Pain exploded in my leg as I hit the ground. My foot had smashed into a rock. The fracture was bad, but a kind passerby rushed me to the hospital.
That night, the news of my “accident” was everywhere, topping the trending searches. People mocked me relentlessly, saying I had brought it on myself.
I was about to turn my phone off when Max’s voice came through the line.
“I heard about your accident,” he said. “Looks like even heaven can’t stand you. If you don’t back off now, your end will be even worse.”
Shannon's POV
I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached.
"Max, you and that woman will get what’s coming to you sooner than you think."
The next day, I checked out of the hospital in a wheelchair because it was my daughter’s burial day.
The sky wept with a steady drizzle, as if mourning alongside me, sharing in my grief.
The cemetery was empty except for me.
I had just lowered my daughter’s urn into the earth when the same group who had ambushed me yesterday appeared again, charging straight toward me.
"You bitch!" one woman screamed. "What right do you have to bury your daughter here? Because you reported Max, there was no explosives expert to rescue my child when he was kidnapped. Now, my boy is dead, blown to pieces! I’ll kill you!"
They then shoved me to the ground, raining blows on me with fists and feet. My legs were still broken, so I couldn’t even stand to defend myself. But that wasn’t enough for them. Someone grabbed a nearby shovel and went for my daughter’s grave.
"You think you’re fit to be a wife or a mother? Your daughter was probably just as rotten as you! So we’ll dig up her ashes and scatter them. Let's see how you like that!"
"Yeah! Dump her ashes! Let’s give Max the justice he deserves!"
"If you made us suffer, we’ll make sure you suffer worse!"
I could only watch, helpless, as they pried open my daughter’s grave and pulled out her urn.
My eyes locked on it in horror. My voice tore from my throat. "No! Please, I’m begging you, don’t!"
But they only smirked at my desperation.
"Now you regret it? Too late!"
And with that, they dumped my daughter’s ashes into the rain, letting the water wash away every last trace of her.
"I’ll kill you," I spat, fists trembling so hard my nails dug into my palms. Then a metallic taste filled my mouth, and I coughed up blood. "I swear, you will all pay for what you’ve done."