Five years ago, when my boyfriend's small company was on the brink of bankruptcy I stepped in to save him, quietly supporting him from the shadows. Without revealing my identity, I became the company’s largest shareholder.

Five years later, the night before his company was set to go public, he held me in his arms and said, "Emma, after the company goes public tomorrow, don’t leave. I have a surprise for you."

At that moment, I was swept away by the idea of his "surprise," my mind racing with the hopeful thought that he might propose. I didn’t notice the cold glint of malice lurking in his eyes.

The next day, as his company went public, he slapped me across the face and sneered, "Do you even see what kind of person you are? Did you really think someone like you could marry me?"

He grabbed me by the hair and dragged both me and my best friend in front of a crowd of thugs and beggars he’d gathered. “These worthless cast-offs aren’t good enough for me anymore. Consider them my gift to you. Do whatever you like with them!”

After the company’s listing ceremony ended, I sat in the VIP section, waiting for Jasper Lowe to come find me.

My best friend, Yvonne Cook, suddenly gasped in surprise.

"Emma, why are there so many beggars and thugs all of a sudden?"

Following her gaze, I looked over. At some point, a group of thugs and beggars had swarmed into the hotel venue. The doors and windows of the hotel were also completely sealed, though I hadn’t noticed when that happened.

Yvonne anxiously asked, "Emma, what’s going on? It looks like they’re coming straight for us."

As the group of thugs and beggars slowly advanced toward us, I quickly turned my head, scanning the area. When I looked up, my eyes met a familiar gaze not far away.

Jasper stood there with his assistant, smiling as he watched us.

The moment I saw the smile on his face, my heart skipped a beat. A terrible sense of foreboding crept over me.

"Jasper Lowe! What are you doing just standing there? Get over here and get us out of here!"

Yvonne had spotted him too and called out to him urgently. The moment her voice faded, Jasper’s smile disappeared. With a casual wave of his hand, he issued an order to the thugs and beggars.

His lips parted, and he calmly uttered, "Do whatever you want with these two women within the next thirty minutes."

As his words fell, the group of thugs and beggars charged at us like madmen.

Yvonne and I screamed in terror, clinging to each other as we tried to escape. But before we could get far, we were overwhelmed by the thugs and beggars swarming from all directions, forcing us to the ground.

Clutching Yvonne tightly, I refused to let go. Their filthy hands kept tugging at us, relentless and unyielding.

Then came a ripping sound—Yvonne’s dress had been torn apart.

The sound acted like an adrenaline shot, driving the mob into an even greater frenzy.

As we were on the verge of being dragged apart, Yvonne sobbed into my ear, "Emma, has Jasper gone mad? Why isn’t he saving us?"

Her words struck me, and I suddenly remembered what Jasper told me the night before.

“Emma, don’t leave after the company goes public tomorrow. I have a surprise for you,” he’d said with a smile.

I was lost in the thought of his so-called surprise, foolishly wondering if he might propose. I had ignored the malice and calculation buried deep in his eyes.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this was the "surprise" he had in store.

Just as despair began to consume me, Jasper’s voice cut through the chaos.

"Stand down!"

The filthy hands stopped, retreating as though commanded.

I opened my eyes and saw Jasper’s familiar yet disturbingly unfamiliar face.

He was crouched before me, looking down with a cold gaze.

In a daze, I choked out, "Is this... the surprise you mentioned yesterday?"

Jasper nodded, a cold smile curling on his lips.

"Emma, you didn’t seriously think the surprise I mentioned was marrying you, did you?" he asked mockingly.

I froze, stunned by his words.

Why shouldn’t I think that?

Five years ago, when his company was on the brink of collapse and near bankruptcy, he’d been consumed by despair, taking out his frustration on me night after night. It became unbearable, both to witness and endure.

Desperate, I asked Yvonne to step in and secretly inject funds into his company, pulling it back from the edge of ruin.

After that, I went even further, begging my brother to provide covert support. Thanks to these efforts, his company began to thrive, growing over the next five years into the publicly listed enterprise it was today.

I gave so much to him.

Why wouldn’t I believe he intended to marry me?

"Emma..." Yvonne’s pained voice snapped me back to reality.

I turned to her and was met with a horrifying sight.

Her arm hung limply at her side, visibly broken. Blood dripped from several deep gashes across her face, streaking her features in crimson.

It hit me then—throughout the chaos, she had shielded me with her body.

Tears spilled uncontrollably from my eyes, shattering the last vestiges of my composure.

Spinning around, I screamed at Jasper in rage and despair.

"Jasper Lowe! Why are you doing this?"

"Sign it," he ordered coldly, tossing a contract in front of me.

I stared at the clauses written on the contract, feeling a wave of disbelief washed over me. For a moment, it seemed like Jasper had lost his mind.

"A breakup agreement? No disclosure of our past relationship? Leave Riverdale forever?"

I looked at Jasper in utter shock. "If you wanted to break up, you could’ve just said so. Why go this far?"

He rose to his feet, his expression chillingly calm. "Would you have agreed so easily if I didn’t?"

