On my brother’s birthday,I waited at the banquet hall for ten long hours,only to receive the news that he had been murdered.And the shock triggered my third miscarriage.
Before being rushed into surgery,I begged Tom Howard,my husband,to search for my brother’s killer.
He held me in his arms tenderly and swore that he would bring the murderer to justice.
However,when I regained consciousness,I overheard his conversation with his secretary.
“President Howard,what should we do with this surveillance footage?”
Without hesitation,Tom replied coldly,”This footage records the whole process of Alice killing Collin Jones.So,it must be destroyed.”
“But…how are we going to explain this to Madam?”
“The only thing that matters now is making sure the evidence is destroyed and Alice doesn’t get caught.As for Lucy Jones,my wife…she won’t find out.”
Turned out,my brother’s murderer was Alice Morris and for her sake,my husband destroyed the evidence.
I took out my phone and,with trembling fingers,I called the number that had been buried deep in my contacts.
“I accept your proposal,but on one condition…we join forces to bring down the Howard Group!Help me gather evidence of Alice murdering my brother and send her to prison.I want to eradicate them all!”
“Deal.But I can only return to the country in seven days.I’ll find you then.”
1
After the call,the conversation continued outside my hospital room.Tom’s voice was cold and detached,“This matter ends here.Collin died for the sake of my child with Alice.He died for a worthy cause.”
There’s regret in the doctor’s voice,”President Howard,the surgery was successful.We terminated Madam’s third pregnancy.But making her lose three children in succession…isn’t that a bit cruel?”
Tom’s icy tone filled with cruelty,”Lucy is my legal wife and I have given her status and privilege.I made her undergo three abortions,so Alice would be the only one who could bear my heir.This is my compensation and promise to her.”
“Besides,she won’t notice anything amiss with this miscarriage.From now on,I’ll ensure she doesn’t conceive again.That way,she won’t have to endure the agony of miscarriage any longer.”
After hesitating,the doctor finally said,”This is Madam’s third abortion and it has severely damaged her uterus.I’m afraid…she may never bear children again.”
Tom’s lips curled sinisterly.“Isn’t that even better?Only if she can’t give birth will Alice and my child be able to enter legally into the Howard Family and become its sole heir.”
His ruthless words shattered the last ounce of my love for him.
Gradually,the voices outside the ward faded.
Tom merely glanced at me through the glass before rushing impatiently to another room to see the child he had with Alice.
Tears streamed down my face,soaking my pillow.
I had thought this miscarriage was due to my emotional turmoil,but it was actually because of Tom’s order.
I clenched my fists,forcing myself to stay composed.
When I accepted his proposal,his eyes filled with tears as he promised to cherish me for the rest of his life.
Yet now I realized this marriage had been nothing but my own delusion from the very beginning—he had never loved me at all.
My phone vibrated,receiving a message from that person.
[Within seven days,I’ll help you pull out all your assets from the Howard Group.You can then use the Jones Consortium’s name to crush them.But…have you thought about how you’ll explain this to Tom?]
I paused a while,then replied calmly.[There’s no need for explanation.After all,I’m divorcing him soon.]
Apparently,the person from the other side did not expect this answer because he was shocked into silence.
I gave a self-mocking chuckle and called my lawyer,“Hello,draft a divorce agreement for me.”
Just as the lawyer delivered the divorce papers,Alice sauntered into my hospital room,smugness written all over her face.
She looked down at me with undisguised arrogance in her eyes.”Tom,how does it feel to be lying in a hospital bed?”
I frowned.“What are you doing here?”
She set a thermos on the table;her smile was venomous.“Why…of course to bring you chicken soup.”
“Do you know what?You’ve held the title of Mrs.Howard for ten years.But now,I finally understand that so long as Tom’s heart belongs to me,I’m the one who truly wins.”
Her words stabbed my heart and I could not help but clench the miscarriage report in my hand.
She snatched the report from my grasp,then laughed triumphantly.“So you miscarried again?Losing your brother was bad enough,but you’ve also miscarried.”
As she said that,she pulled something from her pocket.“Does this look familiar?”
My pupils contracted sharply.
It was Collin’s watch!The one that I had given him on his eighteenth birthday.He’d always treasured it,wearing it only on his birthday.
