Whispers from the onlookers rippled through the hall like wildfire.

"She's being forced into a divorce the moment she's sentenced? That poor woman..."

"That arrogant woman must be the mistress. She made the legal wife’s parents faint from rage—it's disgusting!"

"The wife is too soft. She let them walk all over her like that? If it were me, I'd make them regret it the moment I got out."

The murmurs grew louder and more accusatory.

My father noticed that my mother was sobbing too hard, her breathing became erratic, and she collapsed—suffering from acute hyperventilation and suspected cyanide poisoning. Paramedics rushed in and whisked her away in an ambulance.

Chaos erupted at the scene. The public's fury turned toward Derek and Jade.

Jade was quickly losing patience, but she couldn't care less about the gossip. She had already gotten everything she wanted.

She yanked Derek away with her, flashing a smug smile at Attorney Leonel as they left.

Derek, while somewhat moved by the sacrifice I'd made, was secretly thrilled to finally be able to be with his childhood sweetheart openly. In the car, he had already prepared flowers and gifts to celebrate her "homecoming."

Elated, Jade practically jumped into his arms. Their joy was a stark, jarring contrast to the mess of pain and tears they'd left behind in the hall.

—

When they returned to the house, Jade took it upon herself to pack up all Ariella's belongings and dump them in the musty basement.

The wedding photo in the center of the living room was an eyesore to her—it was the last symbol of the life Ariella once had. With a single glance from her, Derek silently gave his consent. Jade tore the frame off the wall and tossed it aside like trash.

Already five months pregnant, Jade's motherly warmth quickly vanished when she looked at Cody, who stood nearby clutching his toy.

With a cold voice, she declared, "We need to make space for the new baby. Cody's room will have to go."

Derek, busy helping her unpack, agreed without hesitation.

With his approval secured, Jade threw Cody's belongings and dragged him up to the attic.

She flung his things carelessly on the damp wooden floor and said sharply, "This is your room now. Don't bother me unless it's important."

Then she turned and walked away.

Cody looked around at the cramped, dark attic, still clutching his toy. A cold draft crept through the cracks in the walls. On the floor lay the shattered remains of the jade bracelet Ariella had crafted for him on his third birthday—Jade had smashed it earlier in a fit of irritation.

He froze, stunned, then accidentally stepped on a shard. With a cry of pain, he fell to the floor, holding his bleeding foot.

However, no one came.

In the past, whenever he got hurt, his mother was always there to treat his wounds. Now, he was left alone—his sobs echoing off the attic walls.

...

Meanwhile, downstairs, Jade basked in the satisfaction of finally having a place of her own in this house. She turned to Derek, giddy with excitement.

"She signed the divorce papers already. Let's get married in a few days, okay?"

She had been waiting for this moment for so long, and when Derek nodded in agreement, her heart finally settled.

Yet ever since returning, Derek's expression had been clouded. Though Ariella had appeared calm and compliant, a lingering fear gnawed at him—that she might one day reverse the verdict and expose the truth.

And just as that fear lingered in his heart.

—

In the hospital's intensive care unit, after a tense emergency rescue, Ariella's mother finally regained consciousness.

"You're finally awake!" Ariella's father cried from the bedside, tears streaming down his face. Fortunately, his wife, who had collapsed earlier, finally opened her eyes.

"Ariel..." was the first word from her lips. The moment she realized her daughter wasn't there, her heart sank again.

Leonel stepped in to comfort them both.

"I've already submitted the paperwork to the court for visitation rights. By tomorrow, you'll be able to visit her. Just one more day."

Even though it was only a prison visit, that sliver of hope was enough to lift their spirits.

Elsewhere, in another hospital wing... In the ICU, Gavin's fingers twitched slightly—then his eyes opened.

Despite the severe trauma to his body and brain, his mind was working fast. The doctor, noticing the change, let out a sigh of relief. After confirming his condition had stabilized, Gavin was moved to the general ward for further observation.

