Three days after my boyfriend’s adopted sister died a tragic death, I clutched a so-called "hush money" check in my hand and became an accomplice in everyone’s eyes.

My boyfriend once knelt in the pouring rain to beg me, and his sister’s five-year-old daughter cried and begged me to testify, but I refused them both.

Ten years later, when I was dying of cancer, my boyfriend had become a billionaire.

The first thing he did upon returning to the country was to forcibly extract my memories, even though I would suffer endless pain.

"Elara, you vain, heartless monster! Lily and I must have been blind to ever treat you like family!"

"Lily has been dead for ten years, and you’ve been walking free with that dirty money the whole time!"

"Today, I’m going to find out exactly who paid you off—the person you protected just for money!"

My boyfriend held a press conference to publicly crucify me for my crimes.

But after seeing the whole truth, he went completely insane.

Three days after my boyfriend’s adopted sister died a tragic death, I clutched a so-called "hush money" check in my hand and became an accomplice in everyone’s eyes.

My boyfriend once knelt in the pouring rain to beg me, and his sister's five-year-old daughter cried and begged me to testify, but I refused them both.

Ten years later, when I was dying of cancer, my boyfriend Keal Simpson had become a billionaire.

He founded a brain-computer interface tech company and developed a memory extraction device intended for the dead. If used on the living, it causes immense pain.

Yet, he chose me to be the subject for his first live demonstration of "Memory Regression."

Kael stood under the spotlight, a massive holographic screen behind him, facing countless flashing shutters and stunned media.

I, meanwhile, had just undergone a ten-hour cancer resection surgery when his secretary, Seraphina, forcibly dragged me from my hospital bed to this place.

I sat slumped in a cold wheelchair like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, pain pump and drainage tubes still attached to my body.

Seraphina clicked over on her high heels to stand behind me, her red-manicured hand resting on my pain pump.

"Quit playing dead, Elara."

Seraphina lowered her voice, dripping with malicious mockery. "Trying to fake an illness to get sympathy just to escape punishment? Who exactly are you putting on this show for?"

"Kael hates liars the most. You were healthy enough when you betrayed Lily and Keal for money back then, weren't you?"

The next second, at an angle the cameras couldn't catch, she violently ripped out the line connecting my pain pump!

"Ugh—!"

Intense pain hit me instantly. My vision went black, and I curled up in agony.

The crowd instantly erupted, but no one sympathized with me. There was only endless abuse:

"That's the woman? She watched that girl get murdered just for a hush money fee?"

"She grew up with the victim!"

"Because she covered it up, the real killer has been free for ten years!"

"Scum like her is a waste of air. Mr.Simpson is doing God's work!"

The overwhelming humiliation drowned me like a tide.

Kael stood on the high stage, watching my suffering coldly, his brow furrowed with nothing but disgust.

The person who hated me most in this world was the man I had loved for my whole life.

Ten years ago, Kael, his adopted sister Lily, and I were best friends who grew up together.

Until Lily died a tragic death and I concealed the cruel truth, shattering our relationship completely.

Suddenly, a small figure rushed out from backstage.

"Bad woman! You're a bad woman!"

It was Lily's daughter, Daisy, who was only five when Lily was murdered.

She cried her heart out, rushing up to pound my legs with her little fists.

"Uncle Keal says you killed Mommy! Why didn't you save her! Why are you so evil!"

"Daisy wants Mommy... Give me back my Mommy!"

The child's crying stabbed into my heart like a sharp knife.

I wanted to raise my hand to pat her head, but because of the intense pain, I didn't even have the strength to lift my arm.

Kael finally moved.

He strode down from the stage and pulled the weeping Daisy into his arms. Those eyes that used to look at me with deep affection now looked at me like I was a pile of trash.

"Elara, I gave you a chance."

His voice was low, carried through the microphone to the entire venue, devoid of any warmth.

"As long as you say who the killer was, I can let you die with some dignity."

"But even now, you're still keeping that person's secret."

Seraphina fanned the flames from the side, deliberately speaking loudly into the microphone:

"Mr.Simpson, what's there to say to a cold-blooded animal like her? She took that money and went abroad to live it up. Now she's back, probably just to blackmail you again!"

"For people like this, we have to use special methods."

Kael nodded and turned to face the global media, his voice stern:

"To give Daisy an answer, and to honor Lily's spirit in heaven."

"Today, I will demonstrate the company's new technology for the first time—'Memory Regression'."

The audience was in an uproar.

