My husband didn’t have time to go with me to buy a designer handbag. After buying it, he sent me a screenshot of the order—but only half of it.

When I asked for a divorce, my mother-in-law and her relatives scolded me as if I were insane:

“Just because the screenshot shows only half? He probably just slipped while taking it. What’s the big deal?”

I blinked. “Yes, it’s exactly because of that half order.”

“Are you out of your mind? Daniel just didn’t capture the full screenshot, and you want a divorce over that?”

My mother-in-law and her relatives sat in a circle, practically putting me on trial.

And all because I had brought up divorce.

That half order—my best friend Rachel told me, “The order is real, but the bag is fake.”

The screenshot wasn’t complete, the dates didn’t match, and there were clear signs it had been edited.

That meant Daniel had bought the bag long ago, not for me—and the one he gave me now was fake.

I wasn’t wrong to want a divorce. He had betrayed me long before this.

And I had already guessed who that woman was.

“Stop making a scene, Sophia. We’ve been married for years, and Emma is already so grown. Is this really necessary?”

I glared at my husband, Daniel Carter, and said each word deliberately:

“You’d better come with me to the court in New York tomorrow morning to finalize the divorce decree. Otherwise, don’t blame me for embarrassing you.”

“Don’t make me expose the truth about that order.”

The room fell into chaos. My mother-in-law’s entire family was stunned, pointing at Daniel and demanding,

“What on earth happened? Why is Sophia threatening you with divorce?”

“N-Nothing happened. Sophia and I are fine,” Daniel muttered,

“It’s just because I bought her a bag and didn’t capture the full order screenshot. She thinks I gave her a fake one. But even if it was fake, it’s still my heartfelt gesture. Hardly worth a divorce, right?”

After Daniel spoke, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and uncle all seemed relieved.

“Oh, that’s all it is?”

“You’re making too much fuss!”

“Even if it’s fake, it’s still a gift from Daniel. You don’t need to divorce him over that.”

“Women’s rights are too aggressive these days, but you don’t need to take it out on Daniel.”

“And what about your own faults?”

I smiled silently, eyes locked on Daniel.

“Court. Tomorrow. I’ll be waiting. Don’t be late.”

Seeing that I was determined, Daniel’s face turned ashen.

The next morning, as I drove toward the court, I was caught in a chain-reaction crash. While waiting on the roadside, I received a terrifying phone call:

“Hello, is this Sophia Evans? Your daughter is in my hands. If you know what’s good for you, come to the abandoned warehouse in New Jersey right now. Otherwise, prepare to collect her corpse!”

“Mommy, help me!” My daughter’s voice jolted me back to reality.

“Don’t hurt her! I’m coming right away…”

In panic, I turned the wheel the wrong way, and another car slammed into me.

When I woke again, I was staring at the blindingly white ceiling of New York General Hospital, the sharp smell of antiseptic filling my nose.

I looked at myself in shock—still alive, but my legs were wrapped in plaster and bandages, throbbing with unbearable pain. I had been in a terrible accident.

Then I remembered—Emma was still in danger. I scrambled to find my phone to call Daniel.

But instead, from the room next door, I heard my daughter’s voice.

“Daddy, just because Mommy found out the secret of your half order and wanted a divorce, you made me pretend to be kidnapped so she would be distracted and crash her car, breaking her legs. That way, she couldn’t go to the court to finalize the divorce. You did all that because you still love Mommy, didn’t you?”

Daniel’s voice shattered my heart.

“Of course not. My marriage with her has long been meaningless. I was afraid that once she divorced me, she’d expose the secret behind that half order. Then my reputation, and Chloe’s reputation, would be utterly ruined!”

“How would I continue running my company? How would I face people? And how would Chloe survive it? Besides, don’t you prefer Chloe anyway?”

“Chloe’s life is pitiful. After being abused by her ex-husband overseas, she barely scrapes by here. What’s wrong with buying her a bag to brighten her day? Your mother is impossible to live with.”

Emma sighed.

“Yes, I do prefer Chloe. She always buys me burgers, but Mommy never lets me eat them. She forces me to eat disgusting green peppers!”

My heart grew colder and colder. Hearing this, all my worry for my daughter felt wasted.

At only eight years old, my little girl had already betrayed me—for Chloe, her father’s mistress. Together, they had deceived me and left me crippled.

