Three years ago, during a critical moment of a business negotiation, the proprietary data I personally compiled ended up becoming the weapon that secured the victory for my business rival.

I was taken away on the charges of leaking corporate secrets—and my girlfriend, Kelly Stone, smugly flashes the proprietary data at me, mocking me for my foolishness.

After being given a five-year prison sentence, I suffered endless torture behind bars and died from the internal injuries.

However, I got to witness everything that happened following my death. Whitney Evans, a college senior of mine who had a thing for me, did everything in her power to clear my name. She sold her company and pursued every avenue she could.

In the end, after losing everything, she cried herself unconscious at my grave.

Then, suddenly, my eyes opened again. I saw Kelly sneaking a USB drive into her handbag before turning to leave.

I grabbed the USB drive from her and looked her in the eye, warning, "What you're doing is against the law, Kelly. I advise you to watch yourself from now on. Also, it's over between us. Don't even set foot inside my office again."

Immediately, I went looking for Whitney.

Three years have passed since then. In that time, I've managed to secure success in both career and love.

It won't be long before I complete the acquisition of my company's business rival, Havenshire Group.

Yet, the night before the official signing, I drink a glass of milk that Whitney gives me. My body swiftly goes weak, and I collapse on the couch.

When I regain consciousness, I find myself lying on the floor with my hands and feet bound in metal chains. I can hear Kelly's and Whitney's voices ringing loud and clear.

"No one will be able to see that you forged Caleb's signature for the share transfer agreement with Sam as the recipient, right?"

"We'll just keep Caleb locked up here, so who's going to know that the signature is forged? His company has been expanding too quickly. We can't let him ruin Sam. It's all your fault, anyway, Kelly. I wouldn't have had to waste all those years on Caleb if you'd just stolen the data back then!"

Taking in my restraints, I let out a self-deprecating smile. All along, I believed that Whitney and I loved each other. Turns out I've just been deluded this whole time.

If Kelly and Whitney care about Samuel Gibson that much, they'd better spend every moment of their lives guarding him from now on. I'm going to do everything in my power to destroy him!

I looked down at my current state. My hands were bound behind my back. A self-mocking laugh escaped me.

All along, I believed that Whitney Evans and I truly loved each other. Alas, it was now clear to me that I was the only deluded idiot who believed that.

Since Kelly Stone and Whitney cared so damn much about Samuel Gibson, they'd better make sure they spent all their time protecting him. After all, I was going to be doing everything in my power to destroy him.

I tried to twist my wrists around, and the clink of metal echoed through the empty room.

The sound of approaching footsteps rang out, and a pair of legs stopped in front of me. When Whitney saw that I was awake, she cried out with faux concern, "Caleb! You're awake! You fainted from exhaustion just now, so we had no choice but to delay the signing of the acquisition for the time being."

I stared at her with bloodshot eyes and shook my wrists, the chains rattling noisily. "Explain this, then."

Whitney had prepared for that. In a tearful voice, she told me, "You got drunk last night and tried to harm yourself. I had no choice but to resort to this."

Not noticing the scornful gaze in my eyes, she kept the act going.

"Caleb, promise me that you'll tell me if something's wrong, okay? Don't carry all the burdens by yourself. What am I supposed to do if you take your own life? Even the psychiatrist said that your mood is extremely volatile right now. He says it's best if you stay like this a bit longer."

I looked at the woman standing in front of me right now. My own wife was spouting all those lies to me, acting like a complete stranger to me.

"Is that so? Here I was, thinking you're illegally detaining me for Samuel's sake. In that case, I promise I won't drink anymore. Now undo these chains."

All at once, the tender concern in Whitney's expression vanished, replaced by a sinister coldness that I'd never seen before.

"So you heard what we said."

She slowly crouched down and grabbed me by the jaw, squeezing so hard that it felt like she was trying to crush my skull.

"I'll be honest with you, then. From the day I first greeted you back in college to all those times I stayed up late at night while you worked on starting your company… Every single time I tried to help you with your clients and celebrated your successes over the last three years, it was entirely for Sam's sake.

"Your love, trust, and reliance have been nothing but burdens to me. You should've just handed over the company shares without a fuss, Caleb. You should never have tried to make things difficult for Sam!"

With bloodshot eyes, I glared at her and used every bit of my strength to struggle against the chains as I shouted, "I trusted you completely this whole time! Why are you doing this to me?"

Whitney had her guard up against me. She twisted to the side to dodge my lunge before grabbing me by the hair and slamming my head against the floor with all her strength.

My vision went dark. The world seemed to spin. A warm, sticky sensation immediately started trickling down my forehead.

She didn't give me a second to catch my breath. Flipping me over, she sat on top of me and drove her knee hard into my spine.

"Don't bother trying to do anything. Do you think I spent these three years with you for nothing? I know all your habits and your temper better than you do!

"Each time you try to resist, I'll beat you up. I'll keep going until you learn to behave like the dog you are!" Whitney snarled.

Gritting through the pain, I twisted hard, trying to break free from her. The next second, I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my side. My muscles spasmed uncontrollably.

Whitney was treating me, her husband, like an enemy. She had no qualms using a stun baton on me.

I collapsed onto the floor, my body limp. The only thing I could do was gasp for air. I didn't even have the strength to lift a single finger.

She finally released me and stared down at me, her eyes utterly devoid of warmth.

