I Gave You My Heart First — You Gave It Back in Pieces

Just after returning from a business trip, I was hit with the devastating news of my daughter’s death.

The dashcam footage revealed everything—our parttime babysitter, clearly annoyed by my daughter’s crying, had stuffed her into the trunk of the car in 38degree heat just so she could shop in peace.

Inside that stifling, airless space, my daughter’s cries grew weaker and weaker until they faded away completely.

“Serena, I’ll stand by you—we’ll get justice for our little girl,” my husband, Ben Doyle, said as he held my trembling hand, grief clouding his eyes.

I was determined to call the police and press charges against the babysitter.

But on the way to the station, Ben made a stop, claiming he’d get me some water—and locked the car door behind him.

“Cassandra didn’t mean any harm. She just didn’t want your daughter growing up spoiled. I’ll talk her into apologizing,” he said.

“She hasn’t even finished college. You want this to ruin her future? You already lost one child. Just have another.”

To force me to give up the evidence, he secretly turned the air conditioner to full blast, watching me slowly dehydrate and struggle for air.

Only then did it finally sink in: Ben had already chosen a side—and it wasn’t ours.

——

The heat inside the car kept rising, and I gasped for breath like a fish flailing out of water, suffocation closing in.

Outside the car, Ben stood like a stranger, his voice disturbingly calm.

“Give me the USB with the dashcam footage, Serena, and I’ll let you out.”

He’d even snatched away my phone to keep me from contacting the police.

My vision blurred with sweat, making it hard to see the man who, just hours ago, swore to fight for our daughter’s justice—now shielding her killer.

I pounded on the window, pointing at my soaked, pale face, throat parched and cracking.

“Ben, look at me! Our daughter suffocated in the trunk—screaming, suffering!”

“You were her father. Her hero. How can you protect the person who killed her? How dare you?”

His eyes lowered slightly, a chilling coldness lingering there.

“I told you not to call Cassandra those filthy names,” he said.

“Lily Shaw’s always been a crybaby—that’s a bad habit you encouraged. Cassandra was just helping you discipline her. She meant well. Why blame her?”

“But Cassandra Quinn refused to take Lily to school and went shopping instead. As a babysitter—”

Ben cut me off sharply.

“Lily is only in first grade. Being a few hours late isn’t a big deal. Cassandra works hard taking care of her—it’s only fair she gets time to relax.”

“No one wanted this to happen. If you had just handed over the USB, it would’ve ended with a tragedy—but we could move on. We could try again.”

“Cassandra’s future is just beginning. I won’t let one mistake destroy her life.”

His words were grotesque, each one twisting deeper into my soul.

So, in his eyes, my daughter’s life was nothing compared to Cassandra’s future.

I don’t know where the strength came from, but I began punching the car window over and over.

“Ben, hear me clearly! Unless I die in this car today, I will see Cassandra behind bars!”

“My daughter’s death will not be brushed aside. I will never surrender that evidence!”

My fists were soon raw and bloodied, every strike worsening oxygen deprivation.

Ben frowned at the sight of my bleeding hands—but made no move to stop me.

Just as darkness started to close in, the car door suddenly swung open.

Cool air rushed in, and the suffocating heat began to fade.

Ben switched the air conditioner back to cooling mode, gritting his teeth as he glared at me.

“Serena, you’ve always been this stubborn! You left me with no other choice!”

When I regained consciousness, I realized he had already brought me to my mother’s hospital room.

Ben shoved my face against the small window on the door. Inside, I saw several bodyguards restraining my terrified mother, shoving her head toward a microwave.

He raised his hand in a signal, and the man inside twisted the microwave dial all the way to its maximum. I could practically smell her hair burning. If this continued, I didn’t dare imagine the outcome.

I lunged at Ben, grabbing his collar with all my strength, screaming,

“Are you insane?! That’s my mother, you lunatic!”

Ben looked down calmly, kissed my bloodied fingers with eerie tenderness, and smiled—like a devil in human skin.

“There’s nothing else I can do, Serena. You’re too stubborn. And I just can’t stand to see you die. So, I’ll let your mother die instead.”

“Give me the USB drive, or I’ll let them fry her brain until it bursts. Think very carefully.”

From inside the ward, my mother’s agonized cries rang out:

“It’s burning! What are you doing?! Let me go!”

A stabbing pain pierced through my heart. I shut my eyes tightly as despair overtook me, my voice cracking into a sob.

