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After His Betrayal, I Never Looked Back

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:55:16 +0800

I woke up and she was tattooing me. My boyfriend's childhood friendart student, steady handbent over my bare arm with a needle, completely absorbed, like I was a sketch pad she'd found lying around.

Curtis smiled. She said your skin's nice and smooth, perfect for practice. What do you thinkcute, right?

I nearly lost it. The police academy physical was two days away.

That tattoo destroyed everything. I would never pass the medical screening now.

Gretchen Winfield pouted and ducked behind Curtis Harding. "Your girlfriend is so scary. I spent three whole hours on that, and she doesn't even appreciate it."

He frowned at me toolike I was the one being cruel.

My vision blurred with heat. "My dad gave his whole life to the force and died before he could make peace with itand because of you two, I'll never carry his badge number!"

Curtis reached over and patted my head like he was soothing a child. "Look, I just didn't want you grinding yourself down like that, okay? All that pressure, for your whole life? Now we can go to the same school. Isn't that better?"

He'd promised we'd take the academy entrance exam togetherbut Gretchen could only get into a vocational college, and he'd rather tank his own future than let her feel left behind. He even dragged me down with him.

What he didn't know was that my family, terrified I'd walk the same road as my father, had already quietly arranged a university overseas for me.

The future I'd fought so hard against had become my only way out.

I called my mother.

"Mom, I'll go. Yes, next month."

Gretchen hadn't used any anesthetic. My reddened arm still throbbed with a low, constant sting, and the slightest movement sent cold sweat down my back.

I looked at the glass of milk on the table, the one Curtis had brought me himself:

"You're always saying you can't sleep. Warm milk should help."

I've always been wary by nature. That milk was probably not just milk.

I'd had nightmare after nightmare while I was out, but none of them were as horrifying as what I saw when I opened my eyes.

The lines on my arm were crooked, wobbly, childish as a toddler's crayon scrawland this pathetic little doodle was enough to erase years of everything I'd worked for.

"Immy, do you think I have talent? I only learned from my instructor for one week, and you got my very first piece! Curtis wanted one, but I couldn't bear to waste it on him!"

Gretchen shot Curtis a coy look, flirting with him right in front of me.

"Curtis, doesn't this design look familiar?"

He thought about it, but couldn't seem to place it.

Gretchen sighed.

"God, boys are so clueless. Imogen, let me tell you. He designed this pattern for me when we were kids."

"Said when we grew up and got married, he'd put it on our marriage certificate. Such a shameI don't think that's ever going to happen now."

Her face was full of wistful regret. I was shaking with rage.

"If it's your memory together, why didn't you tattoo it on yourself? Why put it on me?"

Gretchen stuck out her tongue, playful as ever.

"Oh come on, I'm scared of pain! Curtis said your dream is to be a police officer, right? This little sting is nothing. Stop being so dramatic."

My fists clenched so tight my knuckles ached, and my gaze cut into her like a blade.

Curtis stepped in front of Gretchen, shielding her. "Imogen, you don't like it, fine, drop it. Why do you have to be so petty about everything? She's our friend. Can't you just support her?"

I laughedshort, hollow. Looked at him with something close to pity.

"Sure. Then go be her friend."

After that day, I didn't say a single word to Curtis.

I hadn't recovered from watching my dream get ripped apart, and he was too proud to come to me first.

He caved before I did. Stood below my building calling my name, over and over and over.

I wouldn't come down. So he kept going.

He kept going until the neighbors started knocking on our door, asking if anyone was even home.

"I know I was wrong. Please stop being angry with me?"

Curtis watched my expression carefully.

"Weather's perfect tomorrow. Let's go hikingI've mapped out the whole route. I promise I'll get you to the best view on that mountain."

I stared at the pages and pages of notes he'd put together, and my resolve cracked.

I'd been dreaming about that mountain for so long. Curtis and I had agreed ages ago that we'd go right after exams, that we'd make it all the way to the summit to see the famous painted clouds.

"Do you want to go? It's fine if you don't, I've got other ideas too..." He smiled and started flipping through more of his plans.

I pressed my hand over his. "You don't have to. Let's go hiking."

He finally seemed to breathe.

After my father died in the line of duty, I'd taken a week off school.

It was Curtis who gave up the only study trip of senior year, left Gretchen behind, and dragged me to a mountaintop to clear my head.

Under all those stars, I couldn't hold it in anymoretears sliding down before I even opened my mouth:

"My dad used to take me hiking here when I was little. He'd point down at the city and say, 'This is what Daddy spends his whole life protecting.' And I asked him, 'Then who protects me?'"

"He laughed. He said, 'When it's dark and you can't see the road, look up at the stars. Daddy's always right there beside you.'"

I sobbed until I couldn't breathe. "He's such a liar. You can't see the stars every night. Where's my dad? Where did my dad go?"

A gust of wind swept the last wisps of cloud away, and moonlight spilled across the ground.

Curtis pulled me in, arms tight around me, his chin pressed to my hair. "I'll protect you, Immy. If you can't see the stars, the moon's always there."

Maybe he really had remembered our promise all along.

But the next morning, I watched Gretchen ordering Curtis around, loading him up with bag after bag of her things.

She turned back to me with a smug little smile:

"Oh, ImmyI wanted to sketch up on the mountain, and it'd be so boring by myself, so I brought you along too. You don't mind, do you?"

My face went cold. I looked at Curtis, who said nothing.

"And if I do mind, Gretchen? Why do you have to be everywhere?"

Gretchen glared at me.

"Wow, how can you even say that? I felt bad watching you mope around, so I talked Curtis into inviting you. Don't want to come? Fine. He wasn't planning to bring you anyway."

My nails bit into my palms, and the pain shot straight to my heart.

I stared at Curtis, waiting for anything. He gave me nothing. Eventually I had to look away.

"Go ahead, you two. Have fun. From now on, do whatever you want. Just leave me out of it."

Every word came out measured and deliberate: "Especially hiking. I hate hiking more than anything in this world."

Curtis frowned. "Imogen, why are you making this into a thing? Gretchen just happened to pick the same mountain. You've wanted to go foreverstop being stubborn. Any later and we'll miss the clouds."

I let out a cold laugh, swung the backpack I'd stayed up all night packing back onto my shoulders, and turned away.

"I said I'm not going. I'm not going."

By the time I walked away, I'd already missed the way Curtis's face went dark.

Gretchen's photos blanketed my Instagram feedevery time I scrolled, another one appeared, like she was terrified I might look away for even a second.

One was two silhouettes watching the clouds together, pressed so close that Gretchen's head tilted toward Curtis's profile, lips almost grazing his cheek. The intimacy was deliberate and impossible to miss.

Her caption was loaded with smug little emojis:

Childhood sweethearts, together forever! @Curtis Harding

The comments were a parade of congratulations:

Finally together! It's about time! Couple goals, locked in forever!

Told youno rebound fling can compete with a childhood sweetheart. Curtis Harding can turn all the heads he wants, but my girl Gretta's still got him on a leash.

I screenshotted the post and flung it at Curtis, demanding an explanation.

He told me not to worry. He'd handle it.

"That's just how Gretchen isshe's like a kid, always getting into trouble without thinking. But she really doesn't mean any harm. Trust me, I'll get her to set the record straight."

What I got instead was a brand-new Instagram post from Gretchen.

I want to publicly apologize to Imogen. I shouldn't have gone hiking with Curtis. I shouldn't have clung to him for photos. I shouldn't still need to be around him every second the way I did when we were kids. I'm sorry. I'm just so used to it being just the two of us.

The comments piled on: Who's Imogen? Whoever she is, can she back off? Can't she see these two were literally made for each other? Way to kill the vibe.

Seriously, bullying a sweet, gentle girl like Gretchen? What kind of person does that?

Curtis replied with a hug emoji:

There's a part of my life that can never be replaced. It will always belong to you.

Everyone praised how pure and real their bond was after all these years. And through all of it, Curtis never once stepped forward to acknowledge me. He just let me become the single ugly stain on their beautiful story.

Something inside me broke, and the sharp edges stayed where they landed.

Curtis messaged me:

Gretchen already apologized. Can you just let it go and stop being mad at her?

I was so angry I laughed. I was an only child. Nobody ever taught me how to "be the bigger person."

They only ever taught me that if I believed in something, I should be brave enough to act on it.

Right now was no different.

No.

Curtis, if you keep protecting her like this, we're done.

Nothing from his end for a long time. Then, finally:

I swear it won't happen again.

Things between Curtis and me stiffened after thatnot a clean break, but a barb lodged just under the skin.

He still shared bits of his day with me, still invited me out.

After the humiliation on the mountain, I turned him down every time. He never pushed.

With my departure approaching, I decided to find the right moment to say a proper goodbye.

As it happened, he mentioned a new shop that had opened nearby and asked if I wanted to check it out together.

This time, I said yes.

I just never expected it to be a tattoo shopor that the one greeting us would be Gretchen Winfield.

She shot Curtis a knowing look, all playful eyes and raised brows:

"Oh wow, what are the chances! Imogen, I swear this is totally randomCurtis and I are just destined to keep bumping into each other, what can I do? So don't go around crying that I stole your boyfriend again, okay?"

My expression went ice-cold. I shook Curtis's hand off and turned to leave.

He caught up in a few quick strides:

"What now? She works here part-timethe owner's still deciding whether to keep her on. We're her friends, can't we at least show up and make the place look busier? Is that really too much to ask?"

I didn't turn around. My voice came out flat and hard. "She's your friend, not mine. Why should I have to help her?"

Curtis grabbed my hand, pleading. "Just do it as a favor to me, okay? After this, I promise I won't let her show up in front of you again. Being caught between you two is hard on me too."

I couldn't win against him. In the end, he pulled me back inside.

Gretchen was propped on one hand, watching us walk back in. She curled her lip:

"Imogen's got quite the temper, huh. I don't know how you deal with her. I mean, last time she made me apologize in front of everyone, and I just went and did itnot a peep out of me."

Curtis actually spoke up for her. First time ever. "Enough. Stop talking about her like that."

Gretchen's eyes went red in an instant, all wounded and pitiful, staring straight at him.

He looked away, visibly uncomfortable.

"Imogen, find somewhere to sit. I'll grab drinks."

When he turned to Gretchen, his voice went softer.

"What do you want? My treat."

Gretchen sniffled. "Then I want the large. And extra ice, don't forget."

He tapped her on the head.

"Extra ice? You were doubled over in pain last time, already forgot? I'm getting yours room temperature."

I watched his mouth curve up slightly as Gretchen whined back at him in that spoiled little voice.

He used to be that way with me. Then, bit by bit, it just stopped.

"You're gonna be a police officer, right? You're tough, you don't get sick. Not like Grettashe's delicate. So just... let me worry less, okay?"

He'd said it like a joke, but I couldn't laugh.

Somehow, because of my dream, Curtis had decided I didn't need looking after.

The second he was gone, Gretchen didn't spare me a glance. She pulled out her phone and started an Instagram Live.

"That's right, if you come to our shop, I'll personally do your tattoo. Any design you want. Trust my skills, okay?"

She puffed out her cheeks in a cutesy pout, and a wave of new viewers flooded in.

"Wow, thank you for the gifts, everyone! But it'd be even better if you came in and got some work done!"

"What? You don't trust my technique? You want to see pictures of my past work?"

Her eyes darted sideways, landing squarely on my arm.

"Oh you guys are so lucky todaymy very first client ever? She's right here in the shop. Want to see?"

She didn't register my warning look at all. She was already walking toward me, phone held up in my direction.

"Gretchen, get away from me!"

My reaction only made her look at me like I was being bizarre.

"What's your problem, are you paranoid? I just want to film the tattoo on your arm. Come onsay hi to everyone watching!"

Then, all fake sweetness, she introduced me:

"This client of ours? Her daddy was a police officer, and she's planning to inherit his badge number. So you'd all better watch what you say, okay!"

The chat exploded:

She wants to be a cop and she has a tattoo? How's she passing the physical? Streamer, is your client pulling strings or what!

Show us show us! Who is this VIP! Is she prettier than you?

Gretchen scoffed.

"Oh stop. Prettier than me? No way. See for yourselves!"

The camera was about to reach my facemy mind blanked and I flinched from the lens before I could think.

But Gretchen wouldn't let go, her acrylic nails hooking into my wrist, pinning me in place, and something in me snappedI wrenched free and her phone sailed out in an arc, hit the floor screen-first, and shattered into pieces.

"Are you insane?!" Gretchen shrieked, scrambling to pick it up.

She always claimed her family had no money, yet she'd bought the latest model right after the college entrance exams. All those part-time shifts Curtis kept picking up suddenly made a lot more sense.

The screen was wrecked. Gretchen was livid, hand already swinging toward me.

Then the door opened, and Curtis walked in. In the same breath, her hand changed course, and she crumpled into helplessness.

"Curtis, she hit me! That phone was bought with every cent you earned from your part-time jobs!"

I laughedthe angry kind, where nothing's funny. Curtis had never once bought me anything that expensive. Whenever he'd hinted at some surprise, I'd always told him not to spend the money.

He was frowning at me now, as if I were the one who'd made this into a mess again.

When I stayed silent, Gretchen jumped right in:

"I just asked her to hop on my Instagram Live for a second, and she smashed my phone! Didn't even say a word first! Curtis, please just break up with her, I can't do this anymore!"

I kept my head down, rubbing the red welts where she'd pinched my wrist, and caught Curtis walking toward me in my periphery. When he spoke, his voice was a cold I'd never heard from him.

"Imogen, is what Gretchen said true? Because if it is, you're apologizing to her. Today."

I looked up. There wasn't a trace of concern in his eyesjust deep exhaustion and irritation.

"And if I don't?"

He was quiet for a moment, like he was steeling himself.

"Then it's like Gretchen said. We're done."

I stared at him, my eyes so dry they burned, tears spilling out from the sheer strain of it.

"Breaking up. Because I won't apologize to Gretchen Winfield?"

We were locked there, neither of us moving. In the end, I forced a smile onto my face just so I wouldn't look as wrecked as I felt.

"Fine. Then let's break up."

"CurtisI told you my father was a narcotics officer. His family can never be seen. Not on camera, not in public, not ever. Her Instagram Live had that many people watchingif someone came looking for payback, did you even think about what happens to us?"

The redness at the corners of my eyes was impossible to hide.

"Applying to the police academy togetherthat was a lie too, wasn't it? You backed out, and you dragged my future down with you!"

"You never cared about me, Curtis. Not once."

He went rigid, then grabbed for me.

I shoved his hand off hard and left. I didn't come back.

Another year, another enrollment season.

It wasn't until the very last day to check in that Curtis finally hauled Gretchen to the front of my building.

"I saw Imogen apply to the same school as us with my own eyes. If it weren't for you, I'd have already lost her."

He let out a breath.

"Whatever happened, you were in the wrong. I've already asked around. No student named Imogen Fox has checked in yet, and today's the deadline. She'll show up. When she does, you apologize properly. She's soft-hearted. She'll forgive you, and this whole thing will be over."

Gretchen nodded, looking aggrieved.

A neighbor was passing by on her way back from the market. She glanced at Curtis, half-recognizing him.

"Young man, are you here for Imogen?"

His eyes lit up, and he was just about to ask when she continued.

"The whole family moved overseas a few days ago. Very sudden. None of us saw it coming!"

Curtis stood rooted to the spot. It was a long time before he heard his own voice.

"Moved... overseas?"

Divorced by the CEO, Crowned as the Billionaire Heiress

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:51:41 +0800

I helped Fred Delgado build his empire from nothing to a hundred billion. My reward, at his celebration gala, was a set of divorce papers.

Bianca is carrying my child. I won't have my firstborn labeled a bastard.

He pushed the documents in front of me, voice flat, not a shred of warmth.

You keep the seaside villa. A million a month for living expenses. Keep your mouth shut, and as far as the rest of the world knows, you're still his wife.

I scoffed and tore the pages to shreds.

"So you've got the status and the money sorted out perfectly. Good for you."

Fred frowned. "Don't be greedy. You're a nobody who grew up in an orphanage. You should be grateful you even have a life this comfortable."

I pulled out my phone right in front of him and dialed the private line of the world's richest man.

"Dad. Since Fred thinks our family background is so ordinary, go ahead and cut off his funding."

On the other end, my father said nothing.

A long silence.

"Then it's settled. As long as you're sure."

Then he hung up.

Beside me, Fred let out a laugh.

"Winifred Pruitt, have you lost your mind? My funding comes from the top energy conglomerate on the planet!"

"Look, I know you're hurting, but you don't get to stand here and lie to a room full of people."

The guests laughed. Open, unrestrained laughter.

Fred's gaze turned to open contempt. "Let alone the fact that you grew up in an orphanage. Since when do you have a father? Because I certainly never heard about one."

The laughter swelled. Apparently mocking an orphan was something worth celebrating.

I looked back at him, calm.

I had never once lied to Fred Delgado.

This was no exception.

My steady gaze got under his skin. He waved his bodyguards over without another word.

"Take her back to the villa. Without my permission, she doesn't set one foot outside that door."

"Since she's lost her mind, lock her up until she's cured!"

His voice was ice.

Outside the banquet hall, Fred's assistant tossed me a package.

"Miss Pruitt, Mr. Delgado's orders. Aside from the clothes on your back, you don't take a single thing that belongs to the Delgado family."

He flicked a bank card onto the ground.

"That's one million in relocation money from Mr. Delgado. You should know where you stand. Go back to the villa like a good girl and stop embarrassing yourself."

I glanced at the card on the ground.

The irony was almost funny.

He'd probably forgotten that seven years ago, when his startup collapsed and he was hiding in a basement eating instant noodles, I was the one who pawned her family heirlooms to keep him afloat.

And when his business pivot was falling apart, I was the one who stayed up three nights straight, putting together quotes and projections for every single one of his suppliers.

He thought he was a business genius.

Everything he'd built was built on my help.

"Throw it away."

I turned and walked off.

The assistant seemed startled, then raised his voice to a shout. "Miss Pruitt! Don't push your luck. The villa and a million a monththat's the best you're ever going to get!"

All I heard was noise.

"Go back and tell Fred Delgado to start preparing for bankruptcy. Don't wait until he's staring down the end before he comes begging me for help."

I said it without looking back.

Maybe my arrogance got to him, because he didn't bother me again.

I had barely checked into a hotel when my phone lit up with a string of notifications.

Your supplementary card ending in 6688 has been frozen.

Within three minutes, every bank card Fred had ever given me was frozen. Every single one.

Then a message from him.

"Since you won't accept my offer, consider it a voluntary forfeiture. When you're out on the street and starving, don't you dare come crawling back to me."

I read the message and let out a cold laugh.

So his assistant had run straight back to him with every word.

Just then, Alfred Graves called.

"Miss Pruitt, when shall I come to pick you up?"

"No rush. I want to see what other stupid moves Fred makes next."

I smiled to myself.

Early the next morning, Fred's call dragged me out of sleep.

"Winifred! Where the hell have you been?"

He was screaming into the phone.

I held it away from my ear and waited for his tantrum to burn out before yawning. "Say what you came to say."

That only made him worse.

"Did you leak it to the bank? That our last project had a delayed repayment? Why did the bank suddenly notify us today that the loan won't be approved?"

Hearing the tremor in his voice, I felt nothing but pure satisfaction.

"Didn't I already tell you? I called my father."

"The bank cutting you off is just step one. Once the funding gets pulled across every channel, you won't be far from bankruptcy."

I clicked my tongue as I said it.

Fred went quiet for a beat, then spoke through gritted teeth. "Winifred! You think bribing a few bank managers and pulling some little stunt is going to make me bow to you?"

"You want to play? Fine. I'll play this to the end."

He hung up in a rage.

Clearly, he still didn't believe my call had reached the world's richest man.

That was fine. He'd believe it soon enough.

That afternoon, Fred sent me a photo.

The cramped thirty-square-meter apartment we'd rented when we first got married, seven years agoshabby walls, peeling paint, barely enough room to turn around.

We'd had nothing back then, but we'd scraped together every cent we could and made that place feel like ours.

Now he'd taped a sign to the door: FOR IMMEDIATE SALE.

A voice message popped up.

"See that, Winifred? This old dump is just like you. Should've been cleared out a long time ago."

My fingertip hovered for a second, but I deleted him anyway.

If he could throw away seven years without looking back, what reason did I have to keep living in the past?

But right when I thought I could walk away clean, my stomach lurched hard and everything rushed upward.

After a bout of dry heaving, I instinctively counted the days.

My period was already half a month late.

Half an hour later, I was holding the form the doctor had handed me, and my mind had gone completely blank.

I was pregnant.

I stood there for what felt like forever, and still couldn't accept it.

I'd already made every plan to forget the past, to let go of Fred Delgado for good.

Why did it have to be now?

"Well, well. Isn't this dear Winifred?"

Bianca Whitmore's voice cut in from behind me.

Fred's bodyguards flanked her.

"OB-GYN, huh? Don't tell me you're here hoping you've got Fred's baby in youthinking that'll keep him from signing the papers?"

Her eyes were full of contempt.

I glanced at her. My mood was already shot, and I had no interest in a fight.

"Oh, you're going to pretend I'm not here?"

But Bianca stepped into my path, her voice dropping low, her gaze venomous. "If you're smart, you'll get lost on your own."

"Because the second my baby is born, every last cent you squeezed out of FredI'm taking it all back."

I didn't bother wasting words on her and stepped around her to leave.

I'd never planned to accept Fred's terms anyway.

Everything he hadthe wealth, the statushe'd built it on what I gave him, and I intended to reclaim every cent. A single villa and a little pocket money each month to make me disappear? What a joke.

"Don't you walk away from me!"

Bianca screamed it at the top of her lungs.

When I kept walking, she rushed up and grabbed for my arm.

I frowned and pulled away on instinct.

She rode the momentumthrew herself backward and hit the floor like she'd been shoved.

"Ah! My stomach!"

I was still marveling at the performance when Fred came running down the corridor.

"Winifred! What are you doing?"

He shoved me aside and crouched to help Bianca up, handling her like she was made of glass.

"Don't blame her, Fred. Poor thing's going through a divorceshe probably just couldn't help herself."

Bianca leaned into his arms, trembling.

His face darkened.

Without a word, he raised his hand and slapped me across the face. He put everything into it. My ear rang, a single high note that drowned out the corridor.

"You know Bianca is pregnant. When did you become this vicious?"

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and stared at him.

