That night, overwhelmed with grief, I had no choice but to go to her room to look for any mementos.

I found a drawing hidden beside her bed.

I recognized the drawing paper; it was something she carefully drew with crayons during Christmas.

At that time, when I asked her what she was drawing, she protectively covered the picture and said, "It's a secret!"

But now, looking at it again, I finally understood what made her smile so happily.

The picture showed William and me holding her hands, walking down a sunlit street.

But in reality, William and I have never walked together like that…

She never said anything, but she understood everything.

Tears streamed down uncontrollably, my heart feeling like it was suffocating.

I couldn’t believe my Sophia was gone forever.

I cried uncontrollably, and as the lights in the room turned on and the door opened, William walked in.

He was startled by my presence in the dark and cursed, “Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind?”

I stared at him blankly, not speaking.

He seemed shocked by my silence and quickly asked, “What are you doing with that wooden box? Where is Sophia?”

Tears gushed down once more, “She’s dead! She died because you didn’t save her!”

Upon hearing this, William exploded in rage. He knocked over the box of ashes I was holding, and Sophia's ashes scattered on the floor.

“That’s enough, Ava! How can you curse your own child like this? Why haven’t I seen Sophia for so long? Tell me where you’ve hidden her!”

I frantically knelt on the ground, trying to gather my daughter’s ashes together.

“She’s right here! Can’t you see? How many times do I have to tell you before you believe it? While you were with your assistant Olivia looking for her cat, your daughter suffered and died from lack of your treatment!”

But William laughed. “Your acting is really pathetic! How can I believe you?”

My heart felt like it was being stabbed. I looked at him and demanded, “I heard Olivia say that it was you who made Sophia buy ice cream for her. Don’t you know that Sophia had the accident while she was buying ice cream for her? You killed her!”

William looked at me in confusion.

“How is that possible? Sophia clearly sent me a message saying she was back home! Besides, Olivia was crying about her lost kitten. When I saw her looking like she was about to faint from the heat, I had Sophia buy ice cream for her! Is it wrong to teach children good manners?”

I looked at his unrepentant face, feeling a profound sense of absurdity.

“So you abandoned your ten-year-old daughter, who was buying ice cream for your lover, and went off with Olivia to find her cat?”

“I’m not having an affair with Olivia! There’s nothing going on between us! Don’t make things up! And is there any problem with this?”

“Ava, can’t you try to show some compassion? Olivia treats Sarah like her own daughter! It’s only right for me to help her look for the cute little kitten, isn’t it?”

I was disgusted by William’s continued attempts to defend himself.

I rushed forward and pushed him hard, venting my sorrow. “Sophia is your daughter! You should never have abandoned her! It’s you who caused her death!”

William stepped forward and pushed me down with all his strength.

“You’d better stop this nonsense and calm down!”

After saying this, he went into the room alone, turned off the lights, and soon the sound of his snoring filled the room.

Our daughter was dead, and yet he could still sleep?

I sat on the floor, feeling helpless and in pain, as if I were falling into an endless abyss.