She Killed My Father-in-Law, and My Husband Protected Her

My father-in-law was dragged for a kilometer by a drunk female driver on his way home from a late-night community dance.

When I received the call, he was lying in the morgue, his face unrecognizable.

After watching the surveillance video provided by the police, I gnashed my teeth in anger and swore to seek justice for my father-in-law.

But the next day, my husband met me at a restaurant and slammed a document in my face.

“Emily Carter, the dead cannot return. Your father is gone, but Natalie is only twenty-one—she still has the best years ahead of her. You can’t be so heartless as to make her waste her youth tied to a dead man!”

“Sign the agreement, and I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars as compensation for your father. This case is finished.”

“Otherwise, you won’t get a cent!”

I didn’t sign.

Later, Daniel Carter kept his word and didn’t let me receive a single dime.

But he knelt on the courthouse steps, smashing his forehead until it bled, begging for a retrial!

——

“You—what did you just say?”

“Fifty thousand? Settle privately?”

I stared at Daniel, momentarily stunned.

The one lying in the morgue now is his father!

When Daniel was a child, his family was destitute. His mother, unable to endure the hardship, abandoned him in his cradle and ran off with another man.

It was his father-in-law who raised him alone.

To protect him from any harm, he never remarried.

“Why? Do you think it’s too little?”

I opened my mouth, my voice trembling as I explained, “This isn’t about the money, Daniel.”

“The man in the accident, he… he… was our father!”

I was afraid he wouldn’t accept it, so I spoke cautiously.

But he glanced at his watch and frowned impatiently.

“I know. You don’t need to keep repeating it.”

“Since you don’t think it’s too little, then just sign it. Don’t waste my time—I have things to do.”

I flipped open the agreement in front of me, unsure where to begin, until a line of words pierced my eyes, making my pupils contract sharply.

It actually described my father-in-law bending over to tie his shoelaces as an intentional scam.

Because he was supposedly scamming Natalie, he happened to be unwell and failed to notice her condition.

This was a complete reversal of right and wrong.

I clutched the thin sheet of paper and asked Daniel, “Did you go to the police station and watch the surveillance video?”

He irritably took a sip of his drink, leaning back in his chair with a careless look, his tone rising.

“What? What do you expect me to see? Your dad scamming someone?”

“He’s so old, and still trying to cheat a young girl. Emily, if you’re not ashamed, I am!”

“He didn’t scam anyone!”

“Daniel, he raised you for more than thirty years. You know him better than anyone. Don’t slander him like this.”

Curious stares swept over me.

I shoved the document back.

Perhaps under his influence, my sorrow and fear slowly dulled. “What do you mean by ‘support me’? He’s your dad. Are you out of your mind, Daniel?”

I thought I was being clear, but Daniel seemed to understand nothing.

He scolded me impatiently.

Then, as if remembering something, his tone softened.

“Emily, I know it’s hard for you to accept your father-in-law’s death, and that’s natural.”

“But think about it logically. Your dad was old. He made no real contribution to the family, and he still relied on you to support him. He was already a burden.”

“If he were still alive, he couldn’t even earn five thousand, let alone fifty thousand, right?”

“We should face reality. If you really think fifty thousand is too little, then name your price.”