desperately for air. His face turned ashen.

His heart condition was about to act up!

“I’ll call her! I’ll call her!” I broke down.

Afraid to end the video call with Liam, I pulled out my backup phone and called Jennifer.

She answered after three rings. Her gentle voice came through the phone.

“Dave, did you get the medicine? Teddy mentioned earlier that he wanted those little cakes from the bakery on the west side.”

“Jennifer, I want a divorce,” I blurted out.

There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

Several seconds passed before Jennifer finally spoke in a flustered voice.

“Dave, what’s wrong? Are your parents pressuring you again? Don’t worry, I’ll move out in the next few days.”

“No! I’ve had enough!” I roared into the phone. My tears splashed onto the screen.

“I’m sick of raising another man’s son! Get out of my house right now! Now!”

With that, I hung up.

“You heard me! I did exactly what you told me to do! Now, get Teddy out of the water!”

Liam froze, seemingly taken aback that I would really go that far.

Then, he burst out laughing, doubling over with amusement.

“Hahaha! Dave, you really are a loyal little lapdog! You’d dump your wife for this runt?”

He walked over to the tank and hauled Teddy out of the water. Then, he threw him hard onto the concrete floor.

Teddy curled into a ball. His mouth slightly opened as faint, ragged gasps escaped him.

“Pills... I need my pills...” Teddy murmured weakly.

“Liam, give him his pills! His emergency heart pills are in his pocket!”

I screamed at the screen. I wished I could reach through it and strangle him with my bare hands.

Liam merely crouched down at a leisurely pace and pulled the white pill bottle from Teddy’s soaked pocket.

He idly turned the bottle over in his hand. His eyes were full of contempt.

“Pills? Dave, did you really think I’d let you off that easily?”

Chapter 3

He turned the bottle upside down and spilled the brown lifesaving pills all over the floor.

“Liam, have you lost your mind?!” I screamed hysterically into the phone. “Open your eyes and look! He’s not my son! He’s your biological son!”

Unfortunately, Liam refused to believe me. He merely watched my breakdown with a smug smile.

Panic overwhelmed me. I finally blurted out the truth about what had happened five years ago.

“After you ran away five years ago, Jennifer found out she was pregnant! She begged me to marry her in name only because she didn’t want her child growing up branded as the illegitimate son of a fugitive debtor!

“Teddy is five years old. Do the math! He really is your flesh and blood! Liam, I’m begging you. Believe me just this once. He really is your son!”

I thought that after hearing all that, he would at least begin to have doubts.

Instead, his expression only darkened. He viciously kicked Teddy in the stomach.

“How dare you try to disgust me with such a lie?!” Liam roared into the camera.

“Do you think I’m an idiot, Dave? If he were really my son, why didn’t Jennifer tell me? Why didn’t she have the baby and wait for me to come back?!”

“Because you’re a coward!” I shouted, consumed by fury.

“You left her alone to face millions of dollars in debt! You ran off without a word! What right do you have to question her now? Pick up those pills and give them to Teddy! Hurry! He’s dying!”

On the screen, Teddy lay motionless after the kick.

His face had turned gray. His eyes were rolling back. He was clutching the front of his shirt over his chest.

He was in a critical condition. He needed emergency treatment immediately!

Just then, my backup phone began vibrating frantically. Jennifer was calling.

I fumbled to answer. Jennifer’s frantic sobs came through the phone.

“Dave, Teddy’s missing! His teacher said a man claiming to be a relative picked him up from school. What are we going to do, Dave?”

“Jennifer, listen to me! Liam kidnapped Teddy!” I shouted into the phone.

“They’re at the abandoned industrial park on the west side! Call the police! Tell them to send an ambulance too!”

Liam heard Jennifer’s voice over the phone. The madness in his eyes intensified.

“You cheating pair! After betraying me, what gives you the right to still have this perfect little family? Tell that harlot to come too! Then, you three can have one final family reunion right here!”

The moment he finished speaking, a wave of panic swept over me.

Sure enough, the screen went black the very next second.

Liam had ended the video call!

When I tried calling him back, his phone was already switched off.

“Please, drive faster! I’ll pay ten times the cost of any tickets, just get me there!”

I leaned forward desperately, gripping the back of the driver’s seat as tears blurred my vision.

