I was the victim—obviously the victim.

But somehow, I lost the first trial. Worse, I was accused of extortion and even faced jail time.

The audience was giddy with excitement after Daniel’s righteous performance in court:

“This woman is unbelievable! Trying to scam a rich girl, and now she’s blaming her husband for not helping her?”

“Exactly. Good thing that handsome lawyer is such a stand-up guy. He should divorce her immediately!”

“Like grandfather, like granddaughter. Trying to blackmail a kind, rich woman? That old man deserves to be in the ICU!”

“Heh… Say what you will, she’s got a killer figure though!”

Their words pierced me like knives. I stood frozen, my chest tight with anger and humiliation.

Why?

Why did the guilty walk free?

Why was such flimsy evidence allowed?

Why did ten years of love collapse so easily?

I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t.

I had to ask him. I had to look Daniel in the eyes and ask why.

In the parking lot, I saw him. He was walking toward his car with Vanessa nestled against him, the two of them laughing like nothing had happened. That broke me.

I rushed forward. My voice cracked as I shouted, “Daniel! Who is your wife—me or her? Why are you treating me and Grandpa like this?”

Tears burned in my eyes. “Has Grandpa ever treated you badly? He’s loved you like his own grandson all these years!”

Daniel looked at me coldly. “Haven’t you had enough of this?” he said impatiently. “I get that you care about your grandfather, but you need to understand who Vanessa is. Don’t go digging your own grave.”

I clenched my fists. “You think you can hide everything just because you have money? Do you think power makes you untouchable? I will find the truth—and I’ll make sure you pay.”

Vanessa narrowed her eyes and glanced at Daniel. He got the message immediately and shoved me hard against the cold hood of the car.

Before I could recover, Vanessa stepped forward, smiling with disdain. She tilted my chin up with her sunglasses.

“You? Sue me? One of my tires is worth more than your entire life.”

She chuckled. “Emily, right? If you kneel and kowtow three times, maybe I’ll let you go.”

Daniel stood beside her, expression blank. “Don’t be stubborn. Apologize.”

“Miss Blake is giving you a chance. You should be grateful,” he added.

Tears fell onto his hand as he held me in place.

“You won’t get away with this,” I hissed. “I will find proof. And when I do, I’ll see you both in prison.”

They stared back at me—two people who saw the law as a toy and lived as disposable.

Then I saw something behind them—reporters approaching with cameras.

Daniel noticed them too and shoved me aside in panic. I stumbled, lost my balance, and fell hard onto the pavement.

Vanessa leaned in again, her voice a venomous whisper meant only for me.

“You know, you’re not all that. But I admit—you have great taste. Your husband’s not only great at arguing in court… he’s amazing in bed too.”

She laughed softly.

“Oh, and about your job? Your transfer to the entertainment channel—that was my first gift to you. The second? Your grandfather. The third… you’ll find out soon.”

My body trembled. I slapped her. Hard.

The sound echoed. Her head jerked to the side, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Daniel instantly stepped in and shielded her. “Have you lost your mind, Emily?! Do you even realize where you are? How dare you hit Vanessa!”

Cameras flashed. Reporters crowded in. All anyone saw was me, striking someone in public.

No one heard the truth. No one cared what led up to this.

Vanessa quickly put on her sunglasses and turned to face the cameras with a saintly expression.

“Please don’t blame her,” she said, her voice soft. “And netizens, don’t cyberbully her. Her grandfather’s in the hospital, and she’s under a lot of emotional pressure. I won’t press charges…”

The reporters gasped in admiration.

“Miss Blake, you’re so kind!”

Then they turned their venom toward me:

“Did your grandfather fake illness just so you could get media attention?”

“Is this revenge because you couldn’t keep your husband?”

“You used to be in media—did you plan this to move back to a better department?”

That wasn’t the truth. None of it was.

I tried to explain, my voice shaking, but no one listened. They’d already made up their minds.

