Amidst the flashing neon lights and dizzying nightlife, the grand highlight of the night was unfolding at the top floor of the 33-story Thunder Nightclub.

Juliana Palmer stood on the stage like merchandise, waiting for bids.

Hungry eyes roamed over her body, making her fight the urge to vomit as she kept her head down.

"One dollar." A man swirled the wine in his glass. "She's just a vicious woman who's been to prison and isn't even a virgin, filthy from the inside out. That's all she's worth."

Juliana's eyes reddened as she looked up, and she met Bradley Mccarty's piercing gaze.

With Bradley's bid, no one dared to offer more, not even for a dollar.

Wrapped in a thin white cloth, Juliana was delivered to Bradley's room.

Dressed in a sleek black suit, Bradley stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a crystal-clear wine glass. His eyes were cold, like a predator eyeing its prey. "Juliana, three years without a man, and now you're in such a rush to find someone to screw you?"

A sneer played on his lips. Juliana clutched the thin blanket to her chest as her gaze dimmed. "Bradley, I've already served three years in prison. I have no home to return to. Can't you let me go, and spare my brother and his family?"

"No!" His cold words cut through the air. "You'll never be able to repay your debt."

Juliana gasped.

Bradley still hated her.

When she and her elder brother Lawson Palmer were young, their parents died in a tragic plane crash. Tyrese Palmer had taken them in. Tyrese's daughter, Kianna Palmer, was his only biological child, and he treated her and Lawson like his own. So how could she have harmed Kianna?

Juliana had explained countless times, but Bradley never believed her. Later, Bradley proposed to marry her. She thought he had let go of his hatred, but what awaited her was revenge.

It had been three years.

During that period, she had lost her child, been sent to prison, and could no longer be reunited with her family.

She had told herself that she would bury her feelings during those three years and that from now on, they would owe each other nothing, destined to remain strangers.

But Bradley still wouldn't let her go.

"Bradley, you're insane! I didn't cause Kianna's death. I've explained to you so many times."

Juliana shook off Bradley's hand and turned to leave.

Bradley sneered, his icy voice cutting through the air behind her. "You've signed a contract with Thunder Nightclub. Can you afford the penalty if you break it?"

Juliana froze in place.

She had come here to raise money, for her nephew Ayden Palmer needed the money.

"What do you want?"

Bradley flicked a drop of wine from his pants. "You knocked over my wine glass and spilled it on my pants. Now, clean it up."

Juliana's pale cheeks flushed.

"Ten thousand dollars, Juliana. Weren't you willing to sell yourself for money? Why are you pretending now?"

She trembled. The figure of ten thousand dollars echoed in her mind like a curse. Finally, she slowly knelt.

Those few short minutes felt like a lifetime, as she painstakingly wiped the last of the stain.

"You were just trying to seduce me, right?" Bradley dragged her.

Juliana lay on the floor like a broken doll.

Bradley, now fully dressed, stood tall in front of her in his polished black shoes. Her trembling body recoiled as he tossed a check at her feet. "Quit the act. If you had real pride, you wouldn't take this money."

The check read ten thousand dollars.

Hugging herself tightly, Juliana let out a soft, bitter laugh. "Mr. Mccarty, how generous of you."

Bradley paused, a mocking smile creeping onto his lips. His voice dripped with disdain. "Done pretending?"

"You're right, Mr. Mccarty. There's no difference between once and a few more times."

Bradley stepped closer, yanking her into his arms.

Juliana bit her lip, suppressing the urge to push him away, enduring the humiliation.

His eyes remained icy.

He couldn't deny that this woman's body still fascinated him.

She constantly stirred his desires.

Juliana understood men too well.

His fingers brushed her cheek before he harshly pushed her away.

"I'm giving the money to you like I'd toss change to a beggar. Never show your face in front of me again. Get out."

His words were sharp as blades, each one piercing her heart. Her entire being felt shattered by his cruelty.

"If you hate me so much, why did you marry me?"

"What do you think I would marry the person who killed Kianna?" Bradley sneered.

Of course, it was for revenge.

A check for a hundred thousand dollars fluttered down in front of her.

With the check, her dignity crumbled alongside.

Tears welled up in Juliana's eyes as she clenched the check in her hand. She hugged herself tightly, the echo of Bradley's scornful laughter ringing in her ears as she buried her head in her knees, large teardrops rolling down her face.

She wanted to throw the check back in his face, to tell him to get lost, but her sister-in-law Jessie Logan's and Ayden's desperate cries still echoed in her mind.

