On New Year’s Eve, a poolside party was held at the hospital. There, my fiancee Valerie Charlton’s medical prodigy junior colleague, Cyrus Zeigler, drew the wildcard in a party game.

His task was to select a woman from the attendees and enact an explicit scene in front of everyone.

He scanned the crowd, and his gaze landed on Valerie.

“Valerie, you’re about to get married. I know I can’t have you. So let me have this one time. Okay?”

Valerie’s eyes welled up, and she was about to nod.

I scoffed and tossed the unsigned medical equipment purchase contract onto the table.

“You’d better think carefully. Either he gets lost, or your family’s hospital shuts down for good. Your choice.”

Cyrus glared at me angrily when he saw that Valerie was torn with indecision.

“Is it that Mr. Everest can’t take a joke? He’s already controlling everything you do before the wedding. After you get married, he’ll probably keep you in a cage.”

Valerie calmed down. Then, she turned to me and said scornfully, “You are a grown man. Have some grace. What era are we living in? Do you have to flaunt your masculinity all the time?”

I watched calmly as they walked toward the pool.

Then, I turned and made a phone call.

“Since she doesn’t care about this marriage, she can watch the Charlton family crumble.”

When Valerie came out of the pool, I had just hung up.

The still-rippling waves in the pool made it clear how heated their earlier act was.

She glanced at me briefly. A flicker of unease crossed her face. She did not dare look at me directly, yet she forced herself to feign aloofness.

“Claude, it was just a game. Don’t make such a big deal out of it.”

When my gaze fell on her chest, which was covered in red marks, she gave an awkward light cough.

“I was just going with the flow to finish the game’s task.”

“Oh, is that right?” I could not help but sneer. “Was the pool too small for the two of you to have your fun?”

Valerie bit her lower lip and glared at me.

“That’s enough! Don’t make a scene here for no reason. Cyrus is my apprentice. As his senior, what’s wrong with helping him finish the task?”

She seemed about to say more when Cyrus walked over, wrapped in a towel.

“Mr. Everest, don’t worry about it. We never even had direct contact. Valerie still respects you.”

He held a condom up and looked at me mockingly as he said, “Go ahead. Inspect it if you’re so paranoid.”

In the next moment, Valerie snatched the condom from him.

She said in a shrill voice, “Why would he care whether I respect him? At most, he cares about whether I’m clean. Claude, I’ll just sleep with you later. You can get your turn too, okay?”

Cyrus laughed smugly. His laughter echoed around the pool area.

When I saw the disgust written all over her face, my heart grew cold.

Six years ago, she was the one who knelt in front of me and begged for funding for her family’s hospital.

At that time, she was drenched from the rain and looked utterly miserable. Yet I was deeply drawn to the quiet dignity she carried within her.

I poured all my resources into making her the hospital’s second-in-command.

Then, I realized that not every heart was worth my kindness and affection.

She dared to openly betray me with Cyrus because she knew I was madly in love with her.

I always thought her kindness toward Cyrus was simply her way of appreciating his talent.

I never expected them to get together right under my nose.

“Claude, just stop it, okay? When is your macho act ever going to end?”

I let out a sneer and took out my phone.

She snatched it from me and smashed it on the floor.

“Tomorrow’s hospital donation event will be packed with reporters. Everyone knows you’re donating as my fiance. Are you sure you want to pick a fight with me right now?”

“Fiance?”

Valerie pursed her lips.

“You are my fiance. You have to—”

I cut her off. “When you and Cyrus were being intimate in my car, did you think of me as your fiance?”

I adjusted my sleeves casually and spoke each word deliberately. I said, “Enough. My family doesn’t take handouts. And I’m not about to have some woman who keeps a boy toy on the side as the lady of the house.”

Valerie’s face turned red from embarrassment at my words. She was about to lash out when Cyrus interrupted.

“Claude, a piece of trash like you doesn’t deserve to marry Valerie.”