Everyone knew this technology forcibly extracted deep memories from the cerebral cortex and was usually only used on corpses that couldn't speak.

If used on a living person...

Seraphina's lips curled into a cruel smile as she explained to the media:

"Due to forced brainwave resonance, a living user will feel pain akin to having their whole body's bones crushed. But for an accomplice shielding a murderer, isn't that the perfect punishment?"

Hearing this, the blood drained from my already pale face.

I tried desperately to struggle, wanting to escape that hellish machine, but Seraphina pinned my shoulders down firmly.

"Kael... no..."

I used every ounce of strength to choke out a broken plea:

"Please... you can't extract my memories..."

Kael grabbed my wrist, his grip strong enough to crush my bones. He glared at me through gritted teeth:

"Scared?"

"Did you think about this day when you took that hush money?"

"It's not up to you anymore!"

I looked despairingly at the man I had spent my life protecting, tears streaming uncontrollably:

"Kael, trust me just this once, please..."

"That memory... you really can't see it."

Kael let out a scoff, his eyes bloodshot, looking as if he wanted to devour me alive:

"Trust you?"

"The biggest regret of my life is ever trusting a hypocrite like you!"

"Now, open your eyes and watch the big screen."

"I'm going to show the whole world exactly who that murderer is that you're protecting with your life!"

I screamed with the last of my strength:

"Please believe me... or else you'll regret it!"

Just then, chaos erupted.

"Beat that accomplice to death!"

"A life for a life!"

Several burly men dressed in black and wearing masks suddenly rushed out of the crowd. Claiming to avenge the victim, they held banners and screamed as they broke through the security line, heading straight for the stage.

The leader held a clear glass bottle high. The cap was off, and an unidentified liquid sloshed inside.

"Go to hell, Elara!"

The man's face twisted ferociously as he flicked his wrist. Under the spotlight, the clear liquid traced a deadly arc, splashing straight toward my face.

"Ah—it's acid!" Seraphina screamed in terror.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

Almost out of pure instinct, the moment he heard the word "acid," Kael's tall, imposing figure threw himself at me without a second of hesitation.

Subconsciously, he spread his expensive custom suit jacket, intending to use his broad back to shield me from the fatal blow.

However, that long-lost warmth never reached me.

"Kael! Don't!" Seraphina, who had been standing nearby, screamed. Her exquisitely made-up face was filled with terror and calculation.

In the nick of time, she grabbed Kael's arm tightly and pulled him back with all her strength.

"That's acid! It'll disfigure you!"

*Splash*—

The cold liquid splashed onto me without obstruction.

There was no expected smell of burning flesh, nor the soul-searing pain.

There was only a bone-piercing chill that instantly soaked through my thin hospital gown.

It was ice water.

It was even mixed with unmelted ice cubes that smashed heavily onto my fresh surgical wounds. Although it wasn't acid, for someone as frail as I was in that moment, this bucket of ice water was nothing short of torture.

Furthermore, the violent shove Seraphina used to pull Kael away caused me and my wheelchair to lose balance.

"Ah!"

I let out a short cry as I fell heavily from the wheelchair.

The ground happened to be covered in shards from a champagne tower that had been smashed during the chaos.

Countless sharp pieces of glass, like tiny mouths thirsty for blood, ruthlessly pierced my knees, palms, and even my cheeks.

I convulsed in pain. My freshly sutured surgical wounds seemed to burst open, and warm fluid flowed out along the drainage tube, mixing with the ice water on the ground.

"Elara!"

Kael regained his balance and looked back to see me lying in a pool of blood, his pupils constricting violently.

He subconsciously reached out, wanting to help me up. Those hands, usually so cold, were actually trembling slightly.

"Sir! Are you alright?"

Seraphina threw herself into his arms at just the right moment, blocking his view. Feigning extreme shock, she cried out:

"That scared me to death... that was a maniac! What if it really had been acid? I won't let you risk your life for a woman like her!"

Kael's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

Seraphina's words seemed to reawaken the hatred buried deep in his heart.

That's right.

I was the "murderer" who killed his sister, the "gold-digger" who betrayed him for money.

He shouldn't pity me; he should hate me.

When he looked up again, that trace of warmth in his eyes had vanished, replaced by an even more intense violence and disgust.

"Get those people out of here," he ordered the security guards coldly. Then, he strode over on his long legs, stopping right in front of me as I lay amidst the glass shards.

"Is this some kind of pity play, Elara?" Kael looked down at me condescendingly. "Did you actually hire people to stage this scene just to avoid the trial?"