"You'd better keep quiet and stay still. Don't force me to resort to more extreme measures."

The moment Whitney finished speaking, Samuel came strutting in, dressed in a sharp suit, his polished shoes spotless.

After taking in the miserable state I was in, he walked up to me with a mocking expression. Nudging my numb body with his foot, he remarked, "Look at you now, Caleb."

His voice dripped with the arrogance and satisfaction of someone who'd won.

"You used to act all cocky, vowing that you'd acquire Havenshire Group from me. Well, how does it feel to be all bound and defenseless like some trapped and wounded animal now, huh?"

He crouched down, the smug smile turning even more sinister.

"You lost to me both in your career and in love. Kelly and Whitney, the two women you loved, ended up being on my side instead. Don't you think your life has been nothing but a big fat joke, Caleb?"

The searing pain in my body and the humiliation in my heart intertwined to burn away what little sanity I had left. Nevertheless, I continued to clench my jaw. That last attempt at resistance had already drained every ounce of strength I had.

I forced myself to calm down, keeping my gaze hollow and unfocused. My lack of reaction made Samuel gloat even more.

He grabbed a document from the inner pocket of his suit. It was a share transfer agreement, but the signature above my name was clearly not a match for my handwriting.

Samuel waved the document in front of me, as if bragging about his winning trophy.

"Take a good look at this. Your company's shares will be mine very soon. You spent three years working your ass off, but in the end, I'm the one who gets to enjoy the fruit of all your labor.

"How does that feel, huh? This is what you get for getting in my way!"

His arrogant face loomed larger and larger before me. I suddenly jerked my head up and used the last of my strength to slam my forehead into his knee.

"Don't celebrate so soon, Samuel! Even if I die, I'm taking you down with me!"

The blow carried no real force. In my weakened state, I couldn't even make him stumble. Yet he clutched his knee and cried out in exaggeration, "My knee! How dare you injure me, Caleb!"

He staggered back and fell heavily to the floor, pretending to be in unbearable pain. It was so over-the-top that anyone with half a brain should've known he was faking it. However, it instantly made Whitney and Kelly feel a pang of heartache.

"Caleb!"

The two women were whipped into a frenzy, and they came charging at me. Their slaps and kicks rained down on me.

Whitney even grabbed a spare metal chain from the floor and wrapped it tightly around my left leg.

Whitney gritted her teeth and yanked backward hard. I clearly heard the sound of my bones snapping. The pain ripped through my entire body. My vision went dark. Cold sweat soaked through my back, and I nearly passed out on the spot.

Before I could even catch my breath, Kelly picked up a wooden bat from the corner. She raised it high and brought it down hard on my right hand. The bat even snapped from the force, and at the same time, an agonizing pain shot up from my right wrist.

Of course, it had to be my right hand, the one I used to sign documents, to code, and to hammer out every business proposal.

That blow didn't seem to satisfy Kelly, however. She repeatedly jabbed the back of my arm with the broken bat, shrieking, "You're as stubborn as ever, huh, Caleb? How dare you hurt Sam! What, you think you're so great?"

The pain became so unbearable that I couldn't even make a sound. All I could do was breathe raggedly.

Eventually, Whitney and Kelly got tired and stopped hitting me. My pained gasps and their panting breaths were the only sounds left in the room.

Whitney crouched down again, the furious frenzy gone from her face. She reached out and gently touched my swollen and broken right wrist. Her movements were light, but her eyes were completely devoid of warmth.

"Your left leg is broken, and your right wrist is fractured. From now on, you won't even be able to stand on your own, let alone sign any documents or try to take Sam down."

She lifted her gaze to my ashen face, her tone carrying a twisted sort of pity. "From now on, just behave yourself. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

Samuel leisurely got back on his feet and dusted off the grime that had gotten onto his suit during his pity ploy. He stared down at me, the bloody, battered man on the floor.

"Now that's much better. You'd better stay right where you are and stop your futile attempts to resist."

He couldn't be bothered to waste any more time on me, so he left with Whitney and Kelly.

The door shut again, cutting off the faint light from outside. All that remained was the agony of broken bones that continued to torment every fiber of my body.

I lay there for a long time—so long that my body had nearly grown numb—before I finally managed to stop the uncontrollable trembling.

The more cruel they were to me, the more reason I had to hang in there and stay alive. I was even more determined for them to pay for everything they'd done, both today and in my previous life. They were going to suffer far more than I did!

I deliberately acted as if I had completely broken down. I stopped paying attention to my surroundings. Even when they brought me food, my gaze was unfocused, as if my mind had already snapped.

After seeing me like this, Whitney and Kelly finally lowered their guard.

A few days later, I overheard them talking about going to a bar to celebrate.

My chance had come.

Once they left, I used my still-functional left hand to grab the metal chain wrapped around my ankle. Enduring the pain, I put all my strength into it and began swinging the chain again and again. The deafening clang echoed through the silent room, rattling my eardrums, but I didn't stop.

Gritting my teeth, I kept going for a full half hour.

Finally, I heard impatient footsteps downstairs, followed by heavy knocking on the door.

A gruff male voice rang out, "Hey! Can you guys keep it down? The noise is disturbing my family downstairs! My son just fell asleep, and I don't want you waking him up!"

A flicker of joy surged in my chest. I hadn't dared to hope for much, but thankfully, there were residents living in the surrounding units.

"Sir! Can you help me call the police? I'm being illegally detained!"