I didn’t want to stay there for even a minute longer.

I hadn’t slept all night. Memories kept flashing through my mind.

As dawn broke, Martin woke up as usual, preparing breakfast for me.

His tone was a little puzzled. “Last night, I didn’t sleep well. I feel weak all over this morning, not sure why.”

I ate my sandwich and simply smiled at his words. “Maybe you’re just too tired from the case. Martin, about my parents’ case… maybe we should just let it go. It’s been five years already. I don’t want you to keep exhausting yourself. Maybe it’s time to give up.”

I saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes and he visibly relaxed.

But he still forced a comforting expression, trying to act like he cared. “Jessy, don’t worry. I will keep my promise and finish what I’ve started. I won’t get tired of doing things for you. Thank you for understanding, honey.”

Just as he was about to kiss me, a wave of nausea hit me.

I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting uncontrollably.

As if sensing something, Martin hurried after me, his eyes filled with excitement. “Jessy, are… you pregnant?”

I froze for a moment.

Martin was overjoyed, lifting me up and spinning around in place. “Great, great! I’m going to be a father! We’re going to have our own child!”

“If my parents knew about this, they’d be so happy. It’s been a while since we’ve visited them. How about we go home in the next couple of days and share this good news with them? We should also let them know. I’ll buy some gifts and come pick you up.”

Before I could say anything, he was already on his phone, selecting maternity and baby products to order.

I keenly noticed that there were quite a few similar items in the cart. They were all placed at the bottom, looking like they’d been prepared for quite a while.

With me expecting, it seemed like Martin had naturally gone ahead and placed the order.

But he had bought everything in pairs.

After paying, he finally remembered that I was still standing beside him.

His expression darkened slightly. After a long pause, he reluctantly spoke, "Going back home, we’re bound to run into Rachel. It wouldn’t be right to go empty-handed. How about I buy a small gift in your name to give her? Sweetheart, it’s been five years. Rachel is also a victim. Please don’t blame her for taking Mark away. We’re so happy now and it’s time to let go of the past..."

I splashed some cold water on my face and responded casually.

"Okay, you’re right. Rachel was just a hostage. Five years have passed without any new leads, which is enough to prove her innocence. Let’s do it your way and I’ll apologize to her."

For the past five years, I’d been tormented by the cause of my parents’ death. I could never bring myself to be kind to Rachel during the family dinners. For that reason, Martin often argued with his family. He even bought a new house outside to protect me. I once thought this was his way of showing love for me. Now, I understood that it was just to avoid embarrassing his beloved Rachel.

He would stop at nothing to protect her.

This five-year-long deception needed to come to an end.

The moment he left, I followed suit. I went straight to the law firm to print out a divorce agreement. While there, I also inquired about the case from five years ago.

The lawyer said that the only evidence I had were photos and it would be almost impossible to reopen the case. Plus, with the public opinion from back then, no one would believe the daughter of a traitor.

I walked down the street, lost in thought. When I came to my senses, I realized I was already standing in front of Martin’s workplace.

As I entered, his colleagues excitedly gathered together, gossiping.

"Was that just now Martin's wife—the guy from the forensics department? She’s so beautiful, though she looks a bit familiar... Oh, wasn’t she the hostage in that international case five years ago?”

"Now that you mention it, I remember too. Martin never used to go to crime scenes, but that time, he actually applied to go with the director, insisting on going with his brother. And when they got there, he immediately started asking about Rachel’s whereabouts."

"Is she probably someone they knew? I mean, it must have been something serious if it scared both of the brothers so much. They were almost uncontrollable. I've never seen the detective and the forensic doctor lose their composure like that. They almost shot the suspect on the spot!"

"Stop talking about it! Back then, someone pointed to Rachel as the murderer and the brothers nearly overturned the entire department. You shouldn’t be discussing her."

The nails dug deeply into the palm of my hand.

I walked numbly to the office door, hearing familiar voices inside.

"How have you been these five years?"

"You still don’t understand your own brother, do you? He almost went so far as to try and pluck the stars from the sky for me. I only agreed to try for a baby and he dragged me into our room and kept me there for three days and nights. I almost couldn’t get out of bed."

Martin forced a wry smile, his voice was full of bitterness. "Yes, Mark has always liked you. I should have seen that.

“Martin, thank you. If you hadn’t intentionally guided the public opinion back then, releasing the news of the Sward Family's betrayal, I would have definitely ended up in prison by now."

"I just don't know if Jessie will think too much about it. She didn't notice, did she? If you two end up arguing because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself..."

Martin waved his hand dismissively, his tone condescending. "Don't worry about her. The reputation of two dead people isn’t that important. As long as you're fine, everything I’ve done is worth it."

My heart felt as if something was tightening around it. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t breathe.

I had thought Martin was just unwilling to uncover the truth about the case, that he only wanted to protect Rachel.

But I never imagined that even the false accusations against my parents came from his own mouth.

My parents had fought for justice their entire lives. Even in death, they had plunged into the fray to catch the killer. Why should they meet such an unjust end?

