Someone had sprinkled some corrosive acid powder all over my wedding dress, the one worth over a hundred million.

The moment I put it on, my flesh began to burn and dissolve. Blood and yellowish fluid pooled around me as a result.

When I tried to call for an ambulance, someone’s mother held me down. She smiled cruelly and said, “You dare steal my daughter’s wedding dress? Go to hell!”

However, my husband had ordered the dress from a top designer. It was one of a kind!

I struggled with all my strength and shouted at her, “Do you know who I am? How dare you touch me?!”

Her daughter, Yelena Stone, then grabbed a knife and stabbed me hard in my pregnant belly. She sneered and said, “You stole my man, but you have the audacity to yell at me? Fine. I’ll just spend a little more to end your worthless life.”

My worthless life? I laughed.

My hands were stained with blood as I called my brother, Hunter Sinclair, an elite in Jinvell’s social circles.

“Hunter! Someone’s trying to kill me! And tell Jacob to get here now!”

After I hung up, laughter broke out from the crowd around us.

“Has she gone mad? She stole Ms. Stone’s wedding dress and still dares to act so arrogantly?”

I could not stop trembling from the pain. The skin on my arms was melting into thick, foul pus at a terrifying speed.

Yelena grabbed my phone and smashed it on the floor. “You dare call for help? I’m not letting you leave this bridal shop alive today!” she said viciously.

I fought through the pain and gritted my teeth as I looked at her.

My eyes went wide in shock when I saw the ruby ring on her ring finger.

Was that not the gift Jacob Fletcher had won at an auction just for me?

How was it on her finger?

Before I could ask, a sharp pain tore through my body. It felt like a million needles were twisting inside my stomach.

Thinking of the baby inside me, I could no longer hold back. “I won’t make a fuss about this right now. Just take me to the hospital!” I yelled.

“If anything happens to my baby, the Sinclair family will never forgive you!”

Yelena kicked me hard right in my stomach wound. She sneered and spoke with disdain. “The Sinclair family? I’ve never heard of them!”

Then, her mother grabbed my hair with a cruel grin.

“My daughter is Yelena Stone, the wife of Northshore Group’s Jacob Fletcher. I don’t care who you are. You’re begging for her forgiveness right now!”

Pain shot through my scalp, but it did not match the agony in my heart.

Jacob’s wife?

Was I not Jacob’s wife?

Seeing the smug and confident look on the woman before me, a shocking thought crossed my mind.

Jacob had… cheated on me!

However, this was not the time to argue with Yelena. What mattered most was my baby.

The cramps in my stomach came in waves. My voice trembled with pain as I shouted, “Take me to the hospital! Call Jacob and tell him to get here now!”

Yelena looked at me with an unreadable expression and remained still.

“Hurry! If anything happens to my baby, both you and Jacob are going to pay!”

She frowned and slapped me across the face.

“You’re a thief. How dare you order my husband around? Do you have a death wish?

“What are you daydreaming about in broad daylight, you lowlife?”

Yelena looked at me with disgust.

Just as she raised her hand to hit me again, sharp brakes screeched outside.

She stared at the Rolls‑Royce beyond the glass door and froze.

I looked at the person who had arrived before I turned back to her with a sneer.

“My brother’s here. Are you ready to die, Yelena?

“I told you before. I’m from the Sinclair family!”

“I don’t care about the Sinclair family. I don’t know about you people. Besides, the whole of Jinvell belongs to the Fletcher family.”

Yelena looked down at me and made it clear that she did not take Hunter seriously.

The next moment, the glass door burst open with a kick.

I could no longer hold back my tears. “Hunter!”

Hunter saw how badly hurt I was and flew into a rage. He smacked Yelena to the floor and ran to my side.

Then, he wrapped his coat around me and carefully held my wounded body.

“Don’t be scared, Wendy. I’m here.”

He turned to the bodyguards with a fierce glint in his eyes.

“How dare you hurt my sister?! You’ll pay for this!”

Still worried, I trembled as I curled up in Hunter’s arms and sobbed softly. “Hunter, didn’t you bring anyone with you?”

His expression darkened.

“I didn’t expect anyone in Jinvell to be foolish enough to pick on you.

“Don’t worry. Dad’s on his way with some people. They’ll be here soon.”

Just then, Yelena rushed over in anger. “You lowlife! How dare you hit me?! Do you have a death wish?”

The right side of her face was swollen with a clear handprint.

Hunter turned to her with fury in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Did you just say you’re Jacob’s wife?”

“Yes. My husband is Jacob Fletcher. You’re Hunter Sinclair, right?

“I’ll call my husband and get him to kill you! How dare you hit me?! You’re going to pay!”

Yelena put the call on speaker. Once Jacob answered, she whined, “Honey, a man named Hunter Sinclair is accusing me of bullying his sister. He wants to kill me.

