I am the biggest female drug lord in Riverdale, who gets shot in the head during a crackdown operation.

As soon as the news breaks, the entire internet celebrates.

People even crowdfund to take over a giant screen in the city square to display my obituary photo.

They say I filled Riverdale with drugs and single-handedly destroyed countless families. They accuse me of leaking operation routes, causing the deaths of my ex-husband's 13 anti-drug force teammates.

Hundreds of thousands sign a petition demanding my ashes be crushed and turned into tiles for public restrooms.

To calm the overwhelming public anger, my ex-husband, Tyler Lowell, who is now captain of the anti-drug force, decides to launch a public hearing across the internet to livestream my entire life of alleged crimes.

On the day of the trial, people thronged the city square.

"A woman like her deserves to be cut up into a thousand pieces! How many families are destroyed because of the drugs she sells?"

"I hear she is ruthless. She would even stoop to making a three-year-old do her bidding. She is inhumane!"

"She got so many anti-drug officers killed. I want to see her end up in hell!"

Tyler presses the start button with a blank expression.

The crowd's furious curses come crashing down like waves. It is as if they want to tear me apart and condemn me forever.

But in the next second, what appears on the giant screen is me in a uniform, standing under the national flag and taking a solemn oath.

In that instant, the entire square falls silent.

Moments later, louder voices of doubt erupted across the city square.

"This can't be! How could Winnie Grant be a cop!"

"It has to be fake! Someone like her doesn't deserve to wear that uniform!"

Tyler Lowell's expression was dark as he ordered the technicians to verify immediately whether the memory source had been tampered with.

Sylvia Grant, my younger sister, walked to his side and gently took his arm.

She spoke up in a voice that was soft and laced with careful hesitation. "Tyler, this must be some trap she laid before she died. She was always good at pretending, wasn't she?

"Why don't we stop watching? I'm worried… I'm worried you might waver…"

Tyler pulled Sylvia into his arms. He let out a scoff, with disgust clear in his eyes.

"I've seen Winnie's tricks plenty of times. Even if she dressed up as a saint, she still can't wash away my comrades' blood that stains her hands!"

He looked down at Sylvia and softened his tone, saying, "Silly, you're the only one I love now. Nothing else can shake me."

Sylvia finally relaxed and leaned into Tyler's embrace.

Someone in the crowd recognized Sylvia and started murmuring, "Isn't that the youngest daughter of the Grant family?"

"It's her! She even turned her own father in. I heard she donated all her inheritance to the anti-drug fund. She's so kind!"

"Exactly. And look at her sister. The moment their father fell, she ran straight to the drug lord, Lucas Hayes."

"One made the right sacrifice, while the other stubbornly refused to change. Why couldn't Winnie learn from her sister?"

The technicians finished their verification and nodded at Tyler.

The memory source was unaltered.

Tyler's pupils contracted sharply before he took a deep breath and pressed play.

My soul floated in mid-air, watching the hatred in Tyler's eyes as he looked at me. Those eyes that were once filled with so much tenderness now held only cold disgust.

Even though I was already dead, my soul still felt a tearing pain.

The screen cut to a dark alley late at night.

A young Tyler had just fought off several thugs to stop a robbery. He had a cut on the corner of his lip as he leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

I came running up with a medical kit and kneeled beside him.

The dim streetlight stretched our shadows long on the ground.

I sat on the steps, clumsily dabbing at Tyler's wounds with a cotton swab. The sting of the antiseptic made him hiss.

As I applied the ointment, I muttered under my breath, "Why do you have to play the hero? Doesn't it hurt?"

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and looked at me seriously, saying, "As long as you come for me, it won't hurt."

My ears burned, and I looked away. "Smooth talker," I said.

Tyler laughed and pulled me into his arms. "If you don't want me to get hurt, then don't let go. Stay with me from now on."

My eyes reddened. I didn't say anything and just stood on my toes, brushing my lips against his.

The screen froze on our smiling faces.