“So,it was you…You really killed him!”
She didn’t answer.Instead,she loosened her fingers and the watch hit the floor with a sharp clatter.
I couldn’t take it anymore.I sprang up and grabbed her collar.
But the next second,a large hand appeared out of nowhere and shoved me down hard onto the bed.
Tom looked at me.With a hint of reproach,he said,”Lucy,what kind of madness are you doing?Alice came here out of kindness and brought you chicken soup,but you lashed out at her?”
My head slammed against the wall,sending sharp pain shooting through me,but I still struggled to sit up and point at the watch Alice had smashed on the floor.”Tom!That’s Collin’s watch!”
His expression softened slightly,but he replied,“It’s just a watch.If it’s broken,it’s broken.”
I slumped back onto the bed,numbly staring up at the man who looked at me with demeaning eyes.After all,to him,it was just a cheap watch from a street vendor,but to me,it meant more than life itself.
Then,he tried to leave,protecting Alice,who looked aggravated.
But I yanked his arm back and handed him the divorce agreement.”Sign this.”
With a frown,Tom took it.”What are you trying to extort this time?”
My hand froze midair.A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
Just as he leaned in to examine it,Alice let out a startled cry.And without a second thought,he scribbled his signature in sweeping strokes,tossed the agreement aside and hurried to Alice’s side,his face etched with concern.
I refused to watch their tender display.The moment I picked the agreement and started to leave,Tom yanked my arm back.
Before I could react,I met his icy gaze that locked into mine like a venomous snake.
“Lucy!Just because I didn’t help you find your brother’s murderer,how dare you lay your hand on my and Alice’s child?”
Huh?What kidnapping?
I shook my head instinctively,but before I could speak,Alice suddenly knelt before me with tears streaming down her face.
“Lucy,I know I shouldn’t have wanted Tom.Please give me back my child.I’ll take him away and never bother you again…”
Tom hugged her tightly,his face contorted with anguish.Though his eyes held a hint of reproach,his tone was incredibly gentle.”Alice!Don’t say that!Do you want to kill me?”
“Don’t worry about the child.I have a way to make her reveal his whereabouts.”Then,he picked up his phone and made a call.
Before long,a bodyguard respectfully placed a box into his arms.
That’s Collin’s urn!
Tom opened the window,extending his arm outside as the box dangled in midair.”Lucy,you have one minute to reveal the child’s whereabouts.Otherwise,you can forget about Collin’s ashes.”
My eyes widened in horror.He was actually threatening me with my brother’s ashes.
With everything that I had,I tried to wrest the urn from his grasp,but two bodyguards held me down,immobilizing me.
Coldness washed over me as my voice trembled,“I never kidnapped…”
“Thirty seconds left.”
As I looked at the familiar face before me,all I could feel was a profound unfamiliarity.”Tom,that’s the last thing Collin has left in this world.He was the most important person in my life!”
He let out a cold,merciless chuckle.“And have you ever considered that the child I had with Alice is very important to me?”
Of course.That child mattered so much to him that he was willing to destroy everything we had.
“Ten seconds left.Ten…nine…eight…seven….”
When he reached the last number,he poured out Collins’s ashes.The wind carried them away and gradually disappeared completely.
I broke free from the bodyguards’grip and threw myself desperately toward the window.
At that very moment,Alice’s phone rang once more.
“Tom!They found our child!”
Without sparing me a single glance,Tom turned around and left with Alice.
Watching his eager retreating figure,I suddenly recalled our past.
He and I had been childhood sweethearts.However,although we had been in love for twenty years,we could not withstand fate’s intervention.
Before,our relationship had been strong.Once,for ninety-nine consecutive days,he gave me roses,just because they were my favorites.
Once,he had personally designed a one-of-a-kind diamond ring,because he knew I craved something different.He even teared up when proposing to me.
But the man who loved me so fiercely had betrayed me three times.
The first time,he personally accompanied Alice to choose a gown,then brought her as his date to a banquet.When I frowned and confronted him,he claimed he couldn’t bear to take me to such an event,so he brought her instead.
And I believed him.
The second time,a friend told me they had seen him and Alice entering the same hotel.When I demanded divorce,his eyes reddened as he explained,“I was drugged at the banquet.Alice was just helping me out of kindness.But I’ve already given her a house and a car.There won’t be any further contact between us.”
