On the eve of my wedding, I was drugged at my own bachelorette party and dragged into a dark alley.

By the time I finally got rescued, my limbs were broken and my abdomen had been slashed open.

My father, the chairman, mobilized every resource of the Sherman Family to uncover the truth and send those responsible to prison. Meanwhile, my CEO brother urgently summoned the world's top doctors to my hospital room.

"Give my daughter the best anesthetic! She's most afraid of pain," my father said with a look of heartache on his face.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at him.

The next second, the cold anesthetic was injected into my veins. It forced me to close my eyes, but my mind remained clear. That man seemed to have forgotten that anesthetics didn't work on me.

Aidan's hesitant voice sounded in my ear. "Dad, aren't we going too far by making Susan suffer so much just to get Sally to marry her fiancé?"

My father shot me a complex look before gritting his teeth. "Susan grows more selfish by the day. She's already the Shermans' heiress, but she remains insatiable. She constantly schemes against Sally. Even after Sally was expelled from the Sherman Family, Susan still isn't satisfied. She keeps sending people to harass Sally. Sally has only us to rely on now. I must find her a suitable husband."

"Besides, Sally and Connor truly love each other. It was Susan who stole the love meant for them."

My father gently stroked my hair, yet his words were as cold as ice. "As for Susan, though she suffered greatly this time, her reputation ruined and no one will ever marry her, she remains my daughter. No one will ever truly understand her. After the wedding, I will make it up to her."

I couldn't hold back my tears, letting them soaked the pillow. It turned out the people who destroyed everything for me were the family I loved the most!

They had all once promised that they would always stand by me, or they would lose everything they cherished and come to a bad end.

Now, they had broken their promise. It was time for me to make them pay.

***

My father became anxious when he saw my tears. "Didn't I tell you to give her an anesthetic? Why is my Susan still crying? Double the dose right now!"

Aidan's gaze turned hostile toward the doctor when he saw the tears on my face.

The doctor hesitated before speaking. "Miss Susan's wound is likely causing severe pain. Even with anesthesia, she's experiencing phantom pain. The best option is to operate immediately."

His words trailed off as he glanced at my father. "If we operate now, we might still preserve Miss Susan's fertility."

My father's eyes turned red with heartache. The next second, his phone rang and he answered it without hesitation. "Sally, my most beautiful bride, why are you calling me instead of trying on your wedding dress?"

The room was quiet, so I could clearly hear Sally's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Dad, I'm always worried something will go wrong tomorrow. Can I really marry Connor? After all, he's my sister's fiancé. If Susan finds out, she will definitely be angry with you. Maybe we should forget about it."

My father's voice softened with heartache when he heard that. "Don't worry, Dad will handle everything. My Sally just needs to wait to be the most beautiful bride."

After he hung up the phone, the expression on his face became resolute. "We are not doing the surgery!" he ordered.

Seeing my pained expression, Aidan hesitated. "Dad, Susan looks truly miserable. Haven't her injuries been punishment enough? Besides, we still have the video."

"No! She must lose her fertility. Only if she loses that will Connor's family give up on her. Then Sally's life in the Ladner Family will be comfortable. As for Susan, I'm her father and I will support her for the rest of her life."

He wiped the tears from my face with an expensive silk handkerchief, but his voice was full of pity for Sally. "Sally finally found happiness with Connor. I can't let Susan stand in her way."

After a moment's pause, Aidan only sighed. "Give my sister the strongest painkillers immediately. She mustn't feel a single twinge of pain. No surgery."

I trembled with rage, as despair and agony relentlessly assaulted my heart. Every pain I had suffered came from the two family members I loved most and all of it was for an illegitimate daughter.

Sally was the daughter born from a scheme that trapped my father. When she first returned home, she was timid and hesitant; my father and brother utterly despised her. They considered Sally to be a stain on the Sherman Family.

I, however, believed none of this was her fault. That was why I helped her gradually integrate into the family. Alas, I never imagined that once Sally came of age, she would rush headlong into an affair with my fiancé, Connor Ladner.

When we caught them in the act, my father nearly used family punishment to beat Sally to death. Aidan also beat Connor until he was covered in blood. Even my marriage was almost canceled.

I had no intention of marrying Connor again. Still, he knelt outside the Shermans' residence for three days and nights straight, begging for our engagement to continue.

I thought they hated Sally to the bone, but I didn't expect that everything was just an act for me.

The pain of a broken heart swept over my entire body. Sadly, Aidan didn't notice it and called his assistant instead.

"Remember to deliver all ninety-nine pieces of jewelry I got for the highest price at auction to Sally's wedding tomorrow. They're my gift to her. Also, don't forget to prepare the transfer documents for the manor I originally built for Susan and give it to Sally as well."

Hearing this, I clenched my teeth until they ached.

My brother had been bidding extravagantly at auctions for the past few months and everyone thought he was preparing a birthday gift for me. It turned out that none of those treasures were mine. Even the mansion that had been under construction since I was eighteen, Aidan planned to give it to Sally.

