From Love to Hate, Never Again

A neighbor dropped something from above. From the seventeenth floor, a toy car plummeted down.

It struck my daughter on the head.

Three days later, she stopped breathing.

I cried until I fainted again and again. When I could finally stand, I swore I would drag that neighbor into court.

My husband, Anthony, held me in his arms, voice heavy with grief and tenderness.

“No matter what you do, I’ll stand by you. We will make them pay for our daughter.”

But on the day of the trial, the property management claimed the security footage from that day had been “accidentally damaged.”

They insisted I must have seen wrong—that it was merely the neighbor’s young son who had dropped the toy by accident.

I couldn’t accept it. I lost control in court. Anthony, worried about my health, had someone inject me with a sedative.

When I woke up, he wasn’t by my side.

From the dim stairwell outside a woman’s voice, soft and full of guilt rang.

“Anthony, thank goodness you bribed the property manager... but I really didn’t mean it. That little car was the gift you gave our son on his third birthday. He treasured it so much... these past few nights, he’s even cried for it in his dreams.”

Anthony’s voice was calm, as he assured her, “It’s fine. Tonight, I’ll get him a bigger, and better one.”

Then his tone turned cold, dripping with contempt.

“That girl is dead, so be it. She was just unlucky. Our son is my only heir. As long as I’m here, you have nothing to fear.”

——

In the dim light, Vanessa feigned hesitation. “Diana just lost her child. She must be devastated. You should stay home with her tonight. I can celebrate Cooper’s birthday alone.”

“But Cooper misses you so much... If he hears you’re not coming, he’ll cry himself sick. And... I miss you too…”

Her eyes turned red, glistening with unshed tears. Anthony’s heart seemed to melt instantly.

He pulled her into his arms, his voice was tender in a way I had never heard directed at me.

“It’s been five years. Have I ever missed our son’s birthday? I can’t marry you, but I will always be your and our son’s strongest support.

“As for Diana... she’s an adult. She needs to learn to stand on her own.”

Vanessa sighed, pushing him away halfheartedly, her voice laced with false reluctance.

“Anthony, I know how much you care for me. But Diana is still young—she’ll get pregnant again sooner or later. Do you think she’d ever let Cooper inherit from you?"

“Forget it. I don’t want to make things difficult for you. As long as I can see you often, I’m happy... It’s just unfair to our son.”

Anthony’s gaze softened, as if a decision had crystallized in his mind.

He pulled out his phone and called the property manager.

“I’ll give you another two million. In a while, I’ll pretend to go out. You take some men and iron rods to my place—make sure Diana’s womb is destroyed.”

“Vanessa, I promised you our son would be my only heir. I won’t let you have any worries.”

Watching their intimate figures disappearing into the stairwell, I stumbled back to my bedroom, my chest tightened, my eyes burning.

So the surveillance footage hadn’t been lost by accident—it was destroyed to protect the woman he loved.

The man I had loved for seven years already had a child with someone else—and had hidden them right upstairs.

Then what was I?

And what was my poor daughter to him?!

“Diana, why are you crying?”

I didn’t even notice when Anthony returned. He sat beside me, holding my hand, his face full of concern.

“Diana, I know you’re still grieving for Cherry. I’m her father—my pain is no less than yours. If I could, I’d trade my life for hers."

“But we have to move forward. You haven’t been eating these past few days. You’ve lost so much weight—do you want me to worry myself sick? I’ll go to the mall now and get you some supplements.”

If I hadn’t just heard what I heard, I might have been moved to tears.

But behind those tender words was the hell he had prepared for me.

“Hubby... I don’t want to be alone. Please, don’t go.”

Anthony hesitated for only a second before smiling helplessly. “Diana, be good. I’m doing this for your own good. Only if you recover can we have another baby in the future, hmm?”

He pried my hands off his arm, turned, and walked away without looking back.

The very next moment, several men in black masks strode in with iron rods glinting in their hands, wearing twisted grins with malice.

One of them kicked my phone away before I could dial for help.

My arms and legs were pinned down.

The heavy rods came crashing down on my abdomen like a relentless rain of steel.

Pain exploded through me; the veins on my forehead throbbed and my vision blurred.

Hot blood gushed beneath me, spreading across the floor.

They didn’t stop until my body convulsed, and I collapsed, trembling in agony.

Thinking I had passed out, one of the men sneered.

“Lucky for us, President Jimenez didn’t want any accidents—and to make sure Ms. Ruiz feels completely at ease—he let us in earlier and hid us in the living room. Otherwise, this woman might have ruined our payday.”