When Vanessa tried to walk away, I grabbed her sleeve out of desperation. The sequins scratched my palm, drawing blood that stained her dress red.

“You’ll pay for this,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Vanessa’s gaze darkened, though she kept smiling.

“Daniel,” she pouted, “your wife ruined my dress. I bought it just to see you… and now I’m really upset.”

Daniel’s face softened immediately. He reached out to wipe the blood with his hand.

“Don’t worry, Vanessa. Anyone who upsets you… will suffer.”

Still seeing the red smear, Vanessa yanked off Daniel’s tie and wiped the blood from her dress with it. Then, she dropped it to the ground like garbage.

People stepped over it, trampled it. It was ruined.

That tie…

I gave it to him on our wedding anniversary.

He used to say it was his lucky charm, that it brought him strength in court.

But now, he let her destroy it without a word.

And he just stared at me—cold, unforgiving.

“If you insist on going down this path,” he said slowly, “then you have no one to blame but yourself. You tried to frame Vanessa. We have all the evidence. It seems prison is the only place left for you.”

Then, Daniel and the judge sent me to prison.

Even behind bars, their influence followed me. The prison guards had clearly been bribed. During the day, I was locked in a solitary confinement cell—a suffocating, windowless box where the air was heavy with the stench of rot and metal.

The guards didn’t speak much. They let the electric batons do the talking. Again and again, the sharp shocks tore through my body until I lost track of time, pain, and reason.

At night, things were even worse. When I returned to the main cell block, fresh cruelty awaited. The other women, emboldened by the guards’ indifference, tormented me with gleeful violence. They pulled my hair, dumped buckets of filthy water over me, burned my skin with cigarette butts, and mocked me as I cried.

I was bruised from head to toe, my body barely recognizable, and my spirit almost broken. A week passed like a year. Then came the bleeding.

From my lower body, a steady flow of blood began. At first, I thought it was from another injury. But when the pain hit me, deep and wrenching, I realized with horror: I was miscarrying. Alone. In prison.

I thought I was going to die.

It was only then that I was granted bail—ironically, not out of mercy but because of the miscarriage. My release had nothing to do with justice and everything to do with saving face.

Daniel came to pick me up. He stood by the hospital ward door, a strange look on his face—a mix of hesitation, pity, and something that vaguely resembled heartache.

“You didn’t even know you were pregnant?” he said in a low voice, placing a thermos of soup on the table. “Well, it’s just as well. I didn’t want a second child anyway. If it’s gone, then it’s gone.”

His tone was so casual, like he was talking about a broken umbrella. My gaze dropped to his neck—bright red strawberry marks, fresh and brazen. I turned my head, refusing the soup, my body trembling with disgust.

“Losing the baby works out for you, doesn’t it?” I muttered weakly. “If I’d carried it to term, it would’ve interfered with your chances of making Vanessa’s ‘favorite person’ list.”

The baby must have felt it—how cold it was, how heartless its father was. Maybe that’s why it chose not to be born.

If someone must be blamed, blame me—its mother. Too useless to protect it.

Dear child, if there’s a next life, please be reborn to a better mother. One who can keep you safe.

Daniel’s face hardened as he saw the loathing in my eyes. Whatever flicker of guilt had been in him vanished.

“I’m Vanessa’s lawyer,” he said sharply. “Of course I took her money. That’s my job!”

“Can’t you be reasonable for once, Emily? If you had just admitted slander and apologized to Vanessa, none of this would have happened. But you had to keep clinging to your so-called justice.”

He shouted like I was the criminal, as if I’d burned the world down with my stubbornness.

“The miscarriage? That’s on you. Don’t act like the world owes you anything!”

“And your grandpa?” he sneered. “He’s old. He wouldn’t have lasted much longer anyway. Was all this really worth it—for a dying man?”

His words struck like knives.

“Daniel,” I choked through sobs, “are you even human anymore? That ‘dying man’ raised me! I don’t care if I die—I will fight until I get justice!”

I hated him. I hated his cruelty. I hated how easily he betrayed love and replaced it with profit.

