1 My mother-in-law was rushed to the hospital, fighting for her life. My husband Sean, head of thoracic surgery at Mercy General, was her only hope. Yet he let his clumsy, doe-eyed intern, Lana, lead the operation. She stood trembling, unable to even identify basic instruments. Pouting, she tapped her head: “Oh, Seeean… I forgot agaaaain~” He chuckled adoringly, ignoring his open, bleeding patient on the table, and spent ten minutes coaching her before the surgery began. Disaster struck. Lana’s hand slipped, puncturing the tumor. She shrieked and threw herself into Sean’s arms, sobbing. While he consoled her, my mother-in-law’s last chance slipped away. She died on the table. Sean emerged cradling the traumatized intern and shot me a cold glance. “Before you take your mother’s body,” he said flatly, “sign this liability waiver.” He sighed, as if burdened by my grief. “Your mother was a lost cause. Lana is young—we can’t ruin her career.” I stared, the world tilting. It took a moment to process: he thought the woman on that table… was my mother. A cold smile spread across my face. “That waiver,” I said, calmly, “isn’t mine to sign.” … Sean let out an exasperated sigh. “Are you refusing to sign it?!” he snapped. “Don’t be difficult, Ava. What else are you going to do? Sue for malpractice?” Lana peeked out from the safety of Sean’s arms. “Sean, honey, don’t be angry with Ava,” she whimpered. “She just lost her mother, after all. It’s natural for her to be upset…” Her voice broke into a sob. “It’s all my fault. I failed to save the patient. I’m so useless. If only my skills were better, she wouldn’t have died…” Sean’s expression softened into a tenderness I had never seen him direct at me. “Lana, you’re too kind,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “Don’t take all of this on yourself. A patient that sick… no one could have saved her. It’s not your fault.” Then, his gaze hardened as he turned back to me. “Ava, are you happy now that you’ve made the poor girl cry? Just sign the waiver. And while you’re at it, write a glowing five-star review for her. Something about her being a ‘compassionate caregiver’ with a ‘healing touch.’ Got it?” I almost burst out laughing. It was beyond absurd. When Sean had heard I was bringing my mother-in-law to the hospital, he had rushed over with Lana in tow. I’d assumed he was coming to perform the surgery himself. Instead, he’d handed the scalpel to an intern who’d been at the hospital for all of two months. And now, after she’d killed the patient, the family was expected to thank her? But if Sean himself thought his own mother deserved to die, who was I to argue? I forced my lips into a compliant smile and nodded. “Of course, I agree to sign. But it’s not just my decision to make, you know.” I held up my phone. “How about this? I’ll record you stating that you also consent. It’ll just make the hospital paperwork go smoother.” Sean looked at me like I was an idiot. “Are you out of your mind? That’s your mother, not mine. Why would her death have anything to do with me?” His expression… it was so familiar. I remembered finding my mother-in-law’s medical file in her room, the one detailing her diagnosis of a malignant tumor. She had begged me not to tell Sean, not to distract him during a crucial time in his career. But Sean had found the file anyway. Faced with his mother’s pleading eyes, I’d lied and told him it was my mother’s diagnosis. Now, I finally understood the look on his face back then. It wasn’t concern. It was morbid glee. Seeing me just stand there, phone still raised, he grumbled impatiently. “Fine, fine! I, Sean Caldwell, also consent to the waiver. Happy now?” He shoved past me. “Now get out of the way. Can’t you see Lana is completely exhausted from the surgery?” Lana, still nestled in his arms, shot me a look over his shoulder. Her eyes, so clear and deceptively innocent, held a flicker of pure triumph. As he brushed past, Sean sneered, “Stop wallowing. With her condition, if it wasn't this year, it would've been the next.” He was right. I only hoped he could maintain that same detached attitude when he finally discovered whose mother had really died. While the body was being moved to the morgue, someone from the hospital’s risk management department came to speak with me. They were in an awkward position; Sean was both the attending surgeon and the victim’s next of kin. Before they could even start their carefully worded speech, I handed them the signed waiver and the recording of Sean’s consent. They stared at me, their jaws slack. Leaving their office, I headed for the morgue. Halfway there, I ran into Sean and Lana, strolling hand in hand. Seeing where I was going, Sean blocked my path and thrust a piece of paper in my face. “Sign it.” 2 I took the paper. It was an organ and body donation form. Even though the woman lying in the morgue wasn’t my biological mother, a chill ran down my spine. “You know she was religious, Sean. She believed in entering this world whole and leaving it the same way.” My voice was ice. “I won’t agree to this.” Lana let out a derisive giggle. “Oh, please. It’s the twenty-first century. Who still believes in that superstitious nonsense?” She smirked. “If you ask me, your mom must have done some pretty terrible things in her life to get cancer. I mean, why her and not someone else?” Sean chuckled in agreement, not a hint of shame on his face. “Ava, think of it this way. At least now your mother can be useful for something. Do a little good, and maybe she’ll get a better roll of the dice in her next life.