A year after our divorce, my ex-husband, Mark, called me out of the blue. His tone was nasty. "Come pick up your daughter's body. She got hit by a car at the intersection near school." "But honestly, she only has herself to blame. Running into the street without looking. I know the guy who hit her. I already talked to him—he'll pay some damages, and we'll call it even." Hearing this, tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I was about to scream at him. But the next second, my daughter's sweet voice called out from the other room, pulling me back to reality. "Mom, is dinner ready? I'm hungry." I forgot. I called her out of school today. So... who was the girl who died? 1 "Mom, is dinner ready? I'm hungry." My daughter's voice snapped me out of my panic. I finally remembered: Lily was home sick today. She complained about a stomachache late last night, so I let her sleep in. The house had been so quiet all morning that I momentarily forgot she was there. When Mark called, I really thought my world had ended. When we divorced, Mark didn't want custody because she was a girl. He told me to take her. Even though I knew being a single mom would be hard, I gritted my teeth and took her. Who could trust a child in a household like his? No matter how hard it was, I had to keep my baby with me. My only wish was for her to be safe and happy. For the past year, it had been just the two of us against the world. She was my reason for everything. If something had happened to her... I wouldn't want to live either. Thank God it wasn't her. I choked back my tears, put down the ladle, and rushed into the living room to hug her tight. My voice was trembling, softer than usual. "Baby, just a little longer. Dinner is almost ready." "You need to eat something light since your tummy hurts. I made soup. We'll eat soon, okay?" "Okay." Feeling her warmth, the giant stone in my heart finally dropped. Guilt washed over me, remembering how I yelled at her yesterday for struggling with her homework. Now I realized, as long as she's healthy, nothing else matters. I went back to the kitchen to check the soup. Three to five minutes. Mark called again. This time, he was shouting. "Where the hell are you? We don't have time to wait around. If you don't get here, we're leaving the body on the side of the road. You can pick it up whenever you feel like it." His coldness chilled me to the bone. Even if he thought it was our daughter, how could he be so heartless? She is his biological child. How could he be this vicious? Did we owe him something? Or did divorce just make us mortal enemies? I was about to explain that he made a mistake, that Lily was safe at home. But then I changed my mind. My voice went flat. "Fine. Dump it there. Someone will call the cops eventually." Mark exploded. "Are you insane? I said you'd get paid! What more do you want? Do I need to carry you there in a sedan chair?" No matter how vile his curses got, I didn't react. "No need. I said I'm not coming, so I'm not coming." He started panicking. "Are you even human? Your daughter is dead and you won't even come to collect the body?" He confirmed one last time, his voice menacing. "You're really not coming, are you?" "Nope." Before hanging up, he snarled, "Fine. Just you wait." 2 "Mom, are you and Dad fighting again?" Lily had been listening. She looked worried and reached out to hug me. "Mom, don't be mad. I'll be good. I won't make you mad." I picked her up and held her close. "It's okay. Mom isn't mad. I wouldn't waste my anger on people like that." "Hey, didn't you say you were hungry? I'll serve you first. Go eat." "Okay!" Lily is such a good kid. Gentle and sensible. But she's suffered with me. I run a market stall, so I usually drop her off at school super early to go buy supplies. She grew up independent because I wasn't around enough. It hurts to think about. But life is hard, and we do what we have to do. After settling Lily, I sat down to eat. Before I could take a bite, someone pounded on the door. THUD THUD THUD THUD. Violent knocks. But when I opened the door, no one was there. Just a large cardboard box. It looked heavy, and there was a dark red liquid seeping from the corner. Next to it was a heavy black plastic bag. My gut screamed danger. My heart pounded against my ribs. I steeled myself and looked inside the box. I almost lost my soul. Inside was the body of a child. The head was crushed, unrecognizable. As a mother, seeing this... tears flooded my eyes instantly. "AHH!" I screamed, collapsing to the floor. Lily ran out. "Mom? What's wrong?" I scrambled to cover her eyes. "Don't look! Go back inside! Don't come out no matter what you hear!" I pushed her back into her room. After calming down slightly, I called 911. "Police? I need to report a crime. Someone dumped a body at my door." Even the dispatcher was shocked. "Ma'am, stay safe. Officers are on the way." Thirty minutes later, the police arrived. My hands were still shaking. Not from fear, but from rage. I knew exactly who did this. The officer asked gently, "Are you and your family okay?" My lips trembled. "I'm fine. It's just... cruel. I feel bad for this child." The officer started taking notes. "Do you know who this child is?" "No." Then I gave them the crucial lead. "But I know how she died." "My ex-husband called me at noon. He said my daughter was hit by a car and offered me money to settle it privately. I refused." The officer's eyes widened. "So the body in this box is your daughter?" I told the truth. "No. Actually, I don't know who she is." The officer looked confused. "Okay... can you come to the station to give a statement?" 