My son was murdered while buying a birthday cake for his father. That evening, Jake’s childhood friend posted on SnapChat: “Someone with a mango allergy insists on eating the mango cake I bought.” Fighting back tears, I called Jake to come see our son one last time. “Can’t you stop bothering me? Emma rarely comes back to celebrate my birthday with me.” As a crime scene cleaner, Jake personally cleaned up the cake shop where our son was killed. “Look at other people’s kids, remembering their dad’s birthday. My ungrateful brat is just like his mother, only knows how to ask for money.” With a heart turned to ashes, I decided to divorce him. “Think about Kevin. A child without a father’s love will never be happy.” After slapping him, I dragged him to kneel before our son’s ashes. “Ma’am, we need you to come to the police station. There’s a body here for you to identify.” The moment I received that call from the police, my mind went blank. Just half an hour earlier, my son Kevin had snuck out, saying he wanted to prepare a surprise for his dad. I checked my phone. The first message was from Kevin: “Mom, I’m buying a birthday cake for Dad. I’m going to give him a big surprise tonight!” With trembling hands, I tried calling Kevin’s phone. No answer. I tried again… still no answer. I don’t even remember how I got to the police station. After giving them Kevin’s name, the officer sighed. “Do you know Kevin Zhang?” he asked. I nodded numbly. “He’s my son. What… what happened to him?” “I’m sorry,” the officer said, gesturing for me to come inside. As we entered, I noticed the sign on the door: Morgue. The officer lifted a white sheet. I forced myself to look. And then I collapsed to my knees. On the cold metal table lay Kevin, his face and neck horribly mutilated. But it was unmistakably my little boy. “Has… has the killer been caught?” I asked through gritted teeth, tears streaming down my face. “Yes, we’ve apprehended the suspect,” the officer replied. Okay. At least they caught the monster who did this. “Can I take Kevin home now?” I asked. The officer nodded. “You may.” With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone to call my husband Jake. We should at least bring Kevin home together. The phone rang for a long time. He hung up on me three times before finally answering on the fourth try. Before I could speak, Jake’s irritated voice cut in: “Can’t you take a hint? Emma came all this way to celebrate my birthday with me. Can’t you just leave us alone for once?” Emma? Jake’s childhood friend. Ever since Jake and I got married, Emma had constantly needed his help for every little thing. And Jake was always eager to solve her problems. Especially after Kevin was born, when Emma left the country out of jealousy, Jake felt that Kevin and I had driven away his dear friend. The officer’s eyes held even more sympathy now. A female officer came over and helped me up. “Ma’am, we can drive you and your son home.” But I couldn’t let Kevin go without saying goodbye to his father! This was his dad, after all. I called Jake again. This time he picked up quickly. “Olivia, do you have nothing better to do? Emma and I are just having a normal get-together. If you keep bothering me, don’t blame me for getting angry.” I lowered my voice. “Kevin’s been in an accident. You need to come.” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word “dead.” “Oh come on, you’re using Kevin as an excuse again? Everyone knows you two are always scheming together.” Before I could respond, I heard a woman’s voice in the background. “Jake, I’m scared to cut the cake. Can you help me?” The call disconnected again. I saw Emma’s latest post on Instagram: “Someone with a mango allergy insists on eating the cake I bought. 🙄” The photo showed a mango cake, along with a selfie of her and Jake. My legs went weak. The female officer had to support me to stand up straight. “Don’t be scared, Kevin. Mommy’s taking you home,” I whispered. I brought Kevin home and began preparing for his funeral. Jake never came home that night. The next morning, on the way to the crematorium, Jake finally called me. “Make some pumpkin soup and bring it to the hospital. Make extra – Emma wants some too.”
