At my words, the entire place fell silent for a moment. My eyes were still locked on Josephine's.

She knew better than anyone how Dad had died and what his status meant. If they kept this up, they would be asking for trouble.

Just as everyone was wondering whether I was telling the truth, Jonathan strode over to the hearse and kicked the door, snorting with disdain.

"Do you really think we're fools? A national hero's funeral procession would have a police motorcade escort leading the way, and the coffin would be draped with the national flag!

"Well, where's the police motorcade escort? I don't see anything. If you're going to make something up, at least make it convincing.

"You failed to steal my bride, so now you're trying to play the victim and get something out of this, right? I don't care.

"You already made us late for the wedding. Now I've got all the time in the world to teach you a lesson!"

Jonathan raised the iron rod and smashed the hearse window. Shards of glass fell onto the white shroud covering Dad's body.

"Stop that!" I immediately saw red. With my hands bound by rope, I could not break free at all.

I watched Jonathan climb onto the hearse with his groomsmen. He even stepped on Dad's body, filling me with rage.

"Jonathan, if you don't stop this, I swear you'll pay for it!"

Hearing this, Jonathan scanned the trembling funeral staff outside the hearse.

"Alright then. Why don't you tell me who exactly is in this hearse? But you'd better think carefully.

"If you make Ms. Thompson late for her own wedding and help outsiders cover for them, you won't be able to handle the consequences!

"I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you one chance. Either take the money and scram, or rot in jail with this bastard for lying!"

With that, Jonathan pulled out a thick wad of bills from his pocket and threw it carelessly on the floor.

The funeral staff, who had just seen me exposed and tied to a tree for humiliation, hesitated only for a moment before scrambling to pick up the cash scattered on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith. We're just trying to make a living. We can't afford to offend anyone. When you booked our services, you did so under the name of Nexora Group. But that doesn't prove the company is yours."

At that moment, my heart sank. I roared at them to come back and tell the truth, but all I got in return was Jonathan's blatant humiliation of me.

He even got into the lead car of the wedding convoy and slammed the accelerator, ramming it into the hearse.

"I don't know where you got this beggar's corpse from. You're really sticking with that story, aren't you? Well, I'd like to see how you're going to make me pay for this!"

The hearse was already battered and wedged against the bridge guardrail. It was just an inch away from plunging into the river.

My wrists burned from the rope digging into my skin, so I could only yell at the top of my lungs, "Jonathan, you're so heartless! Don't you know you should respect the dead?"

But Jonathan was caught up in the excitement and yelled, "What's so great about cremation? Burying him in the river is way more fun!

"I'm helping you save on funeral costs. Is this really how you're going to thank me?"

Left with no choice, I looked at Josephine. "If the car really plunges into the river and causes a serious accident, the fallout will implicate everyone.

"You may be the chairman of Nexora Group, but even you won't get out of this unscathed. Are you really just going to stand by and do nothing?"

Josephine's expression remained cold. "I already told you. As long as you apologize to Jonathan, I'll pretend nothing happened.

"Besides, if you hadn't deliberately blocked the road at this exact moment, would this have even happened? If anything, you're the one blocking traffic on purpose!"

At this point, Josephine was still firmly on Jonathan's side, which I found pathetic and ridiculous.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the hearse in the distance, on the verge of plunging into the river. One of the groomsmen even had his camera pressed right up against Dad's face.

I was overwhelmed with humiliation, but all I could do was lower my head. "Okay. I'm sorry for getting in your way. It's all my fault. Now, can you make him stop doing that?"

Jonathan rolled down the car window, cupped a hand to his ear, and deliberately said, "What did you just say? Speak up, won't you? Why are you acting like a woman?"

I closed my eyes and yelled out an apology, then continued, "I've already apologized. Please stop this now!"

Jonathan pulled his phone from his pocket and pointed it at my face, recording me as he laughed brazenly. "I can do that, but I can't let the fact that you harassed my wife slide. If I did, wouldn't that mean anyone could just try to steal her away from me?"

I looked up, my eyes bloodshot. "What do you want?"

Jonathan waved his hand, and the groomsman beside me immediately understood and untied the ropes binding my wrists.

Then his infuriating voice rang out. "Tell you what. I want you to beg me for mercy. If I'm satisfied, I might let this go."

As soon as he said that, his groomsmen immediately surrounded me. Even if I didn't want to, they would still force me to do it.

My breathing was labored, and a metallic taste filled my mouth.

Josephine clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed. "All he wants is for you to beg him for mercy. Is that shred of dignity really worth it?"

Seeing that I didn't move, Jonathan edged the car forward. "If you don't want to, I won't force you. You'll have to call a search and recovery team to pull this car out of the river later!"

"No!" I would do anything for Dad, even if it meant giving up my dignity.

At the same time, a loud crash rang out. I looked up and saw Jonathan ram the hearse hard, sending it plunging into the river and splashing water everywhere.

With a smirk, Jonathan hopped out of the car and threw his hands up.

"I'm sorry. I accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake."

At that moment, rage consumed me, and I lost all sense of reason. I shoved the two groomsmen out of my way and lunged at Jonathan, wrapping my hands around his neck.

"I'm going to kill you!"

With that, someone struck the back of my head with an iron rod. My vision went black, and I collapsed to the ground. Warm blood trickled down my forehead, blurring my sight.

When I looked up, I saw Josephine toss the iron rod to the ground, her expression grave.

"If anything happens to Jonathan, I'll make you pay for this!"

Everyone crowded around Jonathan, making sure he was okay. In the chaos, someone even stepped on the back of my hand.

Just when I thought I might actually die there, the police sirens wailed in the distance.