He held Valerie tightly in his arms and kissed her deeply.

He then said provocatively, “I’m the only one who’s truly right for Valerie.”

Watching this shameless pair made me feel nauseous.

“That’s disgusting!”

Cyrus fixed his gaze on me and said, “My love for Valerie is pure and innocent, unlike yours. All you do is use her. Your love for her is disgusting and horrid!”

I could no longer hold back. I raised my hand and slapped him.

Valerie yelled, “Claude, have you lost your mind? Why did you hit him? Apologize to Cyrus right now!”

Cyrus covered his face and glared at me with pure hatred. “You dare humiliate me like this? Fine. Want to bet whether I’ll ruin your wedding?”

With that, he turned and stormed off.

Right after Cyrus left, Valerie turned and splashed coffee in my face.

The coffee slid down my cheek and stained my face. The heat stung my skin.

“Claude, if anything happens to Cyrus, I swear I’ll make you pay.”

I looked at her with resentment. I felt as if I had fallen into an icy abyss.

I gave her my whole heart. Six years together, and it meant less to her than some outsider.

My assistant, Carl, who was standing nearby, asked, “Mr. Everest, what about tomorrow’s donation event?”

I looked at him indifferently. I could not even be bothered to lift a finger.

“Donation event? What does that have to do with me?”

This time, I would not clean up her mess for her.

I went with Carl to Charlton Hospital to break off the engagement.

Coincidentally, Valerie and her father were both in the office. Her father was Victor Charlton, the hospital director.

“Claude, are you here to discuss tomorrow’s donation event?”

I smirked and said, “I’m here to tell you both that tomorrow’s donation event and the wedding are canceled.”

Victor stood up in shock.

“Claude, did you and Val fight? Let’s talk this through. This isn’t something to joke about.”

I looked at Valerie with eyes full of disgust.

“Your daughter is seeing someone else.”

Victor turned to Valerie and scolded, “What is going on?”

Valerie’s expression stiffened. She remained silent.

I sneered.

“What happened to your pride? Is playing dumb supposed to be a clever move? Your daughter was all over her junior in public. Since they’re so in love, how could I possibly get in the way of their romance?”

Valerie’s face turned red at my words. She raised her voice and said, “Claude, who do you think you are? Get off your high horse.”

Her heart had already gone completely to Cyrus.

She completely forgot that Charlton Hospital used to be just a small clinic. It only grew to this scale because of my support.

“Mr. Everest, we really had no idea that Valerie did something so shameful!”

Victor had always prioritized interests. Besides, I was the largest shareholder of Charlton Hospital.

He knew exactly whose side he should take.

“You can punish her however you want. Just please give her one more chance.”

“Enough, Claude! What else can you do besides threaten us with the hospital?”

Valerie’s voice turned shrill. Her gaze was full of contempt.

“The Charlton family’s donation event tomorrow cannot be canceled under any circumstances. You have to—”

I chuckled and cut her off. “On what basis?”

“A few tens of millions of dollars are nothing to you. At the end of the day, this is all over something petty. If it bothers you that much, I can go to the hospital and get restorative surgery done.”

I let out a scornful laugh. “What you do has nothing to do with me.”

Then, I reached out and tore the medical equipment purchase contract to pieces.

Valerie’s face turned pale.

Suddenly, her phone rang, interrupting the tense atmosphere.

“What’s wrong? What?! I’m on my way.”

The person on the other line said something, and Valerie shot me a hostile glare.

“Fine. Fine. I’m not marrying Claude. You’re the one I’ve always loved.”

She grabbed a mug from the table and hurled it at me.

Blood gushed from the corner of my forehead and streamed down my brow.

Valerie’s chest heaved violently.

“Cyrus is going to swallow pills and kill himself. If anything happens to him, Claude, I’ll make you pay!”

How utterly ironic.

