Chapter 1

My wife dies in an accident, leaving me and our son, who's just started kindergarten, behind.

I barely make it through the funeral. However, when I get home, my in-laws come knocking with my wife's brother in tow.

They want to take over my wife's fortune, including an old bungalow my parents left me for me in the city.

I finally realize that my wife has changed me so much that her family has never seen me tearing people's throats out.

Chapter 1

After staying up for the past 48 hours, I was able to wrap up my beloved wife, Gwendolyn Wolfe's funeral matters.

I had arranged for my child to live with a friend for the time being. Upon returning to the cold and empty apartment I called home, I didn't even have the guts to turn on the lights. All I did was space out in the darkness.

Yes, I was afraid.

Gwen was the one who had dragged me back into the rhythm of a regular life. Without her, I could feel my dark and empty soul begging to be unleashed.

Suddenly, a series of bangs came from the front door.

"Felix, open up! Open the door right now!"

It was my mother-in-law, Judith Millard's voice.

After rubbing my face, I went to get the door. There were about a dozen people standing outside my apartment at the moment.

I stood in the doorway while gazing at them blankly. "What's the matter?"

Judith waved at the people behind her. "Come in! Everyone, come in and take a seat!"

My father-in-law, Paul Wolfe, and my brother-in-law, Edward Wolfe, were also among the crowd. Together with Judith and the rest of the crowd, they walked past me and entered my home.

I lowered my head with a frown, noticing the dozen pairs of shoes stepping onto the floor.

My beloved Gwen had worked so hard to mop the floor, and now it was dirty.

Paul and Judith were quick to assume their roles as family elders. Soon, they sank down on my couch.

Judith frowned at me. "What's up with you, Felix? Can't you see that we have a bunch of relatives coming all the way from our hometown just to visit you? Hurry up and serve us tea! You should make dinner arrangements as well!"

Edward lit a cigarette. It didn't take long for him to exhale a puff of smoke. He leaned against the couch while tapping his cigarette butt, causing the hot ashes to burn a small hole in the leather.

"I heard that there's this restaurant called Grand Euphoria in Lexton City. The average dine-in price per pax is about 4,000 dollars, give or take. Why don't you set up a dinner reservation for us there, Felix? We don't mind having a casual dinner there."

As I stood on my spot, my gaze fell on a certain door. A baseball bat had been propped behind that door all year round.

I could feel the violent urge in my blood rushing to overpower my rationality. It wanted to be unleashed right now.

My physical urges won the fight. Soon, I began making my way toward that door.

Judith continued urging me, "Hurry up and serve us tea already! You can't expect us to wait for you like beggars! Where are your manners, huh?"

When I walked past a cabinet, I saw a photo of my darling Gwen. She happened to be smiling happily at me on the frame.

That was when I calmed down.

I took a deep breath before dragging a chair over to sit across from Paul and Judith. "I'm still mourning for Gwen at the moment, so I apologize for not being able to welcome you properly. Why did you bring your relatives here?"

Judith's expression darkened instantly. She tossed her phone onto the coffee table right away.

"Oh? Now that Gwendolyn's dead, we can't even have a meal at your place now?"

I lowered my gaze in order to conceal the blood lust in my eyes.

"Judith, let me repeat myself one more time. Whatever you have to say, just say it. If there's nothing that requires my attention, I'll have to ask you to leave. I'm still in the mourning period, after all."

Enraged, Edward kicked at the coffee table. A loud thud echoed from the heavy coffee table as it moved a few inches toward me.

"Felix Larson, you think you get to be all smug and arrogant just because you're my brother-in-law? We wouldn't have stepped into this shithole if it weren't for Gwendolyn's assets!"

Gwen's assets?

I raised my head to glance at Gwen's photo on the cabinet. A while later, I finally turned back to look at the frustrated Wolfes.

"What do you want?"

Paul cleared his throat. He then pulled out a piece of paper and placed it before me.

"Your and Gwendolyn's known assets are listed on this sheet of paper. They include but aren't limited to the total savings of five million dollars, two cars, the apartment you're living in right now, as well as the old manor your parents had left to you after their deaths."