I raised my head with difficulty. Blood flowed from my forehead into my eyes, blurring my vision.

His words felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

"No... I didn't..." I defended myself weakly.

"Enough!"

Kael suddenly exploded with rage. He squatted down abruptly and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his bloodshot eyes.

His grip was shockingly strong; I felt like my jawbone was about to shatter.

Yet, as he looked at my bleeding forehead, a trace of imperceptible painful struggle flashed deep in his eyes. But he immediately spoke coldly again, "Elara, I'm giving you one last warning."

He leaned close to my ear, his voice dropping very low:

"If you open your mouth now and give me the name of the murderer, I'll have you sent to the hospital immediately."

"But if you insist on guarding that secret to the death..."

His finger traced the wound on my face, picking up a smear of fresh blood, and his tone became chillingly terrified:

"I will force a neural connection."

"Do you know what that feels like?"

"It's not just pain. It's like death by a thousand cuts directly on your cerebral cortex. You'll feel every single nerve being snapped in two, your brain churned as if it were in a blender."

"The pain is equivalent to having your brain flayed alive."

"Even the toughest FBI agents can't last more than three seconds."

I began to tremble uncontrollably.

Not because I was afraid of the pain.

It was because I saw the utter destruction of trust in his eyes.

But I couldn't say it. The truth was too cruel; I couldn't bear to say the words.

I closed my eyes and shook my head in despair.

Seeing this, Seraphina squeezed her way over.

"Kael, just do it. She's beyond saving. After how good you and Lily were to her back then..."

She didn't finish her attempt to drive a wedge between us.

Kael's body suddenly went rigid.

He stared at me intently, seemingly trying to find a trace of remorse on my face, but all he saw was despairing resolve.

"Fine... have it your way."

He stood up and waved his hand to the technicians who were already on standby behind him.

Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward and dragged me out of the glass shards like a dead dog.

Ignoring the wounds covering my body, they roughly pinned me onto that cold iron chair.

With a *click*, the icy metal shackles locked around my wrists and ankles.

Seraphina stood to the side, her lips curling into a triumphant sneer.

"Enjoy this, Elara," she mouthed to me from an angle where no one else could see.

Seraphina marched straight to the console of the precision instrument.

"Mr.Simpson, it's been so long since the incident. Elara has undoubtedly buried the truth in the deepest recesses of her mind. Standard power levels won't breach her psychological defenses."

She announced this with feigned professionalism, though a cruel smirk played on her lips.

"We have to crank it up to the maximum threshold to force the extraction."

"It might be a little painful for her, but it won't kill her," she added. "For the sake of the truth, and to avenge Lily, it's our only option."

Kael's back stiffened slightly, but he didn't turn around, nor did he stop her.

Taking his silence as permission, Seraphina cast aside all restraint.

She slammed the dial all the way into the red zone!

"No—!"

My scream was torn to shreds by an even more violent agony before it could fully escape my throat.

Blood gushed frantically from my eyes, nose, ears, and even the corners of my mouth.

Yet, the blinded crowd below remained in a frenzy of righteous indignation.

They saw this as nothing more than karmic justice.

They splashed gasoline and paint onto the stage, their mouths spewing vicious curses at me.

"Stop faking it! This is what you owe Lily!"

"Let her die! How does someone like her have the nerve to keep living?"

Amidst the torrent of abuse, the massive holographic screen behind me finally lit up.

The static cleared, and clear memory visuals began to rewind, displayed before billions of people worldwide.

Everyone held their breath, waiting to see the ugly face of me squandering that massive hush money fee, living a life of debauchery.

Seraphina, acting like a commentator, couldn't wait to speak into the microphone:

"Look, everyone. This is what she did right after taking the money..."

However, the words caught in her throat.

What appeared on the big screen wasn't a luxury boutique or a sprawling mansion.

Instead, it was filled with swirling dust and a scorching construction site under the blazing sun.

In the footage, a younger version of me was dressed in tattered work clothes, carrying a load of red bricks heavier than my own body weight, struggling to move forward step by step.

My shoulders were ground into a bloody mess, leaving a bloody footprint with every step I took.

The scene shifted.

In a shady, illegal clinic late at night, I rolled up my sleeve to reveal an arm riddled with needle marks.

To exchange for a few hundred bucks, I drained my blood time and time again until I was pale as a ghost and passed out on the roadside, kicked out the door by the clinic owner like a piece of garbage.

A deathly silence fell over the entire venue.

