Theodore knew I was here and what I was facing, yet he played dumb and even made Fred his accomplice.

However, I knew that Fred was the only person I could turn to for help now. "Fred, I really have been kidnapped! Please save me!" I almost cried into the phone, my voice incoherent with fear.

Fred, on the other end of the line, was still nonchalant. "Celeste, you can argue with Theodore all you want, but don't joke about such things. He's busy. You should be considerate of him."

I thought, 'Considerate? When he was busy riding in a hot-air balloon with Rosalie and when he pushed me into the sea, was I not considerate of him?'

However, I had no time to be angry, so I could only suppress my voice and speak into the phone with a hint of humble plea, "Fred, I really have been kidnapped. You and Theodore don't have to come. Just send someone over. Whether it's a hundred million or a few million dollars, it'll solve the problem, right?"

Fred sighed and answered with a hint of impatience, "Celeste, you weren't like this before. You can't play a trick like this to get Theodore's attention. His company went public recently. He's been really busy."

"Went public? He's with Rosalie! Why doesn't he just die?" I screamed into the phone, unable to control myself anymore. However, I was greeted by a beeping; Fred had hung up.

The despair was overwhelming. I looked at the dark snake pit and listened to the eerie hissing sound. I felt as if I would be entangled and devoured by countless icy snakes in the next second.

The kidnapper kicked me impatiently. "Why are you crying? Make a phone call! Get your husband to pay up and redeem you!"

The suffocating despair took hold of me again. The tragic experience of my last life was vivid in my mind. It was indeed difficult to veer things off their course. I tried to search my mind for any possible way out.

In my previous life, after I was kidnapped, Theodore still came after I pleaded desperately. He was about to take Rosalie around the world in a hot-air balloon he had rented. The two of them were already aboard, but Theodore rushed over at the last moment and reluctantly threw down a suitcase of money to redeem me.

I thought he still had some feelings for me, but what waited for me was an uncontrollable tragedy.

No sooner had Theodore rescued me than he got a call from Rosalie. She said, "Theodore, why did the rope snap? I'm still up in the air."

Theodore widened his eyes in horror and cried at the top of his lungs, "Turn off the burner. Hurry up... Turn off the burner..."

"What did you say? No... No..." These were Rosalie's last words. There was no signal at 30,000 feet aloft, and she eventually crashed with the hot-air balloon. Her body was said to have been completely disfigured and her brains mushed. There was not a trace of her once beautiful self.

Theodore held her body in the morgue for a day and a night without eating or drinking. When he came out, he forced a smile at me.

We were married, but it was only in name. He had not touched me in months. He saw me as an obstacle between him and Rosalie and wanted to kick me out. All I got from him was the cold shoulder.

I grew guilty after what happened. Rosalie was a human being, after all.

Seeing that I was at a loss, Theodore touched my head for the first time. "It has nothing to do with you. I forgot to secure the rope."

He did not blame me and said he would spend the rest of his life with me from now on.

It was one surprise after another during that period. He took me to a business event and bought me a beautiful dress for the first time. Then, he bought a yacht and said he would take me to Norwol for the weekend to see the northern lights.

For the first time, I found out how romantic he was and how lucky I was to be his woman. I looked forward to that day's arrival, but I was too naive. When I was enjoying the view on the north-bound yacht, he pushed me overboard.

The waters of the north were so cold that they hurt like arrows piercing the heart.

"Theodore, what are you doing? Pull me up." I found his eyes infinitely sinister—as if he wanted to tear me alive.

Theodore answered, "Celeste, you killed Rosalie. Do you know how scared she was, up there alone?"

"I was kidnapped. I didn't know anything! Please, Theodore. I don't want to stay here alone," I begged desperately, trying to climb up with all my strength.

However, he kicked me down with a more sinister look in his eyes. "Haha, I want you to experience what it's like to die in fear. This is a shark zone. You're going to be ripped to shreds."

Finally, he sailed away, leaving me shouting my lungs out. Later, I was exhausted and eaten alive by a pack of sharks.

It was not until my moment of death that I found out that Theodore had never accepted me. Rosalie had his entire heart, and not a shred was left for me.

I did not know he had a childhood sweetheart called Rosalie until we got married. Theodore had loved her since he was little and had always thought of her as his bride-to-be. However, he married me by mistake.

After we got married, Theodore habitually circled around Rosalie every day—including Valentine's Day, Independence Day, Christmas, New Year's Day... He abandoned me on all those occasions and hung out with her. Even in the middle of the night, he would get out of bed and go to her house to spend the night with her as long as Rosalie called.

They would've been the happiest couple without me, so I became a thorn in their flesh.

I was a little reluctant at first and tried stopping Theodore's behavior.

In return, he gave me a look of extreme disgust and rudely interrupted me, "I married you, yet you're still unsatisfied. Rosalie is an orphan. Why do you have no sympathy?" He spoke as if marrying me was already bestowing me a great gift.

"I'll cut you if you continue to dilly-dally!" The kidnapper's voice rang again, bringing me back to reality.

I didn't know what to do. If I called Theodore, would the same tragedy happen again? I was panicking as my mind raced.

Just then, I saw a figure moving at the entrance. It turned out to be Theodore's assistant, Peter Zimmer.

I shouted, "Help me!"

"Mrs. Lambert, are you really here?" Peter walked into the cave unfazed—as if it were not a dangerous kidnapping scene but a boring tea party.

I almost cried for joy as if I had just seen my savior, but what he said next made my heart sink instantly. "Mr. Lambert asked me to ask what the kidnapper would need in return for the release of a drama queen like you."

The kidnapper was obviously surprised as he looked at Peter wide-eyed, but he soon regained his composure. "Cut the crap. A hundred million dollars or you can collect Mrs. Lambert's corpse!"

Hearing the figure, Peter paused for a moment before bursting out laughing. His laughter was especially loud in the cave. "A hundred million dollars? Haha, how dare you ask for that amount?"

Peter stopped laughing, his eyes full of disdain and sarcasm. "Mrs. Lambert, Mr. Lambert warned me before I came that you're a good actress. He knows that you're pretending to be pitiful to stop him from traveling."

"He knows?" I looked at him in disbelief, my hopes shattering instantly.

Peter answered coldly, "Of course, he knows. Mr. Lambert reminded me to tell you that he won't be coming. Why don't you pretend for a while more? I'll... leave first."

My heart felt like it was pierced by a sword, and tears could not stop flowing down. "No, no." I had to save myself, so I screamed, "Peter, you have to believe me. Please. I really don't know this man. I've been kidnapped."

The kidnapper was also angered by Peter's lack of cooperation. He kicked me hard and said through gritted teeth, "You really think I won't do it?"

"I don't want to die. Give them the money!" I crouched on the ground and groaned in pain, but my heart hurt more.

"Mrs. Lambert, you're not worth a hundred million dollars to Mr. Lambert." Peter snorted. His disregard for me made me aware of my inferior place in the family.

They did not care if I lived or died.