It was the voice of the property manager.

Just before darkness swallowed me whole, a bitter laugh rose in my chest.

Anthony... all to pave the way for your beloved and her child, you really went to great lengths.

...

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in my bed. The family’s private doctor gave me a pitying look before leaving with a sigh.

Anthony sat by my side, his eyes red as if from crying.

“Diana, I’m sorry. I should’ve checked the locks before I left... That’s how those bastards got in. The police said it might be hard to find them since they were masked, but no matter how hard it is, I’ll hunt them down and make them pay for what they did to you.”

Then his voice softened, almost tender.

“The doctor says your uterus was severely damaged from the blows... you won’t be able to have children again. But don’t worry—even if you can’t bear children, I’ll never despise you. I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life.”

But I knew—he hadn’t called the police. He had already helped those men leave Amsterdam.

I stared at him blankly, not bothering to expose his lies.

His eyes flicked to his watch, and a trace of impatience crossed his face.

“Diana, there’s an important client I have to meet tonight...”

“I’m fine,” I said flatly. “Go.”

“I knew my wife was the most understanding. Rest well. I’ll come back early to keep you company.”

He pressed a perfunctory kiss on my forehead and left in a rush without looking back.

Ten seconds later, I heard the sound of a door closing upstairs, followed by the laughter of a woman and a child.

Dragging my aching body into the living room, I noticed a phone lying on the sofa—an unfamiliar one. In his hurry to meet his lover, Anthony had forgotten to take it.

In all our years of marriage, I had never known he had another phone.

The passcode was Vanessa’s birthday.

I remembered it clearly—when I had sued her, I’d memorized her personal information.

The Instagram account on this phone had only one contact: Vanessa.

Her name was saved with three emojis—man, heart, woman.

A simple, blatant declaration of love.

The gallery held over ten thousand photos—every single one of them was Anthony, Vanessa, and their child, smiling and embracing.

All those “business trips” of his were trips abroad with them, for shopping, sightseeing, and luxury vacations.

Transfer records of staggering amounts, receipts for designer goods—each one a slap in the face for my stupidity.

Even worse, every night, after my daughter and I were asleep, he would go upstairs to be with Vanessa.

And then I read the messages—each one a blade twisting into my chest.

[Anthony, thank you for turning down that multibillion contract just to be with me during childbirth. With you here, I’m not afraid of anything...]

[Look at you—it’s not even your first time being a father, yet just to make our son call you ‘daddy’ a few more times, you built him an entire playground?]

I remembered when I gave birth to my daughter—it was difficult labor, and Anthony was only two streets away, having dinner with a client.

I thought I was going to die.

Terrified, I called him, begging him to come see me just once.

All I got was his cold reply, “Diana, it’s just childbirth. Every woman has to go through it. Even if I come, I can’t help you give birth. I don’t like doing this kind of pointless, ceremonial stuff."

"You’ll be fine. Be strong. I’ll bring you a gift when I get back.”

Upstairs, laughter spilled down the walls—birthday songs, the clinking of glasses.

The sound pierced my chest like needles.

Whenever our daughter wanted Anthony to celebrate her birthday with her, he would push her away with the same cold dismissal.

“I’m busy with work. You’re six years old already. You should be mature enough not to bother adults all the time.”

Love or the absence of it—it was that obvious.

I didn’t know when Anthony came home that night.

All I knew was that when I woke up the next morning, he had already set the table with a full spread of dishes.

“Diana, I made these myself. Come taste them and see if they’re good.”

I glanced at the food and almost laughed aloud. Yes, he had “made” them.

But I’d seen Vanessa’s social media post last night—these were nothing more than their leftover dishes.

“Oh, by the way, Diana,” he said casually, “after I left yesterday, you stayed in the bedroom the whole time, right? You didn’t see anything in the living room?”

Looking at his probing expression, I found it almost amusing.

“No. I was too tired and slept straight through.”

Hearing this, he relaxed, hiding it behind a practiced calm.

“You’ve been holding off on cremating Cherry because you wanted justice for her, so she could rest in peace. But since it was just an accident, it’s time to let her be buried. Let’s set the funeral for tomorrow."

"I’ve already informed the relatives. Mom rushed back. Tonight, we’ll have dinner with the family, and tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the crematorium.”

I didn’t answer. But a heavy bitterness welled in my chest.

Yes—witnesses had been bribed, and even the evidence was destroyed.