“He even hit me.”

Jacob’s tone suddenly grew tense over the phone. “What did you say his name was?”

A chill ran down my spine. I could not believe that the person on the other end was actually Jacob.

“No way. Hunter couldn’t possibly be in Jinvell today. Someone must be impersonating him.”

Hearing Jacob say that, I sank to the floor in a daze.

Blood pooled beneath me and started to soak Hunter’s coat.

Hunter panicked and pressed his hands against my wound to stop the bleeding.

Seeing me like this, he could no longer control his anger. He shouted into Yelena’s phone, “Jacob, do you even have a conscience? Wendy’s carrying your child!”

Yelena immediately hung up and angrily replied, “What are you yelling for?! My husband says he doesn’t know you at all!

“Even if I kill you in front of everyone today, we can just pay our way out of it. My husband has plenty of money.”

Hunter scoffed. “Hah! Jacob is where he is because of the Sinclair family, and now, he has the nerve to turn on us!

“I’m warning you. Take Wendy to a hospital now, and I might still let you live.”

Yelena looked at my swollen belly and smirked. “Pregnant, huh? Fine. I’ll take care of that.

“Get that baby out of her.”

I could not hold back anymore and grabbed the tailor’s shears beside me. Then, I rushed at Yelena and plunged the shears into her stomach.

“You vicious bitch! You’ll pay for this. I swear I’ll kill you!” Yelena screamed.

Sneering, I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and raised the shears to strike again.

However, Yelena kicked me in the stomach. I flew back and hit the concrete like a ragdoll.

A metallic taste filled my mouth, and I spat out a mouthful of blood.

My stomach soon turned numb from the pain. But I could still feel blood seeping out beneath me.

My baby… My baby was in danger.

Yelena’s expression darkened. “Beat them to death!”

The bodyguards drew their knives and rushed at Hunter and me.

Hunter pulled me into his arms and took the blade meant for me. Blood spurted from the wound in his arm and splashed on my face.

I froze between shock and terror.

“Yelena, if you don’t know the Sinclair family, ask around on the street. If anything happens to Hunter or me—”

Before I could finish, Yelena sneered and cut me off. “Still putting on an act at death’s door? Shut their mouths.”

“I’m Jacob’s wi—”

Right then, a bodyguard slashed at us.

Hunter shoved me aside, and the blade cut into him again.

My eyes burned when I saw the gash on Hunter’s back. It was so deep that I could see bone. I crawled toward him on my hands and knees.

Right then, one of the bodyguards grabbed a stool and smashed it on Hunter’s head.

There was a loud crack, and Hunter collapsed onto the floor. He looked like he had been dragged out of a pool of blood.

I threw myself at him like I had lost my mind. I held him and cried helplessly, “Hunter! Hunter!”

The heavy stool slammed into my back next. Pain tore through me, and it felt like I was being beaten into a bloody pulp.

Cold sweat and blood soaked through my clothes. Everything felt heavy and sticky against my spine.

All I could hear was my own harsh breathing and the dull thud of the stool hitting me.

Yelena lifted my chin with the tip of her shoe and broke into a cold smile.

“Don’t fall unconscious yet. I still have a gift for you.”

They tied up our arms and legs before dragging us into a glass enclosure. There was no ventilation, and the heat inside made it feel like a steam room.

The sun beat down on us so hard that it seemed to dry out the last drop of moisture in my bones.

I crawled over to Hunter, who was still unconscious, and shook him anxiously. “Hunter! Hunter, wake up!”

Yelena walked in as she pinched her nose in disgust.

I screamed at her, “Take Hunter to a hospital! If anything happens to him, the Sinclair family will never let you go!”

She got irritated and kicked me hard in the chest.

“Looks like you all went too easy on her. Gag her and bring in more charcoal to warm them up.”

I curled into a ball from the pain. My hair was stuck together with dark red blood, and more blood continued to pool beneath me.

I struggled, and the wound on my stomach split open again. The blood that came out dried up almost as soon as it touched the floor.

Blood coated the entire floor of the glass enclosure. The sun had baked it until it turned dark and sticky.

The baby inside me was also slipping away.

If I did not find a way out soon, the baby would not be the only one losing its life. Hunter and I would die here too.

A few minutes later, Yelena’s bodyguards brought in more charcoal.

Yelena and her mother slowly placed heap after heap of red-hot coals inside.

Smoke rose with the heat and forced its way into my nose. I started coughing hard.

Every breath felt like a burning knife scraping down my throat.

Yelena’s mother looked down at me with disgust and said to Yelena, “Jacob just called. He said he’ll come by later to see who dared to bully us.”

I had no idea how much time had gone by. Just when I thought Hunter and I were going to die, the phone pressed against my chest rang.

Gritting my teeth, I reached for it and managed to answer Jacob’s call.

“Wendy, do you like the wedding dress?”