I'd loved him for seven years, and not oncenot oncehad he ever been that gentle with me.

"Fred, the baby in your mistress's belly counts as a child, but the one in mine doesn't?"

I dug the pregnancy report out of my bag and threw it in his face.

He froze. Then the color drained from his expression.

He picked up the report, and as he read it, his face went completely cold.

"Who told you you could get pregnant?"

His voice dropped low. His eyes locked onto my abdomen.

"Bianca's due date comes first. My firstborn has to be legitimate. It has to come from her."

"Someone with your genes doesn't deserve to breed for the Delgado family."

"This baby cannot stay."

The words were so absurd they barely sounded real.

"Fred, I'm your wife!"

I couldn't stop the words from tearing out of me.

People in the corridor had stopped to stare. Bianca saw the audience forming and immediately clutched her stomach.

"Fred, it hurts"

His jaw clenched. He pointed at me. "How can you be this selfish? You know Bianca's pregnant and can't be under stress, and you still have to start something?"

"I'm pregnant too! Do you have to side with her no matter what?"

I stared straight into his eyes.

He didn't answer. He didn't even look at me again.

"Drag her to the operating room. Now. I want that thing gone today."

His voice left no room for appeal.

I stared at him.

I had known for a long time that there was nothing left between us. But I never imagined, not even in my worst dreams, that he wouldn't care about the baby either.

"Let go of me!"

I fought with everything I had, but two bodyguards pinned me down.

In the struggle my lower back slammed hard against something solid.

Warmth flooded down my inner thigh, and the pain hit so fast my legs buckled under me.

"Fred it hurts. Please."

I reached for him, begging.

Something flickered behind his eyes. Then Bianca screamed again.

"Fred, I'm bleeding too!"

She clutched her stomach.

His face changed in an instant. He scooped Bianca up into his arms.

"Get me a doctor. Now. Move!"

He carried her away without looking back.

The bodyguards seized me under the arms and dragged me toward the operating room.

I stopped fighting. I used the last of my strength to pull out my phone and dial Alfred.

"Uncle Alfred help me"

Light hit my eyes. I was lying in a private recovery suite, and I didn't know how I'd gotten there.

"Miss Pruitt!"

Alfred's voice reached me firstsharp, urgent, calling for the doctor.

I forced something like a smile, then turned my head.

My father sat on the sofa across the room. Roger Pruitt, tearing a newspaper to confetti with his bare hands.

"Fred Delgado, is it?"

"He dared do that to you. I'll make him pay with every last piece of the Delgado Group."

My father's jaw was clenched so tight the muscles in his face stood out.

His eyes were rimmed redthe kind of red that comes from holding it together when you shouldn't have to.

"The baby..."

I was quiet for a long moment before I could bring myself to ask.

One look at Alfred, the way he couldn't meet my eyes, and I already knew. The baby was gone.

A bitter laugh escaped me, then another.

I hated Fred Delgado for taking my child from me. But part of me was grateful the baby would never have to call a man like him father.

"Dad, I'm sorry."

My father's eyes went redder. After a long silence, he let out a heavy breath, stepped forward, and took my hand.

"Silly girl. How could I ever blame you?"

"I just wish you'd come home sooner."

The tears fell before I could stop them.

I'd run away years ago, desperate to prove I didn't need anyone. Then I convinced myself I'd found real lovewent so far as to forge a new identity, told everyone I was an orphan with no family at all.

When I was young, I'd made my father so angry he was bedridden for days. After that, no matter how hard life got, I couldn't face him again.

And all that time, the one person who actually loved me had been sitting right here, waiting.

"Dad, let me handle Fred Delgado myself."

I drew a deep breath and pressed the bitterness down.

My father gave a firm nod. "Fine. Whatever you want to do, I'm behind you. No conditions."

I nodded back, my gaze hardening.

Two weeks later.

Delgado Group's cash flow collapsed entirely. But just when it looked like the end, the company landed an unexpected round of foreign investment out of nowhere.

After that, Fred strutted around telling anyone who'd listen that fate itself had chosen him.

In barely three months, Delgado Group's share price tripled, and the company went public.

Riding high, Fred booked the entire top floor of the most exclusive hotel in Kingsport for a celebration gala doubling as his engagement gala with Bianca Whitmore.

And he sent me a special invitation.

"Winifredtired of rotting in the slums yet? Come watch. I climbed to the top without you. And while you're at it, get a good look at what a real high-society woman is supposed to be."

I laughed, cold and quiet.

"Fred Delgado. You're the one who begged me to come."

The night of the gala, the ballroom blazed with light, packed wall to wall with the city's elite.

Fred stood dead center under the spotlight, radiating triumph, Bianca draped at his side.

"Everything Delgado Group has achievedwe built it clean. We built it right."

"Not like my ex-wife. A greedy little orphan who used every dirty trick she could think of to bleed me dry."

"But I was lucky. I found the person who changed everything for methe one running Pruitt Capital."

Admiration rippled through the crowd.

Then the ballroom doors swung open and a wall of bodyguards cut through.

They parted, and I walked in between them, unhurried.

The moment Fred saw me, the smile dropped from his face.

"Winifred? Are you here to cause a scene?"

He stared at me, his expression ice-cold.

I barely glanced at him.

"Didn't you invite me yourself? Told me not to hide in the slums, remember? So here I amgetting a good look at your engagement gala."

His face darkened. He must have been certain I'd never actually show up to be humiliated.

Yet here I stood.

"Fine, you're here. But what's with hiring all these bodyguards?"

He frowned.

Just as I'd expected. He still didn't believe a word I'd told him before.

"Tell me something, Fred. You don't actually believe you're some kind of chosen onedo you?"

I couldn't be bothered with small talk. I was going to expose him right here.

Fred froze, staring at me in confusion.

"I heard you've been dying to meet the investor who saved your company and took it all the way to IPO."

His expression darkened further.

"What are you trying to say?"

His voice was low, his jaw tight.

I smirked, pulled out a folder, and flung it straight into his face.

"What I'm trying to say is simple."

"That investor was me."

"Winifred!"

Fred's face went rigid, then flushed with humiliation.

"You've lost your mind!"

His voice cracked on the words, then he snarled, "You forged a Pruitt Capital contract?! Do you have any idea that's a criminal offense?!"

Reborn to Expose the Billionaire's Fake Heiress

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:47:50 +0800

I was born with a natural colostrum scent. Any baby brought near me stops crying.

The owner of a postpartum care center was so amazed she offered me fifty thousand a month on the spot.

I refused and crossed the ocean to study the hardest discipline there isfinance.

Because in my last life, I'd entered the richest family in Grandborough as their top-rated maternity nanny, hired to care for the tycoon's only daughter and her newborn.

At the baby's one-month celebration, a piece of women's underwear reeking of scent suddenly fell from the tycoon's live-in son-in-law's arms.

Confronted, that bastard swore I'd thrown myself at him, been rejected, and planted my own underwear on him to frame him.

I explained desperately. But the scent on the underwear was identical to mine, and the tycoon's daughter had me dragged out and set the dog on me until I was dead.

My parents came to the Walker estate demanding justice. They were butchered and fed to the fish.

When I opened my eyes again, I forced myself to refuse the fifty-thousand-a-month salary, crossed the ocean, and ground myself into a chief securities analyst.

I landed a position at Oceanic International on a seven-figure packageand got invited to the baby's one-month celebration for a business partner's grandson. A chance to size the family up in person.

At the banquet, a piece of underwear fell from the same son-in-law's arms again.

Facing the tycoon's interrogation, Samuel Weiss didn't flinch. His gaze swept past the crowd, found me, and he pointed.

"She crawled into my bed and tried to seduce me. When I refused, she stuffed her own underwear on me to set me up!"

"I swear to God, I have never done anything to betray Effie!"

The lace was stained. The generous cup size clearly did not belong to Effie Walker's slight frame.

She was staring at me like she wanted to carve me apart with her bare hands. I set my wine glass down without hurrying.

No panic this time. Not like the last life. I looked straight at Samuel Weiss and spoke.

"Samuel Weiss, you can eat whatever garbage you want, but watch what comes out of your mouth."

"I left Arden to study abroad when I was eighteen. I only returned today."

"You, on the other hand, have never set foot outside this country in your life."

"Today is the first time we've ever met. How exactly would I have slipped underwear into your jacket?"

"Seems more like you cheated on your wife and couldn't get enough, so you kept her underwear tucked against your chest to sniff whenever you felt like it."

The words were so blunt the entire table went silent. Every guest turned to stare at him.

Samuel's face went scarlet, but he kept talking, fighting to save himself.

"Nonsense! You're one of the maternity nannies in my household!"

"From the very first day you wouldn't stop making eyes at me. When I ignored you, you got bolder!"

"Last night I wasn't paying attention for one momentyou pushed my door open, crawled under the covers, and threw yourself at me!"

"If I hadn't threatened to call my wife in from right outside that door and have you fired on the spot, you never would have stopped!"

His words made Effie's brow crease.

Since the birth, the professional nanny team had advised her and Samuel to sleep in separate rooms.

Last night she'd gotten up thirsty for water, and passing his door, she had heard something.

Her sharp gaze landed on me.

Effie was starting to believe him, and Samuel saw itso he put on a show and kept smearing me.

"I saw you were a woman out here earning a living as a maternity nannynot easy workso I did you a favor and kept quiet."

"But I never imagined you could be this vicious. You couldn't seduce me, so now you frame me instead? What a poisonous woman."

"Effie, Mr. Walker, there is no way our daughter can be left in the hands of a woman like this. She needs to be fired immediately!"

His words hit Effie right in her weakest spot.

That newborn girl was the most precious thing in Effie's world. She turned to her father at once.

"Dad, a nanny this viciouswho knows what she's already done to the baby."

"Bring Brutus out. Let him drag the truth out of her!"

Eric nodded. A second later, an enormous iron cage was wheeled to the center of the banquet hall.

The black cloth was pulled away. Inside, a mastiff the height of a grown man locked its eyes on me and let out a low, eager growl.

The bodyguards unlocked the cage and moved toward me, ready to shove me inside.

The memory of being torn apart by that same beast flashed before my eyes, and I spoke immediately.

"That underwear reeks of breast milkI'm not even nursing. It's not mine!"

Samuel's face went dark on the spot. He lunged for the underwear in a panic, clearly about to hurl it into the swimming pool nearby.

But Effie was faster. She snatched it away and had someone inspect it.

One look at the stains and her face went livid.

Her eyes dropped to my flat chest, and she backhanded Samuel across the face.

"I know every woman who's nursed my daughter. She is not one of them!"

"Who is this other woman?"

The ring on Effie's hand left a bloody scratch across Samuel's cheek, but he didn't dare show even a flicker of anger.

All he could do was fix me with a venomous stare and keep piling the filth onto me.

"Who says a woman has to be nursing to smell like that?"

"Some women are just born with itmilk in their bodies whether they've had a baby or not, and this sweet, strange scent coming off their skin."

"Doesn't matter how fussy the kid is. The second it gets close to a woman like her, it stops crying. Can't help but cling to her."

"She's barely out of her twenties and she walked in here pulling fifty thousand a month as a maternity nanny. Maybe that's exactly the edge she has."

"That underwear is hers."

Samuel laid it out so convincingly that Effie demanded I strip on the spot for inspection.

I refused outright and pulled out my phone to call the police.

Samuel snatched it from my hand and smashed it on the ground.

"You say it isn't you? Then let someone check. Simple. Why all the resistance? Because you know you're guilty!"

I wasn't about to back down.

"Didn't do it. Period. You want me to strip over some baseless accusation? Finethen I say you can't get it up."

"Why don't you drop your pants and prove it to everyone here?"

That shut Samuel up. Effie, though, was frowning hard.

She told me, "Samuel would never accuse someone without reason. If you say that underwear isn't yours, find a way to prove it."

"Or step inside and have a conversation with Brutus."

"I find that facing those fangs has a way of making liars honest."

Effie was boxing me in. Strip naked in front of everyone to prove my innocenceor climb into that cage and feed the dog.

The bodyguards had already closed in around me.

The moment I tried to run, they would swarm me, seize me, and stuff me into that cagea wrongful corpse under the mastiff's claws.

I took a deep breath and made my choice right there.

I reached into my bag and let the documents do the talking.

A diploma from a top university in Westbridge State. A doctorate in economics.

I also had an employment letter from Oceanic International naming me chief securities analystbut that stayed in the bag. I wasn't about to drag professional business into this.

I held up the two credentials and looked Effie dead in the eye.

"Ms. Walker, I went to school in Westbridge State. Everyone knows what it takes to survive there."

"Six years I bled for a finance doctorate at one of the best institutions on the planet. I pull a seven-figure salary."

"Do you really think I'd take fifty thousand a month to look after a screaming infant around the clock while watching my back for men in the household with wandering hands?"

I said that last part on purposeto make sure Effie understood exactly how little her nanny job was worth to me.

A man like Samuel Weiss, who lied as easily as he breathed? Only someone born rich and raised brainless would actually believe him.

Sure enough, Effie's eyes softened the moment she saw my two certificates.

Stupid as she was, even she had to understand what a Westbridge State doctorate was worth.

Her sharp gaze was swinging back toward Samuel when a woman burst through the crowd, slapped me three times across the face in rapid succession, and shrieked:

"June Delgado, have you lost your mind? Forging documents to con a tycoon's daughter!"

"When they catch you out, you'll drag our whole family straight to helldo you even care?"

My cheek swelled instantly from the blows.

Five clear fingerprints stood out against the skin.

I looked hard at the woman in front of me and realized I had never seen her before in my life.

Holding my injured cheek, I kept my expression cold and gave her one warning.

"I don't know you. Apologize and compensate me right now, or my legal team will sue you into the ground."

The woman threw herself into hysterics.

"Heaven strike me down! How did I give birth to a wretch like you?"

"She'll lie to anyone! She won't even acknowledge her own mother!"

"Effie, SamuelI'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't raise her right, this is my fault."

"However you want to punish her, go right ahead. I won't stop you. Better that than letting her keep running scams everywhere she goes!"

The room erupted. Sharp intakes of breath cut through the crowd on every side.

"She's a professional con artist?"

"Her own mother just said so. That settles it!"

"Good thing she showed up in time. We almost fell for it!"

Effie's jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscles work. She turned to me.

"Having fun playing me for a fool?"

"Lock her in with Brutus. Let her have all the fun she wants."

The instant I caught the flash of triumph in the woman's eyesand in Samuel'sI raised my voice.

"I'm not lying! This woman is not my mother! And my name isn't June Delgado."

"My name is Juliana Perry. She doesn't even know my real name. How could she possibly be my mother?"

That was when Effie noticed: the name printed on the diploma and degree certificate in my hands was, in fact, Juliana Perry.

The moment doubt flickered in her eyes, Samuel stepped forward to close the gap.

"What mother doesn't know her own daughter? She's June Delgado!"

"She'll forge documents if that's what it takes to con you."

"One name? Who knows if she just made it up because she's run too many scams and needed to cover her tracks."

I told Effie to send someone to the police records office and check for herself.

My name was Juliana Perry, and the parents listed on my household registration were absolutely not this woman.

Half-believing, half-doubting, Effie called the records office. The answer came back quickly.

My name was indeed Juliana Perry, and the woman standing before us was not my mother.

But even under Effie's razor-sharp stare, the woman insisted she was my birth mother.

"Sweetheart, I divorced your abusive, cheating father when you were three. I raised you all by myself."

"You can't change your surname just because that bastard promised to buy you a car and a houseyou can't just throw your own mother away!"

"He's lying to you! Nobody in this world loves you more than your mother does!"

The woman sobbed through every word, then pulled out a DNA testand it confirmed she really was my biological mother.

Only then did I remember. When I was little, my father had told me the woman living with us wasn't my real mother.

My birth mother was a gambling addict who'd gotten so desperate at the card table she tried to wager me as her stake.

My father couldn't stomach that kind of depravity. He divorced her, packed us up overnight, and cut her off completely.

We didn't keep a single photograph of her. No wonder I hadn't recognized her.

But no one believed my explanation.

Even Eric Walker, who had been silent until now, rose to his feet.

"Juliana Perry, I'd like to believe you."

"But your mother has been with my household for twenty years. I know what kind of person she is."

"I will not allow a woman who tried to destroy my daughter's marriage and lies with every breath to go on living."

He raised his hand, and the bodyguards moved to shove me into the dog cage.

My gaze caught Effie beside himthe relief on her face plain as dayand something locked into place. I lunged and grabbed the hem of Eric's trousers.

"Mr. Walker, I know who's been sleeping with your son-in-law!"

"It's her!"

Every head in the room turned to follow where my finger was pointing.

When they saw I was pointing at Effie, they all looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

Even Effie herself laughed in disbelief at the accusation.

"Juliana, do you hear yourself?"

"I'm Samuel's wife! You're saying I committed adultery with my own husband? How does that even work?"

Eric stared down at me, eyes full of disgust.

"If I'd known you were such a stupid fraud, I would've had Brutus rip you apart before you ever opened your mouth."

"Drag her to the private beast arena. Tell the fireworks crew the show's cancelledtonight I'm inviting my guests to watch a woman fight wild animals instead."

Eric's voice didn't waver. The bodyguards seized me and hauled me toward the private beast arena.

I thrashed and screamed explanations, but someone shoved a cloth into my mouth to shut me up.

Just as I was about to be dragged out of the banquet hall, a business card slipped from my jacket pocket and hit the marble with a sharp crack.

One of the bodyguards looked down. His face went white. Hands shaking, he picked it up and carried it straight to Eric.

I straightened my clothes and faced him.

"I'm the chief securities analyst at Oceanic International."

"I came tonight to assess whether the Walker family qualifies for Oceanic International's first domestic investment allocation."

"Ha haha!" Before I could finish, Samuel doubled over, laughing so hard tears ran down his face.

He clutched his stomach and pointed at me.

"Juliana, your cons are garbage, but I'll give you thisyou've got nerve."

"First you're some elite graduate back from overseas, now you're Oceanic International's chief securities analyst."

"Do you even know what those four words are worth?"

"The biggest financial firm on the planet. A janitor there makes more in a month than you earn in a year."

"You're a nanny who wipes up shit and pissstop putting gold on your face and go perform in the arena."

Effie wore the same sneer. She snatched the business card, tore it in half, and flicked the pieces into the air.

"I've seen this trick a hundred times. You can't just print a few cards and expect people to fall for it."

"You've got a hard mouth, though. I'm worried Brutus alone won't be enough to break you."

"Dad, didn't you just bring back a few lions and tigers from Africa as gifts for the baby's one-month celebration? Why not let them out tonight and give everyone a real show?"

Eric's gaze dropped to the gold-embossed business card on the ground. The watermark caught the sunlight, sharp enough to make him squint.

He still nodded. His men dragged me into the arena.

Lions and tigers that hadn't eaten in days surged to their feet, throwing themselves at the bars, snarling.

Samuel grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced my face toward them.

Then he leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear.

"Juliana, you're clever. You almost got there. Almost touched the truth."

"Too bad you're just a little short on luck. Be a good girl and let the beasts tear you apart, and nobody will ever find out my secret."

He laughedmanic, triumphantand raised his hand to signal the guards to lift the gate.

I watched it rise, inch by inch.

Death was one step away.

The gate was almost open when a booming laugh cut through from the doorway.

"Mr. Walker! Congratulations on the new grandchild!"

Eric saw who it wasOceanic Group's representative in Ardenand his whole demeanor flipped. He was on his feet instantly, ushering the man toward a seat, eager to show off the spectacle.

But when Edward's gaze found me in the arena, disheveled and cornered, his face changed completely.

He threw himself past the bars and planted himself in front of me.

"Chief... Chief Analyst Perry!"

My Husband and Sister Stole My Life,So I Stole It Back

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:41:13 +0800

A car accident on the morning of the college entrance exam. I missed an entire subject.

I should have scored above 680. I got 530barely enough for an ordinary university.

I married my first love, Landon Henson. Had a child. Ten years of what I thought was a good life.

Until I brought my five-year-old son to a party.

And found my husband with a girl pinned against a wall, his face buried against her neck.

She tilted her face up. "Landon, who do you actually love? Me, or your wife?"

He kissed her forehead, that besotted look never leaving his eyes.

"You, of course. Why do you think I set up that car accident ten years ago so Dora Sullivan would miss the exam?"

"I only married her so you could land the Gilbert heir. Otherwise I wouldn't have touched her."

He said it so casually, like breathing. My whole body went cold.

The accident on exam day.

Landon had arranged it.

My fists clenched until my nails broke skin. The girl in front of me was no stranger. She was my half-sister, Leonora Pruitt.

The year of the exam, because my score fell short of Leonora's, I lost the right to inherit our father's assets.

She'd scored 535, five points above mine, and walked away with an oceanfront villa and a private island, both gifts from our father.

And because I lost that bet,

our father threw me out of the house.

Cut my mother and me off without a cent.

For years I'd wondered. Why then? No accidents any other day of my life, but on the morning of the exam, a collision out of nowhere.

I'd even blamed my own bad luck.

All of it. Every last bit of it. Landon's doing.

"Mommy"

My five-year-old son, Ryan Abbott, tore his hand free from mine and ran toward Leonora, his face lit up with excitement.

The commotion drew their attention.

Leonora eased Landon aside, unhurried, and tilted her head at me. "Well. What a coincidence, sis."

Landon's body locked. He spun around.

He saw me.

Shock first, then panic, then something I couldn't read at all.

"Dora."

He started toward me. "How much did you hear?"

I didn't look at him. I just wanted to take Ryan and go.

But the next second.

Ryan ran straight to Leonora and wrapped his arms around her leg. "Mommy, hold me"

His voice was small, but it hit my skull like a nail hammered in.

I couldn't move.

Five years old. I'd raised him with my own hands, held him every night and told him storiesand now that same little boy was clinging to Leonora's leg, face upturned, eager to please, calling her

Mommy.

Leonora looked down and stroked Ryan's hair, her smile impossibly tender. Then she raised her eyes to mine, and the triumph in them didn't even try to hide.

"There's my good boy."

Her voice was soft. She glanced at Landon. "Mommy was just talking to Daddy, sweetie. You couldn't wait for Mommy to pick you up, could you?"

The color drained from Landon's face.

He crossed the room in two strides and pulled Ryan away from her.

"Ryan, you got it wrong. That's your aunt."

"But Auntie told me to call her that."