Chapter 2

"We checked everything on the Internet. The manor is worth 150 million dollars. The market price for this apartment is listed as ten million dollars.

"Half of the joint assets is yours. The remaining half should be split between me, Judith, Ed, you, and your son.

"In terms of your apartment and the savings, we'll convert them based on the market value. You're obligated to transfer 51 million dollars to us. As for Gwendolyn's jewelry and handbags, you may have them as a token of her remembrance."

But Edward refused to accept that outcome.

"Dad, why should he get to have those things? Gwendolyn has so many branded handbags! If we sell them to a second-hand bag seller, we'll still net a ton of profit!"

The moment Edward's words fell, he got up and headed toward the walk-in closet. After that, he opened Gwen's display cabinets and began sifting through the handbags roughly. He grabbed the bags that he liked and tossed away the others to the floor.

I had bought those handbags during my overseas trips with Gwen. All of them were her favorite bags.

I turned around to look at Gwen's photo again. This time, her smile seemed to have faded a little.

Gwen, you must be angry at Edward too, right? You wouldn't blame me if I were to help avenge you later on, right?

I waited for quite some time. The Gwen in the photo never shook her head in response.

Hence, I stood up and walked over to pick up the baseball bat. Under everyone's gazes, I headed into the walk-in closet before pressing the tip of the bat against the back of Edward's head.

"If you touch Gwen's stuff one more time, one of us is going to die in this very room today."

Edward stiffened up at that moment. He dared not move an inch at all.

Judith shrieked at the top of her lungs while lunging at me. She tugged at my clothes forcefully in an attempt to pull me away from Edward.

"Oh my god! It's only been a few days since my daughter's passing, and yet you're already mistreating her family!

"Before Gwendolyn married you, she had wired money home every month! After her marriage, she only wired 3,000 dollars per month to serve as our living expenses! She refused to fork out an extra penny no matter what!

"I should've married her to Bob Carver, the butcher who sold pork back then! At least, our family would have an unlimited supply of fresh pork!"

How noisy.

I raised my hand and slapped Judith across her cheek immediately. Fresh blood trailed down the corner of her lips. The affected cheek began swelling up rapidly.

"You… How dare you…"

Judith cradled her injured cheek while backing away from me. Only when she reached Edward's side did she stop in her tracks.

A frosty expression now occupying my face, I tilted my body to the side to form a small passageway. Then, I pointed at the door with my baseball bat.

"All of you, get lost!"

Edward had gone deathly pale by then. He dragged Judith anxiously toward the door. When he reached my proximity, I flagged him down with my bat.

"F-Felix…"

"Leave Gwen's stuff behind."

Edward stuffed all of Gwen's bags into the display cabinet hurriedly. Then, he dragged his parents out of the apartment in a fit of anxiety.

The next day, I was awakened by my business partner, Dylan Camford's text messages. Apparently, he had sent me a video clip.

In the video, Paul and Judith led the crowd from yesterday all the way to my company. Edward was in the midst of lecturing the receptionists at the front desk.

"It's in your best interest to know what the situation is like right now. You all should know by now that Gwendolyn is dead, right? In the future, this company will be mine. I can easily determine your fate in this company."

After that, he reached out in an attempt to feel one of the receptionist's faces.

"You're quite a looker, aren't you? If you agree to become my woman, I'll give you a pay raise."

At the bottom of the video clip was another text message from Dylan. "Who's going to deal with this? Me or you?"

I texted back, "I'll do it."

After that, I got out of bed and washed up in the bathroom quickly. Then, I grabbed my car keys and left the apartment.

While I was driving toward the company, I also took the liberty to call my lawyer and have him visit the company as well.

I thought there would be some sort of chaos waiting for me at the company. Unexpectedly, I saw Edward getting beaten up by a few young female employees the moment I reached the lobby.

He was all bruised and battered. At the moment, he kept wailing at the top of his lungs while begging for mercy.