My hand shook as I gripped the phone, too angry to speak. After a long pause, I managed to say: “Jake, don’t you dare regret this.” I suddenly felt that Jake didn’t deserve to be Kevin’s father. As I watched Kevin being pushed into the cremation chamber, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I crouched down and sobbed. From a young age, Kevin had been so understanding. He knew his father wasn’t very attached to our family, so he always behaved well and never asked Jake for anything. This time, he had snuck out on his own just wanting to use a cake to improve his relationship with his dad. At the parent-teacher conference a week ago, I could sense how envious Kevin was of the kids whose fathers attended. But now, it was all gone. As I carried Kevin’s ashes out, a light drizzle began to fall. Not long after I got home, I received a call from the cemetery. “Ma’am, I’m sorry but the plot you reserved this morning has been sold to someone else for a higher price.” What? I had carefully chosen that spot for Kevin. “But I already paid a deposit. How can you sell it to someone else?” I protested. The person hemmed and hawed before another voice came on the line. “Listen lady, money talks. We’re paying more, so naturally we get priority. Besides, you didn’t sign a contract, so it doesn’t count.” I knew that voice all too well. It was Jake. “Jake, let’s just forget it. We can find another spot for my uncle. No need to insist on this one,” I heard Emma say in the background. I took a deep breath. “What about honoring agreements? I paid a deposit. You can’t do this.” Jake was still comforting Emma. “Your uncle is my uncle too. I’ll make sure this gets taken care of.” How touching. The cemetery staff sounded uncomfortable. I really didn’t have the energy to argue, especially not with someone connected to Jake. I just wanted Kevin to rest in peace. “Ma’am, we can compensate you, or you can come by this afternoon to choose another plot?” the staff member offered. “Fine,” I agreed. We’ll just find another spot. The funeral preparations continued. Jake’s parents had both passed away, so his family couldn’t help. I called my parents and asked them to come assist with the arrangements. My parents hugged me tightly when they arrived, and we all cried together. “Oh sweetheart, you’ve been through so much,” my mom said. I had moved far away when I got married. Jake had knelt before my parents and sworn he would take good care of me. And now… I took a deep breath. “Mom and Dad, can you please go to the funeral home and set up the memorial? I need to go to the cemetery first.” When I arrived at the cemetery, the staff came out personally to greet me. As soon as I entered, I locked eyes with Emma in the distance. She immediately grabbed Jake’s hand and hurried away from the cemetery. Her expression suggested she knew something. I composed myself and chose a new plot for Kevin. After finishing up, I ran into Jake on my way out. “Olivia, are you following me?” he demanded. I let out a cold laugh. “Follow you? To watch you and your little friend being all lovey-dovey?” “How many times do I have to tell you, Emma and I are just friends. She’s all alone here – what’s wrong with me helping her out?” “Fine, go ahead and help your dear friend then!” I snapped before walking away. As I was leaving, I thought I heard Jake mutter something. About cleaning up the cake shop crime scene. Oh right, I’d almost forgotten – he’s a crime scene cleaner. So… Would he be cleaning up the cake shop where Kevin was murdered? When I got home, everything was ready at the funeral home. The funeral would be tomorrow. I had no friends or relatives here. Just a few of my parents’ relatives had come. “Damn that bastard Jake! He won’t even come to his own son’s funeral?” my uncle fumed.
I looked at my uncle, my meaning clear. “Once this is over, I’m divorcing him,” I said. “That still doesn’t excuse him from attending his child’s funeral. What kind of father is he?” My uncle stood at the entrance and started making phone calls. I stared at Kevin’s black and white portrait, tears falling uncontrollably. He was only six years old. How could fate be so cruel? It started raining again. My dad stood next to me holding an umbrella. I clutched Kevin’s portrait throughout the entire funeral. Jake never showed up. I had tried to contact him, but he had blocked my number. I couldn’t even send him a message. I didn’t know any of his friends to reach out to. I had just brought the urn home when Jake finally called. Looks like he unblocked me. “Olivia, what kind of scene are you trying to make? Haven’t you embarrassed me enough? Telling all your relatives our family business – you’re just taking advantage of the fact that I don’t have anyone to back me up, aren’t you?” Taking advantage? If that was my goal, I wouldn’t have married him without asking for any dowry, and even contributed over $10,000 of my own money when we got married. Now in his eyes, I’m the one taking advantage. “I don’t know what my uncle said, but you should come home when you can. I need to talk to you about something,” I said. “No way, I don’t want to deal with your relatives. They all look down on me anyway.” How ridiculous. If they really looked down on him, why would I have quit my job to focus on our family? Only later did it become “useless