“If you weren’t such a pathetic, brainless idiot, do you really think your mother would’ve ended up blind and mute?
“In the end, everything that happened–it’s all your fault!”
Hearing her words, something in Henry snapped. His hand flew across her face.
But Bethany didn’t cower. She lunged and sank her teeth into his ear–ripping it clean off.
The internet went wild. Every headline, every trending topic, was the same image of Henry sitting on the floor with blood dripping from the side of his head and laughing like a madman.
“Henry Lost an Ear!”
Henry lost his sanity–a man who had spent his life calculating every move–reduced to this.
Maybe it was because he couldn’t bear knowing he’d been manipulated and tricked into destroying me and Margaret.
Or maybe he simply couldn’t accept that he only had one ear now. Or perhaps it was the whispers, the stares, and the endless
ridicule. Whatever it was, he broke.
Once the whole incident ended, Larson Group’s stock plummeted overnight.
2/4
Chapter 8
+15 BONUS
Henry stopped going to work. He spent his days wandering aimlessly and cradling picture frames while laughing through his
tears.
Half a month later, Grandpa returned from overseas after hearing what had happened.
While holding my ashes in his arms, he sighed.
“Silly girl… I told you I’d always protect you. Why did you endure all of this alone?
“If you had just told me, I never would have let Henry trample all over you like this.”
“And poor Margaret… She barely escaped death at such an age.
“But don’t worry. I’ve already contacted the world’s best medical team. They’re going to attempt tongue reconstruction surgery.
We’ll do everything we can to restore her speech.”
Grandpa’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. His back was slightly hunched as if the weight of his sorrow was pressing down on
him.
And so, time passed. The storm faded, and life moved on like a butterfly.
Five years later, Margaret turned 70 years old.
After years of treatment, she could finally speak again—though her voice was still a little unclear as her tongue was slightly
damaged.
The day she regained her ability to speak, Grandpa brought her home.
She knelt in front of my grave and wept. “Jess… I miss you so much.
“Jess, I can talk and see again. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. Jess… I miss you so much these days…”
A few days later, Margaret tracked down Henry. He was nothing but a filthy, ragged ghost of a man.
She paid Bethany’s bail and dragged them both to my grave, forcing them to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
But the moment they laid eyes on each other, all hell broke loose. Henry lunged at Bethany, and his teeth sank into her throat.
In an instant, Bethany’s screams tore through the cemetery.
I sighed.
“Margaret, you won’t even let me rest in peace today, huh? But if this is what it takes for you to find closure, then so be it.”
My dear mother–in–law, Margaret… You have to live a long and happy life.
“Ding-”
“Host 9, congratulations on successfully binding with the system. Would you like to revive your daughter–in–law?
“If so, you must become this system’s designated task executor.”
A pause.
Then-
“Yes.”
