I glared coldly at the familiar yet distant figure through the observation window, my nails digging deep into my palms, nearly piercing the flesh. The pain was like an ice pick, stabbing straight into my chaotic mind, forcing me back to my senses. I can’t afford to panic. I can’t afford to lose control.

"Peter, you’re truly impressive."

I gritted my teeth, each word forced out from the depths of my throat, laced with bitter hatred and biting mockery. I can't believe I was so blind, mistaking a jackal for a hero.

Spinning on my heel, I stormed back into my office. The moment I stepped inside, I locked the door and pulled the blinds shut, shutting out the outside world. The room darkened instantly, mirroring the abyss of my emotions. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay composed.

Now is not the time for sorrow or anger. I must avenge my father. Lilly must pay the price. I wasted no time and began gathering evidence. His death cannot be in vain.

My hands trembled slightly as I opened my computer, fingers striking the keyboard with urgency, pulling up the internal system of my father’s laboratory. Lines of code. Pages of data. Shadows of his relentless work, once filled with life and ambition.

I flipped through the experimental logs he left behind. His meticulous handwriting filled every page, documenting his dedication, his wisdom—the very essence of his life's work. And now, those records had become mere stepping stones for Lilly’s rise to power. The thought alone made me sick. I compared his logs with the accident report Peter had provided, combing through them again and again, searching for cracks, for discrepancies. If he had gone to such lengths to cover the truth, then the truth must be buried in the details they deliberately overlooked.

Time slipped away like sand through my fingers. The only sound in the room was the rapid flipping of pages, the rhythmic tapping of keys. My eyes burned, dry and sore from staring at the screen, but I couldn’t afford even a moment of rest.

This was a race against time. Lilly’s new drug was about to launch. If I didn’t expose her crimes before she solidified her reputation, it would be too late.

The clock struck seven when a knock at the door made me freeze. Peter entered. I swiftly closed the files, shut down the computer and replaced my exhaustion with a radiant smile. He mustn’t see a single clue. He smiled warmly, stepping forward to embrace me. "Working overtime again? You work too hard. Don’t overdo it, your health isn’t great. If you push yourself too much, I’ll be heartbroken."

"It’s fine. What brings you here today? Shouldn’t you be at Wilson Corporation?" I feigned ignorance about his earlier visit to the company.

"I called you, but you didn’t answer. I got worried, so I came to check on you." He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek—just as affectionate as ever.

I remembered that I had muted my phone earlier to focus on my search. Even as he acted so tenderly, I felt nothing but revulsion. I never thought he would go this far for Lilly.

On the drive home, he started the car as if nothing had happened, his voice casual.

"Jessie, the police told me today that there wasn’t enough evidence, so they had to release Lilly for now. They’ll issue an arrest warrant once more evidence surfaces. Besides, the new drug data was originally in her possession and Moan Corporation has deep business ties with Shawn Group, so—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Well, it’s just speculation. No solid proof. Let’s just drop it. Don’t worry, I won’t dwell on it."

He visibly relaxed, a relieved smile flickering in the corners of his eyes.

"Thank you, dear. Marrying you has been the greatest privilege of my life."

I turned to the window, struggling to steady my trembling heart, holding back the tears threatening to fall.

Recalling Peter's conversation with the technical director, I was acutely aware that beyond uncovering evidence of Lilly stealing my father’s core drug technology, there was another crucial task. I needed to find the surveillance footage from the day of the lab explosion. Whatever Lilly did in that lab that day led to the explosion and if I wanted to bring her to justice, the surveillance video was the key.

The moment I got home, I wasted no time. While Peter was in the shower, I secretly opened his computer. I tried Lilly’s birthday as the password. It worked.

Even though I already knew this marriage was a complete betrayal, seeing that he used her birthday as his password still sent a stabbing pain through my heart.

The background image on his screen was from Lilly’s 18th birthday party. Suppressing the bitterness rising in my throat, I quickly opened the cloud drive. Every file and every folder that flashed across my screen revolved around her. With trembling fingers, I opened them one by one.

Finally, in a hidden folder, I found a video with a strangely cryptic name. My instincts screamed at me—this was it. Without hesitation, I clicked play.

The footage showed Lilly entering the lab and deliberately tampering with the gas valve just before the explosion. So the surveillance cameras hadn’t malfunctioned that day after all. Someone had deliberately erased the footage to cover her tracks. If my suspicions before had left room for doubt, this video solidified my conviction—this marriage was nothing but a conspiracy.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced. Peter had once posted a single-word status online. I had asked him what he meant by guard. He had replied that he was guarding our marriage. Now, the truth was painfully clear. The one he was guarding was Lilly.

Swallowing back tears, I forced a bitter smile. I exported the footage, erased any traces of my access and logged out of the computer.

Then, I set a countdown on my phone—marking the launch date of the new drug. A constant reminder of my next step: exposing the theft of my father’s technology.

That night, I pretended to be asleep before he finished showering. I had no desire to engage in any more conversations with him. But sleep never came.