“The USB... it’s wedged between my phone and the case. Just let her go now—please.”

Ben took the USB, signaled his men to stand down, and lifted my chin with his fingers.

“Serena, without this, you can’t bring charges against Cassandra. And just so you know, I’ve already made sure no lawyer in Saltwater City will take your case.”

Right in front of me, he flushed the USB drive down a nearby drain. I stared at him, consumed by sorrow.

I had once feared that Cassandra might sneak into my home to steal the evidence, then rush to the police station without even thinking of backing it up.

But never—not in a thousand lifetimes—did I imagine that the one who would help her cover up the truth would be her husband.

To protect Cassandra, he didn’t just destroy evidence—he threatened my mother’s life and blackmailed every legal representative in Saltwater City.

Was my daughter’s death going to mean nothing?

I tried to go back into the ward to check on my mother, but Ben yanked my wrist.

“Cassandra knows you’re grieving. She wanted to help, so she’s taken the initiative to set up Lily’s funeral arrangements. Let’s head over.”

“And remember, I’ve told her it was just a tragic accident. Don’t say anything cruel to her again. I won’t allow it.”

On the way, I stared blankly at the crystal ball resting on the dashboard.

It was the very first gift Ben ever gave me. Inside the glass sphere, a tiny couple embraced lovingly—sculpted by his own hands, modeled after the two of us.

Back then, he wasn’t the powerful Mr. Doyle everyone feared. He was just a quiet, reclusive boy in my mother’s class—isolated, awkward, invisible.

His parents had died in a car crash, and greedy relatives had taken all the insurance money, leaving him unable to afford tuition.

My mother, moved by pity, used our family’s savings to support him and even let him live in our home.

In those bleak days, I feared he might collapse under the weight of everything. So I stayed with him every day—encouraging him, making him laugh, helping him with schoolwork.

He worked relentlessly, eventually getting accepted to the same university as me. After graduation, he founded his own company.

When the company finally went public, Ben knelt before me in front of everyone, surrounded by extravagant gifts, and handed me the crystal ball.

I still remember the tremble in his voice, thick with emotion and sincerity:

“Serena, I know you’ve always hated flashy gifts. I gave you those because other women like them—and I want you to have what others have.”

“But this crystal ball... I made it long ago. I never had the courage to give it to you because it holds no value—except for my love.”

"Now, I’m giving it to you—not just to show my love, but to promise that in this life, I’ll give you not only wealth and comfort but a love without end, one meant solely for you. I’ll honor your teacher alongside you, and our family will remain whole, never broken."

But those were just empty words.

He betrayed that promise.

He fell in love with Cassandra, our parttime babysitter—a girl so careless she constantly spilled scalding tea on my hands or, worse, intentionally splashed it on our daughter.

“Serena, Cassandra’s still young. She didn’t mean it,” Ben would say. “Besides, Lily can’t grow up too pampered. She needs to toughen up, or she’ll be useless in the future.”

He even defended her with poetic nonsense: “Doesn’t Cassandra’s struggle to make ends meet remind you of your younger days? You’ve been through the storm—why tear apart someone else’s umbrella?”

At the funeral home, Ben gave me another series of warnings before yanking me inside with rough impatience.

But when we stepped into my daughter’s memorial hall, I was stunned speechless.

The white coffin had been swapped out for one painted bright red—as if this were a wedding, not a funeral.

A cheery version of “Good Days” echoed from the speakers, drawing curious glances from the onlookers.

Cassandra, smiling brightly, was crouched over my daughter’s small corpse, smearing layers of lipstick on her tiny, lifeless face until she was unrecognizable.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

I kicked over the speakers in a frenzy and yanked Cassandra off my daughter’s body.

She staggered in her high heels, twisted her ankle, and stumbled back—right into Ben’s arms. He caught her swiftly and shot me with a venomous glare.

“Serena Shaw! Didn’t I make myself clear? And you still dared to lay a hand on Cassandra? Apologize. Right. Now!”

“Ben, are you blind?! This is Lily’s funeral, and Cassandra turned it into a wedding scene! She desecrated her body and blasted a pop song over her coffin! Is this how she honors a dead child, or is she trying to curse my daughter even in death?!” My voice cracked as I shouted, my eyes burning red with fury.

For a moment, Ben looked uncertain. But Cassandra was quick to act. She wiped her fake tears and looked at me pitifully.

