My father’s voice suddenly came through the speaker.

“So you’re Heidi? The child you’re carrying may not even be his. Give me five million, or I’ll ruin you.”

My entire body went rigid. The thread holding my sanity snapped in an instant.

Impossible.

The recording was fake.

My father had been unconscious ever since he was beaten. I had watched the dashcam footage dozens of times. That sentence never existed.

Heidi frowned, speaking in a fragile tone as if she had been cornered.

“Your father threatened me. I barely escaped.”

Caleb immediately pulled her into his arms, his voice cold and absolute.

“Julia, I will never forgive you. Your father being crippled is his own retribution.”

Then they presented all kinds of forged evidence, accusing my father of extortion, threats, and violence.

The judge didn’t even bother to look closely. A few perfunctory words, and the verdict came down.

I lost.

In an instant, my father and I became villains. Monsters who failed at extortion and then harmed a pregnant woman out of spite.

The snickers and mockery from the gallery stung my ears. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug deep into my palms.

The moment the hearing ended, before we even stepped out of the courthouse, reporters and onlookers had already blocked the entrance.

Heidi walked out surrounded by flashing cameras and sympathetic hands. Tears shimmered in her eyes, her palms pressed together like a persecuted saint.

The crowd’s anger and pity exploded at once, and fingers flew toward me and my mother.

I stood in the middle of it all, the cold wind numbing my already frozen face.

This wasn’t justice.

This was a trial they had orchestrated from the start.

Caleb wrapped Heidi protectively in his arms, his tone dripping with tenderness.

“Heidi, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone threaten you. I’ll protect you.”

The crowd’s emotions surged even higher.

Someone recognized me and immediately hurled a rotten egg my way.

A bucket of foul-smelling blood splashed down from the top of my head, seeping down my neck and soaking into my clothes. The stench was overwhelming, icy, humiliating.

“She’s a woman too, yet she tried to use someone’s reputation as leverage. Does she even have a conscience!”

“If the judge hadn’t been fair, that poor girl would have been ruined forever!”

“Her father deserved to be crippled! A daughter like that will never meet a good end!”

The curses pierced my ears like arrows.

I bit down on my lip until the taste of blood mixed with the stench filling my throat.

Only then did Caleb finally glance my way, frowning as if he were looking at filth.

“Stop resisting. If you behave, I can still consider our past and live with you peacefully.”

My voice was hoarse, barely holding up.

“Impossible. Even if it costs me everything, I’ll fight you to the end.”

Caleb’s expression darkened.

“Still refusing to repent.”

Heidi bent down slightly, giving me a gentle, pitiful look.

“I’m sorry about your father, but even if time went backward, I still wouldn’t agree to his demand for five million.”

Caleb followed her words smoothly, playing the righteous man.

“I’m your husband, but I stand for justice. I cannot allow wickedness to spread.”

The crowd was completely ignited.

“What a good man! Why do good people always end up with this kind of wife!”

“A woman like her would drive anyone to divorce!”

Watching Caleb’s performance made my stomach churn.

My legs suddenly buckled, and I stumbled forward.

Caleb shoved Heidi aside and kicked me hard in the chest.

“You’re trying to fake an injury at the courthouse too? How was I ever blind enough to fall for someone so disgusting!”

Pain exploded in my chest, knocking the breath out of me.

But deeper inside, in that place he once held, it hurt even more.

Three years ago, when his enemies tried to kill him, I had thrown myself in front of the blade to save him.

And now, the only thing he remembered was how to crush me.

Heidi tugged on his sleeve, her soft voice instantly hooking his attention.

“Caleb, my stomach hurts again. Can you make me some porridge? You cook well.”

He agreed at once and hurried off with her on his arm.

I watched their silhouettes fade, feeling something inside my chest shatter piece by piece.

For three years of marriage, every meal at home was cooked by my father and me.

Even when we had a fever or were burning up, he never stepped into the kitchen.

Yet now he was willing to cook porridge for another woman.

I let out a bitter laugh. It felt like a knife had cut me open.

Before getting into the car, Heidi suddenly turned back. Her face was filled with kindness and fragile innocence.

“Do not dirty your hands because of disgusting people. Heaven always has justice.”

The bystanders were instantly moved to tears.

Someone even spat on me a few times.

More people cursed while walking away.

I straightened myself, every wound on my body burning with pain.

But when I thought of my father, I gritted my teeth and rushed back to the hospital.

People pointed at me everywhere I passed.

That was when I realized the court video had already gone viral online.

Heidi had become the delicate angel millions wanted to protect, while my father and I were cursed as parasites, villains, and swindlers.

When I walked into the ward, my father was wrapped in layers of bandages, both legs shattered, even his breathing trembling.

I almost collapsed from the pain in my chest.

Others in the room murmured complaints.

“A person like that is vicious. Injuring himself just to fake an accident.”

“He better not try to extort us. Tell them to get out.”

I tried desperately to explain, but no one wanted to believe me.

My father listened to their words, shaking with anger as he pounded the bed.

He had spent his whole life helping others, yet he was being insulted like this, all because he trusted the wrong person.

He looked at me with hopeless eyes.

“I treated Caleb like a son. He has never been wronged in his life. Why would he help others hurt me? What did I do wrong?”

I could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down my face.

But the people around us kept mocking.

“You are all vicious. This is the retribution you deserve.”

More and more people crowded around the door, throwing filthy and hateful looks at us.

I could not bear to let my father suffer another second. I decided to discharge him.