The next morning, he woke up and tenderly pulled me into his arms.

"You went to bed early last night. You’ve been so exhausted lately. Why don’t you take a few more days off and rest at home?" His gentle words masked his true intentions.

He wanted to bring Lilly back to the company—openly. I smiled faintly and replied, "Okay."

He was doing everything in his power to keep me from interfering with Lilly. This deception—it was time to end it.

The moment he stepped out of the house, I followed. As I reached the front entrance of the company, I overheard employees whispering.

"Does Director Moan know yet? General Manager Wilson actually brought Second Miss Moan to the company himself."

"Yeah and some people suspect that General Manager Moan's death in that lab explosion wasn’t an accident…"

Expressionless, I strode straight to the elevator and ascended to the top-floor office. Just outside the doorway, I heard a familiar voice from within.

"Lily, you’ve been working so hard in the lab."

"Not at all. It’s my lifelong dream to excel in pharmaceuticals. I should be thanking you. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten the core technical data so smoothly. And if it weren’t for you, I probably would have—"

"It’s all in the past now. I believe what happened that day was an accident. By helping you, I’m also helping myself."

Then came Lilly’s laughter—sweet, yet filled with venom.

"Peter, I really didn’t mean for it to happen that day. If my sister found out you lied to her for me, she’d definitely make trouble for you, wouldn’t she?"

Even after taking everything from me—my father, my fiancé—she still played the innocent victim. She had destroyed my world and Peter, the man I once trusted, had pretended to be my savior. And now, this so-called lifeline was dragging me deeper into the abyss.

The moment I froze, his personal assistant called out to me from behind. The conversation inside came to an abrupt halt. The door swung open.

Peter’s eyes flickered the moment he saw me. "Jessie? What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to rest at home and not work? Lily just arrived. I haven't seen her in a long time. She just came over to take a look..."

"Jess, how have you been lately?" Lilly asked, feigning innocence and harmlessness.

Her eyes gleamed with vitality, her face flushed with color—there wasn't a trace of hardship from being detained at the institute.

I swallowed the anger burning inside me and forced a smile. "I just arrived. I’m used to working and I get bored when I’m idle. I thought I’d better come over. Why are you here too?"

Since marrying me, Peter’s office had been arranged next to mine for convenience in managing Moan's.

He must have expected me to be furious at Lilly’s presence because he hurriedly took my hand, attempting to explain: "Honey, since she regained her freedom, I let her come back to continue working on the new drug development to understand the situation..."

"Didn’t you just say yesterday that there was no evidence and it was all speculation? I believe you." I swallowed my pride, suppressing my true feelings.

This man was truly despicable—sacrificing his own marriage for his beloved white moonlight. And now, with her safe and sound, she was still pretending?

Hearing my words, the tension in his shoulders eased. Soon after, he rushed back to Wilson's with his assistant to deal with urgent matters. But before leaving, I caught the concern in his eyes. He even made a point to remind me to wait for him after work so he could pick me up.

"Ms. Jessie, you’re still such an idiot, hahaha..." As soon as Peter left, Lilly dropped her act and sneered at me.

Gone was the innocent, pure facade. What stood before me now was a woman filled with malice and arrogance.

"You should really thank your fiancé for giving me such a wonderful life," she taunted. "Even more, thank your dear husband for doing all the dirty work for me. Don’t tell me you actually thought Peter married you out of love? Hahaha... They love me!"

She laughed mockingly, her voice dripping with condescension. "Jessie, when people talk about someone being as dumb as a pig, they mean you!"

I couldn’t hold back my rage any longer. Before I knew it, my hand lashed out across her face.

Lilly’s expression flickered—first shock, then cunning. She glanced behind me, smirked, then dramatically clutched her face and collapsed to the floor.

"Jessie! Why did you hit Lily?" Peter’s furious voice rang out.

I turned in shock, watching as he rushed past me to scoop Lilly into his arms. Just a second ago, she had looked so smug and venomous, but now she had transformed into a fragile, pitiful creature.

So, he was still worried about his precious white moonlight being alone with me, afraid I’d bully her.

"Didn't you say the past was behind us? What are you doing hitting her? Saying one thing and doing another!" he snapped.

I clenched my jaw, my body trembling with anger.

"Apologize! Apologize to Lily! You shouldn't have hit her," he ordered.

I remained silent.

Lilly leaned weakly against him, tears welling in her eyes. "Peter, don’t blame her. She only believes what those executives say—that I caused the lab explosion. It’s not her fault..."

She sniffled, her voice pitiful. "Peter, I don’t want to make things difficult for you. From now on, don’t help me anymore. I’ll go back to Shawn’s. Charlie said I can return to work at his company."

With that, she turned as if to leave. Without hesitation, Peter followed her, not even sparing me a glance.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. The physical pain was nothing compared to the searing agony in my heart.

Swallowing my grief, I forced myself to return to my office, locked the doors and windows and resumed examining yesterday’s evidence.