housewife” in his eyes. He hung up on me again. Fine, he’s probably still cleaning up at that cake shop. I’ll go find him there tomorrow to explain the situation. Coming to this place filled me with dread. All I could think about was how Kevin looked when he died. He was always so afraid of pain. I can’t imagine how terrified and desperate he must have felt in his final moments. The shop was cordoned off, so I could only wait outside for Jake to come out. I could clearly hear the voices talking inside. “Did you guys hear? The kid they killed was only 6 years old. Apparently he was buying a cake for his dad’s birthday when he ran into the killer.” “Tsk tsk, look at that kid, still remembering his dad’s birthday. My ungrateful brat is just like his mom, only knows how to ask me for money.” That was Jake’s voice. So in his eyes, Kevin had become the ungrateful one. “Aw, they just don’t understand your work.” Jake chimed in: “Exactly! My wife even tried to get me to switch jobs. Not at all understanding like Emma. Only Emma supports me behind the scenes.” What a joke. Why did I ask him to change jobs? It was all for Kevin’s sake. During a school survey, Kevin had proudly described his father’s job as a crime scene cleaner as noble and selfless. The result was endless bullying and ostracism. The other kids at school called him unlucky and said he smelled like death. No one wanted to be his friend. Kevin never dared tell Jake about it. If I hadn’t accidentally discovered him crying alone in his room one day, I never would have known either. That’s the only reason I suggested Jake change jobs. Of course Emma would support him – she wasn’t affected by it at all. “Hey, I heard the security footage is still around. You guys brave enough to watch it?” someone asked.
I wondered how Jake would react if he saw the victim was Kevin. “Ugh, that’s disgusting. I heard the killer even smashed out the kid’s teeth. It must be a bloody mess. I don’t want to see that and have nightmares.” That’s right. Sometimes my little Kevin didn’t even have any teeth left. An hour later, Jake finally finished work. He seemed surprised to see me waiting outside. After saying goodbye to his coworkers, he pulled me over to a nearby alley. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “Let’s get a divorce,” I said. “Are you crazy? Is this about Emma again? How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not what you think.” As we were talking, Emma suddenly appeared. She immediately latched onto Jake’s arm and smiled at me. “Sister-in-law, you’re just too jealous. If I really wanted Jake, do you think you’d stand a chance?” How sweet of her to say. I was about to respond when my phone rang. “Ma’am, we need you to come to the police station again. There’s been a development in the case.” After hanging up, I turned to leave. Jake grabbed my wrist. “Where are you running off to? Did Emma hit a nerve? You really are just a jealous shrew.” I yanked my hand away and slapped Jake hard across the face. “Watch your mouth. I don’t have time for your nonsense right now.” I rushed to the police station. The officer offered me a glass of water first. “So, have you or your family made any enemies recently?” he asked. I thought about it. I hardly ever left the house, let alone made enemies. I barely even saw anyone. So it had to be related to Jake somehow. But given Jake’s unusual job, I’d never heard him mention conflicts with anyone. Suddenly, Emma came to mind. I remembered the look in her eyes at the cemetery. I nodded. “My husband has a mistress. Does that count?” The officers exchanged glances. “It could.” “What’s going on? Did the killer say something?” “Well, we have reason to believe Kevin’s murder was a contract killing.” A contract killing. Kevin was so young. Who could be so heartless? “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked. The officer looked embarrassed. “I apologize. It was an oversight on our part.” The rest of the details were confidential, so the police couldn’t share more with me. When I got home from the station, I was surprised to find Jake there. He was lounging on the couch with his legs crossed, seemingly unaware that our son was missing. “Where’s Kevin? Out playing again?” he asked casually. Unbelievable! I set down my things. “Now you care about your son? Where were you before?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Jake, let’s get divorced,” I said. I took a deep breath. I would just have to accept that Kevin no longer had a father. More accurately, Jake didn’t deserve to be a father. Seeing how serious I was, Jake started to panic. He smiled and took my hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve been married for so many years. You can’t throw it all away over this little thing with Emma.” “Oh, so you do remember how long we’ve been married,” I said with a bitter laugh. “Then please, just agree to the divorce. Don’t make this painful for both of us.” Jake came up and hugged me from behind. “How can you bear to divorce me? Don’t you want Kevin to have a father? Do you want him to be bullied for not having a dad?” SSo he did know that kids without fathers get bullied. I turned and grabbed Jake by the collar, dragging him to Kevin’s room. “Look closely. These are your son’s ashes.”
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