Chapter 2
"But you have to save Amber's mom first," my dad said.
Jason let out a mocking laugh and nodded. "If you'd just said that from the beginning, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble."
Following Dad's directions, the car wound its way through a maze of twisting roads until we finally arrived at a lonely, desolate cemetery.
"Jason, you wanted to see Amber, didn't you? She's right here," Dad said, his voice weighed down by years of grief.
His wrinkled face carried the marks of a lifetime's sorrow. After he spoke, it was as if all his strength left him. He bent over, resting against my tombstone.
A black-and-white photo of me was affixed to the tombstone.
But Jason just stared coldly at the tombstone with my photo, his eyes openly showing his disgust.
With a furious swing, he slapped Dad hard across the face.
Jason sneered. "Amber's always full of tricks. She'll go to any lengths to hurt Sonia!"
Dad was old, and after being hit twice, he collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
He lay there, his voice trembling as he replied, "This really is Amber. Amber is dead."
Jason glared at Dad, his jaw clenched in anger.
Jason spat, "Is this your idea of a joke? If you keep playing along with her stupid tricks, you can kiss your miserable life goodbye.
"And don't forget, your wife is still in the ICU, barely hanging on."
Staring at the heartless Jason, I suddenly realized. I barely even recognized him anymore. He was like a total stranger to me.
Just to force me to show up, he actually went this far and tormented my parents.
Dad coughed up blood, his hand pressed to his burning chest as he spoke, his voice heavy with grief. "Jason, how could you do this to us? I always treated you like my own son..."
Jason shouted furiously, "Enough! What right do you have to say that? Where were you when I was on the brink of death?"
Jason's fists were clenched so tight his nails dug deep into his palms.
Jason growled, "It's all Amber's fault... You should blame her. Amber's the one you should hate!"
Jason's eyes burned with boundless hatred, and it was like my soul was being scorched from the inside out.
I remembered that day. It was the third wedding anniversary for Jason and me.
But that night, Jason, whose heart had been bothering him for a while, finally got his medical report.
Turns out, his congenital heart problem was serious. It couldn't be put off any longer.
As a doctor, this was a nightmare I knew all too well.
Ironically, I'd been hiding a secret of my own. I was dying of terminal cancer.
Even as a world-famous surgeon, I couldn't change the outcome. Death was inevitable.
But I loved Jason with every fiber of my being.
I couldn't stand to see him suffer, not even for a moment.
So before I died, I did the last thing I could ever do for him. I gave him my heart, literally.
And I did it all so he'd finally give up on me, so he'd let me go for good.
I threw every harsh, unforgivable word at him, calling him a burden and making sure he felt worthless.
After Jason recovered, he left for a new life with Sonia.
By the time we crossed paths again, I was already dead, and Jason had become a renowned tycoon.
Ironically, it was Sonia's illness that brought him back to me.
Jason, who hated me to his core, was hell-bent on making me pay. He wanted revenge, no matter what.
But I was already nothing more than a skeleton in the grave.
Suddenly, Jason's cold voice snapped me out of it.
"Since Amber refuses to show herself, I'll just force her out again," Jason said.
Even though my heart was dead, I felt a sudden jolt of shock.
The next moment, Jason gave the order, and his bodyguards swarmed in, stringing up my aging father right in front of my tombstone.
Despair and regret crashed over me, overwhelming everything.
My spirit screamed and sobbed, begging him to spare my father.
Staring at my father's corpse, Jason's smile turned even more sinister. "Now it's her sister's turn."
Jason's face contorted, looking just like a demon from hell.
He moved fast.
Within a day, Felicia had been taken and tied up in a deserted area outside town.
Piles of wood surrounded her, all soaked in gasoline. The sharp, acrid smell filled the air.
Felicia struggled desperately, but the ropes around her were so tight she couldn't budge.
Finally, Jason showed up, dressed in a sharp suit.
When Felicia saw him, her eyes sparkled with surprise for a moment, but then quickly shifted to fear and worry. "Jason, why are you here? You need to get out. It's dangerous!"
Her first thought was for Jason's safety.
But Felicia had no idea that the Jason before her was no longer the caring brother-in-law she used to know. He was the mastermind behind her ordeal.
Locked in a tense stare, Jason flicked open a lighter, his voice chilling as he spoke.
Jason sneered. "Drop the sob story. You get one chance. Tell me where Amber is..."
Felicia caught on fast. Her face went pale with fear.
She'd already heard the devastating news about our parents earlier that afternoon.
Felicia's voice shook as she shouted, "Jason, was it you who hurt Mom and Dad? Why are you doing this?"
Jason let out a mocking laugh.
He said, "Why am I doing this? Go ask your sister. She brought this on you. Looking at you, I can tell you won't believe it until the flames are licking at your feet!
"Alright then, let's see if Amber can really stand by and watch her precious little sister burn alive."
Jason tossed the lighter with a careless flick. The lighter landed right in the woodpile.
At the same time, he pulled out his phone and started a live stream.
Felicia was surrounded by flames.
She cried desperately, her tears streaming down in hopelessness.
"Jason, Amber loved you so much! How could you do this to Mom and Dad?" Felicia yelled.