A few minutes later, the cab finally pulled up outside the abandoned industrial park.

I ran into the old warehouse and immediately spotted Teddy lying in a puddle of muddy water.

His thin thermal shirt was soaked through. His chest was barely moving.

Liam stood over him with a sharp folding knife. Its blade was pressed against Teddy’s vulnerable throat.

“Stop right there!” Liam said coldly. “Take one more step, Dave, and this knife might slip.”

I stopped dead, my legs threatening to give out beneath me.

“Liam, I’m here. If you want to hurt someone, hurt me! Just put down the knife!” I begged hoarsely.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Liam taunted. He pulled out his phone and pointed the camera at me.

“Dave, you love Jennifer and this little runt so much, don’t you? Fine. Let’s see how far that love goes.

“Now, face the camera and start slapping yourself. With every slap, I want you to admit what a backstabbing lowlife you are, how you moved in on my woman the second I was gone and how you were happy to take my sloppy seconds.

“If I’m not convinced, I’ll cut the kid’s face.”

Chapter 4

“You…” I clenched my jaw as humiliation and fury raged inside me.

“What? You don’t want to?”

Liam pressed the blade harder against Teddy’s pale throat, instantly drawing a thin line of blood.

“I’ll do it! I’ll say whatever you want!”

My eyes burning with tears, I raised my hand and struck myself hard across the face.

Slap!

The sharp sound echoed through the cavernous warehouse.

“I’m a home-wrecking lowlife! I took advantage of you when you were down!”

Slap! I hit myself again. Blood immediately trickled from the corner of my mouth.

“I’m a worthless fool! I took your sloppy seconds! I’m utterly disgusting!”

I slapped myself again and again.

My pride no longer mattered. I kept hitting myself, willing to endure any humiliation if it meant keeping Teddy alive.

It was not long before my face was badly swollen.

“Hahaha! Yes! That’s it! Keep going!” Liam laughed like a madman.

“Dave, you were such a big shot back in college. You were the student body president, and you were too good for everyone. Look at you now, groveling at my feet like a dog!”

Once Liam had finished reveling in my humiliation, he smugly stopped the recording.

“All right. Since you’ve put on such a convincing show, I suppose I’ll let the little runt live for now.”

As he spoke, Liam casually nudged Teddy with the toe of his shoe.

Teddy’s small body lay limp and unresponsive, like a discarded rag doll.

Liam froze for a moment, then crouched down and reached a hand toward Teddy’s nose.

“Hey. Quit playing dead.”

A few seconds later, Liam jerked his hand back as if he had been burned.

I immediately knew something had gone terribly wrong. I no longer cared about the fact that Liam was armed and rushed forward in a panic.

I shoved Liam aside and gathered Teddy into my arms. “Teddy! Teddy, wake up!”

The body in my arms was cold and stiff, silently proclaiming a cruel truth.

“No, this can’t be happening. Teddy, I’ll take you to get those little cakes you wanted. Please, open your eyes and look at me!”

I broke down sobbing as I began performing CPR on him with trembling hands.

Just then, the screech of tires came from outside the warehouse. A moment later, Jennifer stumbled inside in a panic.

When she saw Teddy lying lifeless in my arms, she let out a piercing scream. “Teddy! Teddy, please don’t scare me! Why are you so cold? Let me warm you up. Mommy will warm you up.”

Jennifer snatched Teddy from my arms and clutched him tightly to her chest.

However, no matter how desperately she called his name, the little boy in her arms would never respond again.

After a long while, she noticed Liam standing silently nearby. She gently laid Teddy down and rose to her feet. Her eyes were bloodshot.

“Liam, you monster!”

She suddenly opened her bag and dumped everything onto the floor.

Among the scattered belongings, she found a yellowed medical report and slammed it against his chest.

“Take a good look at this! Do you know what it is?” Jennifer’s hoarse voice echoed through the warehouse.

It was a prenatal report from five years ago.

Her hand trembled as she pointed fiercely at the date printed at the top.

“Look at the date! I had this checkup fifteen days after you ran away. It says right here that I was already almost eight weeks pregnant. Do the math.

“Teddy was conceived before you went bankrupt and disappeared, when we were still together! He was your son! You’ve killed your own child with your own hands!”