And again,I believed him.
But this time…I learned the truth.He and Alice already had a child together.
Since he no longer loves me,I can let go of our past affection and discard everything connected to him.
I went downstairs and picked up the urn.As I stared at the empty urn,I let out a bitter laugh before hailing a cab to the cemetery.
When I returned home after handling everything,I found two extra people in the villa’s living room.
Alice sat on the sofa,cradling her child,while Tom watched them with tender eyes.They looked every bit like a real family of three.
I walked past them expressionlessly,heading to the stairs.
“Stop!”
Tom’s icy voice rang out.
I halted and spun around to face him.
“Do you know why I brought Alice and Marco,our child,back to the villa?”His gaze seemed to accuse me of being unreasonable.
I scoffed coldly.“I don’t know and I don’t want to know.”
“Because you kidnapped our baby.He was terrified and has been crying nonstop ever since.As his mother,Alice,has been constantly worried.And all of this is because of you!”
“So,Lucy…apologize to them.
I lifted my head calmly.“And if I refuse?”
The moment I said that,Alice spoke softly and weakly,”Tom,let it go.No matter how Lucy treats us,I deserve it.I shouldn’t have clung to you all this time.”
Immediately,Tom’s face filled with a headache.He held her tightly and lowered his head to soothe her with a soft whisper,“Don’t be so cautious.With me here,no one dares to bully you.”
Just then,the family doctor came near.Tom glanced at Alice before rising to leave.“You don’t like hearing these things.I’ll discuss it with the doctor outside.”
After he left,only I,Alice and their baby remained in the living room.
In an instant,the hurt expression vanished from Alice’s face,replaced by a smug,triumphant look.
“Lucy,did you see that?”she declared,lifting her chin.“Just one little lie from me and Tom scattered your brother’s ashes.The one he loves is me.”
Her words stabbed through me,but I forced myself to speak,”So what?You gave him a child,but the position of Mrs.Howard is still mine,isn’t it?”
Instantly,Alice flared with anger,her eyes blazing with fury as she glared at me.
Just then,the sound of Tom returning echoed from outside.
A flash of malice flickered in Alice’s eyes.Suddenly,she released her grip and let Marco fall from a great height.
“Ah!My child!”
She screamed and collapsed to the floor.
When Tom entered the room,he saw Alice picking up Marco from the floor with trembling hands.Her eyes filled with anguish and tears.
“Lucy!You’re bullying them again!”
His brow furrowed with fury as he raised his arm high,delivering a hard slap across my face.
I stared at him in disbelief.“I didn’t do it.Alice herself,who threw Marco to the floor.If you don’t believe me,check the surveillance footage.”
I pointed at the security camera in the corner,my eyes fierce with defiance.
Tom sneered coldly.“Fine.As you wish.Check it!”
Before he could summon the butler,Alice grabbed his arm.There was panic in her voice,“Tom,can you check on Marco?What’s wrong with him?He won’t stop crying.”
I caught the subtle movement of her hand pinching the baby,but I didn’t speak up or expose her.After all,Tom would never believe me anyway.
He took the child from Alice’s arms and gently soothed him.Then he looked up at me with eyes cold enough to freeze blood.“Don’t worry.I’ll see justice done for both of you.”
He then beckoned two bodyguards,who then seized my shoulders and forced me to kneel before Alice.
I struggled desperately.“I didn’t hurt either of them!Check the surveillance footage!”
But he seemed blind to my pleas and replied coldly,“I trust Alice.She wouldn’t lie.It’s you who’s always resented her.”
My forehead slammed hard against the floor.The wound throbbed faintly,yet that pain paled beside the agony within my heart.
Only after I was forced to the ground for the ninety-ninth time did Tom nod in satisfaction,then leave with Alice and their child.
Before departing,he glanced at me and said,“Lucy,you’ve been acting rather unreasonable lately.So,I won’t be coming back these next few days.”
Like he had said,Tom didn’t return to the villa for the next few days,nor did he send me a single text message.Instead,it was Alice who sent me countless photos every day of her and Tom kissing at sunset,strolling hand-in-hand through the streets and watching movies together.They even took Marco to early education classes together.
