Every night, my son took a shower at 3 a.m., and I kept convincing myself it was only stress until curiosity pushed me to look through the bathroom door and I saw something so terrifying, so familiar, and so evil that I left his home for a retirement community before dawn… but I could not leave her behind…

I swallowed every grievance and every resentment to care for him until he breathed his last, not because of love, but because of duty, and so Nicholas could concentrate on his studies.

The day my husband died, I did not cry even once.

I only felt the weight on my shoulders suddenly loosen, and from that day forward, my son and I had only each other.

I poured all my love and strength into raising him, taking on extra tutoring work on top of teaching to pay for his education.

Since childhood, Nicholas had been smart and decisive, but he also had a short temper, perhaps something he had inherited from his father.