But more than anything, I hated my own helplessness. My weakness. My inability to stop any of this.

Daniel lost his temper. With a roar, he smashed the bowl of soup on the floor, ceramic shards scattering.

“You’ll never win this case!” he shouted. “You better wake up and face the reality!”

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I curled up on the hospital bed, tears soaking the pillow as despair engulfed me.

I stared at the ceiling. Gray, cracked, unfeeling.

How did it come to this?

We had once been the light in each other’s lives.

Back then, Daniel had been a young lawyer fighting for the underprivileged. He offended a local gang when he took on a case for free. I was a rookie reporter chasing truth, monitoring the gang’s movements night after night.

We met by chance, two flames in the dark. I remember asking him once, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll come after you?”

He’d smiled bitterly. “I’m scared. But someone has to do it.”

His grandfather lost a leg in a hit-and-run meant for him. After that, Daniel often came to visit him. He’d help mow the lawn, go fishing with Grandpa, talk for hours like family.

Slowly, naturally, we fell in love.

In those early years, we were the envy of everyone—devoted, simple, happy.

But as his career soared, everything changed. He stopped helping the poor and started chasing wealthy clients. His suits became tailored, his shoes branded, his morals blurry.

Still, I clung to the belief that deep down, he was the same man who once stood for justice.

I didn’t see it. I didn’t see how long he’d been with Vanessa. How often they’d been together.

Now it’s clear. I was so, so wrong.

Tears spilled down my cheeks again. The pain tore through me—not just physical but emotional, unbearable.

I passed out.

When I woke up, my eyes were too heavy to open, but I could hear… movement.

Rhythmic creaking. Bedsprings. Moaning.

That sickening music.

I was still lying there—and they were having sex in my hospital room.

Right beside me.

“Vanessa,” Daniel panted, “can we not do this here? What if she wakes up?”

Vanessa’s voice was soft and seductive. “Then it depends—who’s more important to you? Who will you protect? You said you’d listen to me. Do you want to back out now? Still holding on to feelings for her?”

“You know I lost my parents young. I don’t want my daughter growing up the same way. But having a free, loyal nanny at home works out just fine. Don’t worry—when she’s older, I’ll make sure she leaves.”

A… free nanny?

Vanessa laughed. “Your daughter has a servant. But who’s going to serve me?”

Daniel groaned, “Then tonight, let me serve the young lady well.”

Their moans filled the room, echoing in my ears like knives scraping bones.

I thought I had no more tears left. But my heart felt like it was being torn open again.

I couldn’t even roll over. My limbs wouldn’t move. All I could do was lie there—eyes closed, heart shattered, crying silently into my pillow.

Eventually, they left. A nurse came in later to change my bandages.

She sneered, talking to another nurse just outside the door, “This one’s lucky. Miss Blake got her a VIP ward just to keep an eye on her.”

“If I were her, I’d get divorced and make room. Just look at them—handsome man, rich woman. A perfect pair.”

Their laughter rang in my ears like mockery.

I reached for my phone with trembling hands. The screen came to life—and with it, a nightmare.

My face was everywhere.

Photoshopped. Distorted. Memes with vulgar captions.

They’d exposed everything—my name, my address, my ten-year-old daughter.

People I didn’t know flooded my messages with threats, slurs, and curses. My grandfather, who’d done nothing but raise me with love, was being vilified online.

We had become the country’s scapegoats. Hunted. Mocked. Destroyed.

And the only question that kept ringing in my head was:

Why?

We are the victims.

So why are we the ones being burned alive?

Completely desperate, I dragged my weak body to visit my grandfather.

In the ward, he lay alone. His oxygen mask had slipped halfway off, and no one seemed to care. My heart clenched at sight. I rushed over, hands trembling, and adjusted the mask back onto his frail face. Tears streamed down uncontrollably.

A nurse in uniform walked over, her pace slow and her expression impatient.