They looked like a real married couple,their eyes brimming with adoration for their child.
During those days,I gathered up everything connected to Tom and threw it all away.If Alice wanted a fickle man like him,she could have him.
That evening,I stepped out of the mall with shopping bags and stood by the roadside waiting for a bus.Suddenly,a dazzling,magnificent firework bloomed in the sky above.Following the fireworks,a few words appeared in large letters,”Happy Birthday,darling.”
Seeing the driver had pulled up alongside me,I did not have time to think before I opened the door,ready to get in.
But just then,a screech of brakes pierced the air.When I turned around,I saw an out-of-control car barreling straight toward me.
My pupils contracted sharply,but my legs refused to move.
In a dizzying whirl,I was knocked to the ground and pain ripped through me.
I fumbled for my phone and dialed 911.As time ticked by,my consciousness gradually faded.
Just as I was about to lose consciousness,my phone vibrated violently.When I answered the phone,all I heard was the doctor’s deeply apologetic voice.
“I’m terribly sorry,Miss.Today is President Howard’s wife’s birthday.To set off fireworks for her,President Howard ordered all roads in the city closed.We might not make it in time.”
Before I could process who this”President Howard”was,another firework bloomed in the sky and this time,the words spelled,”Happy Birthday,Alice,from Tom,who loves you.”
I let out a bitter laugh as the call ended,feeling my body grow colder by the second.
When I opened the chat window with Tom and was about to type something,an unknown number sent me a video.
It was filmed on a beach,suggesting it was filmed recently.In the video,Alice was crying bitterly.“Though Marco is fine this time,he’s so young…Lucy really put him through a lot…”
Tom raised his hand and wiped away her tears tenderly.”Stop crying.Didn’t I make her apologize to you and Marco that day?”
He stopped for a while before adding,”If you feel it wasn’t enough,I’ll have her apologize again.”
She lifted her eyes and looked up at Tom timidly.”Since Lucy is out shopping today,could you…arrange a car accident for her?I just want her to taste the pain too.”
Tom hesitated.“I’ve closed all roads in the city for your fireworks display.If an accident happens,ambulances won’t be able to reach her.”
“It’s just a minor collision,”Alice coaxed,her eyes red-rimmed.“Nothing life-threatening.I’m just afraid that if she doesn’t learn her lesson,she’ll keep bullying our child.”
“I know Lucy is the Mrs.Howard in your heart and I’m just a distraction.But Marco is our only child.If anything happens to him,I won’t want to live either…”
After she spoke,she started running toward the sea.
Instantly,Tom pulled her into his arms.“Don’t say things like that.It’s not that I can’t bear to part with her.Whatever you want to do,I’ll support you.”
The video ended abruptly here,along with a message from Alice.
[Did you see it yourself,right,Lucy?Tom never liked you.To make me happy,he arranged a car accident for you and didn’t help you.]
[I remember that two days ago was your wedding anniversary,yet he was watching movies with me.And today,on my birthday,he lit up the whole city with fireworks for me.]
[If you still have any dignity left,step down from your position as Mrs.Howard immediately.]
I gripped my phone until my fingertips went white.Then,with a sharp crack,the phone fell to the ground.
I didn’t bother to pick it up;instead,I was gasping for breath.
Turned out,Tom orchestrated the accident to force me into apologizing to Alice and while I was lying on the road,fighting for life,he was setting off fireworks with Alice.
My blood,mingled with tears from my eyes,dripped onto the dirt.
As my heartbeat slowed,the last shred of feeling I had for Tom vanished completely….
***
When I woke up again,I was lying in a hospital bed.My phone lay silent beside me and Tom never sent me a single message.
Suddenly,the ward door swung open from the outside and someone entered.There was a hint of heartache in his eyes when he saw me,but all he said was,”I’ve withdrawn your funds from Howard Group over the past few days.You can leave now.”
I changed into the clothes he brought and placed the divorce papers on the table before leaving.
“Tomorrow,Howard Group has a crucial press conference.I want you to release the news of my withdrawal at that moment.I will make Howard Group go bankrupt because of Tom.”
Closing the hospital room door,I followed him out.
From this moment onward,Tom and I severed all ties between us.He would pay the price of his actions!
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