I felt a deep, aching pain in my heart. I could barely swallow because of the bitterness in my throat.

“Mr. Charlton, it looks like she has also agreed to cancel tomorrow’s wedding.”

Victor was unwilling to give up. “Mr. Everest—”

I cut him off coldly and said, “If you insist on dragging this out further, I’m pulling all my funding.”

I had just returned home from the hospital when a message popped up on my phone.

Valerie had sent me a video.

I frowned and opened it.

What I saw was chaotic and vile.

I could recognize the person lying in the filth with just one glance.

It was my mother, who was in a persistent vegetative state after a car accident.

My mother had always been meticulous about cleanliness. Yet in the video, she was covered in feces.

Her jaw had been dislocated, and someone was forcibly pouring urine into her mouth.

I blacked out for a second. Rage hit me like a freight train, and my blood ran boiling hot.

My hands trembled uncontrollably as I dialed Valerie’s number.

“Valerie, where’s my mother?! What did you do with her?”

When she picked up, she responded in a contemptuous tone, saying, “What? You’re unhappy that I’m taking good care of your mother?”

I nearly crushed my phone as I roared, “Where’s my mother?”

Valerie sneered and said, “It’s such a shame that I didn’t get to see that terrified look on your face in person. It must’ve been quite a sight.”

“Valerie, if you dare touch my mother again, I swear I will ruin your life!”

She started laughing maniacally as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Get off your high horse. Do you think I’m scared of you?

“Let me tell you something, Claude. This is what happens when you use Cy to humiliate me.”

I ended the call and sent people to discern my mother’s whereabouts.

I was about to rush out the door when something slammed into the back of my head.

I heard the iron rod fall and felt blood begin to pour down my face.

My vision blurred. Just as I was about to pass out, I saw Cyrus slowly approaching, pushing a wheelchair.

I instantly recognized the sobbing figure. It was my mother.

“This old hag can really take a beating. After all that torment, she’s still breathing.”

“Mom!”

I struggled to get up, but the dizziness in my head grew more intense. My limbs became extremely weak.

“Let her go...”

“Let her go?”

He took out a hammer and struck it fiercely against my shin.

“You had Val for six years. Why didn’t you let us go?”

He shoved my mother to the floor.

Tears welled up in my mother’s eyes, but she could not move at all.

“Cyrus!” My gaze filled with rage. “That’s my mother!”

“If she weren’t your mother, I wouldn’t even bother.”

He ground his heel into the wound on my leg.

“You think Val loves you? You’re just a stepping stone for her to climb. The one she’s always loved is me.”

The more he spoke, the more unhinged he became. “You’re nothing but a tool. You’re a tool that will get thrown away once it’s served its purpose.”

With that, he excitedly pulled out a syringe and plunged it into the side of my neck.

When I opened my eyes again, the only thing I felt was bone-chilling cold. The pungent, sharp smell of formalin filled my nose.

Cyrus looked down at me and gave me a mocking smile.

“Claude, what good is your money and power now? Look at you, right here beneath me. You’re like a dog waiting to be put down.”

I gritted my teeth and warned him, “If you lay a hand on me, my family will make sure you die a miserable death. You won’t even be left with a grave.”

He took out a steel nail and lightly patted my face with it.

“You’re still so arrogant, even at a time like this.”

He aimed the steel nail at my knee and hammered it in with one strike.

The excruciating pain surged through my body in an instant. I was drenched in cold sweat. The pain was so intense that I could barely breathe.

He picked up another nail and aimed it at my other knee.

He hammered it into my knee.

My face twisted in pain. I curled up and trembled.

Cyrus looked at me like a madman. “What a perfect body. I can’t wait to soak you in formaldehyde. It’s going to be magnificent.”

With that, he continued to grab more steel nails and hammer them into my fingers.

The pain shot straight from my fingertips to my core. Waves of pain consumed my consciousness bit by bit.

The world gradually dimmed before my eyes.