Joanne got up early to cook for Steven.

But Steven had no appetite. He said worriedly, "Jo, maybe we should go get Charles. My injuries aren't serious. If he ends up with a criminal record, it'll destroy his life. And if you two have children in the future, their lives would be ruined too."

He wasn't worried about me at all. He was just afraid Joanne would discover the truth.

Joanne sneered. "He deserves whatever consequences he gets! Steven, don't worry. I'll never have children with him. I've been taking precautions all these years."

No wonder she never became pregnant after five years of marriage.

I had even suspected something was wrong with me and gone to the hospital for tests. I never imagined that all these years, she had secretly been preventing pregnancy, afraid of carrying my child.

Joanne even took leave to bring Steven out to relax.

They hadn't been out long when my best friend, Frank Jensen, called.

"Joanne, my friend is dead, and you're off taking your lover out for fun? Don't you have any decency?"

Joanne's expression darkened as she snapped back, "You of all people should know what kind of person Charles is! If he's so determined to die, he should just get it over with and stop getting in the way of Steven and me."

Frank fumed, "You shameless woman! I—"

Joanne hung up the phone.

Steven, ever good at reading the room, pulled her into his arms and asked gently, "Jo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Her anger vanished the moment she faced Steven.

Joanne wanted to go on a short vacation with Steven, but the hospital director, Jasper Henderson, called. This forced her to abandon the plan.

"Joanne, you have 30 minutes. Get back to the hospital now!" Jasper ordered.

Confused, she rushed back.

Steven felt uneasy and followed her.

Inside the morgue were not only Jasper, but also police officers and a medical examiner.

Believing she understood the situation, Joanne said impatiently, "Did Charles stir up something again? It hasn't even been that long, and it's already unraveling. Are you here to gather evidence against him for attempted murder?"

A police officer replied flatly, "Mr. Jenkins is really dead."

Annoyed, Joanne scoffed. "What kind of joke is this? Didn't I already say he was faking it?"

"Well, the medical examiner needs to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death now. If you don't believe it, stay and watch."

Joanne laughed. "Fine! I'd like to see how long he can keep pretending."

Steven tugged at her arm, panic flashing across his face. "Jo, we mustn't let them do an autopsy. What if they hurt Charles?"

"He deserves it!" Joanne personally pulled back the white sheet covering my body, completely ignoring how pale my face already was.

"Hurry up!" she urged the medical examiner.