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.

Tyler stared intently at Sylvia. "Where's the USB drive?"

Sylvia's face turned ashen immediately, and her tears came on cue.

"Tyler, Winnie tried to give me drugs. How could I trust any information she gave me? I was afraid it was a trap set by Lucas!"

She wept, and her voice trembled. "I was scared something would happen to you. I can't live without you…"

The crowd in the square was swayed by her act once again.

"Ms. Sylvia is right! You can't trust a single word from a drug dealer!"

"She was protecting Captain Lowell!"

Tyler gazed at her. His eyes were swirling with a storm of emotions. In the end, he pulled her close again, as if trying to convince himself.

The scene abruptly shifted, showing a cargo ship in international waters.

Tyler, disguised as a buyer with a baseball cap, appeared at the deal. When I saw him, my heart skipped a beat.

I forced myself to stay calm as I approached. When I passed him, I whispered urgently, "What are you doing here? It's a trap! Get out!"

Before he could even react, an alarm blared through the ship.

A drug dealer shouted in panic, "There's a mole on board!"

Tyler's hand went to the gun at his waist. His eyes were locked on me, and disbelief was written all over his face.

I felt my heart sink, and I made a decision in that instant.

I raised my gun and pointed it straight at Tyler, shouting, "No need to look! He's the mole!"

My voice rang across the empty deck as I commanded, "Tie him to the mast!"

Several drug dealers rushed forward and pinned Tyler to the ground.

I walked over to him, raised the butt of my gun, and slammed it down on his old shoulder wound.

Tyler grunted, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He looked up at me, and his eyes were filled with icy hatred.

"Winnie, I really misjudged you!"

I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Too bad, Captain Lowell. Be a better judge in your next life!"

I straightened up and laughed. But what no one could see was that my tears were falling, mingling with the rain.

Just then, the roar of helicopters grew closer, circling above the ship.

Lucas descended on a rope ladder. With a nod of his chin, his men moved and delivered a chop to the neck that knocked Tyler unconscious.

Then, without warning, he raised his hand and smacked me across the face, sending me sprawling to the ground.

Lucas crouched down and grabbed my chin with his fingers.

"That's some good acting, Winnie. You hit your ex-husband so hard that I almost believed it. What's next? Faking his death so he can slip away? Huh?"

The screen went black after that.

The crowd in the square exchanged uneasy glances. For the first time, doubt crept into their certainty about my crimes.

"Was she… actually putting on an act to save him?"

"Even Lucas said so. Something's off here!"

Some had even noticed the tears that were mixed with the rain on my face.

For the first time, voices rose up from the crowd to defend me. They were weak, but undeniably real.

Tyler stiffened up. Had it not been for the memory that played, he'd already have forgotten that I had told him to get out.

A chill shot up his spine.

The light from the giant screen flickered back on, and after a few flashes, the footage stabilized.

Tyler's head snapped up, and his eyes widened. What appeared on the screen was something he never could have imagined.