Chapter 1My Wife's Redemption

My wife, Vanessa Fitzgerald, left me and our six-month-old daughter in my old house to ensure the safety of her first love, Charlie Gomez, who suffered from severe depression and would self-harm at the sight of me.

Five years after my brutal assault and death, Charlie was diagnosed with kidney failure.

The doctor informed them that a blood relative would have a higher probability of having a kidney match with him, prompting Vanessa to finally remember me, Charlie's biological elder brother.

Vanessa hastily called, demanding I return immediately. My five-year-old daughter, Evelyn Gomez, timidly replied, "Ma'am, my dad... my dad's been gone for a long time."

Vanessa frowned, her tone dripping with impatience. "Who are you? Where's Sheldon? Put Sheldon on the phone!"

Evelyn stammered, "You... you have to wait a moment."

She put down the phone and hurriedly ran to find the village chief, Howard Douglas. "Mr. Douglas, someone's looking for my dad."

Howard, hunched over, slowly made his way to the phone and picked it up.

"Is this Ms. Fitzgerald? You finally..."

As soon as Vanessa heard the old man's voice, her face darkened immediately.

She rubbed her temples forcefully, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, her face showed a hint of simmering irritation.

"Where's Sheldon? Is he scared to answer my call?

"He asked a little girl to answer the phone and told me he was dead. Now, he has an old man tell me the same thing, right?

"Is this his way of forcing me to come get him myself?

"Fine. For Charlie's sake, I'll go pick him up myself!"

Without waiting for Howard's response, Vanessa hung up the phone.

The next day, Vanessa drove to my old house.

Half of the house had collapsed, and the door hung ajar. Inside, there was no furniture, just scattered wooden planks and bricks. Spiderwebs covered both the interior and exterior, and the windows were shattered. Vanessa couldn't help but frown at the sight.

She glanced up at the young man who had brought her here, her eyes filled with impatience.

"Where's Sheldon? Tell him to come see me.

"If he's willing to donate his kidney to Charlie, I'll take him back."

The young man looked uneasy and hesitated. "Ms. Fitzgerald, well, uh, how about you wait for Mr. Douglas to come?"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes, seemingly forcing herself to stay calm.

Just then, Howard arrived, leaning on his cane.

"Hello, Ms. Fitzgerald."

Vanessa glanced at Howard and said coldly, "Where's Sheldon?"

Howard placed one hand behind his back. "Sheldon can't come to see you..."

Vanessa sneered upon hearing this. "What? Are you going to tell me he's dead?

"Tell him to stop throwing a tantrum. I won't tolerate it!

"He needs to come out and see me now. I've come to pick him up in person, so what else does he want?"

I thought, "What did I want? I wanted nothing.

I just wanted to live and watch my daughter grow up, but I couldn't even do that."

Now, my soul stood to the side, staring blankly at Vanessa.

Five years ago, not long after my half-year-old daughter and I were sent to the old house, Charlie had people track me down.

He was jealous that I had married Vanessa, and even more jealous that she had given birth to my child.

So, Charlie first sent thugs to destroy my old house, then had them harass me daily, and insulted me, leading to my death.

They left my broken body in the mountains, where vultures feasted on it.

It was Howard who noticed I was missing.

He organized a search, and eventually, my body was found in the mountains and was buried by Howard.