Chapter 2

The thunderous roar of the crematorium made the whole building tremble.

I stood at the observation window, watching as her small body was sent inside.

The funeral home staff asked me what kind of urn I wanted.

"The cheapest one," I said.

He looked at me, a bit taken aback.

"Uh, that's a ceramic urn. It's 40 dollars."

"That'll do," I said.

It wasn't that I couldn't afford a better one.

Sophia didn't even know Victoria was gone. If I got a nice urn, she'd just see it as another trick to get her attention and break it without a second thought.

With a cheap, ugly urn, at least it wouldn't get smashed right away.

I walked out of the funeral home, clutching that dusty ceramic urn, and hailed a cab to the law firm.

The lawyer slid the divorce agreement Sophia had drawn up three years ago across the table to me.

It said I had to leave empty-handed.

I had to give up everything I owned.

I had to give up custody of my child.

I glanced at the child custody section.

I let out a bitter laugh.

What's the point in fighting anymore?

I signed my name.

"Andrew, can you make me an extra copy?" I asked.

After leaving the law firm, I headed straight to the passport office.

The girl at the counter looked over my application, and then looked up to double-check with me.

"Sir, are you sure you want to erase your entire identity here? This is permanent."

"I'm sure," I said.

"And here's your ticket. One-way to Icelantis, leaves in 14 days. You sure you don't want a return?"

"No, just one-way," I replied.

She didn't ask any more questions.

She slid the boarding pass and the receipt across the counter to me.

I folded them up and tucked them into the deepest pocket of my jacket.

Fourteen days left.

I just had to make it through fourteen more days.

At two in the afternoon, I walked into the Lane Group building.

The receptionist blocked me three times.

I ignored her and kept walking.

I pushed open the door to the CEO's office.

Sophia was sitting behind her desk, signing some documents.

She looked up at me and frowned.

"Who let you in?" she asked.

I didn't say a word.

I walked right up to her desk and slapped the stamped death certificate down in front of her.

"Take a look at this," I said.

Sophia glanced down at it.

"A death certificate?"

"Seriously, what's your game now?"

"Victoria's gone. She died in a car crash last night," I said, my voice flat but every word hitting like a hammer.

I locked eyes with her, refusing to look away, daring her to flinch.

"That type of blood you had taken. If you hadn't stolen it, she might still be alive."

Sophia's fingers froze on the desk for a couple seconds.

Then she laughed.

"Michael, you can't even make up a decent lie anymore."

Before she could finish, the office door was thrown open.

Charles rushed in, his eyes red and puffy, holding up his phone.

"Sophia, look at this!" he shouted.

He shoved the phone right in front of Sophia's face.

It was a screenshot of a chat.

It was a conversation between "Michael" and "Alex Stone."

The chat showed Michael spending 30,000 dollars to forge a death certificate, just so Sophia would throw Charles out.

After Sophia finished reading, she handed the phone back to Charles.

She turned back to me, and this time her eyes had something extra, pure disgust.

Disgust.

"Sophia, that death certificate is a forgery," I said.

"Just call the hospital. They'll tell you what really happened."

Sophia leaned back in her chair, a cold sneer on her lips.

"What's the point in checking? You probably paid off everyone already."

Charles lowered his head, his voice trembling.

"Michael, I know you don't want me hanging around Sophia but did you really have to make up something so cruel, cursing Victoria like that?"

He wiped his eyes, stealing a quick glance at Sophia.

Sophia's expression darkened completely.

"You'd even go as far as faking something this cruel? Poor Victoria, having a father like you, she never stood a chance!"

She snatched up the death certificate from the desk.

With a loud snap, she ripped it in half.

She kept tearing, not stopping for a second.

Into four pieces. Then eight.

The pieces fluttered down, landing on my face.

I stood there, not moving, not even flinching.

A scrap of paper stuck to my lips.

I reached up and slowly pulled it away.

"Sophia, don't you ever regret this," I said.

My words stung her, sharp and sudden.

But she didn't catch the real meaning behind them.

She took it as another threat.

"You really think you can threaten me?" Sophia snapped.

She shot to her feet and slammed the intercom button on her desk.

"Security, toss him out."

She paused for a moment.

"Freeze every card under his name. From today on, he has zero privileges in the Lane family."

Two security guards grabbed me by the arms and dragged me all the way from the 48th-floor CEO's office down to the lobby.

As they shoved me through the revolving door, my shoulder slammed into the frame.

It hurt like hell.

But I didn't look back.

The one-way ticket to Icelantis was still in my pocket.

Fourteen days left.

Take today off.

Thirteen days left.

I stood outside the Lane Group building, brushing the dust off my clothes.

Then I turned and walked back.

Back to that so-called home of mine, where I didn't even have the right to walk through the door anymore.