Ryan blinked, all innocence. "Auntie said she's my real mommy. She bought me tons and tons of toys and said if I called her Mommy, I'd never have to go back to that stupid house."

The blood in my veins ran backward.

"Landon."

I heard my own voicehoarse, barely mine. "You've been taking Ryan to see her?"

Landon swallowed. He said nothing.

Leonora laugheda bright, shaking, delighted laugh that carried across the room.

She crossed the floor toward me one stiletto step at a time and dropped her voice low.

"You still don't get it, do you?"

"Ryan is mine and Landon's. You were just a free womb."

"The college entrance exam destroyed you. The marriage? You were nothing but the substitute. And now even the son isn't yours. Dora Sullivan, you really did lose everything."

My whole body was shaking. My nails dug into my palms.

"You're lying!"

I shoved her aside and lunged for Ryan, pulling him into my arms. "Ryan is mine! I carried him for ten monthsI was on that operating table having a C-section while you were out drinking at a bar, Leonora! How dare you say that to me"

"Dora!"

Landon's brow knotted hard. "Don't make a scene in front of the child."

I looked at the man I had loved for fifteen years, and the tears finally fell.

"Tell me. Is Ryan my child or not?"

Landon's gaze flickered away. He hesitated.

That hesitation made my stomach turn.

He was figuring out how to spin it.

Or maybe, even now, he was looking for another lie to feed me.

"Landon."

Leonora tugged his arm, her voice syrupy. "Just tell her. She'll find out sooner or later."

"He's ours, after allour blood, our child. She's the outsider here she deserves to hear it."

The flaunting triumph in that look, the open provocation, sent a chill straight through me.

My arms tightened without thinking, and Ryan began to whimper against my chest.

"Mommy you're hurting me"

Then he burst into wailing sobs, reaching both hands toward Leonora. "Mommy, save me! I don't want her! She's mean!"

It felt like someone had carved a piece out of my heart.

"Ryan, look at me."

I cupped his face, my voice breaking.

"Mommy's right here. I'm your mommy."

Ryan froze for two seconds, then let out a piercing cry and shoved my hands away.

"You're not! Auntie told me! You're the bad one! You stole me!"

Leonora's eyes went red on cue.

"No matter how much you hate me, the child is innocent. You can't keep him from his real mother just because you and Landon have problems."

The chill that ran through me went all the way to the bone.

"I want a DNA test."

The results came back fast. Ryan was not my child.

His biological parents were Landon Henson and Leonora Pruitt.

Leonora lifted her chin. "Believe me now?"

"Fine."

I let go of Ryan. I stood up slowly and wiped my face dry.

"I'm giving him back to you."

I turned and walked away without looking back.

Behind me, Landon panicked.

"Dora, where are you going? Don't do anything rash."

He tried to rush after me. I stopped and looked him in the eye.

"Landon, let's get a divorce."

His pupils contracted.

"Dora, stop this."

"Just go home. We'll talk when I'm ready."

I turned away without another word, but the tears were already pouring.

Not my child. I carried him for ten monthsmorning sickness so violent I was hospitalized, a C-section where I hemorrhaged and nearly died on that tableand the child I loved more than my own life was never mine. Leonora's egg, borrowed womb. That was all I ever was to them.

What did they think I was?

Thoughts crashed over me, one after another, drowning out everything else.

I never saw the car speeding toward me.

The next second, I was flying.

When I opened my eyes again

I was back. The morning of the college entrance exam.

"Dora, don't forget your milk and bread. It's exam dayno getting nervous, okay?"

The moment I heard those familiar words from my mother, my head snapped up.

Ten years ago.

Not long after my mother said that exact sentence.

I'd been crossing the intersection when a car ran the red light and slammed into me.

This time, I would not let it happen again.

I grabbed my mother's hand so hard my knuckles went white.

"Mom, walk me to the exam hall today."

She blinked, then smiled.

"What's gotten into you? Yesterday you said you didn't need"

"I'm begging you."

My voice was shaking.

Her smile fell. She saw my eyes and whatever was in them made her go stillbecause no girl shaking like this was shaking over an exam.

She pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. No fever. She nodded anyway. "Alright. Mom will take you."

We reached the familiar intersection before long.

I stood at the edge of the crosswalk, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.

My mother was chattering beside me about something. I didn't catch a single word.

This was the crosswalk.

In my last life, a silver van had come tearing through here and sent me flying three meters.

Fractured right leg. Concussion. Missed the math exam entirely.

I'd spent ten years remembering that plate number. JC-7K362.

There it was.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught the silver van easing up to the left-side intersection, idling at the corner.

The driver wore a baseball cap pulled low, face hidden, but the engine was still running.

He was waiting.

Waiting for me to reach the middle of the road.

"Mom," I said, my voice eerily steady, "record on my phone. Right nowdon't stop."

Before she could react, I'd already pressed the phone into her hands, hit record, and pulled her onto the crosswalk with me.

Three steps in, the van's engine screamed and it launched straight at me.

Now.

I spun around, raised the phone at the van, and the flash fired.

The driver threw a hand up instinctively to shield his eyes. The steering wheel jerked. The van grazed the hem of my school skirt and plowed into a fire hydrant on the curb.

Screams erupted all around us.

I stood frozen in place, the voice recorder I'd been gripping slick with sweat.

"Dora!"

My mother screamed and threw her arms around me. The phone clattered to the ground, still recording.

I crouched down, picked it up, and aimed it at the smoking van, capturing the plate number in perfect clarity.

Then I dialed 110.

"Someone just tried to run me over on purposeI'm a student, it's exam day. Plate number JC-7K362. He's still here."

I hung up. Ten minutes later, a police car arrived.

The driver tried to run. An officer tackled him to the ground before he made it five steps.

The officers ended up putting me in the squad car themselves and driving me straight to the exam hall.

"Thank you, officers."

I stepped out, thanked them, and turned to my mother.

"Mom, I'm going in."

A long line had already formed at the entrance.

My gaze swept the crowd and stopped at one corner.

Landon Henson.

Eighteen-year-old Landon.

He was wearing a white T-shirt, holding a bottle of water in one hand and a box of sweet bean pastry in the other, smiling at me.

That smile was clean and warma completely different creature from the man who would corner a woman against a wall ten years from now.

He walked up to me, still smiling, his voice gentle.

"Dora, have you eaten? I made you some sweet bean pastry. At least have a biteyou'll crush it today."

I didn't reach for it.

I just stared at him.

"No thanks. The college entrance exam is too important. I'm not eating anything handed to me by a stranger."

I stepped past him and walked away.

The smile on Landon's face froze solid.

"A stranger?"

He frowned and followed after me. "Dora, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly being so distant?"

He looked genuinely confused.

Because before the exam, we'd made a promise: once we got into the same university, we'd be together.

I'd always believed it was mutual. That we both felt the same way.

I never imagined I was just a pawn in his hand.

A stepping stone to help Leonora Pruitt get everything she wanted.

I didn't even spare him a glance. I lengthened my stride toward the exam hall, trying to shake him off as fast as I could.

"Dora, my stomach it hurts, all of a sudden!"

Landon clutched his stomach, his face twisted in pain, and grabbed my arm.

"I can't take it. Can you take me to the hospital?"

I stopped. Turned around and looked at him.

His face was pale and drawn, and he really did look like someone in the grip of some sudden attack.

I almost laughed.

So the car crash didn't work. Time for Plan B, is that it?

I said nothing.

A flicker of guilt passed through Landon's eyes, but he kept up the agonized act.

"Dora, please. I'm begging you. It's one testif it doesn't work out, we can just retake next year together."

"I think it's the hereditary thing, the one that runs in my family. If I don't get to a hospital soon, I could actually die here"

I smiled, cold, and pointed toward the staff at the entrance.

"If you need help, go ask them. Why are you coming to me? I'm a student about to sit an exam."

"Landon."

I locked my eyes on his and spoke word by word.

"What makes you think I'd throw away my one shot at this exam for you?"

Something cracked in his expression.

He clearly hadn't expected me to say that.

The old Dora Sullivan loved him so deeply she would have dropped her exam pass and carried him to the hospital herself.

"Dora, you've changed."

He clutched his stomach, his voice shaking. "You weren't like this before. So cold. So heartless."

"You're right. I've changed."

I glanced at my watch. "There are forty minutes until the math exam. You have two choices."

"One: go find a staff member. They'll call you an ambulance. Two: keep performing out here, and I call the police and report you for disrupting the exam."

Every trace of color drained from Landon's face.

I smiled and added one more thing.

"Besides, nobody knows better than I do that you, Landon Henson, don't have any hereditary condition."

After all, in my past life we were married for ten years. Every single physical came back clean. This whole act was just another way to stall me until the exam started without me.

More and more students were pouring into the exam hall. I had no interest in wasting another second on him. I turned and walked away.

"Dora Sullivan, how can you be this cruel? You're just going to abandon me?"

I kept walking, pace quick and unhesitating, when a body slammed into me from the side.

"Ow!"

"God, do you not have eyes? Watch where you're walking!"

Leonora rubbed her shoulder, all wounded indignation, and glared at me.

"I mean, sure, we're in the same exam hall, and everyone knows you're the big geniusbut do you really have to barrel in here like you're trying to kill me?"

I stared at Leonora, cold, and stepped back on instinct.

She smiled.

"What's with the look, sis?"

"Relax. It's exam dayI'm not going to mess with you the way I used to."

"That can wait until after."

Leonora let the words hang like a gift, then turned on her heel and walked away. I narrowed my eyes at her retreating back.

This time, I finally made it into the math exam hall.

The room was dead silent.

I sat at my desk, and the sunlight through the window hit so hard it stungI had to blink the tears back before they could start.

The math papers were handed out.

Every problem I never got to answer in my last life stared back at me now like an old friend.

Derivatives, conic sections, probability and statisticsall of them, right there.

I could have done them with my eyes closed. In another life, I'd sat up through countless midnights with the answer keys to these exact questions, crying over them until the print blurred, reading them again until I cried again.

I picked up my pen and started writing, steady, deliberate, one answer at a time.

I was deep in concentration when hurried footsteps broke through from outside.

A female proctor walked up to my desk, her expression severe, and stopped.

"Dora Sullivan. Put your pen down. Someone has reported that you brought cheat notes into the exam."

I froze, looking up in confusion.

"Ma'am, I didn't."

"We were all searched before we came in, weren't we?"

Leonora's voice cut in from the back row, bright with a triumph she wasn't even trying to hide.

"Ma'am, I saw it with my own eyes. She stuffed a slip of paper in her pocket. The right pocket of her school uniform."

I turned and looked at her.

The look on her face said everything it needed to.

*Go ahead, Dora Sullivan. Talk your way out of this one. Cheat notes in the exam halldoesn't matter if you used them or not, you're done. Zero on every section. Daddy's favor, the inheritance, the oceanfront villagone.*

I pressed my lips tight and looked away.

"Dora Sullivan, please stand up."

The proctor stepped in front of me, her tone brooking no argument. "Per regulations, we need to conduct a search."

I stood and turned my pockets inside out for her, one by one.

Left pocket. Empty.

Right pocket

Leonora's gaze locked onto it, and the curve of her smile climbed higher and higher.

I spoke up. "Ma'am, before the search, can I say one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"There are cameras in this room."

I raised my head and pointed to the corner of the classroom, then to the surveillance camera in the hallway outside.

"If anything is found on me that shouldn't be there, I'll accept every consequence. But if nothing is found"

I paused, letting my gaze travel past the proctor and land on Leonora's face.

"then what happens to the person who made the report?"

Leonora's smirk stiffened for a split second, then snapped back into place.

"Oh please, sis. I'm looking out for everyone in this room. If you've got nothing to hide, why are you so nervous?"

"Besides, I saw it with my own eyes. Calling out my own sister for the sake of a fair examhow is that wrong?"

The other students were already piling on.

"A cheater. In *here*. Get her out!"

"Waitisn't that Dora Sullivan? First in the class at No. 1 High? So what, were all those grades copied too?"

"Quiet."

The proctor silenced the murmuring.

Without another word, the woman reached into my right pocket.

Her fingers hit the bottom of the pocket and circled the lining.

Empty.

She circled again.

Still empty.

Leonora's expression finally cracked. She leaned forward, craning to see.

The female proctor turned the entire pocket inside out. Clean. Not even a loose thread.

"Nothing in this pocket either."

She glanced at the other proctor, who shook his head.

Every drop of color drained from Leonora's face.

"That's impossible!"

Her voice shot up to a shriek. "I put it there my I *saw* it! Right there in her right pocket!"

"You put it there yourself?" I asked.

Leonora's mouth snapped shut. She looked like she might pass out.

"I misspoke."

"Ma'am, she definitely brought cheat notes. She must have moved them somewhere else!"

The proctor frowned, then told me to open my bag and dump everything out.

Pens, eraser, ruler, exam ID

She went through each item, one by one. Nothing.

The entire room was dead silent.

"Ma'am!"

Leonora was frantic now. "She's hiding them somewhere else! Her pants pockets? Her shoes? Come on, actually search her!"

The proctor looked at her. The look wasn't the kind you give a concerned witness anymore. It was the kind you give a problem.

"Dora Sullivan, please cooperate. Take off your shoes."

I sat down and took my time with the laces, pulled both canvas shoes off, and turned them upside down on the desk.

Nothing.

I stood back up, peeled off my school jacket, gave it a shake, and held it open for her.

Nothing.

The proctor's face was getting harder by the second, but not at me. At Leonora.

"You."

She turned to face Leonora, her voice dropping cold.

"You claimed you saw Dora Sullivan carrying cheating materials with your own eyes. When exactly was that? Where did you see it?"

Leonora opened her mouth. Her eyes darted back and forth.

"It was right before we entered the exam room. In the hallway. I saw her stuff something into her pocket"

"There are cameras in the hallway."

I kept my voice level. "Pull the footage and we'll know, won't we?"

Leonora's breath caught.

She scrambled to explain. "Ma'am, maybe I was wrong! Let's just skip the footageit'll eat into everyone's exam time, people still need to finish"

I smiled. "You've already made the accusation. For the sake of exam integrity, you can't just wave it away with an 'oops, my mistake,' can you?"

I turned to the proctor.

"I'd like to request that the footage be reviewed. To clear my name and protect the fairness of this exam."

She nodded, picked up her walkie-talkie, and stepped outside.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. She walked back in with the head proctor behind her.

He was carrying a tablet. On the screen, hallway footage was already playing.

After My Murder, My Husband Hunted Them Down

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:36:36 +0800

My husband's prized student tortured me to death. My husbandthe forensic pathologistfalsified the autopsy report.

Then the killer, Bernice Barnes, married him. My soul never found rest.

Not until a serial killer on the run across the country kidnapped Bernice.

The video spread across the internet like wildfire.

On camera, Bernice was covered in blood, her fingers gone.

In the background, a mechanical voice, cold and flat:

"The March 18 Case. The killer is permitted no plea. Sentence: death by a thousand cuts."

"Next, the accomplice, Curt Baxter. You have three hours to turn yourself in. Otherwise... you can come piece your little darling back together yourself."

The entire internet erupted.

But Curt Baxtermy husband, special appointment professor of anatomy at Seabrook University, Seabrook City's chief forensic pathologistwas still in the kitchen, oblivious.

Making dinner for Bernice, who hadn't come home yet.

The table was already covered with dishes.

The renowned Professor Baxter, a man who once treated his hands as more precious than his own life, was standing there with a knife, shaving tofu into paper-thin chrysanthemum petals.

"Honey, come onis this good enough for you or not?"

His voice message to Bernice was equal parts exasperation and indulgence.

"I didn't go with you to the prenatal checkup. I'll make it up to you with my life if I have to, okay?"

"Honey, answer me. Don't give me the silent treatment."

Nine o'clock at night, and he was reheating the dishes for the third time.

I drifted behind him, counting the minutes in silence.

It was the tenth year after my death.

In three more hours, Curt Baxter would die just like me.

Today was my death anniversary. It was also his wedding anniversary with Bernice.

A sharp ring cut through the apartment.

"Curt, something's happened! Your wife's in trouble!"

The color drained from his face. He sprinted to the study.

The computer sat on the desk, as if someone had taken control of it, looping that same mechanical voice:

"Turn yourself in, or your wife and child die."

He spun around instantly, and when he reached the entryway he stumbled hard enough to nearly fall.

He ran every red light on the way.

By nine thirty, Curt was strapped into the iron chair of the interrogation room.

In the dim room, the camera the killer had hacked blinked red.

"Professor Baxter. You're late."

The familiar mechanical voice. Curt's fists clenched, and he drew a long breath.

At Captain Carter's signal, he spoke.

"I'm Curt Baxter. Whatever you want, say it."

"Yes, I led the autopsy on the March 18 Case. But I guarantee youon everything I amthere was no falsification."

Bernice's scream cut through for an instant, then was muffled into silence.

Curt shot to his feet, and the iron chair yanked him back down.

The kidnapper sat facing the camera, the mosaic blur over his face warping and twitching.

"Professor Baxter. Millie Sullivan was your wife. She was tortured, murdered, and cut to pieces, and you went out of your way to cover for her killer."

"Have you slept a single night these past ten years?"

"Ex-wife."

Curt adjusted his glasses, eyes dismissive.

"Millie Sullivan was paranoid, delusional, and impossible. We were done long before any of this."

"We'd already filed for divorce before the March 18 Case."

"Sure, we'd had some unpleasantness over Bernice before that, but that was all in the past."

He laced his fingers together and straightened his back.

"I'm a forensic pathologist. I do my job with integrity. I always have."

"Letting personal feelings compromise an autopsy is something I would never do and could never do."

His patience was visibly fraying. He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a warning:

"What, you want to avenge her? Then go find the real killer."

"Release Bernice. Right now. Or I promise you, I won't let this go."

The kidnapper laughed.

"Is that so?"

"Professor Baxter really thinks I have no evidence?"

"Evidence doesn't save anyone."

Curt was certain he'd cleaned up after himself.

"Whether you're doing this for Millie Sullivan or someone else, nobody's going to believe a murderer's word over mine."

"Slander us all you want. Bernice and I have nothing to hide."

"Millie's the samecan't even rest quiet in death. She should've been gone without a trace a long time ago."

I stood behind him, chest twisted tight with pain.

I'd been dead a long time, but the love and the hate had never dissolved.

Day after day, night after night, watching them build their happiness while the agony of being torn apart ground through me without end.

"She must've been something special. Dead and gone, and still someone's out here crying injustice for her."

Curt let out a cold laugh, sweeping his gaze around the room.

"Millie Sullivan, if your ghost is here, listen carefully."

"You threw acid on Bernice and disfigured her. I haven't even settled that score with you yet."

"Bernice is carrying my child now. You keep pulling this from beyond the grave, and I will dig you up and desecrate every bone you have left."

I drifted in front of him.

Those eyes that once brimmed with love now held nothing but blinding resentment.

Curt, do you really believe I'd haunt you even in death?

Ten o'clock. Another scream.

Blood spattered across the camera lens, and Curt jerked back hard.

The kidnapper wiped the lens with a blood-soaked glove,

leaned in close, and laughed.

"I'm not here to watch you put on a show."

"Professor Baxter, if you won't talk about yourself, let's talk about Bernice Barnes."

"How did she convince you to forge that autopsy report? With her body?"

The words landed, and Curt's breathing went heavy.

Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes turned razor-sharp.

"How do you know about that?"

A crack in the mask, just for an instant.

He caught himself almost immediately, smoothed his expression back to calm, and signaled Captain Carter to pause.

He walked straight out of the interrogation room and knocked on the Forensics Unit's door.

"I can stall him another hour at most. The kidnapper's patience is running out."

"Bernice is still in his hands. You need to trace that IPnow. As fast as you've ever done anything."

He paused, hiding the tremor in his hands that the urgency had drawn out.

"One more thing. The kidnapper's wearing a designer shirt. Track it down. There can't be more than a handful sold in this city."

I trailed behind him as he walked out of the office.

He stopped in the corridor and burned through three cigarettes, one after another.

Then he opened his phone, scrolled deep into a hidden folder in his gallery, and found my picture. He stared at it for a long time.

"Millie Sullivan, why won't you let me go?"

"Bernice just slipped up. You're dead alreadywhy can't you just forgive her?"

"You always were petty..."

His head tipped back.

His body slid down the wall until he crumpled to the floor, all the strength drained out of him.

There was a folder in his gallery named after me.

Tens of thousands of photos, every one taken by his own hand.

The one glowing on the screen: me holding up my wedding ring, laughing.

Ten years, and he'd opened that folder more times than he could count.

But the ring itselfthe one they'd pried from what was left of my fleshhe could never bring himself to look at again.

Curt couldn't let himself remember sitting down and writing those words on the autopsy report: *no significant investigative evidence found on the remains.*

He closed his eyes, then walked back into the interrogation room.

On the other side of the wall, the Forensics Unit was rapidly narrowing down the search, closing in on the kidnapper's location.

I followed close behind Curt, watching him put on his mask of grief, and ground my teeth.

I wanted to reach out and slap him across the face, ten times over.

My hand went right through him.

The clock read ten thirty.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Curt was visibly agitated, pacing the room.

"What the hell do you want me to say?!"

"If it saves Bernice, I'll die. I'll do whatever you want!"

The kidnapper blinked, then burst out laughing.

"Professor Baxter, you know exactly what to say."

He mimed swirling a reagent bottle.

Curt went rigid.

Of course he knew.

The reagent bottle was where it all started.

On the other side of the soundproof glass, one of the officers who had worked acid-attack cases before couldn't hold back:

"Look, there's fault on both sides here. Why keep going after Curt Baxter over this?"

"Exactly. Is the kidnapper just stalling for time? There's only an hour and a half left before he kills her!"

Inside, Curt's face had drained to something almost translucent.

Captain Carter frowned slightly and pressed his earpiece to relay a message.

"The Forensics Unit just traced the kidnapper's location. It's Professor Baxter's residence."

"I've already dispatched the Police Task Force to rescue Miss Barnes. All you need to do is keep the kidnapper talking."

Curt exhaled hard, something in his chest finally unclenching.

But the next moment, his pupils contracted sharply.

Because the kidnapper had just produced the real decisive evidence.

On camera, a bloodstained scrap of dress fabric appeared.

Floral print. The stitching was clearly amateur but neat.

"This was left at Millie Sullivan's death scene."

"I checked. The killer left fingerprints and blood on it."

The kidnapper's voice was hoarse, interrupted by a weary, dry cough. He took a sip of water before continuing.

