My grandfather was once a titan in the field of tomb raiding.

Decades ago, he unfortunately perished with several of his closest friends inside an ancient tomb, leaving behind only a single jade ring.

To honor their memory, we, the younger generation, gather every year on Memorial Day, using the jade ring as our token of remembrance.

But this year, the jade ring disappeared—and shockingly, it turned up on my husband Michael Reed’s secretary’s hand.

When I went to Michael to demand an explanation, he accused me of cheating first, calling me unfaithful, then dragged me to my grandfather’s grave where he insulted and beat me.

He even forced me to summon my so-called “lovers.”

What he didn’t know was—the men he asked me to call…

One could ruin him utterly.

One could make him suffer worse than death.

And one… could erase him from this world without a trace.

Another Memorial Day had come.

I missed my grandfather.

Opening my study, I gently touched the mahogany box.

Inside was the jade ring—an heirloom my grandfather and his sworn brothers had risked their lives to bring back from a deadly tomb.

To honor their brotherhood, our fathers agreed that every Memorial Day, the descendants would gather to remember them.

Later, as the elders grew old, the duty passed to us.

I was the only girl among the four families’ descendants.

Careful and mostly homebound, I was entrusted with guarding the ring.

My older cousins all had highly sensitive identities, so our yearly gatherings were always kept extremely discreet.

When I opened the box this year—

I froze.

The velvet slot was empty.

My heart skipped a beat, then raced wildly.

I clearly remembered wiping it clean and placing it back after last year’s ceremony.

How could it be gone?

Forcing myself to stay calm, I searched every corner of the study.

Drawers, shelves, the safe—but nothing.

Cold sweat dampened my hair.

The appointed time was this afternoon.

Without the token, how could I face my cousins?

How could I answer to our grandfathers, who lay at rest underground?

Taking a deep breath, I suddenly remembered the home surveillance system.

I rushed to the computer and pulled up the past few days’ recordings.

For three days, no one but me had entered the study.

Just as I was about to give up, two familiar figures appeared at the doorway.

Michael Reed, and his secretary Olivia Scott.

Olivia, elegantly made up, leaned intimately against Michael.

Her eyes swept across the shelves until they landed on the mahogany box.

She giggled, whispering something to Michael.

Michael, smiling indulgently, opened the box without hesitation.

The jade ring gleamed under the light, and Olivia’s eyes lit up instantly.

She lifted it, admiring it against the light.

The next moment, Michael gently took it and slipped it onto her left thumb.

It fit perfectly.

Olivia wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck and kissed him.

He smiled, responding, and then the two of them entangled themselves on my desk—beside my grandfather’s heirloom.

I felt as if I’d been plunged into an ice cellar, frozen stiff.

The recording kept playing, but my eyes had already blurred.

No wonder Michael had been cold and frequently “on business trips” in recent years.

I never expected he had been betraying me all along—with his secretary.

And worse—he had given away the most precious token of our families, just to please his mistress.

Rage and disgust overwhelmed my reason.

I stormed straight into Michael’s executive office.

The moment I opened the door, I saw him lounging in his chair.

And there, plastered to his side, was Olivia, giggling sweetly.

She stiffened for a second, then reluctantly sat up.

“Sophia, why don’t you ever knock?”

Ignoring her, I grabbed her hand.

The glaring green shimmer of the ring burned into my eyes.

“Is this yours? You think you can just wear it?”

“Hey, what are you doing? That hurts!” Olivia yanked her hand back, pouting pitifully.

“Sophia Lane, are you crazy?”

Michael immediately shielded her behind him, as if I were some kind of monster.

“Don’t you know that’s mine? How dare you give it to her?”

My voice trembled with fury.

Michael hesitated for a moment, then his expression turned impatient.

“Olivia liked it. I thought it looked nice, so I let her try it on.”

“That’s all it is. And you storm into my office over a worthless ring? Where are your manners?”

I almost laughed out loud.

Manners?

A cheating man lecturing me about manners?

On my birthday, when he claimed to be too busy on a trip, I begged him to spend some time with me.

He told me I was too dependent, asked why I couldn’t buy things myself.

He said he hated “rituals” and told me not to try to change him.

Back then, I comforted myself, thinking it was just his personality.

But now?

He didn’t hate rituals—he just hated giving them to me.

Cheating was already undeniable.

I no longer wanted to argue or cling.

And I couldn’t afford to waste time—the meeting with my cousins was drawing near.