Before I could come up with an answer, I heard from inside the office that Martin handed Rachel the gift.

"I heard you’re pregnant too. Here’s a little toy, just consider it a gift for the baby."

The divorce agreement in my hand suddenly slipped to the floor. The sound of paper flipping caught both of their attention.

Martin hurried out, his face ashen. "Jessie? When did you arrive? Why didn’t you tell me?"

I picked up the agreement from the ground and stood up. The emotions that had surged just moments ago had completely subsided.

"No, it's fine. I was just passing by and thought I’d stop by," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just arrived."

"You don’t have to worry. Rachel was just stopping by to check on Mark. He happened to be out on a mission, so we just chatted for a bit."

Rachel smiled and stood up to wave at me. Her expression was completely devoid of guilt. "Jessie, what a coincidence."

I didn’t want to face her any longer, so I turned to leave.

However, Martin followed me closely, matching my pace.

"Are you mad?" he asked softly. "Rachel is my sister-in-law. There’s nothing between us. Please don’t overreact, okay? She’s pregnant too. I was just asking about pregnancy precautions, thinking of taking care of you better."

His hand gripped my arm tightly and I caught a glimpse of it from the corner of my eye.

I suddenly laughed.

In order to protect Rachel, he had already sent my whole family into the abyss. He had ruined my parents' reputation and destroyed my five years of youth.

Now that Rachel was innocent, who was he pretending for?

"Didn't you say Rachel is just a hostage? So why should I overthink it? Why should I suspect? Are you hiding something from me?"

When our eyes met, my mocking gaze made Martin’s expression slowly lower.

"I didn’t mean it like that, I just didn’t want you to be angry..."

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to be jealous of my sister-in-law. You guys chat, I’ll head home first."

He, feeling guilty, didn’t dare to continue the conversation with me.

Just a moment ago, his colleagues who had been gossiping together now recognized my face.

They pointed and whispered openly without any hesitation.

"So, this is the daughter of those two traitors from the Sward Family? Does she still have the face to come to the police station? If it weren't for her parents betraying us, we wouldn't have lost so many colleagues. She sure has thick skin."

The words of his colleagues echoed in my ears as I stumbled away, barely aware of how I got out of there.

When I came to my senses, I was already sitting in the car, my palms marked with deep indentations from where I had gripped the steering wheel.

Blood stained my skirt and the anger inside me surged uncontrollably.

Back home, I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I took everything he had given me over the past five years and set it on fire, watching it burn to the ground.

The last flicker of the flame died out and just then, a message popped up on my phone.

It was from Martin.

[Come downstairs, I’ll pick you up for dinner.]

At his family’s house, as Martin was busy parking downstairs, I went up first.

As soon as I entered the door, a heavy ashtray was thrown at me.

My mother-in-law greeted me with a mocking smile.

“Oh, isn’t this our dear victim, Miss Sward? Not working on a case today? How come you have time to grace our humble abode? Aren’t you afraid the place where the murderer lives will soil your feet?”

The relatives quickly joined in, their disdainful eyes scanning my face. “Don’t argue with your daughter-in-law, she’s really good at solving cases. The police couldn’t find the killer, but she was able to determine the culprit just by her instincts. You definitely don’t want to get on her bad side.”

“Your parents have been dead for five years and you still can’t let it go. Every family gathering, all you do is bring up the two dead bodies, always causing bad luck! Just mentioning them once feels like it shortens your life by years!”

I trembled uncontrollably. The spot on my forehead where the ashtray had struck was now bleeding.

I was about to speak when Rachel entered, carrying a bunch of gifts.

The relatives instantly changed their faces, their attitude now dripping with flattery.

They crowded around Rachel, showering her with praise. Occasionally, they couldn't resist throwing in a few more insults at me.

Not wanting to stay any longer, I simply retreated upstairs and locked myself in the room.

When Martin appeared, my mother-in-law immediately rushed to complain.

“Your wife is something else! She comes in without even greeting anyone, just goes straight to her room. Those who know might call me her mother-in-law, but others would think she’s the queen of the house! Maybe I should just kneel and apologize to her!”

Rachel quickly smiled and linked arms with my mother-in-law. “Mom, today’s a good day. Don’t be mad at my sister-in-law. She’s feeling down, so don’t blame her.”

“She’s upset, but it’s not because of me! What does it have to do with my family? Who owes her anything? She walks in with that dead look on her face! She’s drained all the luck from this house!”

Rachel quickly changed the subject, making the relatives burst into laughter.

The earlier drama was swiftly forgotten and the sounds of laughter downstairs were so loud that they nearly shook the roof.

Unable to tolerate any longer, I was about to head downstairs to leave when Rachel suddenly appeared and blocked my way.

“Jessie, long time no see, I hope all is well with you.”

The corner of the staircase hid us from everyone’s view.

Rachel dropped all pretense, her face turning cold and malicious. “What’s wrong? Don’t recognize me? You haven’t forgotten about the case from five years ago, have you?”