Maybe even Cherry wouldn’t want to stay in this filthy world any longer.

The only one to blame was me—blind enough to love the wrong man.

When I entered the private dining room, I froze.

My motherinlaw was cradling a fiveyearold boy in her arms, doting on him as if he were the jewel of her heart.

Vanessa was standing nearby, and my motherinlaw pulled her down to sit beside her, chatting and laughing like old friends.

That seat—was supposed to be the daughterinlaw’s seat.

I hadn’t known they even knew each other.

Anthony had never told me.

When Vanessa saw me, her tone dripped with mockery.

“Auntie, didn’t I tell you? Of course Diana would come to an occasion like this. As for what you said earlier—about me standing in as the Jimenez family’s hostess to help Anthony entertain guests—you’d better forget it."

"After all, Diana is still his wife. I wouldn’t want her to get jealous and accuse me of something I didn’t do. I can’t afford that kind of trouble.”

My motherinlaw shot me a contemptuous glance and scoffed, “A useless thing like you—only capable of giving birth to a moneylosing girl—what right do you have to be angry? That brat dying was a blessing from the heavens, saving our family money. And yet you made a fuss, falsely accused Vanessa, and even dragged her into court. Aren’t you ashamed?"

"You’re worthless. You even let someone beat you until you can’t have children anymore. With so many people in this neighborhood, why did they target you? Maybe because you don’t behave yourself—probably your own shamelessness brought that trouble home."

"Vanessa is the capable one—her first child was a boy. If it weren’t for that, our family would’ve been in trouble. Anyway, I like Cooper, so I’ve already recognized him as my godgrandson. From now on, Vanessa’s status will be the same as yours.”

My motherinlaw was different from those who cared about social class or family background—she cared about one thing only: whether you could give her a grandson.

She had only escaped her bitter life because she gave birth to a son.

Back when Anthony had no money, she went out of her way to flatter me—just so my family would give him the funds to start his business.

Later, when Anthony’s company went public and his business grew, my own family was framed and our company went bankrupt. My only brother fell from a cliff, his body was never found. I lost my worth to them overnight.

From then on, she decided my education was too high, my looks too eyecatching—women like me were hard to control, restless by nature. She could never stomach me.

Vanessa covered her mouth and laughed happily, then led Cooper over to me. She pulled a few crumpled bills from her bag.

“Ms. Brooks, although you falsely accused me, it was still our Cooper Jimenez being naughty. This money is my token of goodwill to you and Cherry. You must accept it.”

She deliberately stressed the word Jimenez.

I lowered my gaze. Not too much, not too little—666 dollars.

Go to hell.

“Ms. Brooks,” she went on with a fauxinnocent smile, “don’t blame me for being blunt, but I do know a little about facereading. Your daughter—well, she looked shortlived from the start. Even without our Cooper, she would have died sooner or later.”

So—she was saying my daughter’s death was deserved?

I shoved her hard.

“Shut your filthy mouth! You, a murderer, have no right to speak of my daughter. Take your bastard and get out!”

Vanessa stumbled backward, caught just in time by Anthony. He gave me a cold look.

“Diana, watch your mouth. You’ve already lost the lawsuit. Cherry’s death was an accident. What right do you have to speak to Nessa like that—let alone lay hands on her?! Apologize, now!”

Nessa? How affectionate.

“Anthony, have you forgotten who your wife is? Your mother deliberately invited Vanessa to this family gathering to disgust me. She and you both insulted me and Cherry, and you just stood there."

"Fine—I’ll treat it as you wanting to play the dutiful son. But Cherry died so miserably, and Vanessa still dares to mock me, bringing this money to provoke me. Don’t tell me you don’t know that 666 sounds like go to hell. Are you going to keep pretending you’re blind?”

A flicker of hesitation crossed Anthony’s face—he seemed to realize how inappropriate this was.

But before he could speak, Cooper, who had been standing between us, suddenly burst into loud sobs.

Rolling up his sleeve, he revealed bruises on his arm and pointed at me in accusation.

“Daddy, this bad woman pinched me on purpose! She must be taking revenge on Mommy. Cooper hurts so much...”

At once, Vanessa’s eyes shimmered with tears.

“Ms. Brooks, you’ve misunderstood me. I left the house in a rush today, so I only had this money with me. I sincerely wanted to compensate you. I’m a simple person—unlike you, I don’t have so many schemes."

"I know you dislike me, but if you have a problem, take it out on me. Why bully a child?”

