I didn’t even have time to respond to the nurse’s attempts to stop me. I stumbled outside, flagged down a passing car, and rushed straight to the Dorances estate.
The front gates were wide open. A faint scent of smoke hung in the air.
The moment I stepped into the courtyard, it felt like lightning had struck me.
Right in the center of the courtyard, the Dorances had formed a circle. A brass fire basin sat in the middle, flames roaring inside it. And held in a pair of long tongs, about to be placed into the fire—was a pure white box.
My pupils contracted sharply. I nearly lost my mind.
“Stop!” I screamed.
I charged forward like a madwoman. But just as I reached out, someone shoved me to the ground with brutal force.
“Saylor! What the hell are you doing!?”
It was Cortland.
I fell hard, my forehead slamming against the stone pavement. Blood gushed down my face, but I didn’t feel a thing.
My voice was hoarse. “What are you doing?! That’s my child! Why are you burning him here?! Even if you’re cremating him, it should be at a crematorium!”
“He’s already dead. What’s the point of keeping him around?” Cortland’s tone was cold, as if he were talking about a broken toy. “He’s just an eyesore.”
“That’s enough, Saylor. Stop making a scene.”
Ysabella, his mother, stepped forward, her face wearing a mask of fake kindness. She’d never truly liked me—a daughter-in-law who was strong, independent, and unwilling to play the docile housewife.
Her ideal daughter-in-law was one who stayed home, bore children, and served her son. Not someone like me, a businesswoman who fought her way to the top.
Before, she kept up appearances because of my wealth. But now, her true self showed through.
“Dear, we’re doing this for your own good. We invited a spiritual master. He said the child needs to be cremated and blessed by family, or his soul won’t find peace and be reborn into a better life.”
Her tone turned sharp. “His death was inauspicious. What if it brings misfortune to Thalia’s baby? As my daughter-in-law, you should understand these things, shouldn’t you?”
Suddenly, my body froze.
I turned my head to look at Thalia, who was standing quietly at the edge of the crowd, her gaze lowered in submission.
She gently rested a hand on her belly. A fragile yet triumphant smile appeared on her lips.