But no one could hear my desperate cries, and the only response was Maddox's cold, unfeeling voice.

"Callie, you're too softhearted. We've planned this for so long, just for this very day. We can't let everything fall apart at the last moment.

"Have you forgotten how Judith stole everything from you? If it weren't for her mother, your identity as the illegitimate daughter wouldn't have been exposed. Your mother wouldn't have died, you would have married the man you loved, and you wouldn't have been driven out of the Whitcombe family!

"Don't worry. When it's all over, I'll make it up to Judith."

My whole body trembled. My limbs spasmed from the numbness, feeling as if a thousand needles were stabbing into me at once. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and I forcefully swallowed the metallic taste rising in my throat.

"I don't want you to make it up to me, Maddox Harlow! Just let me out of here, and I'll willingly give up my position as the heiress. I'll go somewhere far away and never disturb you all again!" I yelled inwardly.

Callista seemed to be crying, her voice choked with sobs.

"Maddox, you're so good to me. Every time I felt sad or upset, you'd deliberately provoke Trevor so he'd abuse Judith. You'd even have him send over the photos and videos.

"Seeing her covered in bruises, kneeling on the floor begging for mercy, or locked in the closet for three whole days and nights until she was starving and dehydrated—it always made me feel so much better."

Maddox pulled Callista tightly into his arms and sighed. "As long as you're happy, hurting Judith a thousand times—or even ten thousand times over—is worth it. She owes you that much."

Inside the coffin, tears burst from my eyes. My heart felt as though something heavy had brutally smashed into it, causing it to cave in.

So that was how Maddox saw me this whole time. How could a person be that cruel? So every single time I was abused, he was the one behind it.

He was endlessly gentle when he was with me, but behind my back, he used photos of my torment and suffering to please another woman.

I laughed silently, tears sliding down from the corners of my eyes and dripping onto the wooden board, where they were instantly absorbed.

Perhaps the agony was too much, because suddenly, a surge of strength I'd never felt before rushed through my body, and I could move my fingers again.

No matter how much I hated the vile pair, at this moment, all I wanted was to live.

My nails scraped against the board beneath me, making faint scratching sounds. I desperately hoped they'd hear the noises coming from inside the coffin.

But in the next second, my hope shattered. Outside, the sounds of passionate kissing started.

I could feel a woman being pressed against the coffin, her back flat against the wooden lid.

I pounded my fingers desperately against the wood, but the two of them were lost in their passion and couldn't hear me.

Their ragged breathing tangled together as their bodies rocked against the coffin, making it creak and groan incessantly.

My desperate cries for help were drowned out just like that.

While moving against her, Maddox murmured his devotion. "Callie, do you know how long I've waited for this day? Finally, you're willing to give up on Trevor and marry me.

"Because of you, I swallowed my disgust and seduced Judith. When I was with her that night, all I could think about was you."

I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth, forcing myself not to listen to the nauseating sounds outside.

I thought my will to survive outweighed my hatred for them, but I was wrong. I hated them. Just as much as I had once loved Maddox, I now hated him. And I hated myself even more for falling in love with two men who had hurt me without mercy.

I didn't know how much time passed before it finally went quiet outside.

Just as I sank into despair, waiting to die, the coffin lid suddenly cracked open just a sliver.

A white light blinded my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Callista's exquisitely beautiful face.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her clothes were disheveled. It was obvious what she had just been doing.

I looked at her with desperation, hoping she'd save me. But she didn't seem surprised at all that I had woken up. She scrutinized me with a cold, disdainful gaze and clicked her tongue.

"You poor thing. You're about to be buried alive. Maddox went to take care of the funeral arrangements, so I'll keep you company for a while, dear sister.

"Five years ago, your mother found out about my identity. To clear the way for you, she forced my mother to her death and made Dad kick me out of the Whitcombe family. Not only that, but you even stole my wedding! The person who was supposed to marry Trevor was me!

"You've been married to him for five years, and he abused you the entire time. I never expected you to have endured it all, refusing to divorce, so I had no choice but to send Maddox to seduce you.

"You were so stupid, actually falling in love with him. Weren't you dreaming about going abroad to marry him? Well, since you stole my marriage, I'm going to steal yours!

"Now, your mother is finally dead, and I tampered with the fake-death drug too. Once you're buried underground, you'll watch yourself die and be powerless to stop it. And the day of death will be the very day Maddox and I get married."

Callista enunciated each word clearly, and my heart grew colder with each sentence. The tiny spark of hope that had just reignited was once again extinguished.

She curled her red lips with delight as she took out the water and food that had been left inside the coffin.

"You're about to die anyway, so you won't need these," she said airily. "But I will leave the oxygen tank for you, so you can hang on for a few more days. It's a shame you won't get to see my wedding with Maddox."

The coffin lid was closed again, and the last sliver of light vanished.

My fingers dug into the wood so hard that my nails almost broke. My eyelids grew heavy, exhaustion overwhelming me, and I fell unconscious.

When I woke up again, I heard the noisy chatter of people outside.

My funeral had begun.

Guests greeted each other, chatting and laughing. No one mourned my "death".

"Judith was finally tormented to death. Trevor beat her to a pulp, and she still refused to divorce him for the Whitcombe family's sake."

"Serves her right for stealing her sister's man. Callista is much prettier and more capable than she is. If she hadn't been exposed as an illegitimate daughter, Judith never would've had the chance to take her place."

"Exactly. She even drugged Trevor just so she could marry into the Penn family. How shameless! And not long after they married, she got beaten so badly that she lost her baby. Unbelievable, right? Now she's dead, and Trevor won't even attend her funeral."

"Callista really has good luck. She suffered a lot five years ago, but now that her sister is dead, she's the sole heiress to the Whitcombes. And in a week, she's marrying the heir of Harlow Corporation. Who would dare call her illegitimate now?"

Guests gossiped about my family and my marriage, mocking and belittling me without a second thought.

Little did they know, the person lying in the coffin was still alive, lying there in despair and waiting for death to take me.

The priest finished the prayers, and the burial was about to begin.

I struggled desperately, feeling time slip away second by second, but no one could save me.

I was carried to the gravesite. Just before I was lowered into the ground, I heard Maddox lean in close to my coffin.

With all my strength, I forced out three words. "Save… save me."