"Why are you making such a scene?" she snapped. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"My grandfather’s oxygen mask fell off," I said, trying hard to stay calm. "Why wasn’t anyone watching him?"

She scoffed, arms crossed. "Watching a conman? We don’t cater to scammers like him."

Her words made my entire body shake with fury. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t utter a word. The lump in my throat was too heavy.

“Emily…” my grandfather murmured, his voice thin and weak.

I immediately leaned in and grasped his hand. “Grandpa, how are you feeling? Is anything hurting? Do you need the doctor?”

He looked at me with a weary smile. “Don’t cry, child. Grandpa’s fine. I won’t die so easily.”

At his words, I finally broke down, sobbing as the emotions I had held back for days poured out.

He gently stroked my hair, just like he did when I was a little girl. Then he glanced around and, noticing we were alone, asked, “Where’s Daniel? Why isn’t he here?”

My tears fell harder. I choked on every word as I recounted everything—Daniel’s betrayal, the trial, the torture, the humiliation.

Grandpa's eyes grew red, but he said nothing. The pain was written all over his face.

I forced myself to sound strong. “Don’t worry, Grandpa. We live in a country governed by laws. They won’t be able to cover up the truth forever.”

“You just need to rest and heal. Lily and I are waiting for you to come home.”

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a private investigator. He had found a new witness.

Without wasting time, I rushed to the address he gave me.

But as I arrived at the entrance of the club, a group of heavily built security guards blocked my way.

“I’m just here to meet someone,” I explained quickly. “I’m not selling anything, I promise!”

They didn’t budge. Instead, they sneered.

“Get lost!”

“This is a high-end place. You think someone like you can walk in here?”

“Please, the person I need to see is very important. Please just let me talk to him!”

I was still pleading when one of the guards suddenly pulled out a gun and pressed it against my forehead.

“Leave now. If you disturb our VIP guests, don’t blame us for getting rough!”

I froze, too terrified to breathe.

Then, a familiar voice echoed from behind them. Mocking. Cruel.

“Ah, so this is the noise that’s been bothering everyone. Turns out it’s just a stray dog barking.”

The guards immediately stepped aside and stood respectfully. “Ms. Blake.”

It was her—Vanessa. She wore a tight-fitting designer dress and stilettos, the picture of smug satisfaction. And right behind her was Daniel, holding her bag like a loyal servant.

I locked eyes with them, rage burning through my veins. “Was this your doing?”

Vanessa tilted her head, wearing a fake look of innocence. “Emily, why do you always misunderstand me?” She smirked, her voice dripping venom. “I don’t have to lift a finger to deal with someone like you. There are plenty of people who would do it for me with just a glance.”

Before I could respond, the guards grabbed my arms. One of them turned to her and said, “Should we toss her out now, Ms. Blake?”

She turned to Daniel and snapped, “Didn’t you promise me this woman would never show up in front of me again?”

He immediately lowered his voice, coaxing her until she smiled again.

Then he turned to me and slapped me, hard.

"Emily," he said coldly, "I suggest you apologize to Miss Blake right now, or things will get much worse for you."

"If you insist on being stubborn, you’ll be the only one who suffers!"

“Go home! Stop embarrassing yourself like this!”

I stood frozen, half my face stinging from the slap. My ears rang. It was only when I saw Vanessa’s satisfied smile that I realized—I hadn’t imagined it. He really did it. He hit me.

I stared at the man I once loved, the man who once vowed to protect me, and I hated him more than I ever thought possible.

“I don’t believe justice and the law don’t exist!” I shouted with what little strength I had left.

With a wave of her hand, Vanessa ordered, and the guards carried me out like trash. They flung me hard onto the pavement.

Blood dripped from my elbow. My whole body ached.

But I didn’t have time to wallow in pain.

This was my last chance—my only hope for justice for me and my grandfather.

I bit my lip, forced myself to stand, and wiped away the tears and blood from my face.

Just wait, I thought, clenching my fists.

I’m going to the police. I’ll make sure the truth comes out.