Chapter 3

With her hands on her hips, the receptionist began turning the air blue with curses directed at Paul and Judith. Both of them looked thunderous, but they couldn't find a chance to retort at all.

Dylan tried to hold his laughter back. When he saw me, he finally stepped forward and pretended to mediate the chaos. Soon, he led the crowd into a lounge.

My lawyer had arrived as well. I didn't bother wasting my breath on the Wolfes, so I named my condition.

I'd pay them five million dollars. In exchange, I got to sever all ties with them.

Judith was the first one to shoot down my condition. She reiterated stubbornly, "No way! There's no way we'd agree to this!

"Don't think we're clueless about the fact that you had bought an accident insurance policy with a huge payout for Gwendolyn! Yesterday's list didn't even include the money paid by the insurance company! There might be a chance that you bought that policy for Gwendolyn before hiring someone to run her over!

"No, you have to pay us 51 million dollars in cash! We expect every dollar to be there!"

Edward stood at a spot far away from me, his face still marred by bruises. He added, "Is taking advantage of Gwendolyn's death fun for you, Felix? Stop using your lawyer as an excuse to frighten us! I've already consulted a lawyer! We're entitled to Gwendolyn's assets!"

Then, he turned to look at Dylan. "Hey, you! You're Felix's business partner, right? You'd better advise him to give us the assets! Otherwise, you might get dragged into this mess too once we take him to court!"

Dylan was tickled pink by Edward's declaration.

"Like Felix, I grew up here in Lexton City. My forefathers had worked hard in accumulating all the assets I have today. You, on the other hand, are just outsiders who have only visited Lexton City a few times in your lives. It's impossible for you to do any actual damage to me."

Edward was furious, to say the least. He pointed at Dylan while snapping, "Don't get too cocky! Once I get my hands on Gwendolyn's assets, I'll be able to buy a place for myself in Lexton City as well! When that time comes, I'll get rid of you once and for all!"

Dylan laughed so hard that tears were starting to pool in his eyes. He patted me on the shoulder before leaving the lounge.

I gazed at the crowd before me. That was when I thought about how much grievances and suffering my darling Gwen had gone through in the past just to appease these blood-sucking leeches.

Just how much had she sacrificed to stop them from appearing before me?

The thought of Gwen suffering in the past made my patience wear thin. So, I pushed my lawyer's business card to Paul and the others.

"This is my lawyer. I won't change my condition no matter what. You may contact him once you've thought things through.

"Also, since Gwen has passed away, I'm not obligated to provide financial support to you. From next month onward, you won't receive the three-thousand-dollar living expenses that Gwen used to give you any more.

"Today marks the last day I paid for your hotel rooms. If you don't hurry up and check out soon, you'll have to pay for the room extensions yourself."

After that, I left the lounge.

When I walked past the front desk, I told the receptionist to inform the security team to chase Paul and the others out of the company.

I had already consulted my lawyer regarding the joint assets. All of the other assets were easy to deal with, save for the manor my parents had left me.

My great-grandfather had built that manor during his era, and it had been passed down generation by generation since then. It was one of the few manors which were kept in extremely good condition in Lexton City.

To me, that manor held a lot of significance in terms of emotional value rather than its monetary value. I would never let anyone else have it no matter what.

However, the lawyer also made it clear that I had inherited this manor when my marriage with Gwen was still legal and binding. According to the marital law, my in-laws and Edward possessed inheritance rights over the manor as well.

While the Wolfes were justified in demanding the manor, it was unreasonable of them to do so.

It was fine. I wasn't a good Samaritan anyway.

If they were willing to leave with an extra five million dollars in their pockets, I'd treat it as my way of helping Gwen fulfill her duty as a daughter for the very last time.

But if those bastards weren't satiated at all, I'd teach them a lesson on what it meant to bite off more than they could chew.

As expected, lowlifes would forever be lowlifes. My prediction was right.

Soon, another incident happened. That afternoon, I was in the midst of sorting out Gwen's personal effects when I received a phone call from the tenants of the old manor.

Chapter 4

Apparently, a bunch of outsiders had brought their luggage to the manor's compound and plopped their asses there. They claimed that the manor was theirs, so they wanted the tenants to move out immediately.

By the time I reached the manor, the group was already sitting in the main lobby. Edward pointed at the menu while ordering a bunch of dishes.

"I don't want these dishes. Other than that, I want the rest of the menu to be served. Also, I want a bottle of Château Lafite from the 1982 vintage.

"What are you standing around for? We're your landlords, you know! Are you worried that we can't afford this meal?

"If you don't hurry up, I might as well stop renting this place to you! I'll make sure that the money your boss has used on the refurbishment of this manor goes down the drain!"

The server left the table while looking conflicted. After closing the menu, Edward turned to face Paul and Judith smugly.

"Who would've thought that Felix's manor is actually Grand Euphoria? Mom, Dad, this is the fanciest restaurant in Lexton City!

"It seems that Felix and Gwendolyn have a lot more assets than we thought. Once we're done with lunch, we should plan our next step properly.

"If you were to ask me, Gwendolyn died at the right time. Had she not died, we wouldn't be able to enjoy these luxuries in her stead."

I approached the table frostily before tossing the documents to the Wolfes. "I heard that you told the tenants to move out."

When Edward noticed me, his complexion went pale for a second. But soon, he retorted stubbornly, "That's right! Since you refuse to extend our rooms, we have nowhere to stay. That's why we decided to stay in our own manor! What's wrong with that?"

I spread the documents open for the Wolfes to look at.

"Take a proper look at this. The rent for this manor is three million dollars per year. The total renovation cost is ten million dollars. If the landlord breaks the contract by demanding the tenants move out before the contract expires, he'll have to pay both the renovation cost and one year's rent.

"It'll be 13 million dollars in total. Who will be the one paying the compensation?"

All color drained from everyone's faces when they heard the figure.

At that moment, the restaurant's manager came over to the table. He placed a bill in front of Paul and Judith.

"Thanks to the ruckus you and your group caused in this restaurant, you've caused us to sustain about 50 thousand dollars in terms of losses. Would you like to handle this case in private, or shall we escalate this case to the police?"

Judith's complexion was pallid as she struggled to her feet, her legs trembling beneath her.

"T-This is just a misunderstanding, sir. Yeah… It's all a misunderstanding! We're leaving now!"

After that, she shot Paul and Edward a look. The group attempted to leave the restaurant as quickly as possible.

The moment they reached the door, they were stopped by the security guards.

"The kitchen is already processing your order. According to the food items you've ordered, your bill comes to a total of 258 thousand dollars. You can pay using a credit card, or you can just wire the payment to the restaurant's bank account."

Both Paul and Judith had cold sweat rolling down their faces. They soon slumped to the floor, having lost all strength in their legs.

Edward pointed at me while hollering at the restaurant's manager, "He's my brother-in-law! If you want money, you should ask him to pay up!"

I merely spread my hands. "Every corner of this restaurant is fitted with a security camera each. As adults, you have to take responsibility for your actions. This has nothing to do with me."

Judith burst into tears at that moment. She crawled over to me before grabbing my pant leg.

"Felix, I'm Gwendolyn's mother! Even if she's dead, you still can't do this to us! Gwendolyn is already dead, so why do you need this much money? Hurry up and pay the bill so that we can leave!

"You mustn't call the police… No matter what, you can't do that… Ed has plans to become a public servant… If you call the police, his future will be ruined!"

I backed away from Judith.

"If you agree to the condition I've proposed this morning, I might consider clearing the debt for you."

"No way!"

Paul managed to stand up by propping onto the chair next to him.

"We did our job raising Gwendolyn since she was a baby! Her money belongs to us! Aha! I knew it! You and the manager staged this incident just to get us to agree to your condition!"

Chapter 5

"Don't think you can fool us this time! We want 51 million dollars, and not a single cent less!"

I shook my head at the manager. Then, I walked over to a random table and sat down to enjoy the show.

The crowd argued with the restaurant for a long time after that. In the end, the restaurant manager lost his patience and called the police.

Only then did the crowd panic. Judith looked at the relatives whom she had brought here before demanding them to cough up the money.