“Ms. Shaw, you were always busy working, never home, never present for Lily. I was the one who stayed with her, who knew what made her smile. She loved the color red and adored the song ‘Good Days.’ She used to beg me to sing it for her all the time.”

“She also liked it when I played dressup with her. I thought, maybe now that she’s gone, I could send her off with joy instead of grief. Just because you’re traditional and rigid doesn’t mean you get to rob a child of happiness, even after death, right?”

Ben turned to me, cold and composed.

“You heard her. Compared to you—the distant, heartless mother—Cassandra showed Lily more warmth and love. And after everything, you dare slander her? You should be the one apologizing.”

I let out a hollow laugh. Me? Coldhearted? Indifferent to Lily?

Even with my workload, I was there for Lily from day one.

I handled her meals, her latenight fevers, and her schoolwork. I supported Ben’s startup while raising her on my own. I collapsed from exhaustion more than once.

And what about him?

Ben was always “too busy.” He never changed a single diaper. He didn’t even know her favorite bedtime story.

What right did he have to question my love for her?

I pointed at Cassandra, trembling with fury.

“Shut your filthy mouth, you shameless homewrecker! If you hadn’t stuffed my daughter into that trunk, she wouldn’t have suffocated and died! And now you have the audacity to mock her, smear her body, and pretend you’re the grieving one? Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?!”

A crowd had begun to gather. Cassandra curled her lips into a smirk.

“Ms. Shaw, I tried to protect your dignity as a mother. But now, not only are you publicly insulting me—you’re making false accusations about child abuse. Do you have any proof of that?”

Yes, I did—once.

But Ben had already destroyed it, piece by piece.

Seeing my stunned silence, Cassandra’s smirk deepened. She slowly pulled out her phone.

“I have a video of you neglecting Lily. She’s crying because she misses her mommy—and I’m the one trying to comfort her. Want to see it?”

Cassandra pressed play. Lily’s sobbing voice echoed from the phone’s speaker:

“Mommy… I want Mommy…”

Since the screen was angled toward me, I could clearly see what the others could not: Cassandra slapping Lily across the face, over and over.

That was the real reason Lily was crying for me.

But her cries were so loud, they drowned out the sound of the slaps.

“Lily, be a good girl,” Cassandra cooed on screen. “Your mom is busy right now. Auntie made you some mango purée—it’s super sweet. Come on, eat it all up, okay?”

A moment later, Lily’s sobbing ceased—not because she had calmed down, but because her throat was swelling shut.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.

Cassandra knew exactly what she was doing. She knew Lily was severely allergic to mangoes.

Cassandra smugly pocketed her phone. The surrounding crowd, unaware of what the video actually showed, exploded in judgment.

“I’ve never seen a mother so coldblooded. Working nonstop while her child cries for attention—what kind of woman does that?”

“If this young girl hadn’t been there to console the kid, the poor thing would’ve choked to death on her own tears!”

“Some people are saying she locked her kid in the trunk and left her to die. Honestly, I believe it. She probably wanted to get rid of the girl so she could chase some business deal!”

“This babysitter’s being accused of killing the child, but clearly, the real abuser is the mother. She shouldn’t be allowed to raise a goldfish, let alone a child. Someone should teach her a lesson!”

Fueled by grief and outrage, they pounced.

Slaps rained down on my face. Someone spat at me. Rotten eggs were hurled, exploding against my clothes and skin.

Sharp nails raked across my cheeks and arms, carving deep, bleeding gashes into my flesh.

I staggered under the assault, my vision swimming in pain and humiliation.

Desperately, I looked at Ben. He shifted slightly, but didn’t move to help me.

Cassandra leaned into him, pouting, her voice soft and manipulative.

“Ben, you said you’d always protect me. Shaw’s insults don’t matter to me—but if you step in now, it’s like admitting I’m guilty. What if the school finds out? My whole future will be destroyed. Would you really break your promise for her?”

Finally, Ben turned to me, his tone icy and void of sympathy.

“Serena, you were the one who started all of this by falsely accusing Cassandra. If you refuse to apologize, then you have to accept the consequences.”

I don’t know how long the beating lasted. Eventually, the angry mob tired out and dispersed.

Shaking, bleeding, I dragged myself up from the floor.

Ben stepped toward me and extended his hand.

“Come. I’ll help you clean up.”

I slapped his hand away and hissed,

“Ben, I’m divorcing you. I’m quitting the company. From this moment on, we are nothing but strangers.”

Rage flickered in his eyes.