"Professor Baxter, you hid this in your home. Did it never occur to you that I'd find it?"

That was the first dress Curt ever made for me by hand. A gift for our wedding anniversary.

Ten years ago, I wore it to a dinner and never came home alive.

Curt said nothing. Slowly, he turned his face away.

The panic in his eyes was impossible to hide.

His hands rested on the table, all ten fingers trembling.

"Impossible."

A murmur so faint I could only hear it because I was pressed against his back.

His heartbeat slammed through the silent interrogation room.

Once. Twice. Again.

Fast and brutal, like a sledgehammer cracking against his ribs.

A flash tore through Curt's mind: a rainy night, ten years ago.

Bernice, drenched in blood, coming to find him.

Lightning illuminating her features, melted and corroded by sulfuric acid, like some helpless ghost.

"Professor Baxter, I killed someone"

"Stop waiting for her. Your wife she's not coming back. I didn't mean to, Professor my face justit hurts so much."

"Professor, I don't want to go to prison Please."

Back then, he'd softened.

For the next half hour, Curt didn't move.

No matter how Captain Carter pressed him, he sat as if turned to stone, not saying a word.

I hovered above him, watching, a thousand thoughts flooding through me at once.

The first time we met, I was wearing a floral dress.

He was carrying a thick anatomy textbook and walked straight into me. Before I could even speak,

Curt said, perfectly deadpan: "A blunt-force collision like that can cause bruising and subcutaneous bleeding. I should take you to the clinic."

It wasn't until much later that I found out he'd planned the whole thingspent a full week staking out the library, waiting for me, and even got a friend in the medical school to help, all to make sure there'd be a reason to see me again.

Curt was never a romantic person.

Spending his days with the dead made him quiet, hard to approach. People called him the dissection fanatic.

But only I knew.

After anatomy class, we'd sneak off to the alley behind campus for offal hot pot.

He couldn't handle spice, but he'd order the hellfire level without so much as flinching.

"Liking someone means you want to do the same things she does."

He could replicate my walk perfectly, every little habit.

He knew every bone in my bodylength, width, curveand he'd even built a little plastic skeleton figurine scaled exactly to me.

He hung it from his backpack and fiddled with it every day.

The day he proposed, I was in Westhaven State for an academic conference.

A serial killer was prowling the areaone who only targeted women traveling alone.

The third murder happened right after the seminar let outthe body found in the alley behind the venue.

Curt thought it was me. He came tearing through the crowd like something inside him had snapped loose.

We locked eyes across the police tape, and his went red in an instant.

"Millie... if you died, I wouldn't go on living."

"Let's get married."

I nodded through my tears.

So foolish then. Still believing love could last forever.

I stared at the new wedding ring on Curt's hand, turning it over and over in my mind, unable to understand.

How the moon could hang so bright and full, yet never shine for me alone.

After the wedding, Curt was appointed as a special-hire professor at Seabrook University.

Of his first batch of students, Bernice Barnes stood out from the start.

Her parents were divorced, her family had nothing, and she had nowhere to go during breaks. I felt sorry for her and let her stay with us.

As the days wore on, I began to realize something was wrong with her.

Expensive jewelry kept vanishing from the dressing room.

We had a housekeeper, but Bernice acted as though the woman didn't exist. She took pleasure in ordering me around instead.

If I refused, she'd throw a screaming fit:

"I have depression! You hear me? If anyone upsets me, I'll kill myself!"

"And when I do, it's on youyou and Professor Baxter both. That's blood on your hands. Is that how a teacher treats her students?"

Her gaze drifted past me and settled on Curt's face.

Not pleading. Triumphant.

A thief's eyessomeone who'd already claimed my home and was sizing up my husband.

After that, the "accidents" started.

She swapped the potted plants in the guest room for fresh-cut flowers.

The allergic reaction nearly killed her. She ended up in the hospital, missed her thesis defense entirelythen told everyone I'd done it on purpose to sabotage her graduation.

Walking down the stairs, she would suddenly collapse.

And she'd let everyone blame me for pushing her, for being cruel and vicious.

To help her finish her degree, I invited her to assist in the lab so she could earn extra credits.

She turned around and upended an entire bottle of sulfuric acid over me.

I screamed, thrashing across the floor as my body seized, and felt my baby leave me right there on the tile.

When Bernice heard the sirens, she poured what was left in the bottle over her own face.

Blood ran down her cheeks as the flesh bubbled and hissed, and she was still smiling.

"Millie, you only lost a baby. Me? I lost my whole face."

"So tell mewho do you think he'll feel sorry for?"

When I woke again, the hospital room was empty.

I lay there a long time before I finally signed the papers dropping the charges.

She was young, and she was mentally ill. I had no intention of pressing charges. I just never wanted to see her again.

But when I found my way to Bernice's ward, I heard her voice through the doorthat syrupy, little-girl whine she saved for him.

"Professor Baxter, I only got hurt because of your wife, you know. So you have to look after me for the rest of my life, okay?"

And my husband didn't even pause.

"Of course I will. As long as you still trust me."

Of course Bernice trusted him. I was the one who didn'tnot anymore, not ever again.

Just then, Captain Carter pushed the door open.

"Professor Baxter, no one else has been in or out of your house."

"But the kidnapper's signal traces back to the Baxter residence. Have you considered that Bernice might have staged the whole thing herself?"

At the mention of Bernice, even the most even-tempered old officer at the precinct darkened.

"Suicide threats every other day. Nobody can talk her down except Professor Baxter."

After Bernice moved into our home, it only got worse.

Some nights she'd show up at the master bedroom door clutching her blanket, begging Curt to coax her to sleep.

I'd told Curt she needed to see a doctor.

He cut me off, irritated.

"She's terrified of doctors. What do you want, to drive her to actually do it?"

"When did you lose every shred of compassion?"

I was five months pregnant when the doctor told me something might be wrong with the baby.

I planned to go back for a follow-up that weekend.

But outside the obstetrics ward, I ran straight into Curtwho was supposed to be on a business trip out of town.

He pressed his lips together and stepped back, the look of a man retreating into innocence.

When Bernice came out, he askedright in front of me"How's the baby?"

My eyes stung instantly, blurring with tears.

Before I could even open my mouth, Bernice dropped to her knees.

"Millie, I had no idea you were pregnant too"

"I just didn't want to come to the checkup alone, so I asked the professor to come with me."

"I'm sorry, but there's really nothing between us! Please, just let me go"

She threw herself against Curt, clinging to him as she wailed.

He frowned, and the look he turned on me was terrifyingly cold.

"Millie, maybe if you spent less time looking for trouble and more time cleaning up after yourself, we wouldn't be here."

"If Bernice hadn't tripped over your mess, we wouldn't even be at the hospital."

The mess he meant was the stroller and the little toys I'd bought for our baby.

I stood there for a long time, frozen, until the doctor called my number.

I walked in and laid the test results on the desk. The baby couldn't be saved.

"Get rid of it."

The baby was gone. Everything I'd prepared could be thrown away too.

I dragged myself home, light-headed and still bleeding through the pad they'd given me.

Curt was standing in the doorway. He paused, then said:

"You rushed out this morning and left jujube slices all over the sink. Clean it up."

"And there's hair on the floor. Sweep it."

"Bernice is coming over later to work on her thesis. She can't stand mess."

I braced myself against the sink, tears pouring down my face.

I never set foot in that house again.

I got rid of every dress, every short-sleeved topanything that left skin bare. Long sleeves, high collars, day and night, drifting through the hours like something half-erased.

I think something in me broke too.

Half a month later, I received an apology from Curt. I put on my floral dress, brought the divorce papers, and went to meet him.

I wanted to give this marriage one last scrap of dignity.

What waited for me instead was my own death.

I came back to myself, hearing Curt's voice, absolute and unyielding.

"Impossible! Bernice isn't Millie. She wouldn't gamble with her own life!"

"Besides, I'm her husband. I can tell when she's afraid."

His voice cracked as he went on.

"Bernice is timid. She's carrying a child. If something happens to her, I won't go on living either."

"Captain Carter, I'm begging you. Find her."

"Don't worry. We've already dispatched officers to trace the shirt buyer. The Forensics Unit is working on the kidnapper's facial features as we speak."

"Before midnight, we'll have something. Guaranteed."

Right then, a cheer erupted from the Forensics Unit.

"Got it!"

Curt's head snapped up, eyes full of desperate hope.

"We've cracked the pixelation data. Our specialist is reconstructing the facial composite now."

Captain Carter stood and handed Curt a cup of water.

"Relax."

His tone was easy. His gaze was a blade.

Curt thanked him and took the cup without really seeing it.

Something flickered in Daniel's eyes. "Professor Baxter, do you know the kidnapper? You two share some similar habits."

The water in the cup lurched.

"No."

Curt lowered his head.

The next second, the specialist's video call connected to the big screen.

"The facial reconstruction is complete! The subject is"

Curt Baxter's face filled the screen.

After the CEO Betrayed Me, I Took Back My Life

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:28:37 +0800

Thirty days after I lost the baby, I walked back into the office.

To bury the grief somewhere it couldn't reach me.

To prove I was still the person I'd been before.

I volunteered for the hardest project in the company, pulling all-nighters to finish the proposal.

The morning of the presentation, I put on a crisp suit, ready for this.

I thought everything would go smoothly.

What I didn't know was that Drew Henson's secretary had spiked my water with a diuretic.

Warm liquid ran down my pant leg, dripping onto the floor one drop at a time.

She pointed at the mess I'd become and laughed.

"They say new mothers leak after giving birth. Guess it's true."

"Delilah, your baby didn't even surviveso what's your excuse for not being able to hold it?"

Every eye in the room locked onto me.

Nobody cared about the weeks I'd spent working through the night.

All anyone could look at was the puddle at my feet.

I turned to Drew without thinking, searching his face for help.

Hoping he would do something. Anything.

A word of encouragement. Just standing beside me.

Even a single nod. Even a look.

Instead, he ignored me and pinned the new director's badge on Shelagh Pruitt.

In that moment, Drew Henson didn't just end my career.

He ended eight years of us.

When the warm stream ran down between my legs,

I knew it was over.

The presentation was being broadcast live.

The audience wasn't just company employees. Industry heavyweights were watching.

High-definition cameras were capturing every second of my humiliation.

The footage would circulate online, through every professional circle in the industry.

It wouldn't matter how strong my rsum was or how good my track record.

From now on, people would hear the name Delilah Simmons and picture a woman who wet herself on a stage in front of a thousand people.

The proposal I'd bled over for weeks. The reputation I'd spent years stacking brick by brick.

Wiped out in a single warm trickle.

I gripped the microphone with both hands, forcing myself to stay steady.

When I turned, Drew had already hung the "New Director" badge around Shelagh's neck.

His expression was indifferent. His tone, composed and polished as always.

"Delilah isn't feeling well and needs time to rest and recover."

"Shelagh will be taking over the presentation and her duties going forward."

"She's a top graduate from an elite program and has been working at my side for quite some time now."

"She's every bit as capable and sharp as Delilah. I'd appreciate it if everyone gave her a fair chance."

The spotlight swung to Shelagh.

The audience erupted in applause.

Shelagh lifted her chin, triumph written across her face.

As she passed me, she dropped her voice just low enough for only me to hear.

"Delilah, if you can't keep up, you step aside."

"I hope you don't mind if I don't hold back."

"We can't have our clients thinking Stellaris Group is staffed by pathetic women who reek of piss."

One sentence, and everything I'd built was hers.

I clenched my teeth and looked at Drew one last time.

Waiting for him to do something for me.

The way he had ten years ago, when he'd pushed back against everyone to bring me into the company.

The way he'd just done for Shelagh, backing her without a second's hesitation.

He didn't.

His gaze dropped to my soaked pant leg for a moment.

Then quietly looked away.

Behind me, security guards moved in on cue, pressing me to leave the stage.

I stood there in the silence until it belonged to me. Then I straightened my spine, walked through the puddle, and opened my mouth.

Every word hurt. But I made sure they heard every one.

"I appreciate your concern, Mr. Henson, but I'm fine."

"I've led this project from day one. Pulling me now would be a disservice to the client."

"If you want to fire me, finebut not until I've finished this presentation."

A flicker of surprise crossed Drew's face.

His brow creased slightly.

Displeasure, faint but unmistakable, though he didn't stop me again.

Instead, he kept raising objections throughout my presentation, making sure everyone in the room could feel his disapproval.

What should have been a two-hour pitch dragged out the entire afternoon.

I'd walked in brimming with confidence. By the end, every minute felt like an hour.

Nobody in that room cared how good my presentation was, how thorough, how polished.

They were all speculating about when I'd be forced out of Stellaris.

Every single one of them could see it.

Even without the incident.

Today's presentation was the end of my career.

Because Drew already had a new girl by his side.

By the time I finally stepped off that stage, my ankles were near collapse.

Every step drove pain straight up through the bones of my feet, like walking on the tips of knives.

Drew didn't give me a moment to rest.

He had someone escort me straight to his office.

When I walked in, he was going over the project with Shelagh.

He left me standing there for over half an hour before finally, unhurriedly, lifting his head.

"Delilah, you were too impulsive today."

"In that condition, you had no business being up there. You put your pride ahead of this company's future."

"You're thirty now. You don't have the stamina you used to."

"Stepping aside for someone more capable would be better for everyone, yourself included."

Someone more capable? Shelagh?

Six months as an intern and she still couldn't get basic punctuation right.

All she had was pouting and playing cuteher actual work was hopeless.

How could I hand over everything I'd fought for to someone like that?

I kept my chin up, refusing to bend.

"Drew, I've been with you since I graduated college."

"You know better than anyone how much I've given and how hard I've worked."

"I can accept being let go because I'm not good enough. What I will never accept is Shelagh using filthy tactics like this to get ahead."

"The reason I lost control of my bladder in front of everyone was because"

"I know."

Drew cut me off.

He looked up, his expression calm and unyielding.

"I reviewed the footage. But I run Stellaris. The company's long-term future has to come first."

"And for that future, I need you to be the one who takes the hit."

Something cracked inside my chest.

Quietly, irreversibly, like a thing that would never fit back together.

All the fight drained out of me at once.

I nodded, set the proposal on his desk, and left.

I held myself together all the way to the break room.

I just wanted a cup of coffee to steady my nerves.

That was when I overheard a few colleagues talking.

"Is Delilah really getting fired? She's so talented, and she's been here since the beginning. Would Mr. Henson actually let her go?"

"You don't know? Our brand-new director is the one that got away for Mr. Henson."

"He only confessed to Delilah back then because he didn't have anyone useful by his side."

"Now the company's stable, and the one that got away is back. Today was him trying to force her out on purpose."

The evening light stretched my shadow long across the floor.

And dragged me backall the way back to college.

Drew Henson. The boy I'd loved in secret through every year of school.

Handsome, top of his class, already running his own company when most people were still figuring out their first job.

And I was just a girl from a nowhere town, ordinary in every way that counted.

Like any girl with a hopeless crush, I never dared say a word about it. The bravest thing I ever did was send my rsum to his company. Being a little closer to him, staying near him in whatever small way I couldthat was enough for me.

I worked myself half to death during that stretch, pulling overtime shifts and clawing for every scrap of skill I could gain.

All so that one day I'd be worthy of standing beside him, and I'd hear Drew Henson say with his own mouth:

"Delilah, I've had my eye on you for a long time."

But the market back then was brutal.

A campus star.

Step into the real world, and you're just a speck of dust caught in the current.

Of the people who joined the company the same time I did, some jumped ship, others switched industries entirely.

I was the only one still there beside Drew.

Once, the endless late nights finally caught up with me and I ended up in the hospital.

My parents were frantic, begging me every day to find a different job.

And that was exactly when Drew confessed.

He reached for my hand at the hospital bedsideno preamble, no buildup. His eyes were steady, already looking past me toward something only he could see.

"Delilah, stay by my side."

"I want you with me when we take Stellaris Group to the top."

Years of wanting him in silence, and it all came down to that one moment.

I couldn't have said no to him if I'd tried. Not with him looking at me like that.

All I could do was try harder.

Construction runs on dinners and drinks. I learned to walk in heels. Learned to hold court at tables full of executives twice my age. Learned how to plant my feet in a business that chews people up and spits them out.

Building a future alongside Drew was punishing.

I gave everything I had, and it was never enough to satisfy him.

He always said I hadn't done enough, hadn't given enough.

Always felt I wasn't truly trying my hardest.

Just like this timeeven losing the baby after months of overwork and sleepless nights only got me:

"Delilah, the workplace is that cruel."

"As the head of Stellaris Group, I have to keep work and personal matters separate."

"The capable rise. Even if you're my wife, I can't show you any favoritism."

At the time I believed every word. I threw myself into proving I deserved my place.

Now I understand. All of it was just an excuse.

He was stern with me, cold with me, so measured it cut like crueltysimply because he didn't love me.

My legs gave out and I hit the floor hard.

People in the break room glanced over, one after another. The second they saw it was me, every single one of them turned away and left.

Drew was right about one thing.

The workplace really is that cruel.

Nobody extends a hand to someone who's about to be eliminated.

But at least, over the past eight years,

I'd already learned to face everything alone.

No matter how bitter, no matter how hard, I could clench my teeth and stand back up on my own.

There were no spare clothes at the office.

I put in a leave request with HR and drove myself home.

Maybe it was just getting older.

The whole drive, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering.

Thinking about my past with Drew.

Thinking about how grueling the road here had been.

The more I thought, the less any of it felt worth it.

Over the years, plenty of companies had come knocking.

Salary and benefits ten times what Stellaris Group was giving me, easily.

I couldn't let go of Drew, so I turned them down, again and again.

Stayed stuck at the deputy director level, year after year.

Watching one new hire after another climb right over my head.

Before all this, I could still tell myself it meant somethingthat Drew had a plan for me.

When we married, he told me half of Stellaris Group would always be mine.

I never saw the need to fight over things like that.

But Shelagh Pruitt's appearance made it impossible to keep lying to myself.

By the time I got home, I was choking on everything I'd swallowed that day.

I picked up my phone and scrolled for a long time, looking for someoneanyoneI could call. There was no one.

Eight years with Drew Henson.

I'd already lost my friends, my life, all of it.

My world had shrunk to nothing but work.

And now work was gone too.

I was driftwood with no roots.

Floating, directionless, with no idea what to do next.

In the end, all I could think was to sleep first and figure it out later.

Somewhere in the blur of half-sleep, a hand brushed the tears from the corner of my eye.

Drew's cool voice reached me from close by.

"Still upset about today?"

"I did it for your sake."

"You've worked so hard all these years. Stay home now. Rest. Get your health back."

"You won't want for anything. I'll make sure of that."

On the money side, Drew's conscience was clear enough.

But emotionally, he owed me more than he'd ever care to count.

A man as sharp as Drew couldn't possibly have missed that I was in love with him.

He knew about the feelings I had buried so deep.

So he deliberately paid me the lowest salary to keep me working for him.

Deliberately told me he loved me so I'd stand by him through the company's worst years.

Deliberately took my proposal and handed it to Shelagh so she could shine.

He banked on my feelings.

And used them to trample me as he pleased.

When I didn't respond, Drew patted my back gently.

"Delilah. Listen to me."

"A woman your age should be thinking about family, not chasing a career."

"Stop overthinking it. Why don't we try for another baby?"

His low voice carried something almost hypnotic.

He didn't give me time to hesitate.

He took my hand and leaned over me.

The instant he drew close, a wave of cloying perfume hit me full in the face.

Shelagh's scent. On him.

Nausea lurched up from my stomach.

I was about to push him off.

He stopped first.

His gaze had dropped to the loose skin of my belly.

The disgust in his eyes was identical to the look he'd given me in the conference room that afternoon.

In the rigid silence, his phone rang.

Drew seemed almost relieved.

He answered, and left.

And I couldn't hold on anymore.

I buried my face in the blanket and wailed. Years of love and self-respectgone, all of it, right then.

I cried alone through the entire night.

By the time the sky lightened, I had made my decision. I called the lawyer.

When Drew and I married, Stellaris Group was nowhere near the scale it was now.

We had never signed any prenuptial agreement.

The law said I could walk away with half the company's shares.

If Drew could destroy my career without batting an eye, then I could take everything he valued most, in my own way.

I went over the details with the lawyer.

He advised me to go back to Stellaris Group and review the company's financials for myself.

I agreed.

On the way there, Shelagh dropped my photo into the company group chatthe one of me pissing myselfalong with a mocking sticker.

"Doesn't Delilah Simmons squatting there peeing in public look just like a stray dog?"

"How could someone like that ever be VP? She's a disgrace to the whole company!"

A stream of colleagues chimed in beneath it.

I tried to reply, and found I'd already been removed from the chat.

I put my phone away and headed straight for the office.

Then I saw hera familiar figure near the entrance.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

The moment she spotted me, the tight anxiety on her face cracked into relief.

She looked me over, caught between excitement and heartache.

"Sweetheart, how did you get so thin?"

"I saw that video online."

"Something this big happens, and you don't even tell your own mother."

"I wanted to come see you. I couldn't remember your home address, so I thought I'd try the office."

"But the security guards downstairs blocked me. They flat-out refused to let me in."

Her clothes were covered in dust.

On the back of her hand was a scrape she'd tried to hide.

She'd clearly been shoved down more than once.

Anger and panic twisted through me at the same time.

I grabbed her hand and started pulling her inside.

We barely reached the door before Shelagh stepped in front of us, arm out.

"Stellaris isn't the kind of place just anyone walks into."

"A grubby village woman and a useless waste of space who stinks of piss."

"You two would fit in better at the homeless shelter next door."

I didn't want to make a scene in front of my mother.

Every ounce of will I had went into keeping my fury locked down.

"Employees can bring family into the lounge. Step aside."

Shelagh's grin stretched wider.

She pointed at the pile of junk next to the trash can, satisfaction all over her face.

"Oh, forgot to mention. You've been fired."

"And as for the five million in damages for tarnishing the company's reputation..."

"I know your salary wasn't much. You can't pay it back."

"Tell you what. Get on your knees, knock your forehead on the floor for me, and I'll waive the whole thing."

"Call it compensation for all those years you spent looking after Drew for me!"

She held up her phone as she spoke.

Ready to record me losing control again.

My mother didn't understand any of this.

She'd lived in the countryside her whole life, and the astronomical number coming out of Shelagh's mouth drained the color from her lips.