The sound of the hospital door opening and closing reached my ears. I waited until the footsteps faded into the distance before finally opening my eyes. The torrent of tears blurred my vision, yet my heart had never felt so calm.

My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone and dialed my childhood friend, Jack Carter.

"Hey! Missy, got time to call me? Aren't you supposed to be preparing to marry that scumbag tomorrow?" Jack's carefree voice crackled through the line.

I suppressed the pain in my heart and asked each word carefully, "Jack, do the promises you made me still stand? I'm willing to marry you, but I need you to help me take down the Sherman Corporation. I want to destroy that company and every last member of the Shermans!"

Silence hung heavy on the line, before Jack finally speaking.

"I don't know why you want that, but I'll go along with it to the end. Give me seven days and I'll bring you to my side."

I replied in a hoarse voice, "Okay, see you in seven days."

After hanging up the phone, I couldn't bear the pain anymore and fell onto the bed. The vase on the bedside table crashed to the floor and the door was thrown open with a bang, revealing my father and brother with livid faces.

Aidan and my father looked at me with unreadable expressions.

"Susan, who are you meeting in seven days?"

From the look on their faces, I realized they hadn't heard everything clearly. As their earlier words echoed in my mind, the pain I'd been struggling to suppress now swept through my entire body.

Noticing my pained expression, Aidan abandoned his earlier questioning and hurriedly helped me sit up. "Did the pain from your wounds wake you? Don't worry, I've been right here with you. It's all our fault for not saving you sooner."

His eyes reddened as he shouted toward the door, "Why aren't you in here yet? Didn't I tell you to prepare painkillers? Why aren't they working?"

My father, heartbroken, sat by my bedside, holding my hand as tears streamed down uncontrollably. His expression darkened as he gritted his teeth. "Susan, rest assured. I won't let those who hurt you get away with it! Even if it means going to prison, I'll make sure they suffer!"

After that, he gently stroked my head, his eyes brimming with love. Then, he spoke again. "Susan, your brother has already arranged for the world's best doctors to come. They'll arrive tomorrow morning. These quacks at the hospital aren't fit to treat you!"

"Don't worry, even if it means sacrificing the entire Sherman Family, I will cure you and ensure you live a carefree life."

I stared numbly at the pain etched on my father's and brother's faces. If they truly loved me, how could they have done those things to me? The doctor clearly said my fertility could be preserved, but they insisted on delaying.

The thought made me laugh bitterly as I stared straight at my father. "Dad, will I really get better? Why won't you let the doctors here operate on me first?"

"Susan, you will definitely get better. How could these quacks possibly treat you? I feared they'd only worsen your injuries by touching your wounds."

He lowered his eyes, hiding the expression in them. Of course, he knew that if my wounds weren't treated until tomorrow, not even the best doctors in the world would be able to save me.

To ensure his illegitimate daughter could marry my fiancé, my father—who had once stayed by my side as I grew up and promised to love me forever—had betrayed me. And my own brother, whom I had grown up with, had also abandoned me for that same illegitimate daughter.

Realizing this, I looked at the two people in front of me with bitter sorrow and said nothing more. When my expression cut into their hearts like blades, they unable to restrain themselves and reached out to me as if to soothe my scars.

Unfortunately, their hands stopped as the phone rang.

"Dad, I've tried on several wedding dresses and still can't decide. Can you and Aidan come help me choose?" Sally's coquettish voice rang out from the other end.

Even though my father covered the phone in time, I could still hear it clearly because of the distance.

Those men exchanged glances, studying my expression. When they saw I remained utterly calm, they breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the doctor came to treat my wounds and said with pity, "Miss Susan, please bear with it, this might sting."

A moment later, searing pain from the wound surged through my body. The anesthesia did not affect me whatsoever; I could feel every bit of the pain with excruciating clarity. And all of it had been inflicted by the very people closest to me.

I gritted my teeth and dug my nails into my palms until they bled.

Aidan's eyes reddened as he watched what was happening. My father, pretending he couldn't bear it, turned and left with the phone in his hand. Soon after, my brother also turned his head away and walked out of the room.

Their expressions of heartbreak were so convincing, but I knew what they were really doing.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Sally sent me a video. In it, my father beamed as he helped her into her wedding gown, completely disregarding his role as an elder. Meanwhile, Aidan was fastening a dark green necklace around her neck.

My eyes widened in disbelief. That necklace was my mother's keepsake!

I wanted to rush over right then and snatch my mother's necklace back, but what followed in the video only deepened my hatred.

"Dad, Susan is so badly injured. She has surgery tomorrow. Why don't you stay with her? As for my wedding, it's fine if you can't make it. I can manage alone. I just wonder if the Ladner Family will accept me."

Sally, dressed in her wedding gown, looked desolate as she spoke. Of course, Aidan and my father immediately began to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Susan can manage alone. We'd just be waiting outside during her surgery anyway. It's better to attend your wedding," my brother stammered nervously.

My father's face darkened as he solemnly promised, "Be at ease, I'll be there tomorrow to support you. This is your most important day. Even if Susan finds out, she'll understand."