As he spoke, he suddenly pressed his foot down on Yvonne’s broken arm. Her heart-wrenching scream pierced the air.

I lunged forward, trying to pry his foot off her, but he kicked me away effortlessly.

"Sign it!" he roared, his voice like a whip.

Clutching my chest where the pain radiated, I forced myself upright and signed the agreement.

The moment the paper was snatched away, Jasper finally released Yvonne.

I scrambled to her side, pulling her into my arms.

Her arm was grotesquely twisted and deformed, her face drained of all color. The sight of her pale, blood-smeared features filled me with unbearable anguish.

Jasper Lowe wasn’t just heartless—he was a monster.

At that moment, Yvonne’s eyes fluttered open slightly. She glanced at me with concern before turning to Jasper.

"Jasper, do you even realize Emma’s true identity is—"

Before she could finish, Jasper erupted into manic laughter. With a brutal kick to her abdomen, he knocked Yvonne unconscious.

I screamed, but it was cut short as Jasper seized me by the throat, dragging me off the ground.

"Emma! Don’t think I don’t know about your schemes against me!" he snarled, his grip tightening.

He extended a hand, gesturing to his assistant. "Give it to me!"

The assistant promptly handed over another document. Jasper slapped it against my face, his voice cold and commanding.

"Transfer all your shares to me!"

As I caught sight of the document's contents, an icy chill swept over me, spreading through every inch of my body. The dense lines of text felt suffocating, each one a dagger to my chest.

A share transfer agreement.

So, he knew all along that I was the one who helped his company survive its darkest hour.

Back when I provided the funding to keep his failing company afloat, I’d considered telling him the truth. But his pride, coupled with the fact that my family would never approve of us if he didn’t establish a career of his own, held me back. That was why I chose to help him in secret.

Yet, even knowing I was the one who saved him, he still did this.

All that I had done for him—everything I sacrificed—was twisted into some kind of scheme in his eyes.

Jasper’s voice broke through my thoughts.

"Emma, be a good girl and sign it!"

His bloodshot eyes bore into mine, cold and predatory, like a starving wolf guarding its meal.

But all I felt was a bitter urge to laugh.

I was laughing at myself for being blind to his true nature and laughing at him for his shortsightedness.

He thought Yvonne was about to reveal something about the shares. What he didn’t know was that she had been about to expose my true identity.

If he knew I was the heiress of the influential Wynn family, he would never have dared to pull a stunt like this. Forget about the shares I held in his company, my family wouldn’t even blink at ten companies of his size.

But at this point, I had no intention of revealing who I was.

As the realization settled in, I spoke calmly, my voice steady.

"I’ll sign, but only if you take Yvonne to the hospital first."

I fully expected him to refuse outright.

To my surprise, he smiled and said, "Alright, I agree."

He clapped his hands, and two doctors in white coats promptly stepped forward, lifting Yvonne with practiced ease. Without a word, they carried her away, one at her head and the other at her feet.

Relief washed over me, and I exhaled deeply. With that, I signed my name on the agreement.

Before I could even set the pen down, Jasper snatched the document from my hands.

He held it as though it were a treasure, his entire body trembling with excitement. A near-maniacal, distorted laugh escaped his throat.

"Emma, do you know how long I’ve been investigating this? Six months! Six whole months! I almost delayed the company’s listing trying to figure it out. Only then did I uncover the truth that the shares were in your hands all along."

His voice grew colder, more twisted. "Did you seriously think that your mere $200,000 investment would allow you to control my company, now worth hundreds of millions? Your scheming runs far too deep!"

Watching his crazed expression sent a chill down my spine. Fear gripped me, but beneath it was a wave of gratitude.

If he hadn’t revealed his true colors now, and if I had actually married him, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.

The thought made me even more eager to put as much distance between us as possible.

"I’ve signed the papers. I’ll take Yvonne and leave now."

Without waiting for his response, I turned and carefully made my way toward the exit, tense and wary of any sudden moves from him.

But the thing I feared most happened anyway.

I had barely taken two steps when I heard Jasper’s sinister laughter behind me.

"Emma, did you really think I’d let you leave so easily?"

Every hair on my body stood on end, a chilling sense of danger piercing through me.

I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned to face him. Jasper held up the agreement I had just signed, waving it mockingly in my direction.

My eyes locked onto the document, and my blood ran cold.

Somehow, at some point, the breakup agreement I signed had turned into an organ donation agreement.

"Emma, with your so-called cunning, how could you think I’d waste time having you sign some useless breakup agreement? And didn’t you notice? Yvonne hasn’t made a sound since she was taken away."

Jasper’s words, dripping with venom, echoed in my ears.

My mind went blank, the horrifying truth crashing down on me.

The "breakup agreement" was a lie. What I had signed was an organ donation agreement!

Jasper never intended to let me or Yvonne leave alive today!

"Yvonne!"

Panic surged through me as I turned and bolted toward the direction where Yvonne had been taken. My heart pounded wildly, driven by sheer desperation.

"Run, Emma, run faster!" Jasper's voice called out from behind, dripping with cruel mockery. "Maybe you'll catch her last breath if you're quick enough!"