Trembling, she started to lower herself to her knees for me.

Shelagh seized the moment, walked up close, and dropped her voice.

"Want to know why you lost that baby?"

"Drew and I worked it out together. We swapped your vitamins for abortion pills."

"Because he never wanted a child with you. And he doesn't want you at this company anymore."

"In his eyes, you're garbage. Used up and thrown away."

So that was it.

That was how it happened.

Drew decided the company was running smoothly enough that he didn't need his stepping stone anymore.

But they'd underestimated me.

I didn't get this far on Drew Henson's charity.

Everything I have, I fought for with my own two hands.

The guards were forcing my mother to her knees.

I tore free, seized Shelagh by the back of the head, and slammed her skull into the wall.

Divorce Me Once, Regret Forever

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:20:26 +0800

My husbandwho had no idea he was congenitally sterilemade a grand public announcement that some college girl was carrying his child, bought her a mansion, and stayed by her side day and night.

As her due date approached, he came home with divorce papers. One dismissive glance in my direction. Since you can't have children, stop clinging to the title. I'm giving Rowena and the baby a real family.

I looked at him, expression blank, and picked up a pen.

Then I turned and dialed my phone. "Mom. That man you mentioned. I'll meet him."

Three years of marriage, and I'd never gotten pregnant. Every test I took came back normal.

I spent a full year begging Clint James to get checkedbegging until I'd ground myself into dust. He finally went, dragging his feet the entire way.

The results came back: congenital azoospermia. He was the one who couldn't conceive. I was fine.

So he wouldn't lose his dignity as a man, so his family would never have reason to humiliate him, I buried the truth without a word.

Deleted every baby photo I'd saved. Left every fertility group I'd joined.

Knelt in front of the colleague who ran the lab, crying, and begged her for a falsified report.

Clint glanced at it and tossed it aside. His lip curled. "My family's empire, my bloodline, and I married a woman who can't even give me an heir. What rotten luck."

That was the moment I tasted itthe bitterness of pouring everything into someone and getting nothing back.

My mother sensed some of what I was going through. But she could see how stubbornly I clung to Clint, how nothing would pry me loose, so she didn't dare push for divorce outright. She could only drop hints. So-and-so got remarried after her divorce and had a big healthy boy. So-and-so's daughter is already three

I understood her. I was her only child, and she wanted a grandchild.

Three months later, I saw Clint in a luxury boutique, arm in arm with a young woman.

The handbag the sales associate had set aside for me, he gave to her.

The girl had clearly seen photos of me before. The second she spotted me, one corner of her mouth twitched up, a smug little glance thrown my way.

Then she leaned forward on purpose, one hand cradling the slight swell of her belly.

She might as well have been measuring my home for new curtains.

I remembered, suddenly, what Clint had said at our wedding. "In sickness and in health, I will love you, cherish you, and be faithful to you. Forever."

Turns out his forever lasted four years.

His promises were just bubblesthe slightest pressure and they burst.

My vision blurred before I even realized it.

The girl's voice was bright with mockery. "If you'd managed to give him a baby, this bag would be yours. Shame you couldn't, isn't it?"

She was saying it to my face: I was infertile, and I couldn't hold on to Clint.

No part of me was willing to stand there and take it.

But I knew slapping her would only feel good for a second and change absolutely nothing.

I looked past her. Locked my eyes on Clint. Kept my voice steady. "Are you even sure the baby she's carrying is yours?"

I didn't expect what came next. He turned on me without a shred of mercy, voice raised for her sake: "Rowena's still a studentshe's pure-hearted. She'd never have the kind of filthy mind you do.

"Don't think a few clever words are going to wreck what we have and drag me back to you.

"I stopped wanting a useless woman like you a long time ago."

A chill shot through me.

Looking at him, at the finality in every line of his face, the last light I'd kept burning for him went out.

That same day, the whole thing spread online like wildfire. As if the spectacle weren't big enough, Clint made a public announcement: Rowena Rodriguez was carrying his child. He'd bought her a mansion. He would be by her side day and night.

When my mother found out, she said she would find me a man who was better than him in every way.

True to her wordI'd barely walked out of the divorce office before she had someone lined up.

I hadn't even seen my blind date's face. I'd just sat down at the caf when the hospital calledurgent, come back now.

A newborn with albinism had been stolen from the maternity ward. Every available staff member was searching. Nothing.

No leads on that end, and on the other, the mother was losing it.

She insisted her son was perfectly healthy and accused the hospital of secretly swapping her babytaking her big, healthy boy and palming her off with a child with albinism.

The screaming and thrashing during her postpartum observation triggered a massive hemorrhage. Her condition turned critical.

And right now, half the department's doctors were tied up and the rest were away on training rotations. I was the only one available to handle this kind of emergency.

I scrubbed in, pushed through the doors, and stopped short. The patient everyone had been talking about was Rowena Rodriguez.

She must have lost a lot of blood already. Her eyes were glazed, her voice a drifting mutter: "Senior Paddy really screwed me this time. I told him to use protection but he whined that it didn't feel good. Hiding that the baby's his is one thing, but you can't hide albinism. If only Clint hadn't done that genetic screening..."

...

"At least Senior Paddy took the baby away."

The assisting physician and the anesthesiologist in the operating suite both turned to stare at me.

But right now none of that mattered. We had to save her.

I'd just signaled the anesthesiologist to bring the surgical consent form when Rowena's expression snapped into focus. She grabbed my wrist and screamed, "I refuse surgery!"

Saving her was the priority, but we couldn't override a patient's wishes.

I pulled my hand free as naturally as I could, took the consent form, and said evenly, "You've lost over a thousand milliliters of blood. Without surgery, you could die."

She surged forward and slapped the consent form out of my hands.

The metal clip on the clipboard scraped across my ankle. She glanced down at it sideways, cold and utterly indifferent.

Then she put on the look of someone who'd seen right through us, her voice cutting: "You're just worried I'll die here and you'll have to answer for it."

She hadn't recognized me behind the surgical cap and mask.

The assisting physician shot back, "That's your own dirty mind talking. Don't lump us in with you."

That set her off. She sat bolt upright and jabbed a finger at me, snarling, "Look at her! What kind of attitude is that? Try me. I'll buy this whole hospital and fire every last one of you.

"They all take orders from you, don't they? Tell them to give me back my healthy son. Otherwise I'll die right here on this table, and you can explain that to the hospital. You can explain it to my fianc."

The sheet beneath her was soaking red again. I glanced at it. "Your son has albinism. The hospital is taking it very seriously, and staff are searching as we speak. Right now, your condition is critical."

I was running out of patience, but I kept trying to reason with her.

Saving lives is my bottom line as a doctor. It always has been.

"No. I gave birth to a healthy son. I want you to give me back a healthy son.

"Without him, Clint will find out I cheated. He won't marry me.

"I'm going to be a rich man's wife. I'm going to live in luxury."

She bared her teeth, her eyes bloodshot, fingers twisting the sterile green drape beneath her.

In her eyes I was the one robbing her of a lifetime of wealth.

She lurched to her feet on the surgical table, hunched over me, and locked both hands around my throat. "Find a healthy baby and bring it here. Or I'm dragging you down with me."

The child was nothing to her but a bargaining chip to claw her way up. As long as she could use it, as long as the lie held, nothing else matterednot a trace of a mother's love for her own son.

A chill ran through me.

Whatever patience I'd been holding onto burned away in an instant.

But before I could pry her hands off, her strength gave out and she collapsed back onto the table with a dull thud.

I stared her down, every syllable dropping like ice. "If you're still refusing surgery, fine. We bring your family into this. Are they here yet?"

"You haven't given me back a healthy son. You have no right to tell my family anything. Don't you dare contact him."

She probably didn't realize that in a situation like this, the hospital would have notified her family immediately.

Just then, Head Nurse Carter opened the door and came in, finding an excuse to pull me aside near the entrance.

A quick glance toward Rowenasatisfied she wasn't listeningand Helen pressed her mouth close to my ear. "The baby was found in a trash can in the men's restroom. They're trying to resuscitate him, but..."

Her gaze fell. A tear hung at the corner of her eye, and her voice came out scraped hollow. "He's not going to make it."

The door slammed open.

Clint barged in.

Our eyes met, and he recognized me instantly.

"Muriel, who's not going to make it?"

Whoever had hurt the baby might still be somewhere in the hospital.

I suggested checking the security footage, and Helen Carter took the chance to hurry off to the security office.

Rowena flung herself out of bedhemorrhaging, barely uprightand crumpled to the floor after two steps. Her eyes flooded red, tears pooling. "Clint, I begged them for so long. They knew I was hemorrhaging, knew my life was on the line, and they still refused to save me.

"So that's Murielshe hates me for taking you, she's jealous I can have your baby, and she wants me dead. She got her colleagues in on it, all of them, to just stand there and let me bleed out.

"Thank God you came. Otherwise she would have killed me."

Clint dropped to one knee and gathered Rowena into his arms.

His chest heaved, a vein pulsing hard at his temple. "Muriel, you vicious woman. You don't deserve to call yourself a doctor."

I bit down on the rage, picked the surgical consent form up off the floor, and held it in front of him. "She refused surgery. She was fully conscious, and she wouldn't sign. That's why we didn't operate. And everything she just told you is a lie."

The assisting physician cut in, voice tight with frustration. "She gave up the surgery herself. How is that on us?"

Rowena shot the young doctor a covert glare, then crawled over to me and grabbed my ankle, putting on a look of fragile desperation. "Dr. Maxwell, please, save me. My son can't lose his mother the day he's born.

"I know you've held a grudge ever since I took Clint from you. But you're a doctorhow can you just stand by and watch me die? How can you abuse your authority and bully her into covering for you, into backing up your lies?"

The assisting physician clenched her fists and stepped forward to argue, but I held her back.

I didn't want anyone else dragged into this.

Clint grabbed my arm and yanked me toward him so hard my shoulder socket screamed. His face was inches from mine, eyes flat and dangerous. "Muriel, don't think you can fool me. Ro spent months dreaming about this baby. She'd never refuse surgery. Not a chance."

The moment the words left his mouth, he flinched as if something had just struck him. He lunged to Rowena's side.

Guilt flooded his eyes, his voice scraping raw. "Ro, it's my fault. I got here too late. You've been suffering. Where's our son?"

At the mention of the baby, Rowena visibly flinched.

She avoided his eyes, buried her face against his chest, and choked out, "He... the hospital took him.

"The doctors lied to me. They said I gave birth to a baby with albinism. But I saw him with my own eyes. His hair was jet black. He was a perfectly healthy baby.

"You really are calculating, Muriel. Refusing to operate on me, covering up the truth for the hospital on one hand, and clearing the way to steal Clint back on the other. Two birds with one stone."

Clint's eyes blazed redinstant, total, like a furnace door ripped open.

He laid Rowena on the bed, walked straight to me, and backhanded me across the face without a word.

No time to dodge. My body went weightless and my forehead slammed into the emergency monitor.

It took a long moment before the blur receded and the room came back.

My cheek and forehead burned, swollen and throbbing.

I tore my surgical cap off, hurled it to the floor, and pointed straight at Rowena. "Her baby has albinism! That's what she gave birth to!"

Rowena's shoulders heaved violently. Tears fell one after another as she sobbed, "Your hospital is trying to pass off a sick baby as ours."

Clint's brows knotted into a hard line. One hand closed around my throat and my feet left the ground.

His voice was low, scraped raw, every word ground out from somewhere deep in his chest. "Murielyou people switched out my son. Your hospital actually had the nerve." His grip tightened. "Where is he? Where's my son?"

I hammered at his hand, kicked at his legs. None of it loosened his grip. Breathing only got harder.

When the assisting physician moved to help me, Clint spoke through clenched teeth: "Bring me my son, or I'll kill her right here."

The assistant and the anesthesiologist scrambled out the door.

My hands dropped, too weak to fight.

He flung me aside and I hit the floor hard.

Something stabbed into my back on impact. My clothes went wet all at once, the pain so fierce I couldn't stand. I could only curl up on the floor and scream through my teeth: "Clint James, that baby isn't yours! Senior Paddy's the fatherask her!"

The liquid spread from behind me to where I could see it, and I realized it was blood.

Rowena's eyes went wide with shock. She forced herself off the bed and clung to Clint, her voice thin and shaking. "Clint, there's nothing between me and Senior Paddy. She's lying.

"I love you so much. Heaven and earth can testify. I would never do something like that.

"Believe me, please believe me"

She sank to her knees, putting on the full performancethe wronged woman, the unbearable injusticeand would not stop pleading.

The door slammed open. Head Nurse Carter burst in.

She was gasping for breath. "The baby's alive.

"Take the child. Stop hurting Dr. Maxwell."

Clint lunged across the room, snatched the baby into his arms, and tore the swaddling open. Every muscle in his body locked. The expression on his face justemptied.

Rowena was shaking, terrified of being exposed. She crawled on her knees all the way to his side, her voice trembling. "Clint, our son doesn't have albinism. The hospital is lying to us. You have to get our healthy son back."

The words landed. Clint recoiled and shoved the baby away from him in one panicked motion.

Rowena froze, staring blankly.

But that baby had done nothing wrong. I forced myself upright on my knees through the screaming pain in my back and caught the child.

Seeing me barely holding on, Helen crept in and took the child from my arms. As she circled behind me, she let out a sharp cry. "Dr. Maxwellyour wound, you're losing too much blood! We need to treat you right now!"

Clint spun around at that, shoved Helen out of the operating suite, then scooped Rowena up and carried her toward the door.

Metal clanged and then stopped. From the other side he called out his threat: "If I don't see my son, none of you are getting in to save Muriel. Let her bleed out in there."

Rowena's voice followed right after: "Clint, she won't actually die in there, will she? Maybe we should try a different way."

"Ro, you're too kind. If they don't want Muriel dead, they'll hand our son over. Relax. I'm right hereno one's going to touch you or our boy."

"Clint, with you here I feel safe. Our son matters more than she ever could. I'll do whatever you say."

I crawled to the door, pain tearing through me with every inch, and beat my fist against it. "Clint James, that baby with albinism is Rowena and Senior Paddy's child! She never had a healthy babythere is no other son! She played you! Let me out!"

Rowena shrieked. "Clint, she's trying to turn you against me again! She's jealous because we're together!"

The blood running from my back had soaked half my clothes crimson.

My body was growing lighter. Colder.

I lay facedown on the floor and forced out the weakest thread of a voice. "Clint James, don't you even want to know why Rowena refused the surgery?

"She wanted to use it as leverage so we'd hand her a healthy baby she could pass off as yours."

Clint slammed his foot into the operating suite door hard enough to buckle the frame.

The impact shuddered through the metal, slamming into me on the other side. I was already sprawled on the floor, barely holding on.

He threw the words down cold. "That mouth of yours disgusts me, Muriel. I've changed my mind. Even if they bring my son back, I won't let anyone in there to save you."

He didn't want her deadnot really. But if he didn't shut her up now, that mouth would keep working, keep twisting things between him and Rowena. He just wanted his son back.

My breathing turned ragged. I clung to the last scrap of consciousness, because the truth was the only thing that could save me. "Clint James, you have azoospermia. You will never have children. Even if Rowena had delivered a healthy baby today, it wouldn't be yours."

Rowena broke in, voice pitching high. "You couldn't make the cheating lie stick, so now you're dragging Clint into it too? You just don't want to die and you don't want to give back our sonyou'll say anything, Muriel!"

Then, from the crowd, the colleague who had helped me write the falsified lab report stepped forward.

It was a risk to everything she'd built professionally, but she spoke up to save my life. "I can testify. There is nothing wrong with Murielshe could have ten babies and be fine. Clint James does have azoospermia. If Muriel hadn't knelt on the floor in tears begging me to forge that report, if I hadn't been too soft-hearted to refuse, none of this would have gotten this far.

"Clint James, you don't deserve what Muriel felt for you."

Cold sank through me like I was dropping into an ice pit, and the world went gray at the edges.

I tried to speak, but when I opened my mouth only a faint murmur came out, too quiet for anyone outside to hear.

Clint's voice shookhalf talking to himself, half directing it at Rowena. "Ro, everything they're saying is a lie, right? Right. It has to be. You would never cheat on me.

"There's nothing wrong with me. They want to save Muriel, so they're making all this up to fool me!"

But Rowena wasn't listening to a word Clint said. She was staring straight ahead, terror written across her face.

I Died in the Garden He Made for His Lover

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:12:45 +0800

Everyone knew the flower seeds in the garden at Hillside Estate were the ones my parents died to protect. They were my lifelinethe only thing left of them.

Years ago, William spent tens of millions importing a climate-control system and specialized soil from overseas, all so I could cultivate those seeds.

An entire villa, not for living in, but for me to grow my flowers. That was how William proposed to me.

People on the outside laughed, called me flower-obsessed like my parents, said I truly had inherited their mission, that even William wasn't as important to me as those flowers.

But William's love for me was the one thing everyone agreed was beyond question.

So I always believed he loved me. That after my parents died, he was the person in this world who loved me most.

Until the night I made a last-minute decision to go back to Hillside Estate, and saw two figures standing in the sea of flowers I'd grown.

"William, this this is incredible! I'm definitely winning at the International Floral Expo!"

He pulled her into his arms. "Why do you think I went through all of this? To keep her happy, keep her clueless, so she'd grow this whole garden for you without a second thought. You like itthat's all I care about."

So the tens of millions were never spent for me. The marriage was just a tool.

"William, but if June finds out, she'll be furious. She was planning to enter the competition too, and you know how things are between us"

He cut her off. "Don't worry about that. Just bring the flowers to the competition on the fifteenth. All I want is to see you standing where you've always wanted to stand, shining." He kissed the top of her hair, the picture of tenderness. "I'll handle the rest. Trust me, I will never let her become an obstacle for you. She'll never be in your way."

I stood behind a Roman column, watching their silhouettes in the garden. The woman must have been beautiful. The dark green fitted dress made her figure look even better.

It hit me the way it had eight years ago, standing there watching my parents burn alive. Their voices kept trading places in my head, overlapping, doubling back, until nothing I was hearing matched anything I could feel. I stumbled out of the villa and couldn't hold it anymore, crouching on the roadside and throwing up until there was nothing left.

My eyes burned red. In the end I couldn't breathe, and all I could do was claw at the fabric over my chest, trying to make the pain ease up even a little.

There were only two things I had left in the worldWilliam, and the seeds my parents left behind.

If either one ceased to exist, the pain would be more than I could survive.

I should have stepped out and confronted them right there. I knew that. But I had nothing left in me.

I could accept betrayal from anyone. Why did it have to be William?

I didn't even have the courage to confront him.

Born in the same delivery room, pulled into the world by the same doctor's hands. William, who had been by my side for as long as I could remember.

Why did it have to be him?

I pulled a slip of paper from my pocket, something I always carried with me, and stared at the faded writing.

My tears soaked through it.

The pain swallowed me whole, like it meant to consume every last part of me.

I crammed the paper into my mouth and forced it down, like swallowing every poisoned thing loving him had ever grown inside me.

Tears kept spilling, but when the call connected my voice came out without a single tremor. "I'll give you what you want. You help me with one thing. Can you do that?"

The person on the other end agreed without hesitation.

William was already at the dining table eating breakfast when I walked back into the villa.

He looked up at me in the doorway, frowned slightly, rose, and came over to tuck my hair back from my faceproprietary, automatic, the way he'd done it for decades. "What happened? Where were you last night? You didn't answer your phone. I was worried about you, Junie." He cupped my face in both hands, gentle as ever, warm as ever. "Something going on? Need me to help? Hm? We don't keep secrets from each other, Junie."

But this facethe same face I'd looked at for all those yearsnow all it gave me was nausea. I tilted my head and pulled his hands off me.

The rejection displeased him, though he didn't let it show much.

"I missed my parents," I said. "I went to visit their graves."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and murmured, "After all these years, still the same as before? Junie, when are you going to let yourself stop missing them?" His composure was flawless, as though last night's conversation had never happened.

Then he said, abruptly, "Oh, there's something I need to tell you."

I glanced at him, instantly on guard. "What?"

"You probably won't be able to go to the International Floral Expo. I had my secretary bring your checkup results to the doctor yesterday. Flying could put too much strain on your heart. I can't let you take that risk, Junie."

The words from last night crashed back. I cut him off, my voice sharp. "I know my own body. You know this has been my parents' dream and my dream for years! William!"

I'd already decided to leave. There was no point in tearing things apart, so I didn't want to bring up what I'd overheard.

"Junie, I don't want you gambling with your health. Just listen to me, okay? Growing those flowersthat's what you actually care about, isn't it? I know you. The recognition never mattered to you."

I forced myself steady. "I'm asking you one more time. Is this really about me, or is it something else? Tell me the truth, William." I had so little leftjust this. Just hoping he'd give me one honest word. If he did, I would have ended it cleanly. If he wanted to be with whoever he actually loved, I would have let him go. A clean divorce, everyone's dignity kept. I'd already worked out every last piece of how to let him go gracefully.

He looked at me with perfect bewilderment. "Junie, what are you talking about? Of course it's for you. What could possibly matter more to me than you?"

Something inside me shattered.

Decades. That was how long it had taken to build.

I'd never been this tired in my life.

Whywhy wasn't there even a flicker of guilt? Why could he say it that naturally? How could anyone do this?

And the ease of it made my own collapse feel laughable.

I steadied myself and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if something goes wrong, I'm going to that competition. You know mefor my parents' wish, there's nothing I won't do."

The truth was, the competition had stopped mattering to me a long time ago. What I wanted to know was how far he would go. How much he was willing to hurt me for that woman after all these decades together.

I wanted to see what his plan was.

Would he actually kill me?

We're wretched like thatjust desperate to see the cruelest possible answer with our own eyes.

When I said those words, I caught a flash of venom in William's eyes. It vanished almost instantly, but not before it cut through me.

He smiled and patted my shoulder. "Let's not talk about anything unpleasant right now. Eat first. Your health is already fragile enough without you skipping meals."

"I'm not hungry. You go ahead. I'm going to stay at Hillside Estate for a few days."

"Eat, June." He couldn't hold back his displeasure anymore, his voice dropping into a command.

I ignored him, went upstairs to grab my things, and drove to Hillside Estate. Locked the door behind me and fell into bed like something shutting down.

But the sleep was wrongthick and suffocating, pulling me under and holding me there. When I finally clawed my way back to consciousness, I had no idea how much time had passed.