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s like butchering a pig. The fresher the kill, the better the meat. We can’t wait too long.” Have respect for the dead. Even if the woman lying on that slab wasn’t his mother, how could a doctor speak like that? A fire ignited in my gut. “She’s your mother too!” I screamed. “Have you no conscience?! I will never agree to this!” I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight I thought the bones would snap. He raised his other hand, his face a mask of menace. “You ungrateful bitch. I tried to be nice about this, but you just won’t listen, will you?” I met his gaze, my eyes like chips of ice. “Sean, you dare lay a hand on me? If my parents find out, they’ll destroy you.” The words were barely out of my mouth before his palm connected with my cheek. A flash of white-hot light exploded behind my eyes. “So you finally married up, and now you’re better than me?” he spat. “You think you can hold your parents over my head forever? You think I’m some pushover?” He wrenched my hand forward and forced me to sign the donation form, then shoved me to the ground. I pushed myself up, staring at him in disbelief. This was the man who once couldn’t even bear to speak a harsh word to me. Now he could hit me? Lana immediately rushed to his side, clutching his arm. “Sean, honey, don't be angry! Don’t hurt your hands!” Instantly, the rage vanished from Sean’s face, replaced by a look of concern for his precious intern. “I’m not angry, baby. Not for a worthless bitch like her.” He turned to go. “Come on, let’s go prep the body.” Lana’s eyes darted around. “But honey, you have another surgery soon, remember?” she cooed. “Why don’t you go rest? Leave the body prep to me. It’ll be a great learning experience!” As soon as Sean was gone, Lana strode over to the gurney and casually yanked back the white sheet. She picked up a cranial saw and, with a sickening buzz, cut open my mother-in-law’s skull. “Ugh, brain atrophy,” she said with disgust. “Can’t use this for a specimen.” Next, she scooped out the eyeballs. “Old bat was half-blind anyway. Corneas are useless.” In seconds, my mother-in-law’s face was an unrecognizable horror. Lana then proceeded to disembowel the body, tossing the organs onto a tray with careless disdain. As she worked, she took photos with her phone and sent them to Sean. His voice messages came back, filled with praise. “My Lana is so talented. Not scared at all.” “That’s the way to do it. Just dive right in. It’s not like Ava’s mom had anything worth harvesting anyway. At least this way, her death has some value. Good practice for you!” I clamped a hand over my mouth, fighting back a wave of nausea. Lana looked up at me, a sweet, sickly smile on her face. “Your mom was just too old. Not a single salvageable part on her.” She shrugged. “But how would I know without taking a look, right, Ava? It’s just standard procedure. Don’t take it personally.” I took a deep, shuddering breath. Of course I didn’t take it personally. If her own son was cheering this on, what right did I have to object? But now that I had seen Sean for who he truly was, I couldn't just pretend nothing had happened. I couldn’t stay married to this monster. What if he decided to “practice” on my parents next? I snatched the phone from Lana’s hand and spoke into it, my voice clear and unwavering. “Sean, I want a divorce.” 3 Sean stormed back from the on-call room. “Ava, have you lost your mind?!” he bellowed. “Doctors aren’t gods! Are you going to blame me because your mother died?” “I’m not blaming you,” I replied, my voice eerily calm. “I just don’t want to be married to you anymore.” Sean’s brow furrowed as he struggled to control his anger. “Lana and I did everything we could in that surgery. I know you’re grieving, but don’t use divorce as a weapon.” Lana let out a little gasp, pointing a trembling finger at herself. “Ava,” she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears, “you don’t blame Sean… does that mean you blame me?” She crumpled to the floor, burying her face in her hands. “It’s all my fault. I couldn’t save her. It’s all my fault,” she sobbed. “Ava, hit me, scream at me, do whatever you want! Just don’t divorce Sean! He’s innocent!” Sean rushed to her side, pulling her to her feet. “Ava, that’s enough!” he snarled. “Lana is already under immense pressure after what happened. Are you trying to push her over the edge?” He rounded on me, his face a mask of contempt. “Divorce me? Get a grip. Your mother’s gone, your father’s old. You think you’re still that little girl with mommy and daddy to back you up?! You need to understand something right now. The only person you can rely on from now on is me! Not your parents, who already have one foot in the grave!” I just stared at him, my eyes reflecting the ugly, twisted man he had become. “Finally,” I said softly. “The truth comes out.” “You’ve been living off my parents’ money for years, haven’t you, Sean? And all the while, your pathetic pride has been eating you alive.” I shook my head. “This version of you… it’s truly pathetic.” Sean’s face flushed a deep, mottled red. Lana just looked confused, her gaze darting between us. “Fine! You want a divorce? You’ve got it!” Sean wiped a hand across his face, his eyes bloodshot. “You and your money! You think you’re so much better than me!” He jabbed a finger in my direction. “You’d better pray your precious father never gets sick. Because if he ever needs me, the answer will be no!” As he left, he glanced at the mutilated remains of his mother on the gurney and snorted in disgust. He pulled out his phone and called the crematorium. “I’ve got a useless pile of rotting meat here,” he said. “Come get it. It’s taking up valuable space.” I had thought about letting him see his mother one last time. Now, I realized there