Chapter 3

With that, she hung up without hesitation.

The kidnapper listened to the dial tone and took back his phone.

He shrugged and said with a cold smile, "I gave you a chance. Mrs. Quinn is a busy woman, and she hasn't even transferred the money to me yet."

"You can't blame me for what happens next."

He gestured to his men behind him. One of them with dyed yellow hair roughly snatched Leo from my arms.

"No!"

I let out a heart-wrenching roar, crawling on all fours to try and stop him.

Another thug kicked me hard in the chest. I slammed against the wall before crumpling to the ground.

Blood flowed from my forehead, obscuring my vision.

My son's cries echoed in my ears.

"I want Mommy! Mommy, come save me!"

"Daddy! Daddy, save me!"

The next second, both Leo's terrified screams and my cries were abruptly silenced.

I saw Leo's tiny body collapse softly to the ground, motionless.

I kept shaking my head, my jaw trembling, as I slowly supported myself up and staggered over to my son.

My hand caressed Leo's face, which had been so full of life just hours ago. The blood on my hands smeared his face, and I frantically tried to wipe it away, but there was more and more blood.

I picked up my son and finally broke down in loud, uncontrollable sobs.

When I had cried myself out, I looked up to find myself surrounded by a group of men who weren't the original kidnappers.

Before I could react, they swung the clubs in their hands, striking my legs and arms.

I heard the sound of bones breaking and was nearly driven unconscious by the pain.

In the last second before I passed out, I heard their malicious laughter.

"This bastard can't take a beating at all. Brother Lucas said to just break his arms and legs, leave him barely alive."

...

I woke up in the hospital.

My whole body ached as if I had been torn apart and haphazardly put back together.

The doctor said I had suffered comminuted fractures in my left arm and right leg, and they had barely managed to save me.

I stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling a twinge in my heart, but I had no more tears left to cry.

Why didn't they just let me die along with Leo?

A nurse came in and asked me in a low voice, "Is that little boy's body in the morgue your son?"

"The forensic examination is complete. The family can come claim the body now."

My heart was stabbed again.

Just then, Olivia pushed open the door to the hospital room.

She was holding Snowball in her arms, with Lucas following behind her, his eyes red and puffy.

Seeing that I was awake, Olivia's face broke into a smile. She was about to show me the dog when I spoke.

Her voice held a hint of relief: "Snowball was in critical condition, but luckily we saved him."

I remembered the doctor saying I had nearly died too.

A dog's life, a human life...

Hah, this was my wife.

I stared vacantly at the wall without speaking.

After a long silence, just as Olivia was starting to get impatient, I spoke in a hoarse voice. Each word felt like a knife scraping my throat.

"Olivia, the doctor said they issued twenty-five critical condition notices for me. I almost died."

"I barely managed to survive, but Leo will never come back!"

I practically shouted the last sentence, tears falling in large drops onto the bedsheet.

Olivia was taken aback, then sighed, "You know dogs are more fragile, of course we had to save Snowball first."

"You're fine now, aren't you? You have good recovery abilities, unlike Snowball who still needs months of care."

Then, as if just remembering something, she frowned and asked me.

"What happened to Leo? Did the kidnappers release him?"

I looked at the face I had loved for ten years, suddenly feeling it was very unfamiliar.

I opened my mouth, my voice raspy: "Leo... is dead."

"You killed him!"

My emotions suddenly collapsed, and I began to scream hysterically.

"You killed him! Olivia, you're a murderer!"