There was nothing left in my body. I lay on the bed limp as a rag, unable to move.

The room smelled like medication. I looked down at the back of my hand and saw a needle taped into the vein.

My vision swam, then slowly tightened on a figure in dark green standing at the vanity. She was turning my jewelry over between her fingers, picking up pieces and dropping them back like they bored her.

"Oh, you're awake?"

The woman in green walked toward me, and her face hit me like a fist to the chest.

It wasn't a stranger. It was the daughter of my parents' research assistant at the Floral Research Institute. Joy Henson.

That night at Hillside Estate, the voice had been hers. The silhouette too.

Why Joy Henson? Why?

My mind fractured into pieces.

Joy's mother, Daphne Henson, was one of the suspects in the fire that destroyed the Institute. But there had never been enough evidence, and eventually Daphne and Joy had vanished like smoke, as if they'd simply ceased to exist.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Her name tore out of me like something bleeding. "Joy Henson."

"I'm surprised you still remember me, Junie. All these years and you still hate my mother that much?" She stuck her tongue out at me playfully. "But it's not Joy Henson anymore. My name is Jade Holloway now. Don't get it wrong again."

The bedroom door opened.

"You're awake?"

"William!" My whole body was shakingI couldn't stop it. "Do you know who she is? Do you know who she is?!" The words ripped out of me raw, half-scream, half-sob, and I couldn't tell where the trembling ended and the screaming began.

He didn't even flinch. "OhJune, I forgot to mention. This is Ms. Holloway. You haven't been feeling well, and she's offered to help. Her father is a business associate of mine. The Expo is in four days, so she'll bring your flowers and compete in your place. There's nothing to get upset about."

"No... no... she's"

"June, you're half asleep. She just happens to have the same face. That's all."

I couldn't stop shaking. How could he do this? How could he do this?

"Oh dear, it looks like your wife isn't too happy to see me. If she'd really rather I didn't, then never mindforget I offered. You just rest up, okay? Don't go upsetting yourself on my account."

I opened my mouth to say more, but my tongue went dead. Just like thatmid-breaththe words wouldn't come. All I could do was stare at them, wide-eyed and mute.

I had never hated anything the way I hated that helplessness.

"You're sick, June. Stay home, rest, be good." His voice was so gentle it made my skin crawl. "Does it really matter who brings the results back? You just wanted the results, didn't you?"

His hand stroked gently over the top of my head, and my tears broke loose, streaming down without stopping. Why? Why would he do this?

I didn't believe it. I didn't believe he had no idea Jade Holloway was Joy Henson.

And then a far worse possibility flashed through my mind. He had always known.

He was the one who helped them disappear.

It shredded me. The enemy I had spent years searching forthe person I had never stopped huntinghad been hidden beside the man I loved all this time.

They left the room.

I understood what it meant that he'd let Joy Henson walk into my presence. It meant I had no value left. Because I had already cultivated Emberwake.

He was going to keep me locked in here forever.

How could he? How could he do this to me?

I pulled out my phone. A few dozen words took me nearly two hours to type.

"Change of plans. Go with the latest one."

No questions. Just one word back: *Okay.*

The tears came anyway, sliding down my face in silence.

The family doctor had come many times now, injecting me with something I couldn't identify.

For my own good, they said. But every time the needle went in, I'd sink into a dead sleep and wake up with nothing left in my bodyno strength, no will.

He was going to keep me here forever. Hollow me out until I was useless for anything except whatever they needed me to do.

It wasn't until the day before Joy left for the international competition that William appeared in my room again.

"I'm not going. Can't be bothered. You should be satisfied now, William." The needle already poised at my arm stopped mid-air.

The two of them exchanged a look. William gave a small nod, and the doctor said, "Mrs. Gilbert doesn't need the injection for now, Mr. Gilbert. A few days of rest should do."

William, smooth as ever: "All right. You can head out."

There was no argument between us. No screaming. "Help me sit up," I said quietly.

He propped me against the headboard. I looked at him steadily. "William. How many years have we known each other?"

"Thirty."

I smiled and shook my head. "Thirty-one."

We'd been tangled together since before we were bornstill in our mothers' bellies. Everyone said we were a perfect match. Destined. Childhood sweethearts.

Only fate had dealt us that hand and then shredded it a long time ago.

"Why bring this up?"

"No reason. Williamtell me. What is it you like about me? Why did you marry me?"

"You've asked me that for decades. Aren't you sick of the question?"

"Or is it me you're sick of?"

His mouth opened. Closed. "Where is this coming from?"

He didn't even have the nerve to say it out loud. William, you coward.

"Williamyou and those flower seeds. That's all I've had, all these decades. The only two things that mattered."

"What are you getting at?"

"I told you once, didn't I? If the day came when you didn't want me anymore, when you'd had enough of me, we could split up clean. Walk away with some dignity. So why did you have to do it like this insteadlock me in this bed until there's nothing left of me?"

"What nonsense is that? I have never once thought about divorcing you!" Something cracked behind his expression.

I knew he would never say it to my facebecause admitting it would mean betraying not just me, but the boy he used to be, the one who held me and cried and swore he'd love me for the rest of his life.

I didn't need his confession. I'd already seen everything with my own eyes.

"Do you remember when we were little, I told you my dream? Do you still remember what it was?"

I sat there on the bed, watching him with a faint, gentle smile.

That quiet struck something in hima flicker of panic behind his eyes. "Your dream was to become a floral research expert like your parents, wasn't it?" Maybe because I looked too calm, his gaze sharpened with suspicion.

He knew I'd found out. We just hadn't torn the mask off yet.

He held out the bowl of medicine. "Drink this. Get some rest. Don't think about anything. And don't ever worry that I'd leave youI'm not going anywhere, all right? I couldn't."

"Will I really get better if I drink it?"

"You will."

I laughed softly. "Even if it were poison, if you were the one handing it to me, I'd still drink it."

"What are you saying?"

I looked at the bowl. "One last question. All these yearswhy have you never once brought up having children?"

"Junie?"

"You haven't called me that in a long time either."

He had nothing to say to that.

I smiled, lifted the bowl, and drank it all.

Something about it nagged at Williamthe exchange, the smilebut he couldn't pin it down.

He lit a cigarette and headed for the door.

But my words kept turning over in his head, and that last smile, and then it was like something clicked.

"William, my dream isn't to grow flowers like Mom and Dad. Their dream isn't my dream. I'm going to be your bride! I'll go with you to every corner of the world, and we'll leave our mark everywhere. Hundreds of years from now, thousands of years from now, people will stand where we stood and see the same view!"

He stopped mid-step. The housekeeper came rushing out behind him, gasping. "Sirsir, it's bad! She drank the medicine and now she's vomiting blood, she can't stop, she's screaming in painplease, you have to come back!"

He spun around. In the same instant, a massive blast tore through Hillside Estate.

Fire engulfed everything.

My Ex Chose Her,So I Married the Scientist Above Him

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:05:38 +0800

The next time I saw Les Gilbert, I was kissing my new husband in front of a cheering crowd.

His little junior stood right beside himthe one he'd always coddledbut her eyes were red with fury.

No one there knew that six months ago, to celebrate Michelle's birthday, he'd stolen my only spot at an elite international research conference.

"You're a young scholaryou'll have plenty of chances. But Michelle's turning twenty, and her birthday wish is to be there and broaden her horizons."

He confiscated all my documents, locked me inside the apartment from the outside, and flew Michelle abroad without looking back.

That night, a fire broke out from old wiring.

I smashed through a window to barely make it out alive, then knelt on the pavement calling his phone over and over.

When someone finally picked up, it was Michelle, laughing:

"Madge! Les is cutting my birthday cake right now. Is it urgent?"

In the background, Les was announcing in flawless English to the whole world that she was his lover.

Seven days of conference. Every day, Michelle posted couple photos, location tags, gifts on social media.

And I became the biggest joke in our circle.

Until tonight's academic gala, when Dustin Vancenewly risen powerhouse of the research worldshielded me behind him in front of everyone:

"She's my wife. She's not someone any of you get to touch."

That was when Les finally understood: the girl who used to have eyes for no one but him, he'd thrown her away himself.

On the eighth day of the international conference, Les Gilbert finally came home.

He dragged his suitcase through the door in designer casual wear, still riding the high of a week on the international stage.

When he pushed the door open and saw the soot-blackened living room, his brow barely creased.

"Madge, what the hell happened? If you can't use the appliances, don't use them. You're a researcher. Don't you have basic safety awareness? Look what you've done to the place."

I was sitting on the couch, still in the same clothes from the night of the fire. Light burns marked my arms and shins. My face was paper-white, my lips cracked and split.

I raised my head slowly, looked at this man I had loved for three full years, and felt nothing but the shock of staring at a stranger.

Home.

He had the nerve to call this home.

While I was trapped in a burning apartment fighting not to die, he was at a world-class venue overseas, arms around his little junior, smiling as he told everyone she was his lover.

If I'd actually burned to death, he wouldn't even have known.

When I didn't speak, just stared at him with that cold, unfamiliar look, something in Les shifted. He yanked off his tie, irritated, and tossed the suitcase aside.

"Are you done throwing a fit? So you didn't get to go to the conferenceso what? You're already a well-known young scholar in this country. Can you stop fighting over scraps like a child? Michelle's still young. She needs the exposure."

"I'm the one making a scene?" My voice finally came, so hoarse it scraped, but underneath it was something worse than anger. Dead calm.

"You took my conference spot. You locked me in this apartment. The apartment caught fire and I nearly died inside it. I called you over a dozen times. You were with your junior, celebrating her birthday, telling the whole world she was your lover."

Every word came out bitten off, forced through clenched teeth.

"Now you walk back in and you don't ask if I'm hurt, don't ask if I was scared, don't ask how I survived that night. All you care about is that I wrecked your precious apartment?"

Something flickered across Les's face, his gaze shifting, as if he'd only just remembered.

"I was busy, alright? The conference schedule was packed, and Michelle's birthday only comes once a year. You're mature. You should understand."

He said it like it was obvious. Like I was the unreasonable one.

"Besides, it was just a small fire. You're fine, aren't you?"

I laughedlaughed so hard the tears almost came.

Three years of feeling. Three years of giving.

I'd put him before my own future, given up chances to advance, given up the spotlight that should have been mine. And all I got back was: *It was just a small fire.*

The laugh died on my face. My eyes went cold.

"Les, I'm breaking up with you."

He froze, clearly not expecting me to say it that cleanly.

In our entire relationship, I had always been the one to bend first. To compromise. To beg him to stay.

Every fight ended the same way: me apologizing, me tiptoeing around his mood, me smoothing things over.

He was used to my obedience, used to my yielding, used to the certainty that I would never leave.

So all he did was knit his brows and let his voice go hard, laced with threat: "Madge, stop being unreasonable. You want to break up? Fine. Don't regret it."

"I won't."

I looked straight at him. Steady. Not a shred of hesitation.

Les's face darkened completely. He glared at me, snatched his jacket off the chair, and slammed the door on his way out.

The bang was loud enough to shake plaster off the living room wall.

I sat alone in the wrecked, lightless apartment, and finally pressed both hands over my face and cried without making a sound.

Not because the breakup hurt. Because three years of my youth had been thrown away on a man like him.

Because the research I'd fought for with everything I had, and the love I'd given just as hard, had both been stepped on and trampled without a second thought.

Les and I were in the same department at the same university. He was a year ahead of me.

We did our graduate work together, entered the Provincial Key Research Lab together, and became recognized young scholars together.

To everyone on the outside, we were the golden couple, the picture-perfect pair of the research world.

Only I knew the balance had never been equal. Not from the start.

I loved him far more than he ever loved me.

I came from an ordinary family and fought my way here on my own.

He came from privilege, had decent talent, was proud and self-centered, and used to being put on a pedestal.

Michelle Fox was his junior labmate, five years younger, dependent on him since they were students. In front of him she was always soft, always helpless, always *Les this* and *Les that* in that clingy little-sister voice.

I'd minded. Of course I had. But every time, he gave me the same line: "She's just a kid. Why are you making it into a thing?"

I believed him.

I talked myself down again and again. Be mature. Be generous. Try to understand him.

A year ago, the National Core Research Lab was recruiting talent. The entire province had one recommendation slot, and the department unanimously chose me.

It was the platform every researcher dreams of. The goal I had been working toward for over a decade.

But days before I was supposed to submit my materials, Les went cold on me. Threatened to end things if I left. Said if I went, we were over for good.

I lost my mind and gave it up.

Professor Hale was so furious she wouldn't speak to me for days. My colleagues shook their heads.

I smiled and told them, "It's fine. I'll have another chance."

Only I knew that night I locked myself in the lab and cried until morning.

I thought my sacrifice would make him cherish what we had.

Instead, what I got was him taking my international conference slot without a second thought.

What I got was him talking soft to another woman while I was on the edge of dying.

When I came back to the lab, every pair of eyes carried the same look: pity, laced with something harder to name.

I had always been the hardest-working young researcher on the team. My track record was strong. Professor Hale used to call me "a future star in the making."

And I'd let one relationship turn me into a joke.

Professor Hale called me into her office. She looked at my pale face and let out a long breath. "Madge, be honest with me. Is this because of Les Gilbert?"

I kept my head down and said nothing.

"I told you a long time agoLes Gilbert is too proud, too self-absorbed. You were never going to hold him, and you couldn't afford to burn yourself trying."

Professor Hale's voice was heavy with frustration. "Do you have any idea how disappointed I was when you gave up your spot at the Core Research Lab last year? People would kill for that chance. And you threw it away for a man, just like that."

"Professor, I was wrong." My voice cracked.

"It's not too late to fix it." She slid a folder across the desk. "This year's National Core Research Lab selection has opened again. I've already submitted your name. This time, don't sacrifice yourself for anyone. You were never meant to stand behind someone elseyou belong at the top."

I looked down at the words National Core Research Lab on the cover, and my eyes burned.

A second chance at something already lost was more precious than anything.

"Professor, I won't let you down again." I gripped the folder, my voice steady.

"One more thing," Professor Hale said, as though something had just come back to her. Her expression turned serious. "The overall lead for this year's selection is Dustin Vance."

My heart jolted.

Dustin Vance. In the research world, that name was practically a god's.

Barely past thirty, already academy-level, running a National Key Research Lab, leading multiple state-level major projects, publishing in the highest-tier international journals. Everyone knew him as young, low-key, and impossibly brilliant.

He was the idol of every young scholar in the country, someone you could admire from a distance but never expect to get close to.

I hadn't imagined he'd be personally overseeing this round of selection.

"Professor Vance almost never gets involved in the selection himself. This time, for whatever reason, he asked to see a few specific candidates' materialsand you're one of them." Professor Hale's voice tightened with barely contained excitement. "Madge, prepare well. This is the best chance you'll ever get."

I nodded hard, my heart hammering.

To be noticed by Dustin Vance was an honor I wouldn't have dared to dream of.

I stepped out of the office, took a deep breath, and deleted the last photo of Les from my phone.

Three years. Done.

From now on, I live for research and for myself. No one else.

Les vanished completely for two weeks.

I found out later, through a colleague, that he'd taken extended leave to go traveling with Michelle.

Every day her feed was a highlight reel: ocean sunrises, amusement parks, five-star restaurants, limited-edition gifts.

Every caption in the same style: "Thank you, Les, for making all my wishes come true."

Each photo was a knife that would have cut straight into the old me.

But now, looking at them, all I felt was calm. Almost amused.

I threw myself into preparing for the selectionpractically lived in the lab, buried in literature, crunching data, pulling results together, sleeping three or four hours a night.

When you're that deep in the work, love and all its noise really aren't worth mentioning.

At some point I went back to the burned-out apartment to salvage what I could.

The place was wrecked. Blackened walls, warped furniture.

My foot caught on something hard in the debris. I looked down. A plain-band ring, scorched dull and dark.

I'd saved up for a long time to have it made. Designed it myself, had it custom-ordered.

The night of the fire was our three-year anniversary.

I'd planned to bake a cake at home, hide the ring inside, and propose to Les from across the distancejust the two of us on a video call.

I'd even rehearsed the line: "Les, let's get married. We'll do research together for the rest of our lives and grow old together."

What a joke.

I was choking in smoke and flames, clawing to stay aliveand he was across town, surrounded by flowers and applause, celebrating someone else's birthday.

I picked up the ring and closed my fist around it, squeezing until the metal edge bit into my palm.

Then I tossed it into the trash.

Three years of deluded love went with it.

When I turned around, I walked straight into a solid chest.

I looked up and froze.

Les was standing in the doorwayno telling how long he'd been there. His face was dark, his gaze dropping to the ring in the trash, then to the burn on my hand, and whatever shifted behind his eyes, he didn't let it settle into anything I could name.

"You're back." His voice came out dry, almost rough.

I ignored him and stepped sideways to leave.

"Madge, stop." He grabbed my wrist, grip tight enough to hurt. "We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." I wrenched free. "I already made the breakup perfectly clear."

"So what, one conference? A couple missed calls? And you have to turn it into this whole thing and insist on breaking up?"

Les frowned, still wearing that same look of lofty condescension:

"I can apologize. I'll spend more time with you from now on. Just stop throwing a fit."

I almost laughed.

"Les, do you honestly still not know what you did wrong?"

"You stole my spotthat's not nothing. You locked me in the apartmentthat's not nothing. While I was nearly burning to death, you were celebrating someone else's birthdaythat's not nothing. And you went around telling people she was your loverthat's even less than nothing."

"All of that, and you think I'm the one making too much of it?"

He had nothing to say. The color drained from his face, then flushed back in patches.

"That was just... a lapse in judgment. Michelle's like a sister to me."

"A sister you'd hand my spot to? A sister you'd introduce as your lover?"

I let out a cold laugh. "Les, you are unbelievably selfish. You only ever care about yourself and whoever you feel like protecting. My feelings, my career, whether I live or dienone of it means a thing to you."

"That's not true!" His voice dropped to a raw growl. "You matter to me!"

"Your love is cheap." I looked at him, my gaze perfectly still. "I don't want it anymore. Don't come looking for me again. We're done."

I stepped around him and walked away.

Les stood rooted to the spot, watching me go, and for the first time, real panic cracked through that composure. He was only now realizing that this time, I wasn't coming back.

The day of the selection review, I arrived at the designated location early.

The man seated at the head of the room wore a simple black shirt, his bearing cool and remote. Dustin Vance.

He looked younger than in his photos, and far more imposing. He was perfectly still, doing nothing but sitting there, yet the weight of him made it difficult to hold eye contact.

"Begin." His voice was low and pleasant, stripped of any extra emotion.

I steadied myself and began: research focus, results, future plans. Not a single tremor in my hands, not a hitch in my voice. Every word landed where I aimed it, and I held nothing back.

Dustin listened closely, occasionally making notes, occasionally glancing up at me. His gaze was deep and unreadable.

When the defense was over, he asked me several technical questions, all of them extremely difficult, all aimed straight at the core.

I kept my composure and answered every one.

A slight nod. He offered no verdict either way, just: "Go home and wait for the notification."

I bowed and left, but something in my gut told me with fierce certainty.

I stepped out of the review room and there was Les. He'd found out about the selection somehow and had been waiting, and the moment he saw me, he closed the distance.

"Madge, you applied for the Core Research Lab selection. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't owe you updates on my life."

"We haven't broken up!" His voice cracked with urgency. "You promised you'd stay in the capital with me. The Core Research Lab is in the Northwestyou'd actually drag yourself out there just to get away from me?"

"Les, we're done."

I cut him off. "I've already told you to stop hounding me. Whether I go to the Northwest or the Southwest, it's nothing to do with you."

A cool, low voice came from behind me. "Madge."

I turned. Dustin Vance was standing there, and I had no idea when he'd arrived. His gaze dropped to where Les was gripping my hand, and his brow creased, just barely.

Les recognized him instantly. The color in his face shifted to something stiff and deferential.

Next to Dustin Vance, a junior scholar like Les didn't even rank.

"Professor Vance." Les let go of my hand on reflex, straightening up with an awkward greeting.

Dustin didn't look at him. His eyes stayed on me, his tone unhurried. "Come with me. I need to talk to you."

"Okay." I followed without hesitation.

Les tried to come after us, but Taylor Reed stepped into his path, smooth and wordless.

All he could do was stand there and watch me walk away with Dustin, his eyes full of frustration and panic.

We reached a quiet corridor. Dustin stopped and turned to face me.

"You passed."

Joy surged through me before I could contain it. "Thank you, Professor Vance!"

"Don't thank me. You earned it." He paused, his tone still level. "That's not why I asked you here."

I blinked.

"My family won't stop pushing me to marry. I need a wife on papersomeone to put in front of the elders and get them off my back."

He held my gaze, direct and unapologetic. "I know you just got out of a relationship. A ring on your finger would keep certain people from bothering you again."

My mind went blank. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Dustin Vancethe name the entire research world treated like mythwas asking me to marry him?

Betrayed by My Husband and My Family, I Returned to My Empire

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:02:06 +0800

Erikas Pov

Im sorry, but your baby didnt make it, the nurse said the moment I opened my eyes. You lost a lot of blood and were unconscious for three days. We tried everything, but we couldnt save the baby.

My ears rang at her words and I swallowed hard. My throat felt scraped raw.

My husband, I whispered. Jacob Did he come?

The nurses expression softened. Im sorry, maam. No one has visited you since you were admitted.

Bitter tears slid down my cheeks as the room blurred.

Three days ago, I had called Jacob until my fingers went numb. Ninety-nine missed calls. More than twenty messages.

Please send the jet. Im in labor.

The bridge collapsed. I cant get through.

Im bleeding.

The pain had been tearing me apart when I finally called his office.

Im in labor, I cried. Where is Jacob?

There was a pause before the assistant answered, his voice careful.

The CEO isnt here right now, maam. Hes taken the jet to fly his pregnant wife to the hospital because of the collapsed bridge. May I take a message?

The world went silent.

Pregnant wife? I whispered.

No, I said hoarsely, shaking my head. You must be mistaken. Im his wife. Im the one in labor.

Another contraction ripped through me. I cried out, clutching my stomach as pain split me open.

Tell him its Erika, I gasped. Tell him to come now.

Im sorry, Maam, it seems youve got a wrong number, the assistant said.

No, I'm not wrong. Call my husband... It hurts so much, call Jacob! I cried but there was no response, only the dial tone showing the call had ended.

My grip loosened and the phone slipped from my hand, hitting the floor.