was no point. A few hours later, the crematorium called. I picked up the ashes, set up a small memorial hall, and notified Sean and his family. I had been his mother’s daughter-in-law; this was the last kindness I could show her. But when I returned to the hall after making the arrangements, I stopped dead in my tracks. My mother-in-law’s memorial portrait had been splattered with what looked like animal blood. A crude, violent ‘X’ was carved across her face, the black ink running from her forehead to her chin. The table meant for offerings was covered in beer cans and potato chip bags. The solemn chanting from the speakers had been replaced by a grim, discordant dirge. “There! Much more festive, don’t you think?” Lana grinned as she kicked the urn, sending a cloud of gray ash billowing across the floor. She took a marker and scribbled graffiti all over the memorial tablet. I just stood there, speechless, a knot of ice forming in my throat. Just then, the door opened and Sean strode in. His eyes swept over the scene of chaos without a flicker of anger. In fact, I saw a hint of a cold, satisfied smile playing on his lips. Lana winked at him and scampered over. “Sean, honey! You said we shouldn’t make the funeral too depressing. What do you think? Creative, right?” Sean walked over to the portrait and straightened the defaced frame. He nodded, a look of approval on his face. His voice was calm, but every word was a hammer blow. “Excellent work. What’s the point of everyone sitting around crying?” “This is much better. Get the party started. Make it a real send-off. That way, her death won't be a complete waste.” 4 Even if the deceased wasn’t my own flesh and blood, she deserved respect. No one, absolutely no one, deserved to be desecrated like this. I stared at Sean, my voice trembling with suppressed rage. “How… how can you be smiling?” He just shrugged, a smirk on his face. “It’s a celebration of life. Does a room full of crying people really show more respect?” “Your mother loved a good party when she was alive,” he said. “We’re just honoring her wishes.” “A celebration of life?” I took a step closer, my voice rising. “This is a memorial hall! It’s a place for mourning, for remembrance! And you’ve turned it into a circus! You’ve defaced her portrait so badly you can’t even tell who it is! Is that what you call respect?!” My voice was a raw, ragged shout. “This isn’t honoring the dead! It’s insulting them!” Lana, momentarily taken aback by my outburst, quickly recovered and pouted. “Oh, don’t be so old-fashioned. It’s just a dead person. Why make such a big deal out of it?” Seeing Sean’s completely unconcerned expression, I suddenly started to laugh. “You know what?” I said, my voice dropping to a calm, measured tone. “If you don’t care, why should I?” “Let’s do it your way. Let’s have a celebration.” Sean paused, a slight frown creasing his brow, as if he couldn’t quite decipher the chill in my voice. He chose to take my words at face value. “See, Ava?” he said with a smile. “This is the obedient, understanding wife I married. Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll take good care of you.” Seeing my surrender, Lana cheered and ushered in a group of her rowdy friends. The memorial hall was quickly turning into a nightclub. I sat down, my face a mask of indifference, and watched as they danced, their shoes grinding my mother-in-law’s ashes into the carpet. The funeral director arrived on schedule and stopped in the doorway, his mouth agape, the program clutched in his hand. “What are you waiting for?” Sean commanded. “Let’s get this show on the road.” The poor man cleared his throat and began, his voice shaking. “Friends, family… we are gathered here today to conduct… uh… a celebration of life for the deceased.” A few snickers rippled through the crowd. “I’ve been to a wild wedding, but never a wild funeral!” “If the deceased knew her funeral was this much of a party, she’d be rolling in her grave!” “She must have really pissed some people off to not even get any peace in death!” Lana, beaming with pride, leaned over to me. “See? Even the funeral director called it a celebration! And you were shouting like a banshee. So uncultured. This is how they do it in other countries, you know.” Sean shot me a dismissive look. “Some people are just so stuck in the past. The person’s dead. Why put on such a sad face for everyone to see?” he grumbled to Lana. “We go to all this trouble to create a thoughtful, personalized service for her mother, and she’s still not grateful.” I didn’t react. I just said, slowly and deliberately, “I can tell you for a fact that my mother would not have appreciated this kind of ‘thoughtful’ service. As for your mother… well, I can’t speak for her.” Sean’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I just smiled and said nothing. He snorted. “You think a few clever words will bring your mother back from the dead? Pathetic.” Lana immediately wrapped her arm around his. “Don’t listen to her, Sean. She’s just jealous and trying to ruin your mood.” Just then, the funeral director’s voice changed, signaling the next part of the service. “And now, we invite friends and family of the deceased to come forward and pay their final respects.” As he spoke, the large double doors at the back of the hall swung open. An older couple walked in. Sean’s face froze. I stood up and walked over to them. “Dad, Mom,” I said, my voice clear and steady. “You’re here.” I gestured to the chaotic scene. “This was all Sean’s idea. He said this is exactly how his mother would have wanted it.”
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "394257", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel