Instantly, my hair stood on end, shock coursing through me.

The recording date was the same day my mother got into an accident.

Sydney was the culprit, and my husband was her accomplice.

I turned around unsteadily and found Cody standing right behind me.

"Are you investigating me?" His brows were deeply furrowed, his expression complex but devoid of guilt.

"So it's true?"

How I wished he would tell me that the audio was fake!

Cody avoided my eyes and remained silent.

The last bit of hope in my heart shattered.

As I was about to lose control, he suddenly hugged me, his soft voice uttering the cruelest words,

"Jenny, let bygones be bygones. Your mother is still alive. Sydney has a bright future ahead of her."

I stared at him in shock, feeling like a fish bone was stuck in my throat.

On that stormy night, I rushed to the scene of the accident and tried to charge past the barricades barefoot, but Cody restrained me in his arms.

He soothed me in a trembling voice, "Jenny, I'm here. It's okay. I'll catch the hit-and-run driver, I won't let him get away."

At the time, I was still holding a broken wine bottle. I swung it around in a frenzy, but all blows landed on him.

The rain washed away the blood, and he kept saying, "It's okay, it's okay…"

I naively thought Cody had brought the murderer to justice.

But his way of handling it was to buy Sydney a ticket abroad to hide and wait for the incident to cool off.

My blood ran cold, and I couldn't find my voice.

Just then, Sydney burst in, teary-eyed.

"Jenny, please stop using that audio clip to threaten me. I'm really scared of losing my job…"

As she spoke, she conspicuously showed her arms, eliciting gasps from onlookers.

Her arms were bruised and marked with knife wounds.

Cody's gaze betrayed his heartache, and when he looked at me, his eyes were filled with disappointment.

"Jenny, is this how you abuse Sydney behind my back? How could you?"

Those clumsy scars were nothing compared to my mother's life. They were nothing compared to three years of betrayal.

I laughed maniacally, not even bothering to explain.

"You're upset? Then let's divorce."

I handed him the divorce papers my senior sent me.

A hush fell over the crowd when they saw the words on the papers.

Cody glared at me, his eyes red with anger.

"Fine! If you want a divorce, I'll grant you your wish! I'll give you three days to regret it!"

He signed the papers with a flourish, shooting me an angry glare before walking away with Sydney in his arms.

Whispers of mockery came from behind me.

They were betting on when I would crawl back to Cody.

That night, Cody didn't return home. He went to various banquets with Sydney, helping her network with people in the industry.

He did the exact same thing when he made me famous years ago.

Cody had already booked the June Bacon-Bercey Award for Sydney, a newcomer who had only done one trial broadcast.

By doing so, he effortlessly embarrassed me.

He wanted me to know that without his backing, I was nothing.

While the TV was broadcasting Sydney's segment, I calmly packed my bags.

The next morning, a sudden call from the hospital jolted me awake:

"Is this Ms. Jenny Harper? Your mother… has gone missing."

My heart raced. Without thinking, I rushed to the award ceremony as fast as I could.

When I arrived, Cody was about to present the trophy to Sydney, who was clad in a custom-made luxury gown.

They looked like the perfect couple.

I appeared with no makeup and disheveled hair, incongruent with the solemn and elegant atmosphere.

Cody smiled on stage. He thought I regretted my decision already and had come to publicly beg for reconciliation.

Unfortunately, he was about to be disappointed.

Under the contemptuous gazes of the crowd, I approached Sydney with heavy steps, my eyes bloodshot.

"What did you do to my mother? Don't you dare touch her!"

My voice was trembling, and I looked frightening.

The crowd mocked and ridiculed me.

Cody felt embarrassed. He pushed me back harshly, causing me to stagger.

"Jenny, you're scaring Sydney!"

I stumbled off the stage, my insides almost shattering from the fall.

Cody unconsciously took a step forward, and Sydney quickly ran down the stage to help me up.

"Jenny, I have no idea what you're talking about. Stop embarrassing Cody."

The woman then pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "How smart of you. You immediately figured out that it was me who took your mother away. Can you guess what I did to her?"

Sydney smiled brightly, but I was the only one who saw the vicious glint in her eyes.

Panicking, I couldn't hold back anymore. I grabbed her throat and squeezed hard.

"Give me back my mother, Sydney!"

The next second, a strong force yanked me away, and a slap hit my face.

Cody was trembling, his expression horrifying. "Jenny, I've had it with you. You would throw away your dignity for a trophy? Stop being so vain!"

In his eyes, I appeared wild and embarrassing.

But my mind was blank. All I could think about was my mother's safety.

In a moment of rage, I seized the trophy from Cody and charged at Sydney like a madwoman.

"AAH!"

However, the trophy hit Cody's back instead.

He pushed hard, and the trophy's sharp edge sliced across my face.

Blood stained the carpet as the trophy fell to the floor.

"Jenny, have you lost your mind?"

In his blind spot, Sydney shook a remote control at me.

It was a remote control for a bomb! There were only three minutes left on the countdown!

She took out a handkerchief to wipe away my blood, smiling provocatively and triumphantly at me. "Your mother is in the car outside, the same one that hit her and paralyzed her. I specifically bought it back."

In an instant, my world spun.

I staggered and made a run for the door, but Cody's bodyguards blocked my way.

From behind me, Cody growled like a demon.

"You think you can just run away after hurting her? Get back here and apologize on your knees!"

I felt as if the ticking bomb was pounding against my heart.

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

There was no time to hesitate. I dropped to my knees and knocked my forehead on the floor three times while glaring resentfully at the two of them.

Cody was stunned. He reached out to stop me.

But I had already sprinted towards the car outside without looking back.

Watching my desperate retreat, Cody's heart sank deeper and deeper.

Sydney pulled his attention back, saying, "The award ceremony is about to start."

"Yeah."

He hesitated and turned around, only to hear a loud boom behind him, followed by an onrush of heat…