“I don’t want to fight with you, but this is not some worthless trinket.”

Though my body shook, my voice stayed firm:

“This jade ring is my grandfather’s heirloom, bought with lives in a deadly tomb. It means everything to me. Please, make her give it back.”

Olivia peeked out from behind Michael, reluctantly extending her hand with the ring.

Her eyes reddened as she whimpered:

“Sophia, you’re so mean… I didn’t know it mattered so much. I just thought it was pretty… This is all my fault, please don’t fight.”

“If you’d just said you wanted it, I’d have given it back. Why be so angry, so violent…”

She pretended to take it off, but Michael stopped her.

His cold gaze met mine, his voice icy:

“Sophia, enough. It’s just an old thing. Olivia wearing it is its blessing.”

“Why make her suffer for such a trivial item? Heirloom, schmearloom—I’ll buy you ten better ones later.”

“I don’t want ten. I just want this one.”

Lifting my chin, I declared:

“This isn’t about money. It’s a token, a promise among our grandfathers’ descendants.”

I tried to snatch it back, but Michael shoved me hard.

His face twisted with contempt.

“A promise? What bullshit promise?”

“You’ve got some nerve. Look at yourself—living in my mansion, wearing luxury brand clothes I bought, driving a luxury sports car worth millions. Tell me, which of those things didn’t come from me, Michael Reed?”

“One ring? Ten rings? A hundred? They wouldn’t even cover a fraction of what you’ve spent of mine. And you dare scream at me about what’s yours?”

His words stabbed me like knives.

Yes, I’d been a housewife these years, handling his affairs quietly, not working outside.

But I was thrifty, and all those things were what he had insisted on giving me—not what I demanded.

But now wasn’t the time to argue that.

I steadied myself, drawing a deep breath.

“Michael, you cheated first, and I’ll let that go for now. If you think all these material things are debts I owe you, fine. Take them. I don’t want them.”

“But this ring—I must take it back. Make her return it.”

My solemn tone stunned him.

Perhaps in our three years of marriage, I had never spoken to him so seriously before.

But Olivia, sensing an opportunity, piped up sweetly:

“Michael, she says she needs to ‘answer to some descendants’? What descendants?”

“To me, it’s just a little jade ring. How important could it really be? Unless…”

Her brows furrowed.

“Unless it was given to her by some old lover?”

Her words dripped with implication, and when her eyes met mine, they glittered with provocation.

Michael’s face darkened instantly, his glare piercing me.

“Sophia, you’d better explain. Who gave you that ring?”

“And just what have you been doing behind my back?”

I actually laughed.

When he was still just a lowly salesman, I had married him without hesitation.

In three years of marriage, I may not have been perfect—

But I was at least blameless.

Aside from meeting my cousins each Memorial Day, I barely even interacted with other men.

And he had the gall to cheat, yet accuse me?

“I, Sophia Lane, have lived righteously. I’ve never betrayed you. If you don’t believe me, investigate all you want.”

“And let me say this again—the jade ring was brought out of a tomb at the cost of lives. It’s an heirloom that every year—”

“Investigate? Of course I’ll investigate.”

Michael cut me off coldly before I could finish.

He sneered, glancing at Olivia.

I was confused—

Until Olivia, catching on, pulled several photos from her designer handbag.

I took them.

They showed me, over several Memorial Days, dressed plainly, wearing large sunglasses.

Some shots were at the airport, some at a highway entrance, some near the cemetery.

And in each one, I was seen quietly speaking to—or getting into cars with—different men, also in sunglasses, with distinct builds and temperaments.

The photos were shot at tricky angles, making everything seem secretive, even shady.

“What’s the matter? Speechless? Feeling guilty?”

“Every year on that day, you sneak off to meet these men, hiding yourself like that. What shady business are you doing?”

“Tell me! Who are they? Where are they from?”

I had promised my cousins.

Their identities were far too sensitive to be exposed.

Even our yearly gatherings were absolute secrets.

“You can’t ask. I won’t tell you who they are.”

“Michael, just believe me—it’s not what you think. And besides…”

“Knowing who they are won’t do you any good. You can’t afford to offend them.”

I wasn’t trying to boast.

We were husband and wife—I only hoped he’d back off.

But the words “can’t afford” pierced Michael’s fragile pride like nails.

He slammed the table, roaring:

“Bullshit! Who on earth could I not afford to offend?”

“Sophia, get this straight—I’m Michael Reed, Regional Vice President of Horizon Corporation in the Midwest Region!”