This wasn't a wealthy woman living off hush money; this was a beggar living in hell!

I never spent a dime of that so-called "hush money." Instead, I donated it all directly to a charity foundation. That is why I had been so destitute for the past ten years.

To make ends meet, I took on every dirty, backbreaking job imaginable.

Years of exhaustion and erratic schedules eventually led to my cancer diagnosis. Life became even harder.

But right now, the excruciating pain made it impossible for me to open my mouth to explain.

"Th-this... how is this possible?"

Seraphina panicked for a second but immediately shrieked, "It's a sympathy ploy! She must have gambled all the money away, or maybe she was being chased by loan sharks! Yes, she's a degenerate gambler!"

The images continued to flow, rewinding to the third day after Lily's death.

That was the day everyone assumed I had taken the money and run.

On the screen, a dark alley in a torrential downpour appeared.

I wasn't counting money.

Instead, I was being dragged through the mud like a dead dog by several burly men in black suits and sunglasses.

"Sign it!"

The leader slammed a statement into my face, followed immediately by a barrage of punches and kicks.

"Someone has to take the fall for this!"

"Sign this non-disclosure agreement, and the money is yours. Otherwise, we'll make you disappear!"

In the footage, I was beaten black and blue, but I gritted my teeth and refused to yield.

"I didn't... I'm going to tell Kael the truth..."

"Still stubborn!"

A heavy punch from the man slammed into my abdomen. I curled up like a shrimp in agony, retching blood into the muddy water.

In reality, cold sweat broke out on Seraphina's forehead. She pointed at the screen and shouted her defense:

"See! This is definitely a deal gone wrong among thieves! They're fighting over the split!"

The next second, in the memory, the men stomped their heavy leather boots onto my hands to force my compliance.

The audience outside the screen could clearly hear the sickening *crack* of breaking bones.

Yet, I still didn't give in.

My hand bones were shattered; I would never play the piano again.

Seeing this, Kael felt a heart-wrenching pain that nearly knocked him off his feet.

He, too, had once reminisced about the melodies I used to play for him.

In the footage, the large man pulled something from his pocket.

It was a crumpled envelope—Kael's university acceptance letter.

"Elara, you don't want to see Kael give up on his dream school, do you?"

"Sign this statement, and we'll leave Kael alone. Otherwise, we'll ruin his entire life."

In the video, the look in my eyes changed instantly.

Staring at the paper that held Kael's dreams, I lunged forward like a madwoman to cradle it in my arms.

"Don't tear it! Please don't tear it!"

"I'll sign! I'll sign it! I'll do whatever you want."

"...I will absolutely never reveal the truth!"

In utter despair, I agreed to their demands and accepted the check.

Kael jerked his head up to look at me, bound to the chair and tortured to the brink of death. He stumbled.

"Stop... shut it down for a second!"

His voice trembled as he instinctively made a move to rush onto the stage.

"Kael! Get a grip!"

Seraphina grabbed his arm tightly, her shrill voice cutting through the air and halting his movement.

"Are you actually moved by this? Do you think she sacrificed herself for your future?"

"That's ridiculous! Think about who you were back then! You were a genius accepted into MIT! At nineteen, you wrote code worth a billion dollars. Apple, Microsoft, and ByteDance were all fighting to acquire your company."

"What university would reject you? How could your future possibly be in jeopardy?"

"This is nothing but a meaningless act of 'self-sacrifice' to make herself feel good!"

Seraphina's words were like poisonous vines, rapidly strangling Kael's wavering resolve.

"She knows your personality too well. That's why she staged this sob story—to make you feel indebted to her!"

"If she really cared about you, why didn't she just call the police? Why engage with those thugs?"

"Kael, don't forget Lily's death! Don't be fooled by this woman's acting!"

The step Kael had just taken froze in place.

He looked at the girl on the big screen fighting for him, but the pity in his eyes was gradually replaced by cold rationality.

It was true.

He was the chosen one; no one had ever truly been able to threaten his future.

In this moment, my sacrifice seemed to him not only stupid but reeked of calculation.

"You're right."

Kael took a deep breath, restoring his air of superior detachment, looking even more disgusted than before.

"I don't need this kind of worthless sacrifice."

"She really went to great lengths just to make me feel guilty."

He turned his back, refusing to look at me again, and spat out a single word:

"Proceed."

In that moment, amidst Kael's suspicion and the crowd's chatter, my heart went completely cold—colder than the freezing rain that soaked me to the bone.