How I longed to scream at him—Our son is dead!
He was killed because of your precious Chloe!
But conscience meant nothing to me now.
And I knew—he would never believe me. He would only cling stubbornly to his own version of the truth.
So I deliberately provoked him:
“No need. Jason and I don’t want to be tied to you anymore. He said he doesn’t need a father like you, so we’re stepping away.”
Rage twisted Daniel’s face, as if he had just been toyed with.
He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
“I knew it—you’ve been lying to me from the start!”
“Where’s Jason? I’ll have someone bring him back. I’ll show you how I punish a boy for lying!”
“With a careless mother like you, of course he’s learned to spew lies too!”
His teeth clenched so tightly his jaw trembled, his chest rising and falling violently.
He had always been harsh with Jason, grooming him as the heir to the Brooks legacy. From a young age, he drilled into him the need for honesty, forbidding lies.
And now, he believed Jason had struck at the very core of his principles.
He hastily dialed his assistant.
“Hurry and find Jason! Bring him back immediately!”
The assistant stammered on the other end, trembling:
“M-Mr. Brooks, young Jason should be at his riding lesson today…”
Daniel froze, realization dawning far too late. He hung up quickly and dialed the riding instructor instead.
“Mr. Johnson, is Jason in class? Please put him on the phone—I need to speak with him!”
Mr. Johnson froze for a moment.
“Mr. Brooks, Jason didn’t come today. I even tried calling Mrs. Carter, but no one answered. Was he picked up by someone else…?”
Before the sentence was finished, Daniel Brooks gave a cold snort and slammed the phone down.
“You even bribed the teacher? How long are you planning to lie to me?”
“It’s Monday. Why didn’t you take him to school? What exactly are you trying to do? You think I won’t get angry, is that it? Don’t let me find him, or I swear I’ll beat him!”
Now he thought of his son?
But he had no idea—he would never see Jason again.
The image of my child dying with his eyes wide open haunted me. My chest tightened painfully as I broke down in sobs.
“Jason is dead… you killed him with your own hands!”
“Stop spouting nonsense!”
Daniel’s face darkened to purple, fury blazing in his eyes.