But when the doctor brought the bill, I froze completely.

All the charges had been raised to more than ten times the original amount.

The doctor lowered his voice.

“You offended someone you should not have. Some debts must be paid.”

Bodyguards surrounded me like hunters blocking their prey.

It was clear they would not let us go without the money.

My hands trembled as I took out my phone, only to find the account balance had become zero.

Caleb had transferred everything out.

I called him immediately.

Caleb’s voice was lazy, even amused.

“Heidi has been having trouble sleeping. Consider this her emotional compensation.”

I could not stop myself from shouting.

“That is my father’s medical fee.”

“As long as you publicly admit you slandered Heidi, she will give you a large payout,” Caleb said calmly.

“His legs are already broken. There is no point saving him. Better to admit guilt and let him spend the rest of his life comfortably in bed.”

“Once this is over, I will live well with you again.”

The next moment I heard a heavy thud on his end, followed by breathy, intimate sounds.

Realization struck me instantly.

My phone slipped from my hand. I covered my mouth, fighting the urge to vomit.

Before the doctor could call security, the police arrived.

“Heidi and Caleb reported that your father attempted to extort them. We need to bring him in for questioning.”

My father had just finished surgery and was in unbearable pain.

I knelt and begged, but the officers could only shake their heads.

“These are orders from above. We cannot do anything.”

I tried to block the bed, but they said I was obstructing the law.

My father was dragged away violently, the bandages on his legs turning red with fresh blood.

I ran after them, but when I reached the corner, a black bag suddenly covered my head.

A storm of fists and kicks crashed down on me.

“How dare you lay a hand on Caleb’s woman. Learn your place.”

“Do not kill her. She is still Caleb’s wife.”

“Wife? Caleb never cared about her. His heart has always been with Heidi. If she had not forced herself in, she would never have married him.”

I did not know how long the beating lasted before they finally left.

I lay curled on the ground, motionless, like a discarded rag.

Seven years ago, when Caleb first took over the family business, it was my father who used every connection he had to help him stabilize the situation.

Later, when I was kidnapped, it was Caleb who fought his way into the hideout and carried me out on his back.

That day, I cried in his arms, believing I had found the person I could trust for the rest of my life.

And now, for another woman, he had driven us into a dead end.

Fortunately, only three days remained.

I dragged my weakened body back home, only to see piles of luggage thrown out at the door. My chest tightened violently.

Caleb had tossed out everything that belonged to me and my father.

This house was bought with my father’s entire life savings.

What right did Caleb have to throw us out?

I felt as though I could barely breathe. Just as I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of the scene inside the house through the gap in the door.

Heidi was sitting in Caleb’s lap, feeding him spoonfuls of porridge.

I forced my trembling hands still, raised my phone, and quietly began recording.

Caleb’s hand was wrapped around her waist, fingers wandering restlessly. His voice was low and intimate.

“In those days, I was too poor. I had no choice but to marry for family interests and let you marry someone else. All these years, you’ve suffered.”

Heidi’s face flushed, her expression dripping with sweetness.

“No, even if I married someone else, have we ever stopped talking? The only one who can satisfy me in bed has always been you, Caleb…”

Her words ignited him instantly. Caleb lowered his head and kissed her hungrily.

“When the baby is born, we’ll go abroad together. Alright?”

Heidi let out a soft sound.

“Last time I got pregnant, you forced me to end it. Why do you want this one?”

My heart clenched as if someone had grabbed it.

Half a year ago, she had been pregnant.

That was also the first time I became pregnant, and he forced me into surgery, claiming it would affect his work.

I had always thought he was just ambitious.

But the real reason was that Heidi disagreed.

My fingers shook, but I kept the phone steady.

Heidi buried her head in his chest, her tone dripping with malicious sweetness.

“At that time, we didn’t know whose the baby was. How could I let someone else carry a bastard?”

Then came the sound of sticky kisses.

Heidi’s breathing grew soft and tangled.

“Don’t worry. This time, the baby is ours.”

Her words exploded in my ears, each one like a blade slicing straight into my chest.

I could no longer watch. I lowered my phone and turned to leave.

But my weakened legs gave out. I stepped wrong and knocked over a vase by the door.

It shattered loudly.

Caleb rushed out at once. When he saw how disheveled I was, his expression stiffened for a moment before he shouted,

“What did you do to yourself this time!”

The next second, he dragged Heidi into his arms protectively, his eyes filled only with concern for her.

“Trying to get my sympathy again? Stop using this kind of pathetic trick.”

Heidi recovered quickly and let out a mocking laugh.

“Planning to go to court again and accuse me of hitting your father? Who would believe you?”

I looked at them coldly.

“If your affair goes public, who people believe is another question.”

Caleb’s eyes widened with rage.

“Julia, stop spouting nonsense! I only invited Heidi over for porridge. What filthy thoughts are you imagining?”

“If you would just apologize publicly, we could still live together peacefully. I’ll give you a child. Why won’t you agree?”

I had no interest in arguing with him. I hid my phone securely.

Just then, Heidi spoke softly.

“Caleb, go get another bowl of porridge. Mr. Fang doesn’t seem unreasonable. We can talk calmly.”

As soon as Caleb walked away, she dropped the gentle facade and forced me into the corner.

Her voice was low, like a snake hissing.

“Do you know why I hit your father? Because he deserved it. Who told him to show off in front of me? Caleb belongs to me. Even if he marries you, he is still mine. Your father deserved what happened.”