Three years ago, on the way to her wedding, Bradley's fiancee, Kianna, had a car accident, plunging off a cliff.

Bradley believed that she had caused it and threw her into prison.

After three years, Juliana was released, only to find that her once-prosperous brother and his family were now living in misery, all because of her.

Her brother had tried everything to save her, but just when he thought he had succeeded, he was arrested for financial discrepancies in his reports.

Her nephew had borrowed a hundred thousand dollars in loans.

"They said if I gave them the money, they'd release my dad, but I gave it to them, and they disappeared."

Ayden was still the same obedient child she remembered.

He had secretly borrowed the money, trying to save his father.

If it weren't for her, her brother, once a promising manager in a big company, wouldn't have ended up like this.

It was all because of her.

In Bradley's eyes, she was already guilty of murder, so selling her body for money wouldn't make a difference.

Her tear-filled vision blurred as she clenched the check tightly.

She didn't know how long she had cried, but eventually, her tears dried up. Slowly, she dragged herself to her feet and limped into the bathroom.

The water from the shower-head fell on her body, and she scrubbed herself fiercely, her pale skin turning bright red.

Bradley was right.

Dirty.

She felt so dirty.

Juliana returned groggily to her tiny rented room. As soon as she lay down, a low fever set in, and she was entangled in a vivid dream.

A younger Kianna asked, "Juliana, what kind of boy do you like?"

"Someone like Bradley," she replied, blushing with a racing heart.

She could still remember the excitement she felt when she said those words.

In the next scene, Kianna was kneeling before her, pleading.

"Juliana, I don't love Bradley. I can't marry him. Please help me escape, okay?"

She replied, "Kianna, Bradley is a great man. If you give it a chance, you'll surely fall in love with him."

"Juliana, I know you like Bradley. Our families will be joined by marriage. You're just like my own sister. If you married him, it would be the same. Please, I really can't marry him. I'd be miserable for the rest of my life."

That long-held secret was suddenly laid bare. With Kianna's desperate pleading, Juliana could no longer resist and agreed.

Later, when Kianna had her accident, Juliana asked herself countless times the same question. If she hadn't harbored that small, selfish desire, would Kianna still be alive?

The guilt gnawed at her heart.

After Kianna's death, she never considered marrying Bradley.

To her, Bradley always belonged to Kianna. She never dared take what was Kianna's.

No matter how much she loved him, though it was ten long years of unspoken love.

After the accident, she avoided Bradley at all costs. But one morning, she woke up beside him in the same bed.

Bradley personally went to her adoptive father Tyrese to ask for her hand, vowing to take responsibility.

At the time, she thought he had finally let go of his resentment, but she didn't realize it was only the beginning of his revenge.

Later, after Tyrese passed away, Bradley threw her into prison for three years.

He told her it was the debt she owed Kianna.

The dream shifted again. She was back in the cold, dark prison.

"I didn't kill my father! I didn't start that fire! I need to see a lawyer!" she screamed.

Bradley, dressed in a silver-gray suit, entered. She rushed toward him in desperation, pleading, "You have to believe I'm innocent. Help me get a lawyer. They won't listen to me!"

He kicked her aside, grabbed her by the chin, and lifted her face toward him. "I knew they wouldn't listen to you. I'm the one who made them do this." Her pupils dilated in shock. Bradley tossed her aside and gestured to a cruel-looking woman standing nearby, saying, "She's here to atone, not to vacation. Make sure you treat her accordingly."

"Please don't! Don't kick my stomach! No!"

The other prisoners ignored her pleas. Their fists rained down on her, and her stomach was brutally kicked several times.

Pain shot through her abdomen, and her lower half was soaked in blood. Lying helpless on the ground, she didn't even think to call for help.

Because Bradley wouldn't give her the chance.

As she lay there, she felt the fragile life inside her slowly slipping away, along with any love she had dared to feel for Bradley.

Juliana thought, Baby, I'm sorry. I'm the one who is to blame for it. I'm a sinner. I'm so sorry.

From that day forward, she silently endured all the abuse.

Even the leading prisoner thought she had gone mad. "Hey, do you not feel pain or something? You won't even cry out when we beat you?"

Juliana forced a bitter smile. It wasn't that she didn't feel pain. It was just that the ache in her heart was a hundred times worse, a thousand times worse.

That pain was given to her by Bradley, and it was the debt she owed her child. She would endure it all, without complaint.

Every blow and every insult... She deserved it all!