The pain surged violently through my body, my vision darkening as voices shouted around me.

Jacob, I called, my voice breaking.

But he never came and then everything went black.

Heres your phone, the nurse said softly, pulling me back. We picked it up when the ambulance arrived.

I took it with shaking hands.

If you need anything, press the call button, she added before leaving.

The room fell silent.

I unlocked my phone, my heart pounding, half-expecting to see missed calls flooding the screen.

There were none. No messages, no calls.

It didnt make sense.

When Jacob and I were newly married, he couldnt go an hour without checking on me. Once, my car battery died and I was unreachable for three hours.

He searched the entire city.

Now he ignored me for three days.

I checked my messages again. Still nothing. Not from Jacob. Not from my parents. Not even from Lily.

Then a notification appeared.

Lily posted a new update.

I tapped it and a photo of Jacob, my parents, and Lily cradling a newborn filled the screen.

She was lying in a hospital bed and I recognized the room as one of the wards in this hospital.

The caption read: Family.

My fingers went numb as I scrolled.

I saw another post from three days ago, the exact time I was in labor and calling Jacob.

Lily was sitting inside a private jet, her head tilted toward Jacob as she kissed his cheek.

The bridge collapsed, so he didnt want me stuck in traffic, shed written.

He flew me here himself. He takes such good care of me.

Comments poured in.

Such a caring husband.

Youre so lucky.

So while I was bleeding out in the car, Lily was the pregnant wife he had flown to the hospital.

The screen blurred as my grip tightened.

Two years ago, I had pulled Lily out of a mangled car.

That was how my parents found their daughter whod been missing for twenty years.

I took her in.

Held her hand when she woke screaming from nightmares. Sat beside her hospital bed when she gave her kidney to save Jacob.

When he woke and learned it was Lily who saved him, he was grateful.

But when the doctors said she had cancer, his gratitude turned into devotion with him doing whatever she wanted.

I complained about his devotion and affection toward Lily but Jacob always said the same thing.

I love you, Erika. Not her.

Im just returning the favor.

She saved my life.

I believed him and stopped overthinking things.

When Lily disappeared for weeks and returned pregnant, she refused to say who the father was.

My parents scolded her and called her careless. They told her to be more like me but I cautioned them and stood up for her.

I took care of her pregnancy and mine. Now she dared to post my husband as hers?

Even though Jacob had married me secretly he promised he'd announce our marriage to the world on our next anniversary which was in a few days' time so how dare Lily try to pull this stunt?

My hands trembled as I locked my phone and pushed myself out of bed. Pain shot through my legs, but I barely felt it as I made my way to the hallway.

That was when I heard the familiar voices of my parents and Jacob in a room at the end of the corridor.

I charged toward the room, anger coursing through me ready to confront them but Lilys teary voice stopped me in front of the door.

I feel so guilty, she whispered. Erikas baby I never wanted it to be like this.

Jacobs reply came immediately, Stop blaming yourself. We didnt have a choice.

My breath caught. What were they talking about?

Erikas son was the only heart-compatible donor, he continued. The doctors confirmed it. If we didnt use his heart, our son wouldnt survive.

My knees nearly buckled as the world went silent around me.

You you really took her babys heart? Lily asked, her voice trembling.

Yes, Jacob said without hesitation. He was born healthy. Thats why the transplant worked.

I stopped breathing.

But what about Erika? Lily whispered. When she wakes up

My mother answered instead.

She should be grateful she was given an opportunity to be useful to this family. She owes us a lot after we adopted and raised her for twenty-two years. Saving your child is the least she can do.

My father nodded and added, Besides, you dont have long. When youre gone, the baby will need someone. Erika can raise him as her own.

My stomach twisted violently as the room spun.

You saved my life, Lily. There was no way Id let our son die. Especially now that you're dying and I cant save you, Jacob said firmly.

Lilys fingers tightened around the blanket. She reached out and touched Jacobs hand.

Thank you, she whispered. For saving our son. For giving me my wish to have a child with you before I die.

Jacob leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Its worth everything, he said softly. Id do anything for you.

The hallway tilted and I stepped backward, my chest burning as the truth finally settled.

It wasnt just Lily. My parents had known all along. They had known who the father of her baby was.

They had watched me stand by her, defend her, take care of her and said nothing.

Jacob hadnt just abandoned me in traffic, he had lied to my face every single day.

They hadnt just chosen Lily, they had agreed together as a family to sacrifice my son to save hers.

I stumbled into the bathroom and gripped the sink as my body convulsed, bile burning my throat, tears blinding my eyes.

The door opened and I heard a familiar voice.

Dearest sister, I saw you lurking outside my room door, why didn't you come inside?

I turned around to see Lily staring at me, a wicked smile gleaming in her eyes.

You! I choked out, angry tears rolling down my cheeks.

Lily giggled, I've waited for this day for so long. Carefully playing my part of a sweet daughter and sister but I longed for the day I would see you in this state looking broken and weak.

Why, Lily? What did I ever do to you? I asked confused.

You were adopted and enjoyed every bit of luxury I should have enjoyed while I went missing and suffered for twenty years! Lily snapped.

How is it my fault that you went missing? Since you returned you've gotten everything back, why are you now doing this?! I shot at her, fury burning in my chest.

Because dearest sister, you should have never been in this family! If they didn't adopt you then they would have looked for me but now I'm back I'm going to take everything from you including your precious husband because they should have been mine!

You could have taken everything, I sobbed, my knees threatening to give way. Why didnt you just leave my son for me? Why did you have to touch him?

Lily laughed like a maniac, Because I don't want you or your blood to breathe the same air as me and what better way to get everyone to do my bidding than to play the dying cancer card but guess what, I don't have cancer and I'm not dying.

Blood drained from my face as I stared at her. You monster! How could you lie to everyone for years?

My voice trembled. Ill tell them. Ill tell everyone.

Lily giggled wickedly, No one is going to believe you dear sister, not after I'm done with you.

And before I could move an inch, she deliberately banged her head on the wall before letting out a scream.

Jacob help me, she's going to kill me!

Just as Lily fell dramatically to the ground, the door burst open, and my husband stood in the doorway.

What have you done?! he yelled at me in fury.

Erikas Pov

I stared at Jacob as he stormed toward me and grabbed my wrist, his face twisted in anger.

How dare you hurt her when you know she's sick! Do you want to kill her?! he snarled at me.

If I could, I wouldnt hesitate, I shot back, my voice shaking but firm.

Jacob looked taken aback by my response. He wasn't used to me ever talking back at him. All the years we spent together we'd quarrel and I would cower and apologize but not anymore.

His grip tightened. When did you become this vicious, Erika? Your jealousy has turned you into something ugly.

Its not her fault, Jacob. Please don't fight because of me. Erika didn't do anything, I just lost my balance, Lilys innocent voice sounded.

Jacob rushed toward her, carrying her up like a fragile doll, Youre too kind, Lily. Im sorry she keeps hurting you.

I let out a hollow laugh. Kind? You call this kind? I heard everything, Jacob. My sons heart and the transplant. I know what you all did.

For a split second, guilt flickered in his eyes then it disappeared immediately.

If I had told you, you wouldnt have agreed, he said flatly.

The bathroom suddenly felt smaller and harder to breathe in as I stared at him with wide eyes.

So you admit it, I whispered. You got her pregnant then killed our child to save hers.

He was my son too, Jacob snapped. I had the right to decide. Lily is dying. You can have another child. She cant.

People die every day, I said, my voice turning cold. Her death wont be special.

Lily whimpered dramatically against his chest. Please dont fight over me. I never wanted this

Jacob glared at me like I was filth beneath his shoe.

You disgust me, Erika. Your own sister is dying and all you care about is yourself. Im sure your dead son is grateful he doesnt have to call you mother.

The words slammed into me as my knees buckled and I hit the floor.

For a moment, I couldnt hear anything except the ringing in my ears.

Then slow clapping echoed down the corridor and my fathers voice sounded, Yes, Jacob, you're right.

I turned to see my parents standing at the end of the hallway.

My mother rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Lily. Oh my poor baby, did she hurt you again?

My fathers eyes were cold as they settled on me. Erika, what is wrong with you?

I stared at them from the floor. You knew, I whispered. You knew they were taking my sons heart. You all knew the truth and kept lying to me for months!

My mother didnt even blink. Lower your voice. This is a hospital.

My father sighed heavily. You should be ashamed of yourself. Lily doesnt have long. Instead of supporting her, youre attacking her.

She lied about having cancer! I cried.

A nurse passing by slowed down, staring at me like I was hysterical.

Jacobs expression hardened.

Thats enough, he said. Youve clearly lost your mind.

He turned to my parents. I think she needs a psychiatric evaluation. Shes unstable, hallucinating, and making wild accusations about Lilys condition.

My mother nodded immediately. Yes, that might be best. Her jealousy has finally driven her mad.

I felt something inside me crack.

Youre going to label me insane? I asked hoarsely.

If thats what it takes to protect Lily from you, Jacob replied coldly. I wont hesitate.

A few nurses were now whispering nearby. I could feel their eyes on me. It was filled with judgment and disgust.

Lily peeked at me from Jacobs chest and flashed me a smug grin.

That was the moment my tears stopped. It was strange how quickly grief could turn into clarity.

They had taken my child from me and probably thought I was too helpless and alone to fight them but they're wrong.

I slowly pushed myself up from the floor and stared at them with cold eyes.

You all deserve each other and I'll make you regret it, I vowed then I turned and walked away.

I limped back to my hospital room and closed the door behind me.

For several seconds, I just stood there staring at my reflection in the mirror, then I picked up my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in six months.

The line connected almost instantly.

Grandpa, I said softly. Im ready to come home.

Six months ago, I saved a stranger who turned out to be my grandfather.

He told me my parents had died in a car accident when I was just three years old. Someone rescued me and took me to an orphanage, he did everything he could but he was unable to locate me.

He told me to come back home with him and that everything he owned was mine. The only issue was that my parents had betrothed me to the son of their business partner before they died so before I could claim my inheritance, I had to get married to him.

I should have left Jacob that same day but I was still in love so I thanked my grandfather and told him I couldn't accept his offer or marry someone else. How wrong had I been.

Are you sure, Erika? My grandfathers worried voice pulled me out of my thoughts, Last time we spoke you said you were married and you refused my offer.

I was wrong. I will return to take over my inheritance and get married to Liam Reynolds just as my late parents wanted, I stated.

Oh my dear child, that's wonderful news. I can't tell you how happy I am, my grandfather said, When should I come get you?

Just give me a few days to tidy things up here quickly but Id like it if the wedding is arranged quickly, I answered.

What wedding Erika? a voice asked.

I looked up and saw Jacob standing in front of the doorway, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Erikas Pov

I ended the call and slowly locked my phone.

What wedding were you talking about? Jacob asked again.

For a moment, my fingers tightened around my phone.

A friend of mine is getting married, I said calmly. She asked me to help with some preparations.

Jacob studied me for a moment before nodding.

You always liked weddings, he said. You even planned our anniversary like another ceremony.

I didnt reply.

Three years of marriage.

Three years of begging him to announce me as his wife.

Jacob had finally agreed to make our relationship public on our anniversary this year.

He promised the world would know I was Mrs. Reed.

We were supposed to stand there together with our newborn son.

The anniversary was in two days.

Now my son is dead.

And the man standing in front of me was the one who killed him.

I lowered my eyes so Jacob wouldnt see the hatred burning inside them.

What did you come here for? I asked quietly.

Jacob seemed relieved that I wasnt arguing with him.

I know youre upset, he said gently. But Ill make it up to you. Lily only has a few months left. If you can just be a little kinder to her, everything will go back to normal once shes gone.

Once shes gone, the words almost made me laugh.

How ridiculous. I had already decided to leave. There was no normal for us anymore.

But I simply nodded.

Alright.

Jacob visibly relaxed.

Actually, he continued, Lily will be discharged soon. Could you prepare that medicinal soup for her? The one you always make. It helps her recover faster.

So that was the real reason he came.

To ask the woman whose baby had just died to cook for the woman who stole his heart.

For a brief moment, anger surged through my chest.

Then I remembered something I once read.

If you want to defeat your enemy, never show them your real thoughts.

I forced a faint smile.

Of course, I said.

Jacob blinked in surprise.

You agree?

Why wouldnt I? I replied calmly. Lily is my sister.

He seemed satisfied with that answer.

I knew I could count on you.

Jacob stepped forward and tried to kiss my forehead, but I turned slightly and avoided him.

Im still feeling a bit unwell, I lied.

He paused awkwardly, nodding his head in understanding.

Ill go arrange Lilys discharge, he said before leaving the room.

The door closed behind him.

The moment he was gone, my smile disappeared.

Two hours later, I quietly left the hospital.

The afternoon sun was blinding after days inside the building. For a moment, I had to shield my eyes.

The world outside continued as if nothing had happened. No one knew that I had lost my child.

I raised my hand and hailed a taxi.

Downtown, I said calmly.

The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb.

As the city passed by outside the window, my hand slowly moved to my stomach.

The place where my son had once been. The child they stole from me.

A dull ache spread through my chest.

You deserved to live.

My eyes closed briefly but the tears never fell. If I cried now, those people would win and I would never let them win again.

My phone vibrated again. It was Barrister John.

I answered the call.

Mrs. Reed, his voice sounded concerned. I received your message earlier. Is everything alright?

Im fine, I said calmly. I need you to handle a few things for me.

Of course.

The divorce agreement must be ready today. Ill sign it in two days.

Understood.

And another thing.

My legal identity needs to be restored.

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

You mean the identity your grandfather mentioned?

Yes.

I want the name Erika Reed cancelled.

Barrister John inhaled slowly.

That process requires documentation and official filing.

I will send you everything you need.

That can be arranged, he replied. It may take some time to finalize, but we can begin the process immediately.

Good.

I looked out the window at the passing buildings.

My marriage has lasted three years, I said quietly.

My departure will take two days.

Barrister John seemed to understand what those words meant.

I will handle everything, he assured me.

Thank you.

The call ended.

I lowered the phone slowly and leaned back in the seat.

For the next two days, I would continue playing the role of Jacob Reeds obedient wife.

After that, Erika Reed would disappear and their perfect world would begin to crumble.

Erikas Pov

The moment I stepped into the house, I perceived the strong smell of smoke coming from the sitting room. My heart skipped as a bad feeling crept into my chest.

I moved forward quickly, my steps uneven, my body still weak, but something inside me screamed to hurry.

The closer I got to the living room, the stronger the smell became.

My breath hitched as I pushed the door open and froze.

Flames flickered in the center of the room. A metal basin sat on the marble floor, fire dancing wildly inside it, devouring colors that once meant everything to me.

The canvas in the fire was my paintings. The ones my mentor left me before he died.

For a second, my brain refused to process it. Then it hit me hard. My chest tightened so violently it felt like something inside me had just been torn open again.

And standing beside the fire was Lily, a smug smile on her face.

Oh, youre back, she grinned.

Stop! I screamed, my voice cracking as I rushed forward.

I dropped to my knees and reached straight into the fire. Pain exploded through my hand, sharp and blinding but I barely felt it.

I grabbed what was left of the canvas but it crumbled and turned to ash.

No My voice came out in a whisper.

Its gone

My fingers trembled as the last piece disintegrated in my hands. The black dust clung to my skin before slipping away.

A broken sound tore out of my throat.

That was the last painting he gave me. The last thing he touched.

Master Adrian Hale, my mentor.

The only person who ever cared for me without expecting anything in return.

Hold the brush gently, Erika.

His voice had always been patient and warm. Like no matter how badly I failed, he would still be there.

Art isnt about perfection, he said, guiding my trembling hand. Its how we express what we cant say out loud.

Back then, I had been afraid of ruining everything.

Now Everything was already ruined.

Why are you making such a fuss?

Lilys voice dragged me back.

I lifted my head slowly. Her smug face blurred through the tears gathering in my eyes.

Everything I had left of him was gone. Burned, like it never mattered.

Why? My voice broke. Why would you do this?

She tilted her head, completely unbothered.

Do what?

My hands shook violently, my burned skin stinging as I clenched my fists.

Those are my things! Who gave you the right to touch them?!

She glanced at the fire like it bored her.

After I was discharged, Jacob let me move into the master bedroom because it faces the sun better than my old room, she said casually.

My breath caught. The master bedroom belonged to me.

He also said I could handle your things however I like.

Her lips curved slightly.

These paintings are so dark and depressing. Like some kind of curse.

My heartbeat slowed. Each word sinking deeper.

Maybe thats why your child wasnt lucky enough to come into this world.

Something inside me snapped completely.

You bitch!

I surged to my feet, my vision going red as I raised my hand but it was caught mid-air.

Enough!

I turned sharply to face Jacob.

His grip was tight and painful, like I was the one doing something wrong.

How dare you touch her? he snapped. How can you be so cruel? She just gave birth!

Cruel? A hollow laugh escaped me.

Im cruel? I said, my voice shaking. She burned everything! Those were Master Hales paintings!

So what?

The words landed softly but they shattered something inside me.

So what? I repeated in disbelief.

Master Hale saved your life! I shouted. He died pulling you out of that burning car!

Jacob frowned, irritation flashing across his face.

I didnt ask him to.

My breath caught and my knees weakened. For a moment, I couldnt feel the ground beneath me.

How how can you say that? I whispered.

That was years ago, Erika. Hes dead now, he said coldly. Those things dont matter anymore. You need to move on.

Each word sank deeper than the last, like nails being hammered into something already broken.

Move on? My voice trembled. You have no heart.

Stop creating a scene, Jacob said flatly. The baby is sleeping. I dont want you waking him.

I smiled bitterly. My child was dead and now I had to be quiet for hers.

Lily stepped closer, gently holding his arm.

I didnt mean anything bad, she said softly. I just thought those paintings didnt belong here. I was helping.

Her eyes flickered to mine filled with mocking laughter, like she was enjoying every second of this.

My entire body trembled.

I never asked for your help, you lying bitch! I snapped.

Calm down right now or Ill make you regret it, Jacob warned.

Let me go! I struggled, my burned hand screaming in pain as I tried to pull free.

Then I felt a sharp kick slam into my side. Pain exploded through my body as I crashed to the floor, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs.

For a second, I couldnt breathe. My chest tightened painfully as I gasped, but no air came in.

Im sorry! Lily cried instantly. I thought she was going to hit you! It was a reflex!

Its alright, Jacob said, pulling her closer. You were just protecting me. Shes the one causing trouble.

My fingers curled weakly against the cold floor. My burned hand throbbed.

My side ached and my chest hurt but none of it compared to what was inside.

They killed my child and now they took the last thing my mentor left me.

You must promise me, Erika

His voice had been weak that day. I held his hand tightly, afraid that if I let go, he would disappear.

Youll protect my art no matter what happens.

I promise, I whispered.

A tear slipped down the side of my face. I couldnt even keep that promise.

Darkness slowly crept into my vision. The last thing I saw was Lily leaning safely into Jacobs arms and then everything went black.

Erikas Pov

Pain was the first thing I felt when I woke up. It spread from my side, sharp enough to make me suck in a breath, then settled into a dull ache that refused to leave.

My hand stung faintly, the burned skin tight and sensitive, and for a moment I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, not moving.

Then everything came back. The fire, the burned paintings, Jacobs disregard for Master Hale, and most of all my dead child.

My fingers curled slightly against the rug as my chest tightened.

I turned my head but no one was there. No one was checking up on me, not even a glass of water was laid out for me. I still remained in the same spot where Lily had knocked me out.

Slowly, I pushed myself up, my body protesting immediately as a sharp pain shot through my ribs.

I sucked in a breath, steadying myself until the dizziness passed, then swung my legs over the side of the bed.

The floor felt cold beneath my feet.

As I stepped out of the room, faint voices of the servants drifted in from down the hallway.

I didnt intend to listen, but my feet slowed on their own as the words became clearer.

Madam Lily said her foot hurt badly after she kicked Madam Erika. Young Master didnt even hesitate, he carried her out himself.

Thats expected. He looked so worried, like something serious had happened.

And Madam Erika?

There was a brief pause before someone responded, with a dismissive tone.

She fainted, didnt she? But no one called a doctor. Young Master doesn't care about her.

A soft chuckle followed.

Compared to Madam Lily, she doesnt matter.

I stood there quietly, listening without reacting. The words should have hurt, but they didnt.

There was no anger, no tears, just a strange emptiness that spread through me, like something inside me had already shut down.

After a moment, I turned and walked away as if I hadnt heard anything at all.

When I returned to the bedroom, I didnt hesitate. I went straight to the wardrobe and pulled it open.

Rows of neatly arranged clothes stared back at me, each one carefully selected, carefully bought, carefully given.

Most of them were from Jacob. The clothes he said suited me. The jewelry he claimed reminded him of me. Shoes he insisted I needed even when I said I didnt.

At the time, I thought they were gestures of love. Now, they felt like proof of how blind I had been.

I reached out and picked one. My fingers brushed against the fabric briefly before I folded it neatly and placed it into a box.

Then I picked another. Everything he had given me, I separated without hesitation, stacking them carefully as if they still held value, even though they meant nothing to me anymore.

Once I was done, I called out to one of the servants.

Arrange for these items to be picked up, I said calmly. Send some to the orphanage and the rest to the welfare home.

Yes, Madam.

I turned back to the wardrobe. This time, I focused on my own things.

I packed them into a suitcase. Soon, I'll be out of here.

As I sorted through the lower drawer, my hand paused when my fingers brushed against something hidden beneath a stack of documents.

I pulled it out and found a thin envelope that was easy to miss. At first, I opened it without much thought, but as I began to read, my breathing slowed.

Then stopped.

It was a legal documenta letter of forgiveness.

I read it again, more carefully this time, forcing myself to take in every word.

It detailed the hit-and-run accident that killed Master Hale. The perpetrator had been identified. The case had been settled. And according to the document, I had signed it myself and agreed to forgive her.

My fingers tightened around the paper. The name written there was Lily.

For a moment, my mind refused to process it. That wasnt possible. Jacob had told me the culprit was never found. He had looked me in the eyes and said he would make sure the person responsible paid for it.

I kept reading, my eyes scanning downward until they stopped at the bottom of the page.

My name and signature were there. My chest tightened sharply as my grip on the paper trembled.

I didnt sign this. I was certain of it. I didnt even know Lily was the one who caused the accident, so how could I have forgiven her?

Then suddenly, it clicked.

The island.

The gift Jacob had said he prepared for me.