In the end, everyone had to pay the restaurant 30 thousand dollars each before leaving the compound. At the doorway, the relatives quickly captured Paul, Judith, and Edward. Once they beat them up, they ditched the Wolfes angrily.

Upon leaving the restaurant, I looked at the time. It was almost time to go to the kindergarten and pick up my son, Maxwell Larson.

On the way there, I kept thinking about how I should explain to my son why his parents had not picked him up from school for so many days.

How should I explain to him that he wouldn't be able to see his mommy ever again?

There was a small jam when I was on my way to Max's kindergarten. By the time I reached it, half an hour had already passed.

After recomposing myself in the car, I got out. The teacher standing at the kindergarten's gateway happened to be Max's homeroom teacher.

When she saw me, she asked in shock, "Mr. Larson, why are you here?"

A premonition began creeping into my mind at that moment.

My body was all stiff as I replied, "I'm here to pick Max up."

The teacher's face went pale. "Max's uncle came to pick him up."

I remained rooted to the spot. My hands and feet had gone cold. It felt as though the blood in my veins had gone cold.

The teacher continued to explain with a stammer, "I… I did confirm with Max. That time, Max did call him his uncle…"

I managed to ask with the last trace of my sanity, "Did the person who pick Maxwell up suffer from bruises on his face?"

The teacher nodded instantly. "Yes!"

I turned on my heel and left. At the same time, I called Dylan. After that, I called all of my friends.

In a trembling voice, I begged them to help me look for my son.

I exclaimed to them, "I'm begging you, please help me look for Max! Please!"

My hands trembled violently when I sat in my car. I couldn't even hit the "start engine" button. Never had I felt such intense fear and rage hitting the peak at the same time in my entire life

My left hand tightly clutched the watch that was strapped around my right wrist. It was a gift from Gwen. I remained like that until the icy strap hurt my wrist, causing pain to flare from that spot.

Finally, I was able to calm down.

Then, I opened the app that showed the GPS location of Max's smartwatch. The last location was shown to be the next junction.

After that, I called my friend at the police station and updated him on the general direction that Max had moved in after getting picked up at the kindergarten.

Then, I sat in my car while taking deep breaths.

All of my friends had watched Max grow up. Now, what I needed to do was to wait.

Numerous possibilities flashed through my mind. In the end, a singular thought was formed.

If anything happened to Max, I might as well die. Both of us would travel to the afterlife and look for Gwen.

But before that, I swore I'd drag those bastards down with me.

20 minutes later, my friend called me. It turned out that he found Max. I ran a few red lights just to get to the location he had given me, which was a rundown inn.

The police and I reached the inn at the same time.

When the door was kicked open, I saw Max sleeping on the bed. Meanwhile, Edward was in the middle of taking photos of Max.

As he snapped away, he mumbled, "I refuse to believe that Felix won't agree to our requests once he realizes that his son is in our hands.

"Don't talk about taking us to court. It takes far too long. We can't afford to waste that much time."

After that, the police filed into the inn room with their guns aimed at the culprits. Edward's phone fell to the floor instantly.

I approached Max and picked him up with a dark expression on my face. Once I felt my son's breathing, relief finally flooded my thundering heart.

Then, I shot a look at my friend before rushing Max toward the hospital without looking back.

The check-up results were soon released. Max had inhaled some drugged fumes that knocked him out. Once the drugs wore off, he'd wake up.

Only then did my knees buckle together as I collapsed onto the hospital bed.

Soon, my friend called me. He told me tactfully that the trio was adamant that they merely intended to take Max out on a walk. They didn't force Max to follow them against his will.

Since the three Wolfes were Max's actual family, it was hard to pin the actual crime on them despite knowing that they had ulterior motives.

As I stared at Max lying on the bed, guilt and rage surged through me in relentless waves, threatening to drown my rationality.

For the first time ever, I felt like killing people.

Max was the final gift of remembrance Gwen had left for me in this world. If anyone dared to lay a finger on him, I'd make that person pay an extremely heavy price.