The Wife He Used, The Son He Lost

Synopsis

I spent five years chasing Hugo Finn before he finally proposed. But the month our son was born, his widowed sister-in-law Zoey Shaw showed up at our door with red-rimmed eyes: "I'm bound to a System. If you don't marry me, your wife will die in an 'accident'." At first, Hugo laughed it off—until I survived three consecutive near-fatal accidents. Hugo broke down, gripping me tight in the ICU. "Natalie, I'll marry her only to save your life. I swear I won't touch her." I had no choice but to agree. But that temporary solution became Hugo's license for blatant favoritism. At family dinners, he moved our son's favorite turducken to Zoey's plate. When our boy spiked a 104-degree fever, Hugo was watching the Aurora lights with Zoey, claiming the System required it for her clinical depression. He shielded her without limits, letting his friends mock me as the shameless "homewrecker" who'd trapped him with a baby. Then, our son, Alex Finn, collapsed from acute heart failure. I dialed Hugo with trembling hands, begging him to come sign the ECMO consent at the hospital. The call connected. But instead of Hugo, I heard Zoey's soft whimper. "Ouch. It hurts." Hugo muffled the receiver: "Natalie, be reasonable, okay? Zoey cut her finger while slicing apples. I can't leave. Stop teaching Alex to fake illness for attention. Once I calm her down, I'll buy you anything you want, deal?" The dial tone droned on. Through the static, Alex's final whisper "Daddy" faded into the void. Three days later, Hugo walked through the front door beaming, carrying a limited-edition Iron Man figure. "Alright, stop sulking," he said, exasperated but affectionate. "Get Alex out here. I waited two hours in line for this." The living room was tomb-silent. Waiting for him, centered on the coffee table, was a small black-and-white photograph.