A flicker of secret delight crossed Sally's eyes at their assurances. Then, they began discussing every detail of the upcoming wedding. Those ceremonies, those gifts, those surprises, all things they had once promised to me.

Yet here I was, lying alone in agony on the hospital bed, while they gave everything meant for me to Sally. I clenched my fists and began to pick apart my feelings for my family, piece by piece.

After Sally went in to change into her wedding gown, my brother hesitated before speaking, "Dad, Susan's condition is so critical now. Should we still release those videos from the scene tomorrow? I fear she might not be able to handle it."

My father paused for a moment, his gaze shifting toward Sally in the dressing room. At that time, his resolve suddenly hardened. "Release them! Not just online, show them at Sally's wedding ceremony. Only then can I completely crush the Ladners' ambitions."

With that, he pulled out his phone again. "I'll ensure the doctors treat Susan properly. You must keep this news hidden, at least for the next few days. She mustn't know, nor must she disrupt Sally's wedding."

Aidan nodded with unwavering resolve at his order.

I replayed the video ten times over, then lay back on the bed in a daze.

The kindness that my father and brother had shown me before was genuine. Now, they were truly giving all of that kindness to Sally, while I had become the enemy standing in the way of her happiness.

The next day, I was wheeled into the operating room.

After enduring the agonizing surgery, I dragged my exhausted body to the wedding venue. I had to stop them from releasing the video.

When I arrived at the wedding hall, I looked at everything before me with a pale face.

Lavender swayed in the wind, the dreamlike ceremony hall and the gorgeous bride being escorted by her father and brother. Everything here was exactly as I had once described to my family.

My father held Sally's hand, his heart aching as he placed it into the groom's. "Connor, I entrust my daughter to you. If you ever treat her poorly, I will make you repay it a hundredfold. The Shermans will always be Sally's strongest support."

A blissful smile spread across Sally's face as my father and brother stood beside her like guardians.

I couldn't take it anymore and rushed forward, desperate to stop them. But a heartbeat later, the giant LED screen lit up with the video from that day, when they had drugged me and dragged me into an alley. They even edited the footage to make it look like I went willingly.

Everyone presents showed expressions of disgust. Connor, in particular, roared with loathing in his eyes. "Change it back immediately! My wedding doesn't need this tramp to show up!"

My family watched as everything unfolded and when they saw me in the video, a hint of disgust appeared on their faces as well. Ironically, they were the ones who had done all of this to me.

The revelation struck me like lightning. I stumbled back uncontrollably, knocking over a flower stand behind me, which crashed to the floor with a loud noise. Every gaze quickly snapped to me.

"Isn't that Miss Susan from the LED screen? How dare she show up here? Did she release that video herself? How shameless!"

The whispers slithered into my ears like venomous snakes. I clutched my head tightly, desperate to flee.

But the next second, a group of reporters appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me. The expressions on their faces were completely manic.

"Miss Susan, I heard you willingly engaged in promiscuous relations with multiple partners just to break off the engagement with Connor Ladner. Are you dissatisfied with his family?"

"Miss Susan, by showing up at the wedding now and releasing these videos, are you trying to provoke the Ladners and your sister?"

Hearing this, I finally erupted in fury. "I have no sister!"

The reporters paid no heed to my words, shoving microphones right in my face.

"Miss Susan, I hear you were hospitalized yesterday due to your promiscuity and will never be able to have children. Is that true?"

As they spoke, they started to pull at my clothes. When they found the wounds underneath, they became even more excited.

I struggled desperately, but having just undergone surgery, I was no match for them. They tore my clothes away piece by piece, made me wish I could die right there.

"My God, these wounds are real! Those videos must be real, too! Who would've thought the high-and-mighty Susan Sherman secretly indulges in promiscuity!"

"Hurry! Get all of this evidence! We're going to help Miss Susan make a name for herself and become infamous forever!"

Their mocking laughter echoed endlessly in my ears.

I crouched down, clutching my body tightly, my cheeks wet with relentless tears.

"Miss Susan, don't crouch! You posted that video here to become famous, didn't you? You're such a natural slut."

They ripped at my limbs while they talked, as if they wanted to devour every bit of my flesh.

Finally, I heard my father and brother roar from distance. "What are you doing? Stop immediately!"

They began to run toward me after that. The bodyguards, seeing the situation, also began to charge.

The next second, Sally, who had been behind my father, suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, letting out a sharp cry of pain.

At once, Aidan and my father's steps came to an abrupt halt.

"Dad, Aidan, I'm fine. Go check on Susan first," Sally spoke with strength, rising to her feet only to stumble and fall again.

Pain flickered across their faces before they finally gritted their teeth and turned to me.

"Susan, the bodyguards are coming to help you. Hang on a little longer."

With those words, they abandoned me and helped Sally toward the backstage.

The bodyguards began shooing away the reporters and I was pushed to the ground by the surging crowd. The countless feet instantly trampled over me without restraint.

In the final second before losing consciousness, all I saw were the malicious stares of everyone present.