Meanwhile, in reality, Tyler's fists were clenched tight. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes.

Sylvia noticed his distracted gaze and immediately spoke up. Her tone was sympathetic.

"Tyler, look how innocent Winnie seemed back then. It's too bad she couldn't resist the temptation of money in the end.

"Maybe… Maybe she got close to you just to gather information."

The hesitance in Tyler's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by deeper disgust. He looked at Sylvia and said gently, "You're right.

"If it weren't for her betrayal, I wouldn't have known who was truly worth cherishing."

He held Sylvia's hand tightly, as if declaring to the world—and to the memory playing on the screen—that he had already found true happiness.

The scene shifted, now showing the lavish homecoming banquet from last time.

Beneath the sparkling chandelier, my father, Nelson Grant, wrapped an arm around my shoulder and proudly announced, "This is my long-lost daughter, Winnie Grant!"

The moment he finished speaking, the doors of the banquet hall burst open with a kick.

Tyler, who was dressed in his police uniform, stormed in with his team. His expression was hard and frosty.

While holding an arrest warrant in his hand, he fixed his sharp gaze on my father and said, "Nelson Grant, you're suspected of manufacturing and trafficking drugs. Come with us."

With a click, a pair of cold handcuffs was locked around Father's wrists.

When Father was being led to the police car, he suddenly fought back like a madman. In the chaos, an officer's gun went off by accident.

Hot blood splattered all over me, and I felt my mind go blank and completely numb.

"That's the drug lord's daughter!"

It was unclear who made the first move, but a mob suddenly surged forward, surrounding me.

Someone grabbed my hair, yanking so hard that my scalp felt like it was tearing. The gown I was wearing was ripped to shreds, and spit mixed with cold liquid was poured all over me.

"Your father killed my son! You deserve to die too!" screamed a middle-aged woman. She charged forward and kicked me hard in the stomach.

Pain ripped through me, and my body felt like it was being torn apart. I curled up on the ground, convulsing in agony.

A warm stream slid down my thigh, and just like that, my three-month-old baby was gone.

Back in real time, Tyler swallowed hard. His fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white.

However, the crowd erupted in cheers.

"Serves her right! Her father killed so many people, so she deserves to lose her child!"

The scene shifted once more. This time, I was outside the hospital, with bandages still on my face.

Tyler stood in front of me with red-rimmed eyes. His voice was choked with tears as he said, "Winnie, what your father did has nothing to do with you. Let me take care of you. As for the child… We can have another. Let's start over, okay?"

I looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Tyler, do you know I was kidnapped as a child? I scavenged for food in garbage dumps and slept under bridges.

"I had just finally found my biological father, yet you put him in a coffin with your own hands."

I took off the wedding ring on my finger and threw it at his feet. "Let's get a divorce."

The ring spun on the ground, landing with a piercing clink.

Tyler bent to pick it up with shaky fingers, but I didn't spare him another glance. I just turned and walked away.

…

Sylvia held Tyler's hand tightly and sighed. "Winnie went too far. She was just blinded by hatred…"

Boos erupted from the crowd.

"What do you mean by 'hatred'? Looks to me like she just loved money and status!"

"Exactly! Why else would she run straight to the drug lord Lucas the moment she left?"

The screen went dark. When it lit up again, it showed Rivervale's most notorious underground casino.

I was wearing a fiery red dress that had a slit up to the thigh.

Inside a private room, Lucas was lounging on a leather couch. He had a woman on each arm.

Without a word, I picked up the 12 shots on the tray and downed them one after another. My throat burned, and my stomach churned.

Lucas watched me with amusement. "You want to get together with me?"

He stood and walked to a steel cage in the corner. Inside, a Tibetan mastiff was tearing at raw meat, and its muzzle was dripping blood.

"Get in there and take the meat out of its mouth."

Lucas lit a cigarette before adding with a cruel smile, "With your bare hands."

I took a deep breath, kicked off my heels, and walked into the cage barefoot.

