The medical staff were visibly shocked. They all knew how desperately Carla had clung to hope, waiting for a miracle—praying her son would wake up.
“Mr. Shepherd, do you want to discuss this with Carla first?” a doctor gently suggested.
“That’s not necessary. She’ll understand. Let’s proceed,” Farley Shepherd replied, his tone resolute.
But as they hesitated for just a moment, Micah’s condition took a sudden and devastating turn. Despite the doctors’ best efforts, it was too late—they couldn’t save him.
Everything unfolded just as Farley Shepherd had planned. In his eagerness to please his new lover, he had been willing to sacrifice his own child, taking human cruelty to its darkest extreme. Stories like this weren’t unheard of—tragic headlines about men, spurred on by new partners, killing their own children after a bitter divorce.
But karma always comes around. The blackest evil in the world is the human heart. Farley Shepherd could never have imagined that his own death would fall on the same day as his son’s. Now, his mistress clutched her child and wailed for all to see, but inside, she was singing with joy. With Micah gone and Farley Shepherd dead, the Shepherd family fortune would be divided according to the law—her son was now poised to inherit the lion’s share. Yet with so many relatives circling, nothing was certain. As the saying goes, people kill for money, birds die for food. Whether she and her son would actually claim the inheritance remained to be seen…
That night, countless people tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The next day was Saturday. Ivy didn’t have to work, yet she woke early, rising with the dawn. But once up, she found herself at a loss for what to do. Jamison had barely slept all night; he was already making his morning rounds at the hospital. She heard voices in the hallway—the old house’s housekeeper had come to deliver breakfast. Ivy instinctively wanted to go out and greet her, but hesitated. If she appeared too early, she might arouse the old lady’s suspicion. News of last night’s events had been tightly contained; the elders still knew nothing. It wouldn’t stay secret forever, but every hour bought Jamison a little more time to catch his breath.
But before noon, word reached Danny. The news broke because Farley Shepherd had died, and the Shepherd family was planning the funeral. An obituary went out—and with that, the secret was out. The news swept through the social circle in no time. People called Danny to offer their condolences—after all, the deceased was his own son-in-law. Danny was stunned. But he’d weathered many storms in his life. He quickly realized the younger generation must have kept the news from him and his wife, afraid the shock would be too much. He could handle it, but he worried for his wife. So, in quiet solidarity, Danny kept the news to himself.
Still, he was anxious—he needed to know what really happened last night, and how his daughter was coping. As soon as his wife dozed off, he slipped out of the hospital room to make a call. That’s when he learned the full extent of the tragedy: their only grandson had died the previous night, and their daughter had been taken away by police on suspicion of murder. The old man’s heart couldn’t take it—his blood pressure shot up. Thankfully, he was already in the hospital. The staff reacted quickly, and Danny soon stabilized.
By midday, Thad and his wife, along with Ivy and Jamison, had all gathered outside the hospital room. Because Adela still didn’t know, they met in the room Ivy and Jamison had stayed in the night before. Jamison explained everything in detail. Listening to the full story, Danny broke down in tears.
“Micah’s finally at peace, but this all happened so suddenly—two lives gone, another lost to madness and prison. What a tragedy…”
Everyone nodded. How could anyone accept it? In the blink of an eye, a family of three was shattered—two dead, one institutionalized.
“Mom’s health is fragile. We can’t let her find out yet,” Thad said quietly. “Carla already has the best criminal defense attorney. We’re waiting on a psychiatric evaluation. Maybe… maybe they’ll rule her not guilty by reason of insanity.”
Danny looked at his eldest son. “Is Carla really… gone?”
Thad frowned, hesitating. “I think so, but we’ll have to wait for the official assessment.”
He’d seen her that morning with the lawyer, and Carla was just as she’d been the previous night. Sometimes she sat there, hollow-eyed, like her soul had left her body. Other times, she’d babble and giggle, or launch into furious rants at thin air. When Thad entered, she erupted, screaming, “Farley Shepherd! You deserved to die! You thought you could abandon me and Micah for that witch? Dream on!” The lawyer tried to remind her she’d mistaken Thad for someone else. Carla blinked, then suddenly broke down sobbing.
“Micah… don’t be afraid, honey. Mommy knows you hated pain. It doesn’t hurt anymore, it’s all over, my sweet boy…”
“Micah! You liked Ivy, didn’t you? Just wait… Don’t worry, Mommy will bring her to keep you company… Whatever you want, Mommy will do it for you, my precious…”
Thad felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Did Carla mean she was planning to “send” Ivy to the grave to be with Micah? After they left her room, Thad pulled Jamison aside.
“If Carla’s acquitted, once she’s out… don’t ever let her near Ivy again.”
Jamison frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She’s lost her mind. She keeps talking about making Ivy join Micah.”
Jamison stared at his brother, shocked and deeply troubled.