Avenging His True Love Cost Him His Parents

I've booked a hot air balloon trip for my in-laws in commemoration of their wedding anniversary.

Little do I know that as soon as the hot air balloon lifts off the ground, 1,000 drones appear out of nowhere and form a sentence in the sky.

"Natalie, my ethereal beloved, you're the only one I ever want in this world."

I feel as though my blood has turned into ice. It turns out that my husband, Theodore Shaw, is in the middle of launching a grand confession to his first love, Natalie Quinn.

As soon as the line goes through, I exclaim in a quivering tone, "Theodore, hurry up and command the drones to avoid the hot air balloon's route! Mom and Dad are—"

Before I can finish speaking, Theodore cuts me off with a sneer.

"Back then, you exaggerated Natalie's parents' crimes at the court. When they died from despair in jail, you were busy celebrating your win streak as an ace lawyer.

"Now, I want you to have a taste of what it feels like to lose your own parents too!"

Then, Theodore commands his subordinates loudly, "Lock on the target! I want you to use the drones to crash the hot air balloon out of the way! I want to hear how loudly it'll explode when it plummets!"

Natalie keeps egging him on at the side in a sickly sweet voice.

"Precisely! I want it to explode as beautifully as the fireworks!"

The hot air balloon keeps getting attacked by the drones that keep flying in their direction at high speed. I can hear my in-laws' cries of despair, sending shivers down my spine.

That's when I roar at my phone hysterically.

"Theodore Shaw, you absolute bastard! Open your damn eyes and look at the sky! Your own parents are the one riding the hot air balloon, dammit!"

On the other end of the line, Theodore Shaw dismissed my frantic shouting with a scoff.

"Juliette Kane, do you honestly think I'm still going to believe a word you say? My parents are on their private cruise in the Aurelian Sea right now. A lawyer like you would say anything to save your own skin."

Natalie Quinn let out a soft, amused laugh and chimed in, "Theo, isn't twisting the truth what she does best? Now, she's trying to hide behind your parents."

Theodore's fury was ignited, and he issued another order.

"Activate the sonic pulse. I want their eardrums blown out!"

Dozens of drones shifted formation at once, releasing a shrill, high-frequency sound wave. The hot air balloon basket shook violently, and the glass goblets at our feet shattered into powder in an instant.

My mother-in-law, Margaret Kane, had a pre-existing heart condition.

Between the violent shaking and the shock, her asthma flared up in an instant. Her face turned purple as she struggled to breathe.

My eyes widened. I rushed over, desperate to get the emergency inhaler from Margaret's Hermès bag.

Just then, a helicopter roared to a hover not far away.

The cabin door slid open, revealing Theodore propping up a Barrett M82. Its muzzle locked onto me with pinpoint accuracy.

With a bang, the bullet hissed through the air, striking the bag with lethal precision.

The strap gave way instantly, sending the Hermès bag tumbling 300 feet below. The inhaler that could've saved Margaret was gone with it.

Theodore's icy voice came through the loudspeaker, echoing through the valley.

"I'll give you one last chance. Face the camera and confess to forging the evidence against Natalie's parents. Then sign the asset transfer agreement and hand over all assets in your name to Natalie. Otherwise, the next round goes straight through your forehead."

A drone carried an agreement and a pen over to me, stopping steadily in front of me. The pen tip caught the sunlight with a sinister glint.

Before I could respond, my father-in-law, Richard Shaw, reached his limit. He seized the phone and bellowed into it, "You disgrace! I'm your father! Stop this right now!"

On the other end, Theodore clearly froze when he heard the voice, followed by a furious shout, "How dare you pretend to be my father? Crank up the power. Silence him!"

The sonic pulse intensified, and blood streamed from Richard's nose and mouth.

As if punishing him for a pathetic impersonation, Theodore fired another shot without the slightest hesitation.

The bullet struck Richard squarely in the shoulder, and blood spread rapidly across his shirt.