On the day of the prison visit, Ariella's parents set out early in the morning. Attorney Leonel was supposed to accompany them, but he left first, claiming he had something urgent to attend to.

In truth, Leonel had already learned through his network that Gavin had regained consciousness. Without delay, and before Derek could catch wind of it, he rushed to the hospital to meet him.

The Ortiz family's company was on the verge of going public, and the momentum was strong. But a scandal involving a criminal cover-up—especially one involving a life—could destroy everything. If Derek learned that Gavin had woken up, he might resort to drastic measures to silence him for good. After all, only Gavin's death would make it impossible to overturn Ariella's conviction.

Leonel had sharply sensed this and arrived at the hospital before sunrise. He had already done his homework. On paper, Gavin was a senior executive at the Reed Group, but in reality, he was the illegitimate son of Chairman Reed.

Ariella grew up with Gavin. When they were older, he was taken abroad by his family, and they lost contact. Leonel's visit was a gamble—would Gavin remember who the real killer was at the scene of the crime?

Faced with a stranger, Gavin remained wary and silent no matter what Leonel said. But Leonel came prepared. He pulled out the official court documents and explained in detail what had happened while Gavin had been in a coma.

"She confessed to the crime?!"

Gavin finally spoke, a trace of an unreadable smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Still, he remained suspicious of Leonel's identity. Even when Leonel explained he was Ariella's university classmate and had been entrusted by her parents to handle her case, Gavin stayed cautious. Though Leonel didn't get a direct statement, his visit was enough to stir something in Gavin's heart.

Shortly after, Gavin quietly arranged a hospital transfer. His whereabouts became unknown.

—

In the prison visitation room, a thick pane of glass separated me from my parents. Just one day apart had felt like a lifetime.

My mother noticed how gaunt and exhausted I looked, and her eyes filled with heartbreak. On the other hand, I put on a calm expression, pretending I had accepted my fate and comforted them instead.

Just then, my mother's phone buzzed again. With an annoyed expression, she picked it up—and sure enough, it was exactly what she expected. Seeing my puzzled face, she turned the screen toward me.

Derek's social media posts were pouring in like a flood, documenting every sweet moment of his new life with Jade.

[Today is Jade's first day home. She's sleeping so soundly.]

The attached photo showed Jade lying in the master bedroom, wearing my cherished nightgown, looking fragile and content. There were even faint red marks on her neck and collarbone.

[Made a heartfelt breakfast for Jade. Hope she likes it.]

A lavish breakfast spread filled the table. This was the same man who claimed he couldn't cook during our entire marriage—and had never once made me a proper meal.

Even when I was burning with a 40°C (104°F) fever and begged him, all he made was a bowl of plain porridge, and tossed it on the table with a frown.

So it wasn’t that he couldn’t—it was just that I wasn’t worth the effort.

He had pinned his latest post to the top.

[Some reunions are destined by fate. The right person is always waiting for you.]

In the picture, he and Jade held hands tightly, standing in front of a flower wall I had painstakingly built for his birthday.

I had spent months researching the perfect fragrant and visually stunning flowers, and bled many times arranging them into a giant heart. And now, that heart-shaped wall had become the backdrop for his public declaration of love for someone else.

The comments section was filled with blessings—and a few thinly veiled jabs at me.

Obviously, I was the only one kept in the dark about their affair.

I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white. My mother noticed the disappointment in my eyes and quickly put the phone away, trying to change the subject.

"Leonel said the victim had regained consciousness," she whispered, leaning close.

"Ariel, don't worry. Your father and I will do everything we can to get you out of here."

Although everything had already been decided, my parents were still doing their best. I was deeply moved, tears welling up in my eyes, but I said nothing.

Just then, my best friend Gemma called. My parents left, giving me those final precious minutes to speak with her.

As they were leaving, my mother reminded me again. "The victim is awake now. We'll go beg him for forgiveness... maybe it'll help reduce your sentence."

