Chapter 1
On Father’s Day, I received the greatest gift-my one-year-old son called me “Daddy” for the first time. But in the very next second, my son suddenly convulsed all over, foaming at the mouth. Before we could even reach the hospital, he was dead. My wife Aurora Phillips broke down in tears, and I was heartbroken too. However, even the hospital couldn’t determine what illness had killed my son.
Three years later, Aurora finally emerged from the shadow of grief, and we had our second child. But this child also died instantly after calling me “Daddy” for the first time. Worried that Aurora would be hurt again, I suggested we adopt a child. Yet even the adopted child died unexpectedly after calling me “Daddy” for the first time.
Unable to bear the trauma any longer, Aurora asked for a divorce. Everyone said I wasn’t meant to be a father. But I refused to believe it, so I married Charlotte Ward and had a daughter, Emily Hall. I warned Charlotte never to let Emily call me “Daddy.” For years, our family had followed this rule.
Until Emily turned four this year, she came home from kindergarten saying she wanted to celebrate Father’s Day for me. She pulled out a greeting card and said to me: “Daddy…”
The moment I heard that word, my body froze completely. The next instant, I shot up from my seat, snatched the card from her hands, and looked around warily. Even though there was no movement around us, my violently pounding heart couldn’t qalm down. I gripped Emily’s arms tightly with both hands.15:15
“Shut up!” Overwhelming fear consumed me as I roared at Emily.
Charlotte, hearing the commotion from the bedroom, rushed out to shield Emily in her arms, then yelled at me: “Jonathan Hall, have you lost your mind? Why are you doing this?”
I trembled all over, cold sweat pouring out continuously. “Did you hear what she called me?”
Before Charlotte could answer, Emily cried and questioned me: “Why can’t I call you that? Am I not your real daughter? My classmates all say I’m not your child, that’s why you won’t let me call you Daddy.”
I wanted to explain, but I opened my mouth without knowing how to begin. I had once had three children, but they all died instantly after calling me “Daddy” for the first time. Their reactions before death were all different-the first child foamed
at the mouth and convulsed all over; the second child suddenly fainted and collapsed to the ground. Without exception, they all died on the spot. Even after autopsy, doctors couldn’t determine what sudden illness had killed them.
This ordeal once drove Aurora and me to the brink of collapse. We suspected genetic issues, since both children died around one year old. To prevent this from happening again, we adopted a child.
When I first met her, that eight-year-old girl smiled and called me “Daddy.” But the next second, her smile froze on her face. As if suffering tremendous pain, her expression became twisted and grotesque. She spat out a mouthful of blood, then fell straigh5:15
Chapter 1
had already stopped breathing.
+2 Bonus
The scene immediately erupted into chaos. The orphanage director said in disbelief: “Impossible. This little girl has always been perfectly healthy, there couldn’t be any problems. Why would she suddenly die?”
Instantly, everyone’s eyes turned to me. In the noisy crowd, someone quickly recognized me. He shouted: “Isn’t this the man whose two children died? This child’s death must be related to him. Otherwise, why would all these children die mysteriously after calling him ‘Daddy’ just once?”
Countless gazes pierced me like needles as people demanded to know what I had done to the children.
I froze completely in place, not even daring to look at the child on the ground. I shook my head frantically, saying I hadn’t done anything, but the people around me simply wouldn’t believe it. Then the police arrived. After months of investigation, they determined that the little girl had died from a sudden severe illness. But what exactly that illness was, the hospital never provided an answer. Although the police cleared my name, my marriage to Aurora had reached its end. Everyone said she was a poor woman, then pointed at my nose and cursed, saying I must have done something wrong, that I didn’t deserve to be a father, which is why each of my children died unexpectedly. Some people even said online that I’d never be able to have children in this lifetime. I had an emotional breakdown and wanted to leave this world. But my loving parents, Jaxon Hall and Nora Hall, desperately stopped me from seeking death and found me a therapist. Through treatment, I regained hope for life and Remarried to have children again.
15:15
After marriage, Charlotte and I gradually settled into a normal life and had our adorable Emily. Ever since Emily was born, I absolutely refused to let her call me “Daddy.” She lived safely to age four, and I had almost forgotten the feeling of a child suddenly dying in front of me. But Emily’s single “Daddy” completely awakened my nightmare. Before I could recover from my terror, Charlotte’s furious gaze fell upon me.
She roared: “I think you really do have mental problems, insisting on tormenting Emily like this! Seeing her get called a bastard every day, called a child from a broken home, does that make you happy? She called you ‘Daddy,’ didn’t she? She’s fine, isn’t she?”
Hearing Charlotte’s words, I realized that after Emily called me “Daddy,” nothing bad had happened. I rushed over to Emily excitedly, looking her up and down thoroughly. After confirming Emily was perfectly fine, I could hardly believe it. Had the curse on me finally lifted? After the initial joy, I didn’t dare relax and insisted that Emily stay within my sight today.
But Emily, who had just been yelled at by me, quickly hid behind Charlotte. “Mommy, I don’t want to be with Daddy.”
Charlotte frowned and glanced at me. “Don’t get so worked up.”
Then, ignoring my attempts to stop her, she turned and took Emily to the bedroom to sleep. But the moment the bedroom door closed, Charlotte’s scream came from inside. I rushed into the bedroom like a madman, then saw Charlotte holding Emily’s lifeless body. My child was dead again.