Just sign here, he had told me with a soft smile. Its yours.

I hadnt questioned it. I hadnt read it properly. I had trusted him enough to sign without thinking.

A quiet, bitter laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

So that was how he did it. He didnt just hide the truth from me. He used me to bury it.

I could still hear his voice from that day, clear and steady in my mind.

I will find the person responsible.

I had been standing beside him, crying, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping me together.

I promise you, Erika. I wont let them get away with this.

I had believed him completely. Now I understood how wrong I had been.

The culprit had never been missing. She had always been here, living in the same house, standing right beside him, protected by him. And he knew. He had always known.

A surge of anger rose in my chest, stronger than anything I had felt since waking up.

For a moment, I wanted to walk straight out of the house, drag Lily outside, and take her to the police station myself.

I wanted to see her lose everything the same way she had taken everything from me.

But the impulse faded just as quickly as it came.

No, not yet.

I took out my phone and carefully took pictures of every page of the document.

Then I made a copy, ensuring everything matched perfectly before placing the original back exactly where I had found it.

Nothing out of place. Nothing that would make them suspicious.

I had just returned to packing when the door opened and Jacobs voice broke the silence.

What are you doing?

Jacobs voice broke the silence.

I didnt turn immediately. I folded the clothes in my hand calmly before placing them into the box, then looked up at him.

These are too old, I said evenly. I cant use them anymore, so Im giving them away. Some to the orphanage, some to welfare homes.

He stepped further into the room, glancing at the boxes, his brows knitting slightly in confusion.

Youre getting rid of all of this?

I dont need them, I replied.

He watched me for a moment before nodding, though there was still something uncertain in his expression.

Thats fine, he said, then after a pause, he added, About what happened earlier Lily didnt do it on purpose.

I stilled for a fraction of a second. Even now this was what he chose to say.

She thought you were going to hit me, he continued, his tone firm. You know how she is. She reacts without thinking.

I nodded slowly, keeping my expression neutral.

I understand, I said.

The words came out smooth, without resistance as if I truly meant them.

Jacob seemed to relax slightly at my response, clearly satisfied.

I knew you would, he said.

I didnt reply. Instead, I reached into the drawer and took out the divorce document.

Then I walked over and handed it to him.

Sign this.

He glanced at it briefly, not even bothering to read the contents.

What is it?

I want to buy a brand, I said calmly. To commemorate our dead child.

Something flickered across his face, but it didnt last.

You can buy whatever you want, he said. But dont dwell on this too much. Well have children again.

My fingers tightened slightly at his words, but my expression didnt change.

Sign it, I repeated.

He nodded, he didn't even read it. He simply took the pen and signed his name.

Just like that, three years of marriage reduced to a signature he didnt even care to look at.

I took the document back, my grip steady. In my mind, the words formed clearly.

We will never have children again. We will never have a future.

Before I could say anything else, his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

Lily, his voice softened instantly, Whats wrong? Your foot I'm coming.

Without another word, he turned and left without hesitation.

I stood there for a long time, the signed paper in my hand, my suitcase half-packed beside me, then I smiled.

Very soon he will wish he had read the document.

Erikas Pov

After Jacob left, I didnt move immediately.

I stood there for a while, the signed document still in my hand, letting the silence settle around me before I finally walked to the desk and picked up my phone.

I dialed Barrister John. The call connected quickly.

Ive signed it, I said calmly. And so has he. Ill send the documents over now.

Ill prepare everything on my end, he replied.

Theres something else, I added, my voice lowering slightly. I found out the truth about my mentors death.

There was a brief pause on the other end.

What do you mean?

It wasnt an unsolved hit-and-run, I said. The driver confessed. The case was settled. And the person responsible is Lily.

The silence this time was heavier.

I have proof, I continued. And I want to file a lawsuit. Against Jacob for covering it up and against Lily for the accident.

Barrister John inhaled slowly. Understood. Well proceed carefully.

Im leaving soon, I said. On the day I leave, I want everything to come out. I want the truth exposed.

It will be done.

I ended the call and immediately sent him the scanned divorce agreement along with the evidence I had copied earlier.

My phone buzzed again. It was a message from Lily.

For a moment, I stared at the screen without opening it. I already knew it wouldnt be anything good. She had never sent me anything unless it was meant to hurt.

I almost ignored it but then I picked up my phone and saw it was a video so I opened it.

My fingers hovered over the screen for a second before I pressed play.

The room in the video was familiar. It was the masters bedroom, my old room, the one she had taken.

The camera angle was careless, as if it had been placed there on purpose just to capture everything.

The sheets were a mess, the lights dim, and both of them were under the covers, bare shoulders exposed, their bodies close enough that there was no need to guess what had just happened.

Lily leaned against Jacobs chest, her fingers tracing slow, lazy patterns against his skin.

Do you think Erika suspects anything? she asked softly.

Jacob let out a quiet scoff.

Even if she does, what difference does it make? he said flatly. Shes not exactly the type to do anything about it.

Lilys lips curved slightly, her tone turning gentle in a way that didnt match her expression.

Dont say that shes your wife after all.

Jacob didnt hesitate.

Everything with her feels forced, he said. Even in bed, shes stiff. Boring.

My grip tightened around the phone.

Lily let out a soft gasp, like she was surprised, but her fingers didnt stop moving against his chest.

Dont be too hard on her, she murmured. After all shes already lost everything.

Her voice was soft, almost kind. But the satisfaction beneath it was unmistakable.

Jacob let out a low chuckle. Lets stop talking about her. Come and ride me, baby girl.

Lily giggled and I watched as she straddled him and the video went dark but their moans still sounded loudly until it ended.

For a moment, I just stared at my reflection on the screen.

Slowly, I let out a breath. Then I smiled faintly. She really thought this would hurt me.

Maybe it would have before my child died. Before they burned everything I had left of Master Hale. Before I learned the truth.

Now it felt distant. Like watching two strangers.

If anything, she had just handed me more evidence.

I saved the video immediately and forwarded it to Barrister John without hesitation.

Let her provoke me. Soon, she would understand what it cost.

I had just set my phone down when the door burst open.

Why are you still here?!

My mothers voice cut sharply through the room as she walked in, my father following closely behind.

You should be in the kitchen! she snapped. Lily just gave birth. She needs proper nutrition. Where is the soup?

I looked at them quietly. Not a single question about my condition. Not a single glance at my injuries.

Just Lily. Always Lily.

Youve always been useless, my father added coldly. If you cant even take care of your sister properly, what use are you?

I held their gaze for a moment before lowering my eyes slightly.

Ill go make it now, I said calmly.

My mother huffed. It should have been done already.

I didnt respond. There was no need to argue and make them suspect my plans of leaving so I simply turned and walked out.

By evening they were all back. Lily, Jacob, and my parents. I set the dining table for them with the soup I've made.

Lily sat beside Jacob, leaning slightly against him, her expression soft and delicate.

My mother kept placing food into her bowl.

Eat more, she said gently. You need to recover.

My father nodded. Youve done well giving birth. This family finally has an heir.

An heir.

The word lingered in the air. I lowered my gaze to my plate.

Across from me, Jacob reached out and adjusted Lilys position slightly, his voice soft.

Be careful. Dont strain yourself.

Lily smiled at him sweetly. Im fine. As long as youre here.

My grip on the spoon tightened slightly. Then Lily suddenly looked at me.

Sister, she said softly, thank you for making the soup. It really helped.

Her eyes met mine. There was no gratitude in them, only mockery.

Im glad it helped, I replied calmly.

She smiled wider. Youve always been so considerate. Even after everything, you still take care of me.

My mother sighed. Thats how she should be. Youre her sister.

I didnt say anything, I simply continued eating.

After dinner, I went upstairs. I had just reached the corridor when I heard footsteps behind me.

Erika.

It was Lilys voice.

I turned slightly. She stood at the top of the stairs, watching me with that same smile.

Are you really okay? she asked softly. After everything?

Im fine, I replied.

She stepped closer.

Thats surprising, she said lightly. I thought youd be more broken.

I said nothing.

Her expression darkened slightly.

You always act like this, she continued. Like nothing affects you. Its annoying.

Still, I didnt react.

Something in her eyes flickered. Fine, you'll regret this.

Then suddenly she screamed. Her body tilted backward as if she had lost her balance and in the next second, she fell down the stairs.

Ah!

Her cry echoed through the house.

I stood there, unmoving as footsteps rushed toward us.

Lily! Jacobs voice was filled with panic as he ran forward, dropping to her side.

She clutched his arm, tears streaming down her face.

Jacob she pushed me she sobbed. I didnt do anything I just wanted to talk to apologize

His head snapped up, his gaze locking onto me. Rage filled his eyes.

What did you do?! he shouted.

Before I could respond, he stood abruptly and walked past me into the room.

My heart skipped when I saw what he picked up.

The urn, Master Hales ashes.

My breath stopped.

Jacob held it in his hand, his expression cold.

Apologize, he said. Right now.

My chest tightened.

Put it down, I said, my voice trembling slightly.

Apologize to Lily, he repeated. Or Ill smash it.

Something inside me cracked.

Jacob, dont

Apologize!

Im sorry! I said quickly, my voice breaking. I didnt push her. Im sorry!

But it didnt matter. The urn slipped from his hand and shattered on the ground.

The sound echoed louder than anything else. For a moment, I couldnt breathe. I stared at the ashes scattered across the floor, my mind going blank.

Then the pain hit. It was so overwhelming that my knees weakened slightly as I took a step forward, my hands trembling.

My voice came out barely above a whisper.

That was all I had left, all that remained of him. Now it is gone again.

I dropped to my knees, my fingers shaking as I tried to gather the ashes, but they slipped through my hands just like everything else had.

Jacob stared at me, a stunned look on his face.

Erika, I didn't he started to say but Lily cried louder behind me.

Jacob, it hurts

He turned immediately, all his attention shifting back to her as he ignored me.

Its okay, he said softly. Im here.

I remained on the floor, surrounded by what was left of my mentor.

For the first time since waking up, the numbness cracked. Tears fell silently as my shoulders trembled.

But no one saw and no one cared because to them, I had already lost everything.

If only they knew how wrong they were.

Erikas Pov

The next morning, I left the house without telling anyone. The driver dropped me off at the cemetery, and I walked straight to his grave without stopping.

I didnt have the strength to hesitate anymore.

Master My voice came out hoarse as I stood in front of the tombstone.

For a moment, I just stared at his name, my chest tightening in a way that made it hard to breathe.

Im leaving, I said quietly. This time, I wont come back.

My fingers brushed against the cold stone, and the memories came all at oncehis voice, his patience, the way he used to guide my hand when I painted.

I found out the truth, I continued, my voice shaking despite myself. I know who killed you.

My throat tightened.

And he knew too.

The words hurt more when spoken out loud.

I trusted him and he protected her.

A tear slid down before I could stop it.

Im sorry, I whispered. I couldnt protect anything. Not you not my child

My chest tightened painfully.

If you were still here My voice faltered. You wouldnt have let anyone treat me like this.

My voice broke completely this time. For a second, I couldnt speak at all. Then I forced the words out.

But I wont let it end like this.

I took a step back, my chest rising and falling unevenly.

This is the last time I come here.

I turned and walked away. I didnt look back.

I barely made it out of the cemetery gate when a van stopped abruptly beside me.

Before I could react, the door slid open and rough hands grabbed me, dragging me inside.

Let go!

A cloth was pressed over my mouth, cutting off my voice. The sharp smell filled my nose, and within seconds, my strength gave out.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was Lilys unconscious body in the van before everything went dark.

When I woke up, my head throbbed painfully.

The room was dim, the air damp and suffocating. My hands were tied behind me, and the rough floor beneath me sent a chill through my body.

Voices echoed nearby.

Shes awake.

Good. Call him.

A phone was put on speaker.

Jacobs voice came through almost immediately, tense and sharp. Who is this?

We have two women, one of the kidnappers said casually. Lily and Erika. One hundred million for each of them.

I froze. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else.

With those words, the call ended abruptly. The kidnappers turned to stare at us. Lily was sobbing pitifully.

I didnt know how much time had passed when the door suddenly opened again.

I lifted my head weakly to see Jacob. He looked disheveled, his hair slightly messy, his shirt wrinkled like he had rushed here without thinking.

His eyes scanned the room before landing on me. Relief flickered across his face.

Erika he said, stepping closer.

My throat tightened instantly. He actually came for me.

I brought the money, he continued quickly, his voice low, almost rushed. Just hold on a little longer, okay? Ill get you out of here.

My fingers twitched against the rough rope binding my wrists.

For a moment, hope flared in my chest but it died quickly with his next words.

Release Lily.

Those words echoed louder than anything else.

I looked at him.

You chose her, I said quietly.

He froze.

Its not like that he started.

But even he didnt sound convinced.

I didnt have enough time, he added quickly. The money I could only arrange part of it. I had to get Lily out first, she

Shes dying, I finished for him.

The same excuse again.

My chest tightened painfully.

And what about me? I asked.

Ill come back for you, he said finally, his voice firm now, like he was trying to convince both of us. Just endure it for a while longer.

Lilys voice trembled beside me. No Jacob, dont do this. I dont want anything to happen to her

Youre too good for this world, Lily, Jacob said to her, then he turned to me, Ill be back.

Then he turned and left with Lily without sparing me a second glance.

I lowered my head slightly, my chest tightening until it hurt to breathe.

What was the point of pretending now?

He had already proven it.

He chose her life over mine.

Just like he chose her child over mine.

Looks like your man doesnt love you that much.

Laughter filled the room.

Rough hands grabbed my arm, pulling me up harshly before throwing me back down again. Pain shot through my side, sharp enough to make my vision blur.

Wait, one of them said, crouching in front of me. Did you see that? He came all the way here and still left you behind.

Another laugh.

Must feel good.

I clenched my teeth, my body trembling as I tried to steady my breathing.

My chest rose and fell unevenly, my fingers shaking uncontrollably as the weight of everything pressed down on me.

They didnt need to touch me to hurt me. Jacob already had.

Time lost meaning after that.

They dragged me, stripped me bare, flogged me for hours then left me cold without food or water, mocking me every time I struggled to stay conscious.

They didnt stop and I lost track of time, I only knew pain.

Every time I thought it was over, it came again. My body couldnt keep up.

My breathing turned uneven, my chest rising and falling too fast, too shallow like it couldnt get enough air.

Stay awake, someone laughed. Dont pass out yet.

My fingers scraped weakly against the floor. I was so cold. I curled in on myself, but it didnt help.

Nothing helped.

Wheres that man now? another voice mocked. Didnt he say hed come back?

A laugh burst out of someone.

She is so pathetic.

My chest tightened violently. I couldnt breathe.

I tried but it felt like something was crushing me from the inside.

My vision blurred as tears slipped out uncontrollably. I pressed my forehead against the cold floor, my shoulders trembling.

I didnt know how long it had been when the door was suddenly kicked open.

Police! Dont move!

Voices shouted and footsteps rushed in. Someone cut the ropes binding my wrists.

Erika!

I forced my eyes open.

Lina I whispered.

My best friends face came into view, pale and shaken. Im here. Youre safe now.

I tried to respond but my voice wouldn't come out as I gave in to the darkness.

Erikas Pov

When I opened my eyes I was in the hospital again. My body felt heavy, every movement dragging against something deep and sore. My throat was dry, my lips cracked.

Erika

I turned my head slowly.

Lina was staring at me. Her eyes were red, like she hadnt slept.

Youre awake, she said, grabbing my hand tightly. Do you know how long youve been out?

I tried to speak. My voice came out weak and hoarse.

how long?

Two days.

My fingers stilled.

Two days? I had to leave the following day.

And Jacob? I asked.

Linas expression changed.

He didnt come, she said quietly.

The words didnt hurt as much as I expected. Maybe because I already knew.

Linas grip tightened. Why are you still with him, Erika? After everything? He isolated you from everyone. He made you cut me off. And you still

Ill be fine, I said softly.

Lina nodded, but she didn't say another word. She gave me my phone instead.

Its been buzzing non-stop for two days. I don't think it's Jacob though, she said.

I collected my phone and saw several worried text messages from my grandfather.

Where are you, Erika?

I'm worried about you.

I've arranged for you to leave tomorrow evening. If I don't hear back from you by nightfall I'll come myself.

I sent him a quick reply. Im fine, grandpa, just a slight hiccup. I need to round up things here today so I can leave tomorrow. See you soon.

After sending the message and assuring Lina that I was fine and that she could go home, I traced the doctors office and went in.

He looked up, annoyeduntil he saw me. His face was drained of color.

You

I stepped inside and closed the door. Then I placed my phone on the table and started a video recording.

My name is Erika Creighton, I said calmly. Heiress to the Creighton Empire.

His lips trembled.

Ill give you one chance, I continued. Tell me the truth.

I I dont know what

You dont want me as your enemy, I warned.

His hands started shaking.

Ill destroy everything you have, I added quietly. Your license. Your career. Your family wont be safe from what comes after.

Ill talk! he said quickly.

Say it.

His voice shook.

Lilys child didnt need the transplant.

My breathing stopped.

What?

Her son was fine, he stammered. There was no life-threatening condition. It wasnt necessary.

I stared at him, my brain refusing to understand.

Say it again.

The baby didnt need it! he cried. Lily insisted! She said she wanted she wanted your child gone.

The room tilted. My fingers gripped the edge of the table.

So my son didn't have to die at all.

My legs gave out. I caught myself on the table, my entire body shaking violently now.

So you killed an innocent child for nothing, I whispered, my voice trembling.

Tears blurred my vision as the doctor fell to his knees.

She threatened my family! I had no choice

You had a choice and you chose to kill my child! I yelled.

He broke down completely.

Im sorry! Please

I wont spare you.

I picked up my phone and called the lawyer.

Ive found the doctor and he's confessed. Have him arrested, I have evidence to back up his crimes.

When I got back to the mansion I braced myself. I needed to keep a neutral expression so they wouldn't suspect anything.

But when I stepped into the sitting room I saw all of them waiting for me. Jacob, Lily, and my adopted parents.

What did you do? my mother snapped.

My heart skipped a bit as I wondered if maybe they've somehow caught onto my plans.

What are you talking about?

You set it up! my father shouted. The kidnapping! Just to get attention!

I exhaled inwardly. It was just another one of Lilys cheap tricks.

You even endangered Lily! my mother continued. Do you know how fragile she is?

Fragile? I almost laughed.

How do you even know I did what you're accusing me of? I asked, rolling my eyes.

Jacob stepped forward, his eyes cold.

The kidnappers were caught and they confessed that you hired them! Jacob snapped.

Lily stumbled forward, Please, sister, spare me.

This is your last warning, Jacob said coldly. Behave yourself. Or Ill make you regret it.

Then he placed the baby in my arms.

Take care of him and make yourself useful. Were going out and will be back soon, he said.

With those words, they all walked out of the house leaving me alone with the baby.

I looked down at the baby. The baby was warm and breathing softly, he was alive.

My arms tightened slightly and my chest burned as the child made baby noises.

My son wasn't alive because this babys mother had him killed. My vision blurred as I pressed my lips together, trying to stop it.

But the tears came anyway and soon the baby started crying with me.

Im sorry I whispered, sobbing, Its not your fault, you're just an innocent baby. You didn't ask for any of this.

I managed to calm myself and the baby down when my phone buzzed.

It was a notification from Lily. She had posted a video showing her and Jacob watching the fireworks, her head leaning against his shoulders.

The caption read, Five years and he's never missed bringing me to watch the fireworks. Thank you for always bringing me here, my sweetest best friend.

Five years? My fingers tightened as a startling realization dawned on me.

Three years ago I rescued Lily and brought her back into this house. But even before then, Jacob had always been disappearing on this very day every year claiming he had work.

My breath hitched. So it wasn't recent, or accidental, it wasn't even a mistake. He had been with her all along, from the very beginning.

A bitter laugh escaped me as bile rose in my throat. It hurt so much it felt like my chest was being torn open.

It was clear now, it had always been Lily.

Later that night I was trying to rest when I heard doors slamming open and Lilys terrified voice.

Somethings wrong the baby the baby isn't breathing!

Everything moved fast after that. Jacob rushed straight to my room with Lily and the baby.

What did you do?! he shouted.

I didn't do anything

You were the only one here with him when we went out! he snapped.

I would never

Confess! he roared, Youve always been jealous because your child died and her own survived.

I stared at him, my chest tightening at his words.

So this is what you think of me. You think Im capable of this?

Lily started crying, Please, sister, hurt me but spare my child.

I scoffed, Im not like you, Lily. I would never hurt an innocent child.

Jacobs face was red with anger as he glared at me. Enough of your cruelty, Erika. I warned you to behave, maybe a few nights in jail will teach you a lesson, and pray nothing happens to my son.

The next thing I knew Jacob called the cops, they handcuffed me and took me to the station even as I screamed of being innocent he ignored me.

The cell was cold and damp. The policemen refused to let me make any calls.

I curled up like a ball at night and tried to sleep when I heard a noise.

Everything happened so quickly as three female prisoners broke into my cell and beat me up, kicking my chest and my ribs until I couldn't cry out anymore.

That's when one of them pulled out something. I saw the sharp glinting end of the blade as she grinned evilly at me.

Lily paid us to kill you, you must have been a real bitch to her. She said you should die already and rot in hell!

Before I could speak, something pierced into me.

I let out a shrill scream, my body jerking as warmth spread quickly beneath me.

Heavy footsteps and voices sounded around me but everything blurred together, as my eyes threatened to close.

I was rushed to the hospital and the nurses kept yelling I shouldn't close my eyes.

I drifted in and out of consciousness but I was able to pick up a little bit of conversation.

Jacob was shouting, All doctors should attend to my son.

But sir, an inmate was stabbed. She's severely wounded and could die, one of the doctors was saying.

Whats a prisoners life compared to that of my son. Save my son, the inmates life is worthless, he said coldly.

Even now, he still chose to save Lily and her son, once again tossing me aside.

I was kept aside and left to bleed out. A nurse pitied me and bandaged my injury.

My vision blurred as I reached for my phone.

Grandpa

My voice was barely a whisper.

Come get me

By the time the door burst open again, I was fading. The lawyer and driver were beside me in an instant.

Erika! Stay with me! the lawyer said as he lifted me gently.

I forced my eyes open and I gripped his hand.

I dont care anymore I whispered, Release everything. I want them ruined.

The last thing I saw was the lawyer nodding to my words before darkness closed in.