I watched my parents shuffle away with heavy hearts. As they disappeared from sight, the ringing phone in my hand pulled me back to reality.

"Ariel! I already heard about that scumbag Derek—are you okay now?" Gemma's anxious voice crackled through the receiver.

I reassured her softly, telling her not to worry about me and to focus on recovering from her own injuries.

"I told you to stop driving already... and now look—you're stuck in bed with those serious injuries, just staring at the ceiling."

A while ago, during one of Derek's business trips, Gemma had offered to stay with me for a while. On her way to my place, due to her poor driving skills, she accidentally hit someone. The victim had only suffered minor external injuries but was hospitalized for a few days to recover.

Gemma had stayed by the patient's side the entire time until he was discharged. She hadn't known his identity—only that he had a dark birthmark on his lower leg.

They thought the matter had been resolved quietly. But not long after, someone deliberately targeted Gemma. While she was home recovering, she was hit by a car in a vicious "accident" and knocked unconscious. The road had no surveillance cameras, and to this day, the truth remained a mystery. Gemma had no choice but to swallow the injustice.

It wasn’t until later that she discovered the man she had accidentally hit was someone from the Reed Group. Knowing how the Reed family operated—strict, calculating, and always repaying debts—she immediately suspected they were behind the hit-and-run. After all, her family had worked with them before, and the Reed Group was infamous for being ruthlessly fair and unforgiving.

“Wait—what?! That man was from the Reed family?” Gemma exclaimed in shock and sat upright in her hospital bed.

I could practically hear the gears in her mind turning. She had never understood why I insisted on taking the fall for Derek. Now she was starting to piece things together. Looking at the cast on her leg, she nodded silently with a complicated expression.

"Take care of yourself, Ariel," she said quietly. "Once I'm better, I'll come see you."

After I ended the call, my parents' words echoed in my mind.

"The victim has regained consciousness..."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips. It was time for me to start playing my own chess game.

I had five minutes left before returning to my cell. I was about to dial a number on a slip of paper I'd been holding when the phone rang again.

"Gemma? What is it? Don't worry too much about me. I'll find my own way out."

Just as I was about to hang up, a deep, magnetic voice came through the line.

"Ariel. It's me."

My heart froze. I dropped the phone in shock.

"You're... you're really awake," I whispered, trying hard to suppress the surge of emotion welling up inside me.

Before he could reply, the visitation time ended. The call cut off automatically, and the phone was taken back by the guard.

Back in the cold, damp prison cell, I gripped the piece of paper with the number I never got to dial. My mind was already spinning—the next move had to be flawless.

Determined to earn another visitation opportunity, I decided to fully cooperate and maintain model behavior for the next few days.

That night, I lay in bed early, memories flooding my mind like a broken dam.

I thought about everything between me and Derek.

We met in our teens. I'd fallen for him at first sight. After months of pursuing him, we naturally became a couple—like fate itself had drawn us together.

On a warm summer day, he threw a surprise party. In front of all our friends and family, he knelt on one knee with flowers and a ring, vowing his future to me. We married on my 20th birthday.

"Ariel, you'll always be my one and only. I can't live without you."

"Ariel, hold on a little longer. I'm almost at the hospital. You and the baby must be okay!"

"Ariel, Cody's crying again. Can you look after him? I'm heading out."

"Take the kid away. Don't embarrass me in front of my drinking buddies!"

His words echoed like a tangled web in my head, each memory pulling me deeper into heartache. Sweat broke out on my forehead.

"Ariella! Wake up!"

The warden’s shout blared from the loudspeaker, yanking me from my restless sleep. I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and started another grueling day.

Even though I hadn’t been here long, some of the older women in the cell already couldn’t stand me. When I worked seriously, they’d mess with me on purpose. During meals, they’d dump their leftover scraps into my bowl. Before bed, they’d drench my mattress with urine.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I stormed over and yelled at them in fury.

But they didn’t back down—in fact, it fired them up. One of them suddenly slapped me hard across the face, knocking me to the floor.