My motherinlaw looked ready to faint from distress. She slapped the table and shouted at me to get out.

“Anthony, I didn’t—”

Anthony cut me off impatiently, his face dark as iron.

“Diana, Cooper is only five. You think a child that age can lie? He didn’t hurt Cherry on purpose—what would a kid know? Must you blow everything out of proportion?"

"Mom said Cooper is her grandson now—so that makes him my son. I have to stand up for him and Vanessa.”

He shoved Cooper toward me.

“Cooper, Daddy will teach you something today: if someone bullies you, you bully them back. Whatever this auntie did to you, you do it back to her.”

A sly smile flashed in Cooper’s eyes before he put on an innocent act.

“But Daddy, I’m just a kid. My strength isn’t as big as an adult’s. She definitely won’t hurt as much as I do. That wouldn’t be fair!”

“Then bite her! Bite until you think she’s in enough pain.”

The next second, Cooper lunged at me, sinking his teeth viciously into my arm.

He didn’t stop until he’d torn out a chunk of flesh, spitting it onto the floor with disgust.

My motherinlaw praised him as if he’d done something commendable, glaring at me.

“You heartless wretch! How dare you bully my eldest grandson? Taking a bite of your flesh is already letting you off lightly. Get out of here—you’re an eyesore!”

Anthony didn’t even glance my way.

One arm holding the boy, the other wrapped protectively around Vanessa’s waist, they coaxed the child in perfect harmony—so intimate that my presence felt utterly redundant.

Mocking gazes closed in on me from all around. I said nothing, turned, and walked away.

I had just finished getting my arm bandaged at the hospital when my phone rang.

It was the funeral home—panic laced the voice on the other end.

“Ms. Brooks, something terrible has happened... your daughter’s body has been desecrated. All twentyfour of her ribs have been removed...”

“What?!”

I sprinted to the funeral home’s morgue, my mind blank with horror.

Several staff members stood there, faces pale with shock.

“This is too cruel... How could anyone do this to the dead—especially a child...”

One of them stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Ms. Ruiz sent people to do it and said her son wanted a bracelet made of human bones. They dragged your daughter’s body out by force..."

"We refused, so we called Mr. Jimenez. But before we could even finish explaining, he just said, ‘Whatever Miss Ruiz wants to do, let her,’ and hung up.”

I looked at my daughter’s remains—her small chest cavity torn open as if savaged by a wild beast.

I felt my breath being crushed from my lungs.

Finally, I understood the true meaning of heartbreak.

It took me a long time to find my voice, trembling uncontrollably. “The security footage... is it still there?”

“No. They smashed the cameras as soon as they arrived and said Mr. Jimenez ordered it.”

I shut my eyes in despair. I had expected this, I could never win against Anthony.

I begged the staff to cremate my daughter immediately. I couldn’t risk giving Vanessa another chance to harm her.

When it was over, I held the tiny urn in my arms, tears falling endlessly.

“Cherry... I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry...”

I left the urn in the funeral home’s care and made a phone call.

“Have you returned to the country? I need your help.”

But no matter how I tried, the images wouldn’t leave my mind—my daughter’s cruel death, her body mutilated.

Rage burned through my veins.

Without hesitation, I went straight back to the neighborhood, and headed upstairs, to Vanessa’s apartment.

The door was slightly ajar.

Her smug voice drifted out.

“Cooper, you did well today. Otherwise Daddy might’ve pitied that horrible woman. Here—this is Mommy’s reward for you: a bracelet made from human bones.”

“Mommy, this bracelet smells disgusting—just like that horrible woman’s daughter. You’re amazing though! You knew that little brat always played near the flowerbeds downstairs, so you smashed her with a toy car and killed her. Now no one will fight me for Daddy’s attention!”

“Of course. Mommy practiced for a long time to make sure it’d be a perfect kill. Oh, I can’t wait to see Diana’s face when she finds out. She must be crying her eyes out! So what if she’s the legal wife? She’s been dancing to my tune all along!”

My whole body shook with fury. I couldn’t hold back any longer.

I stormed in, slammed Vanessa to the ground, and pinned her there.

Cooper froze in shock, while Vanessa shrieked hysterically under me.

“You murderer! I’ll make you pay for my daughter’s life!”

My vision went red as I raised my hand—but in the next instant, a kick sent me flying across the room.

Anthony clutched Vanessa tightly in his arms, his face twisted with rage as he glared at me.

"Diana, just how long are you planning to keep acting insane?!"