I closed my eyes and cried silently, tears streaming down my cheeks. But I dared not make a sound, afraid that if father and daughter discovered I knew the truth, they might do something even worse.

Later that day, traffic officers and police came to take my statement. They even pulled surveillance footage from the crash site.

Their conclusion: brake failure, an accident.

The other driver accepted full responsibility and offered full compensation.

At that moment, I saw Daniel breathe a visible sigh of relief, as if he had engineered the entire crash himself. To escape suspicion quickly, he was willing to accept the blame.

When the topic of the kidnappers came up, Daniel displayed unprecedented fury:

“Officers, you must catch those criminals! They kidnapped my daughter. If my wife hadn’t been distracted by their call, the accident wouldn’t have happened. The real culprits are those men!”

“Yes, officer,” Emma cried, “if I hadn’t been kidnapped, Mommy wouldn’t have crashed and broken her legs. It’s all my fault. Please, catch those bad guys!”

The policeman patted her head kindly.

“Don’t worry, little one. Justice always prevails. We’ll catch them.”

“Sweetheart, are you alright? Are you feeling better?”

Daniel and Emma came over, speaking softly as if nothing had happened.

“Mommy, it’s all my fault. If not for me, you wouldn’t have suffered this.”

I ignored Emma and glared at Daniel.

“Why are you still here? Why aren’t you at the court? Our divorce agreement is still valid!”

“I’m giving you one last chance—tomorrow morning, we go to the court. Otherwise, I’ll expose your half-order secret, and let’s see how you face your family then.”

I spoke with burning rage, fueled not only by anger but by the devastating truth I had overheard last night.

Daniel looked at me in disbelief.

“Even like this, you still insist on divorcing me?”

“What about it? I’m crippled now? So what?” I shot back, my eyes blazing. “Even if I have to hobble there on crutches, I’ll divorce you!”

“I don’t ever want to see your face again!”

“Mom, how can you talk to Dad like that?” Emma snapped, defending him.

“Sophia, you’re impossible! You’ve just had an accident, and I’m here caring for you—yet you repay me with divorce demands?” Daniel fumed, about to leave.

I reminded him coldly,

“Don’t forget tomorrow, the court. Or would you prefer your mother to hear all about the half order?”

“Hmph!” Daniel shot me a venomous glare, then left with Emma.

Past midnight, I lay awake, waiting for tomorrow to come. I had endured life with this hypocritical man long enough. I wanted freedom. The secret of that half order no longer mattered to me.

Just as I was drifting into sleep, I heard the sound of my hospital room door being forced open.

Confused, I thought—did I call the nurses?

But then, a group of menacing figures burst in, and my blood froze.

“Who are you? This is a hospital. Leave immediately, or I’ll call security!”

I barked, trying to sound firm.

They only sneered.

“Sweetheart, already pretending you don’t know my voice?”

That voice—it was the same one from the kidnapping call.

My body went cold.

“You… who are you? I don’t know you! Get out!”

The leader, a scruffy vagrant-looking man, smirked.

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly who we are. And screaming won’t help. We already drugged the nurses. Tonight, no one will save you.”

“Last time, you survived the crash. This time, we’ll make sure you don’t.”

My face drained of color.

“Daniel—Mr. Carter—he sent you, didn’t he? Whatever he paid you, I’ll double it. Don’t hurt me!”

“Two hundred thousand… four hundred thousand… half a million… no, a million!”

The leader’s expression flickered, but he sneered.

“Too bad. I live by one rule: whoever hires me first, I stay loyal to. Even if you offered ten times more, I wouldn’t betray the deal.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. Best I can do is leave you a whole corpse.”

Panic surged through me. I tried to run, but the door was already barricaded.

They rushed me, fists and boots raining down. The world spun, pain blazing through my body.

“Please, don’t hurt me! I’m begging you!”

But they ignored me. Before blacking out, I felt my legs twisted unnaturally, agony ripping me apart. I thought I was dying.

So convenient—for Daniel and Chloe. The secret of the half order would die with me.

I was going to die. And I was furious.

Yet when I opened my eyes again, I was still in the hospital. Pain tore through me, my legs bent grotesquely, useless.

Then, from the bathroom, I heard whispered voices.

Daniel.

On the phone.

“Dad, Mom keeps insisting on a divorce, and I can’t stand it. But crippling her—having those thugs break her legs—wasn’t that too cruel? How will she live now?”

And Daniel’s cold laugh answered: