Chapter 1She Saved a Stray Dog With the Antivenom

What my wife, Stella, did completely shattered my understanding of human decency.

At the time, she mistakenly thought I was lying about her mother being bitten by a venomous snake and clinging to life. As a result, she literally stood by and watched her favorite male student inject the only vial of universal antivenom into a stray dog.

Worse still, she stood there viciously cursing her own mother, wishing death upon her.

Seeing her true colors, I simply replied to her message with a single word. Pathetic.

I immediately turned around and uploaded the audio recording of our conversation, along with screenshots of that male student boasting about the dog on his social media, straight to the university's public message board.

I even had the perfect title ready. Risking Her Own Mother's Life to Save a Stray Dog. Is This Our University's 'Daughter of the Year'?

She loved to gloat, didn't she? Well, she could just wait. Once the tidal wave of public outrage drowned her, I wanted to see if she could still smile.

* * *

In less than ten minutes, the comments under the forum post had surpassed a thousand.

Stella was a highly respected professor at the university. Now that she had committed such an unforgivable and twisted act, the university board was furious. Rumors were already circulating that they were going to strip her of her position.

Furious, she bombarded me with over a dozen voice messages, ordering me to delete the post.

"My mother has always been in poor health. If the snake venom had really reached her heart, she wouldn't have survived long enough for me to get the serum to her anyway. Rather than wasting it, it's better to help a poor animal!"

I let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh.

"The person bitten by that snake is your own mother! Get your ass to the ER right now!"

The other end of the line was dead silent for a second. Then, the cursing began.

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Arthur?" "My mom has bad knees. She would never go hiking in a state park." "Besides, if she was really hurt, wouldn't she have called me herself?"

If my mother-in-law could have reached her, she wouldn't have had to call me as her last resort.

Just then, the red light above the resuscitation room behind me flicked off. The attending doctor walked out, shaking his head with a look of deep regret.

"The venom has spread entirely. The patient is experiencing multiple organ failure. You should go in and say your final goodbyes."

I immediately sent Stella a video call request. I pointed the camera directly at the sterile hospital bed.

When the call connected, the screen didn't show Stella. It showed Felix's face.

"Arthur, there is something I'm really curious about. Silver Peak is a highly regulated state park. How could there be venomous snakes there? Are you just making this up to steal the formula for the universal antivenom?"

"I am not!"

Stella scoffed coldly from somewhere off-camera. "No wonder you've been so obsessed with the progress of the antivenom lately. Now you're cursing my mother to death just to get your hands on my finished samples?" "You are absolutely shameless, Arthur!"

A second later, she snatched the phone and terminated the video call.

I laughed out of pure anger. Just as I was about to dial back, my mother-in-law's trembling hand gripped my wrist.

Her eyes were unfocused, darting around the empty room. "Is it Stella? Why isn't she here yet?"

I knew Martha had been holding on by a thread solely to see her daughter one last time. But the person she was waiting for was never going to show up.

I stayed silent for a long moment before my voice broke. "Traffic is really bad. She's almost here. Just hold on a little longer, Martha."

Her pale lips quivered. She clearly had something left to say. I leaned in close and caught her raspy, choked whispers.

"Arthur, I failed at raising my daughter. I am so sorry for what she put you through. Please, don't give up on her."

I didn't say a word.

Last month, at Martha's sixtieth birthday dinner, Stella had brazenly brought Felix along. Right at the dining table, in front of our entire family, she had hand-peeled shrimp and fed them to him. I demanded a divorce right then and there. The shock and humiliation triggered a mild heart attack for Martha.

The ordeal only ended when Stella swore to me that she would cut off all contact with Felix. But from that day on, she stopped coming home. Not long after, using her research project as an excuse, she started sleeping around with him again.

That was exactly why Martha had traveled up the mountain. She had gone to an old chapel at the peak of Silver Peak to pray for our crumbling marriage. She had no wilderness experience. When she was bitten, she didn't even know if the snake was venomous until the toxins rapidly spread through her bloodstream, leaving her on the brink of death.

The only thing that could save her was a dose of broad-spectrum universal antivenom. Coincidentally, the latest breakthrough at Stella's research institute was exactly that.

I had called her the absolute second I found out. She had sworn up and down that she would deliver it in time. Yet, it still ended like this.

I couldn't even describe the twisted knot of grief and rage in my chest. Meeting Martha's desperate, hopeful gaze, I finally let out a heavy sigh.

"I will take good care of her for you. I promise."