3 I glanced back at the house. "Yes, but please wait. I need to get my phone." Actually, I needed to check on Lily and give her instructions. "Lily, Mom needs to go to the police station. Lock the door. Don't go anywhere. Wait for me, okay?" "Okay. Mom, are you in trouble?" She's young, but she's sharp. I couldn't hide everything. "No trouble. Just helping the police uncles with some questions. I'll be back soon. Don't worry!" "Mm." She nodded seriously, her big eyes full of trust. I went back outside. The police were bagging the body for the coroner. I got into the squad car, worrying about Lily the whole way. At the station, I sat across from the detective and explained everything. He looked disgusted. "Arrogant. Killing someone and acting like this? Bring in the ex-husband, Mark Dou." While waiting, I sat there picking at my nails, anxious. The officer noticed. "Water?" "Yes, please." Holding the warm cup helped a little. A while later, the officers returned with Mark. And his current wife, Wanda. Why was she here? During the interrogation, the mystery unraveled. The girl was hit by Wanda. Mark was covering for her, talking about "knowing the driver." No wonder he was so protective. Seeing them made my blood boil. Seeing her made it worse. Their dirty affair ruined my marriage. Wanda was the mistress who made my life hell until I couldn't take it anymore and divorced Mark. A man who changes heart is dangerous. If I hadn't left, I would have been beaten. "Alright, which one of you hit the girl?" the detective asked. "And who is she?" Mark looked confused. "Isn't she Sarah's daughter, Lily?" "Officer, we didn't flee the scene! We called Sarah immediately!" "We admitted our mistake! We wanted to solve it!" "We'll pay whatever damages. We accept the penalty." "Ask Sarah! We called her!" Mark was frantic, but he was answering the wrong question. The detective glanced at me, then back at Mark. "What's the point of asking her? Who told you it was her daughter? Her daughter is alive and well." 4 Mark and Wanda froze. Then Mark shouted, "Impossible! We're divorced, but I know my kid! She was wearing the exact same dress Lily wore last week! I couldn't be wrong!" Now that he mentioned it, I remembered. I bought Lily a dress like the victim's. It was a knock-off of a designer brand. Same color, same style, just cheaper fabric. No wonder Mark got confused. The detective turned to me. "Ms. Su, what do you think?" "It's definitely not my daughter!" Mark cut in. "If it's not your daughter, who is it?" "How should I know?" I snapped. Seeing him made me sick. Everyone except me was confused. The detective asked, "Ms. Su, can we see your daughter?" "Of course. I have to pick her up." "Okay, I'll have an officer drive you." Soon, a police car dropped me home. "Mommy!" Lily ran into my arms. "Good girl." I turned to the officer. "See? She's fine." The officer looked relieved. "I'm glad she's safe. But... could you bring her to the station just to verify?" "Okay." I grabbed a jacket for Lily and we went back. This time, Mark and Wanda looked like they'd seen a ghost. Their pupils were shaking. Mark stammered, "She's really alive... then who did we kill?" Wanda started trembling. "I don't know! Will I go to jail? Honey, I don't want to go to jail!" With the evidence piled up, they had no choice. They wanted to settle privately, but they couldn't find the victim's family. There was no one to pay off. Jail was inevitable. Wanda was sentenced to two years. She was the driver, and her incompetence caused the death. Mark hated me. He harassed me daily. He was furious he couldn't find the girl's family. If they could get a "letter of forgiveness" from the family and pay them off, Wanda might have avoided jail time. But since he was stupid and couldn't find them, he took it out on me. "Are you sick? The girl isn't mine! Why are you bothering me?" "Coward. You only know how to bully women and children." "If you want to know who she is, go to the school and ask!" It dawned on him. "Right! Why didn't I think of that?" He tried to leave, but this time I stopped him. He had smashed my window three times. I grabbed his shirt. "Pay up. You're not leaving until you pay for the damages." Mark, cornered, finally folded. "Fine! I'll pay! Poor trash. You and your daughter have cheap lives." Slap! I struck him across the face. Insult me all you want. Insult my daughter, and you die. Mark was stunned. "You crazy bitch! You dare hit me? I'll make sure you can't live in this town!" "Try me!" Talk is cheap. Even a rabbit bites when cornered. "I have things to do. I'm letting you off today." Mark left, rubbing his face. Meanwhile, the police station received a missing person report. The couple who filed it were local tycoons.
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