"Anthony," Vanessa’s voice trembled with just the right touch of fragility, "I only felt sorry for Miss Brook after she lost her daughter, so I told my son to treat her with respect in the future. Who would have thought... she accused me of showing off, and even tried to kill me!"

She sniffled, lowering her gaze in pitiful sorrow. "Since she can’t stand the sight of us, I’ll take Cooper and leave. It's better than waiting for the day she actually kills me... But I... I can’t bear to part with you."

Right on cue, Cooper began to wail, clinging to his father and crying about how much he didn’t want to leave.

Anthony wrapped an arm protectively around them both, his eyes cutting into me like ice.

"Diana, you’re even more heartless than I imagined. You lost your daughter—so now you want to see other mothers separated from their children?!"

"Vanessa is generous enough to overlook your past slander, and she’s still willing to have Cooper show you respect. Instead of being grateful, you repay her with malice. Are you even human?!"

A bitter, almost deranged laugh tore out of my throat. I suddenly lunged forward, snatching the palegray bracelet from Cooper’s wrist.

Tears burned my eyes as I screamed, "I’m not human? I’m the one without a heart?!"

"Anthony—open your damn eyes and take a good look! This bracelet is made from your daughter’s ribs. Twentyfour ribs, all torn from her body!"

"Vanessa killed Cherry and desecrated her body—she’s nothing but a—"

I never got to finish. Anthony grabbed an ashtray and hurled it at me. It struck my forehead with a sickening crack, and warm blood began to gush down my face.

His eyes were glacial, the kind of cold that could freeze straight through bone.

"I’ll say it one more time—Cherry’s death was nothing more than an accident caused by Cooper. It has nothing to do with Vanessa! You were the one too useless to watch your child. I haven’t blamed you for that—don’t push your luck!"

"I know exactly what you did. You had Cherry’s body cremated ahead of schedule. I was wondering why, but now I understand. You wanted to frame Vanessa, but were afraid I’d find proof you were lying!"

"You’d even exploit your daughter’s corpse to get what you want. How filthy can you get?"

Watching him stand so firmly by Vanessa’s side, I suddenly found the entire scene absurd beyond words. All the fight in me drained away. I no longer wanted to defend myself.

I turned to leave—but Anthony stepped in front of me.

"You were the one who slandered Vanessa and hurt Cooper. And now, after hitting someone today, you think you can just walk away? Well, not so easy. Apologize now, or you won’t be walking out that door."

Years of marriage told me he wasn’t joking. And everything in this house made my skin crawl; I didn’t want to stay here another second.

Numbly, I turned to Vanessa. Each word tasted like blood and humiliation.

"Ms. Ruiz... I’m sorry for earlier."

At her subtle nod, Cooper ran into the bedroom and came back with a baseball bat. Without hesitation, he swung it hard at my knee.

The blow sent me crashing to the floor in agony. Vanessa let out a delighted little laugh, her eyes glittering with triumph.

"Oh dear, how clumsy of him. Cooper’s probably just too used to beating stray dogs downstairs—he gets restless if he goes a day without it. I hope you won’t take it personally, Ms. Brooks."

"But you know, one little ‘sorry’ doesn’t seem fair compensation. I actually have an idea..."

Her lips curled into a slow, poisonous smile before she ground her heel into my hand—again and again.

A sickening crunch rang out. My bones shattered under her heel. The bracelet—my daughter’s ribs—was crushed into powder.

I ignored the pain in my hand, scrambling to gather the precious bone dust, my tears blurring the floor.

Staggering to my feet, I headed for the door, my forehead and hands dripping blood that pattered onto the tiles.

Anthony’s face softened with a flicker of guilt, and he took an involuntary step toward me—but Vanessa clung to his arm with teary eyes.

"Anthony, are you feeling sorry for her? You didn’t see what happened earlier. She slapped me over and over with that same hand. I only stepped on her once. I was already being merciful."

“If we don’t teach her a lesson now, she’ll keep bullying me and my son in the future. You’re the one who promised to protect us—was that a lie?”

...

By the time I had burned every belonging of mine and my daughter’s, and stepped out of the house once again, Anthony still hadn’t shown his face.

Upstairs, the sound of laughter rang out, light and carefree. How warm... how harmonious.

I handed the divorce papers to the security guard, asking him to deliver them on my behalf, then walked out of the gates.

A RollsRoyce Phantom that had been waiting for me honked softly. I knew then—the person who would help me seek justice for my daughter had arrived.