“You’re leaving me? Serena, is that supposed to be a threat? You’re the one at fault. I’m just trying to make sure Cassandra gets a fair chance!”

I didn’t even look at him.

I gently picked up my daughter’s lifeless body, wiped the smudges from her tiny face, and walked toward the crematorium.

Ben tried to follow, but I spun around and shouted,

“Get out!”

He paused midstep. Whatever words he had died on his lips as he met my eyes.

I didn’t glance back. I simply walked away.

That night, I sat outside the crematorium alone, listening to the quiet hum of machinery, my tears falling silently.

“Lily… I’m sorry. Mommy didn’t protect you... Mommy failed you...”

The next morning, I arranged for Lily’s urn to be stored temporarily at the funeral home.

I could no longer trust Ben. I had to leave this place. I had to get my mother and Lily far, far away—somewhere no one could hurt us again.

When I stepped outside, Ben and Cassandra were gone.

Lying abandoned on the ground was my phone.

The screen was lit up, showing thirtysix missed calls, all from the nursing home.

I immediately dialed the nurse, who picked up almost at once. Her voice came through, breathless and panicked:

“Ms. Shaw, why didn’t you answer earlier? Your mother… she attempted suicide. Her condition—her boss—”

I didn’t wait to hear the rest. I hung up and rushed outside to hail a taxi straight to the nursing home.

When I arrived, a nurse stood trembling by the ward door, her face Shaw, one hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.

“Ms. Shaw… the scene inside is terrible. Please prepare yourself…”

The moment I stepped inside, the metallic stench of blood assaulted my senses.

The walls were stained deep red. My mother’s lifeless body knelt in front of the scorched microwave, charred and unrecognizable from the neck down.

“Why? Why did it come to this?!”

The nurse’s voice quivered as she explained:

“We… we don’t know. A group of men came last night claiming to be friends of Miss Quinn. They said they were asked to visit your mother on her behalf. They refused to let us monitor or guard the door.”

“Mr. Doyle gave strict orders that Miss Quinn’s instructions should be treated as his own. We… we didn’t dare disobey. The men stayed inside for a long time before they finally left. When I came this morning to change your mother’s dressings, I saw her kneeling, head inside the microwave. At first, I thought she was looking for something… but then it exploded.”

My mind reeled. A memory flashed through my head.

Before leaving yesterday, threatened and paranoid, I had quietly asked a sympathetic caregiver to install a hidden camera in the room.

I’d gone to the restroom to whisper the instructions, just in case Ben was still watching me.

That caregiver owed me a favor—and though she didn’t dare openly defy Ben, she still helped me this time.

I connected my phone to the feed and scrolled through the overnight footage.

What I saw made my blood boil and my vision go red with fury.

They humiliated my mother.

One of the men even leaned in and threatened her, his tone cruel and low:

“Old woman, we just filmed a video of you. If we release it online, do you think your daughter will survive the fallout?”

“Mr. Doyle’s only daughter now is Cassandra. He didn’t bat an eye when she killed your granddaughter. He even forced your daughter to hand over the evidence.”

“If you want to protect her reputation, you’d better convince her to divorce Mr. Doyle and leave his house quietly. Otherwise, we’ll make you and your daughter famous on the internet—and not in a good way.”

My mother sat silently through the night.

Then, just before dawn, she switched on the microwave.

As if she knew there was a camera in the room, she looked directly into the lens and smiled—a small, calm, heartwrenching smile.

“Serena,” she whispered. “Mom didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not afraid of their threats. But I know Ben’s using me to control you. I don’t care what the world says—but I can’t be your burden any longer.”

“Mom is leaving now. Go look after our Lily. You have to live, and you must stay far, far away from that monster. I’m sorry I brought this pain to you.”

I couldn’t bear to watch another second.

I fell to my knees and clung to my mother’s lifeless body, sobbing uncontrollably.

Just then, my phone rang. A strange number flashed on the screen.

“Hello? I found your daughter’s watch… It was lying in front of the Aurora Tower. Can you come and pick it up?”

My heart stopped.

That watch. It was my birthday gift to Lily—a custom smartwatch with a hidden video recording function. She never took it off unless absolutely necessary.

Could she have… left behind evidence?

After arranging for my mother’s body to be transported to the funeral home, I rushed to Aurora Tower to retrieve the watch.

When I turned it on, I found hundreds of video files stored inside.

Each one was damning.

Each one captured Cassandra’s cruelty—every slap, every threat, every manipulation. Including the footage from the day my daughter died.

Rage coiled in my chest like a firestorm ready to erupt.

I took out my phone and called Ben’s most relentless business rival—the man who had once promised that I’d always have a place at his side.

“You once told me your company would always welcome me—does that offer still stand?”

His voice on the other end was calm, even cheerful.

“Of course. My team and I are here in America right now, negotiating a few partnerships. You’re welcome to name your terms.”

“Then I need a favor. And I’ll make it worth your while.”

…

After the call ended, I drafted both my resignation letter and divorce petition. Then I headed straight to the office.

As I passed by the tea room, I caught sight of Cassandra chatting on the phone, her voice smug and gloating, completely unaware of what was coming.

“The footage is perfect. I’ve already transferred your payment.”

“Just got word from the nursing home—the old hag committed suicide. She was tougher than expected. But imagining Serena crying her eyes out right now? That makes my day. Honestly, if she hadn’t helped him build the company from scratch, Ben would’ve ditched her a long time ago.”

“She still has the nerve to cling to the title of Mrs. Doyle. I’ll make sure she regrets it. Serena’s a bitch, her daughter’s a little bitch, and her mother was an old bitch. Now she doesn’t have to worry—her mother can go ahead and serve that little brat in hell! Hahaha…”

Fury erupted inside me. I charged forward and slapped Cassandra in the face.

Ben stormed in and shoved me hard. I stumbled backward and crashed into the cactus on the bar, my palms instantly shredded and bleeding.

“Serena, are you insane?!” he shouted.

“Ben, I don’t even know what I did wrong,” Cassandra whimpered. “Miss Shaw hit me the moment she walked in. Is she mad because she found out about the celebration you planned for our 100thday anniversary tonight?”

“I know she’s always thought I wasn’t good enough. To her, I’m just some poor scholarship student, only suitable to be a nanny for your family. Maybe I should just leave and go back to school…”

Ben pulled her into his arms, eyes filled with disappointment as he looked at me.

“When did you become so cruel and arrogant, Serena?”

“Cassandra’s an orphan who’s worked so hard to pay for her education. She’s never even known what it’s like to be cared for. I’ve loved you for years, but that’s not enough for you? You’re so eaten up with jealousy that you’d strike her over something so petty?”

I laughed bitterly, my hands trembling.

“You’re calling me arrogant? Do you even know what Cassandra did? My mother died because of her! She sent those men to torture and kill her. They—”

Slap.

The crack of his palm against my cheek echoed through the room. My lips split open, blood trickling down.

“I told you,” Ben said coldly, “don’t call Cassandra by those words again.”

“You already blamed her for Lily’s death. Now you’re dragging your dead mother into this? Do you even have a conscience left?”

Seeing how easily he stood by Cassandra, my last thread of hope snapped. There was no point trying to reason with a heart that had already turned against me.

“Forget it,” I said flatly, “just sign these two documents, and I’ll disappear from your life.”

I handed him my resignation and divorce agreement.

Without a second glance, he scribbled his signature and flung the papers in my face.

“I know you’re grieving, Lily. I’ll sign whatever you want. But you’ve humiliated Cassandra in public—more than once. If you don’t kneel down and apologize to her now, I can’t guarantee that Lily’s ashes won’t disappear from the funeral home. And maybe they’ll end up in a dog’s mouth.”

I stood frozen, trembling from head to toe. How had the man I once loved turned so monstrously cruel?

“Ben, you’re despicable.”

Choking on my pride, I fell to my knees before Cassandra.

“I sincerely apologize for disrespecting you today.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Cassandra seized me by the hair and slammed my forehead against the floor.

“Ms. Shaw, do you even understand what an apology means? If you’re going to kneel, at least do it properly.”

My forehead split open, blood soaking into the carpet. Ben stood nearby, looking concerned—but not for me. Cassandra leaned into him pitifully.

“Ben, check my face. Did she ruin it? My looks are all I have. How could she be so heartless, hitting a girl right in the face?”

Ben said nothing.

Without another glance at me, he led her back to the office. Soon, muffled moans and breathy gasps came from behind the closed door.

I ignored the judgmental stares from the employees and dragged myself out of the office building, still bleeding.

Just then, a sleek Bentley limousine rolled up and stopped in front of the building. A dozen welldressed men in sharp suits—some Americans, some European—stepped out in unison.

They bowed in perfect unison.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Shaw. Wells’ elite legal team—at your full disposal!"