An hour later, my entire right arm was a bloody mess, with bone visible in several places. My left hand was punctured in several places too, and blood was constantly dripping from it.

I kicked aside the mastiff's convulsing corpse. Then, I limped over to Lucas and handed him the raw meat.

"Lucas, your dog was… really cute."

He smiled and tapped the floor with his feet. "How interesting. Kneel."

I kneeled immediately. I then picked up the wine bottle and poured him a drink with both hands.

"From now on, you're mine," Lucas said, taking the wine glass from me. His eyes were filled with possessive desire.

I lowered my gaze and replied, "Okay."

From that day on, I became the most favored woman at Lucas' side—as well as the drug lord's mistress that the whole city despised.

…

Tyler jerked his head away, unable to watch any longer.

Beside him, Sylvia covered her eyes. Her expression was disgusted.

The memories continued to play. By this time, I had become Lucas' trusted confidante.

In the current scene, I was directing several coerced children to different drop-off points. I grabbed the smallest girl and shoved a crumpled map into her sweaty palm.

My voice was low and urgent as I said, "Remember, take this route. Only this one. Or else, your mother dies."

She nodded frantically, biting her lip to keep silent.

…

The square burst into an uproar.

"That monster! She used children!"

"Is she even human? She's absolutely insane!"

Someone threw a water bottle at the screen, the smack echoing across the square.

The next scene showed the events that happened hours after I had sent the children off.

Lucas' roar came through the phone. "Winnie! How the hell did you handle things?"

That girl had walked straight into a police ambush and was caught red-handed with the evidence.

Someone in the crowd voiced out their doubts after watching this. "There were so many routes. How did she end up on the one with cops?"

However, louder voices drowned them out.

"She's just stupid and messed up! Don't try to defend her!"

The next scene played. Lucas grew suspicious of me after the girl was caught, so he produced a syringe filled with a new type of drug and said, "Want to prove your loyalty? Inject it."

My body trembled uncontrollably as I stared at the syringe. The memory of me in my police uniform, swearing my oath under the flag, overlapped with the drug in front of me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

In the end, with a pale face, I picked up the syringe and pushed it into my arm without hesitation.

…

Sylvia trembled, saying, "It's terrible! How could Winnie sink so low?"

Tyler pulled her close. His gaze was as cold as ice as he looked at me on the screen. "She chose to do it."

The scene shifted again, and Sylvia appeared in my memories.

In an abandoned warehouse, I handed her a thick envelope and said, "This is the money I've saved. Donate it anonymously to anti-drug funds, especially to the children harmed by drugs."

The crowd in the square buzzed with confusion. This didn't match the greedy image they had of me.

Tyler frowned at Sylvia beside him. "She gave you money? You never mentioned this."

Sylvia froze for a moment. Her eyes darted around.

After a moment of hesitation, she stammered, "O-Oh, right. There was also a bag of white powder inside. She was trying to drag me down with her. I was scared, so I threw the money away."

Tyler stayed silent, but a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

The crowd immediately jumped to Sylvia's defense. "How evil! She tried to frame her own sister!"

"Ms. Sylvia did the right thing! Money tainted by drugs should be thrown away!"

"Look at how scared she is. She can barely speak. She must have been terrified by her drug dealer sister!"

Sylvia took the opportunity to bury herself in Tyler's arms.

Tyler looked down at the woman in his embrace. His gaze lingered on the top of her head for a moment.

Ultimately, his arm tightened around Sylvia, but he said nothing more.

I pulled another item from my pocket—a USB drive—and pressed it into Sylvia's hands.

"This contains Lucas' recent operations. You have to get this to Tyler yourself, no matter what!"

My voice echoed through the warehouse, urgent and clear. "Sylvia, please. You have to give it to him!"

In the footage, my eyes were bloodshot, and I held Sylvia's wrists tightly.

…

Tyler turned his suspicious gaze back to Sylvia.

Sylvia's face went white, and she instinctively stepped back half a step.