My Husband's Lion Ate My Son

My husband is a world-renowned top animal trainer, running a famous exotic zoo. Even the fiercest beasts are as docile as cats in his presence.

But on the day he took our son to visit the zoo, the lion -- which was his favorite -- suddenly broke out of its cage and swallowed our boy whole.

In the morgue, I held my son's mutilated body and cried until I fainted, while he rushed back to the zoo overnight to soothe the frightened lion.

"Bethany, the little lion is usually so well-behaved. This was just an accident."

"Everyone has their own destiny. I am also very sad, but the past is gone. We must look forward."

It wasn't until I saw on the surveillance that he was comforting the new female manager, whispering, "Cathleen, · I'm not blaming you · for · not · reporting · the · broken · cage · on · time. · Everyone · in · the · zoo · faces · risks · of · injury; · Jeffry · just · had · bad · luck."

In that moment, I felt the blood in my veins freeze.

It turned out that the person who caused our son's death was the father he admired the most.

I turned off the surveillance and donated his prized little lion to the national zoo for free.

Then, I sent my son's photo to my 108 connections in the underground network, "Make · them · face · the · consequences."

...

The moment the donation news was released, my phone rang.

"Bethany! Are you out of your mind? The international tour invitations have been sent out, and you donated the little lion? Who will come to this lousy zoo without the lion?"

"Your son died, and you're upset, but what does that have to do with me? It was his bad luck! Why are you taking it out on me and Vivian?"

"I will give you 24 hours to retract the donation. Or I will divorce!"

After yelling, Gerald hung up the phone harshly.

I clutched the phone, tears rolling down silently.

Every time we argued, he would threaten me with divorce, and every time I would inevitably give in. But today, I felt tired.

Gerald had loved animals since he was young and was seen as a freak by everyone. He was bullied and even blinded in one eye during a beating, falling into despair.

I happened to be traveling and saved him in time, feeling compassion and using my resources to find him a cornea, so he could pursue his dreams.

After regaining his vision, he expressed immense gratitude and confessed his feelings to me on 99 occasions. He dedicated himself tirelessly to working with animals, and it was only after he successfully established and opened the zoo that my family permitted him to marry me.

After marriage, he was diagnosed with low fertility, and the doctor declared he would likely have no child in his lifetime.

I refused to accept fate and endured seven years of IVF treatments, enduring injections until my abdomen was bruised and purple, eventually receiving the news of an embryo implanting.

On the day our child was born, he was so happy that almost going insane, touching my belly and crying and laughing.

He swore he would treat us well.

We were indeed very happy during that time.

Until Vivian appeared.

...

I wiped away my tears, preparing to upload the surveillance video online.

But the phone screen was blank.

Someone had deleted the important video.

Yet, I received a video message that made me tremble with anger.

"Miss, are you alright?" the butler asked worriedly.

I took a deep breath, "Go to the zoo, now. The surveillance must be restored."

As the car entered the park, I noticed a crowd gathered outside the gate holding banners, with their shouts reverberating in the air.

Dozens of people were holding signs that read "Give us back our jobs" and "Greedy bosses get out." angrily

My heart sank.

Gerald stood at the highest point, dressed in a suit, looking heartbroken.

Beside him was the young female manager, Vivian, wiping tears from her red eyes.

"Stop the car, " I told the butler. "Uncle Phillips, you take the technician through the staff entrance to restore the surveillance. I'll go check it out."

As soon as I got out of the car, a rotten leaf hit my shoulder.

"It's her! This vicious woman wants to close the zoo!" a middle-aged woman with a face full of hostility pointed at me.

"Heartless capitalist, why do you want to shut down the zoo? The zoo belongs to everyone! Everyone has put in their effort!" another man shouted, waving his fists.

"Rich people are cold-blooded. If their own children have an accident, they want everyone to die along with them!"

The angry crowd surged towards me like a tide, all relatives from Gerald's hometown.

No wonder so many animals had been sickly lately; he had fired my top breeders and replaced them with his family members.

Gerald stood high above, with a barely noticeable smirk, showing no intention of helping me out of this situation.

Years ago, I anonymously built the zoo and made him the director, intending to give him a job opportunity and a support system.

So he wouldn't feel unworthy of me.

I even sought out rare animals from all over the world through my connections in the underground network, hiring top trainers to secretly manage them.

He thought it was his innate talent, not knowing those beasts he supposedly tamed had been trained by professionals.

Now Gerald truly became a world-class animal trainer, and the zoo a major tourist attraction.

He arrogantly believed the zoo's success was all his doing, even looking down on me, the main benefactor behind the scenes, while using my money to hire Vivian, the third party.

Yet, he didn't even know how many animals had died in the zoo, because my brothers always replaced the dead ones overnight.

Everyone thought I, a housewife, would never leave Gerald, the meal ticket.

But they didn't know that Gerald's success was entirely due to my generosity;

without me, he would be nothing.

"Everyone, calm down!" I raised my voice, "The zoo won't close, it's just... "

"Bullshit!" Gerald's cousin jumped out from the crowd, "My brother said this crazy woman wants to donate the zoo! How will we pay our bills and support our families? The zoo might be a small business to your family, but it's our livelihood!"

This statement immediately turned the commotion into a riot.

Someone even shoved me, and I stumbled back, hitting the fence.

Only then did Gerald finally come over to stand in front of me.