In the Capital,in order for the O’Hara Family to find a bride for their mentally challenged eldest son,they offered a dowry worth one and a half million dollars.

The real heiress eagerly accepted the proposal in a self-sacrificing manner,while I,the fake heiress,was married off as a replacement to her penniless childhood sweetheart.

No one expected that three years later,she would squander every cent of that one and a half million dollars dowry.

Seeing my happy marriage,the real heiress was consumed by jealousy,openly meddling in my family affairs,harassing my husband and even going so far as to lock my newborn child in the car,causing my child to die from the heat!

I broke down in tears and decided to sue her,but on the way to court,my husband forced me to stop the car,dragged me back home and locked me in the basement for three days.

“Wife,Olivia was just spoiled.She didn't mean it.She just...didn't know that leaving a baby in the car could kill it.Why are you being so heartless?”

"She is the true heiress of the Snow Family and too noble to have any blemishes!But,you?You’re just a substitute,a worthless fake!”

“If you dare to sue her,I’ll divorce you!You won’t even be allowed to set foot in this house again!”he threatened.

I had thought that my three years of companionship had already earned James O'Neil's love.But I was utterly mistaken.He had never forgotten his true love and had never regarded me as his true wife.

Desperate,I knelt before the“parents”who had raised me for over a decade,my hair disheveled,begging them to give my child justice,but all I received was their cold indifference—“We never recognized you as our daughter.”

Both sides were hopeless.

I saw clearly that so-called marriage and family ties were all utterly fragile!If that’s the case,I don’t want either of these families!

I dialed the lawyer’s number,my voice as cold as ice when I spoke,“I want to inherit Grandmother’s one and a half billion dollar inheritance.I don’t care how much it costs...I must ensure that Olivia Snow rots in prison for the rest of her life!”

They didn’t know that before she passed away,the old matriarch of the Snow Family had already bequeathed all her one and a half billion dollars in assets to me.And at that time,I felt I was just an impostor,a“fake daughter,”so I refused to inherit it.

But now,I would not be softhearted again.I would not leave even a single penny to anyone!

——

"James,did you miss me?Your wife is so boring.She’ll never understand you as well as I do."Olivia deliberately dragged out the last syllable,acting so coquettishly that it was almost insufferable.

“You little temptress…"James chuckled softly;his breathing quickened.

I sat on the cold concrete floor of the storage room,hugging the urn.Inside was my son,my own flesh and blood.

He was just a month old when he was suffocated to death in a car compartment where the temperature had soared to nearly forty degrees Celsius.And the murderer and his accomplice were able to indulge themselves in front of his mother.

I said nothing,as if I were dead.

In two days,I will inherit my grandmother's multi-million-dollar inheritance.Before then,I will definitely find a way to divorce.I was no longer concerned about who he was hanging out with.Until I was free from this,I had to endure.

After the incident outside was finally"over,"James pushed open the door to the storage room,traces of ambiguity still lingering on his body.

He bent down,gently brushed the damp hair from my forehead and with one hand pressed against the back of my head,his voice suffocatingly low,"Clara Snow…no one in the Snow Family is willing to stand up for you anymore.Be smart and stop insisting on suing Olivia,okay?”

I had been locked up here for three days,so my throat was parched and my stomach empty.He threw a bag of cold takeout in front of me,with the food mixed together and grease spilling everywhere.

I stared at the pile of leftovers,which looked like slop and after a moment's silence,I reached out to grab it because I didn't want to die.I had to live to seek justice for my son.

“That’s my good girl.”James stroked my hair,his voice as gentle as ever."You need to understand,I'm your only family.We'll have children in the future...As long as you're obedient,you'll have everything you need."

My heart bled.The biggest joke of my life came in two parts.First,twenty-eight years ago,when I was switched at birth with Olivia.Second,three years ago,when I was forced to marry in her place.

Before I married James,Olivia's childhood sweetheart,I repeatedly pleaded with her,asking,"Is there really nothing going on between you and James?"

She smiled innocently,"How could that be?How could I fall for a peasant from the countryside?"

And I trusted her.

After I got married,seeing James as smart and capable,I rarely mentioned Olivia,believing that it was all true.

He lived with me through ordinary life,helped me start my own business and even risked his own burns to save me during a fire.

I thought that was love and he treated me like family.

Until a year ago,Olivia,who was married to the O’Hara Family's mentally retarded son,suddenly announced that she had a disagreement with her mother-in-law and wanted to come to my house to"relax."

I was pregnant at the time and so weak that when I was walking,I felt dizzy.But every time I needed his company,Olivia would be in trouble,either with a headache or a stomachache.She always managed to coax him away from me.

I confronted him in rage,demanding to know what exactly was going on between them.But he only frowned and said,"Olivia is spoiled,so her actions weren't intentional.She was the one who protected me when I was bullied as a child.I've long considered her my own sister.There's no way we could be anything else."

I looked into his seemingly earnest eyes and chose to believe him.

But my trust was my downfall.A few days ago,my newborn son was"forgotten"in the car by Olivia and he died because of the heat!He was so young and he couldn't even call out"Mommy"yet!

I was devastated and went home to look for James,only to find her panting on his lap.

Sister,my ass!

They just kept trying to coax me into not getting a divorce because they didn't want to lose the shares in my name,the Snow Family's endorsement and the O’Hara Family's connections!And I,like a fool,had been blind to it all.

“Oh,brother-in-law,eat slowly,don’t choke.”Olivia sauntered in wearing my nightgown,her cheeks still flushed with desire.

When she saw the urn in my arms,her lips curved and she said sweetly,"Let me take the baby's ashes.Consider it my apology."

Seeing that she reached out to grab the ashes,I was frightened and hugged it tighter,shaking my head frantically.

"Don't touch him!"

“Why are you so nervous?It's just a few ashes—"

Olivia tugged hard and I lost my grip.The urn fell to the ground with a crisp sound and the lid flipped open,spilling the ashes inside.

Seeing this,my heart skipped a beat.

"Ah...I'm sorry,I didn't mean to."

Olivia stepped on my outstretched finger,her tone still cheerful,"Don't take it personally,Clara."

I looked at her sweet yet sinister face and my rage finally erupted.I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

When I slapped her,Olivia was stunned.She covered her face and her eyes widened with shock.She never expected I would dare to hit her.

"Clara,have you lost your mind?”James's roar thundered like a clap of thunder.Then a foot suddenly hit me.

Bang!

The force of James's kick knocked me to the ground and a searing pain tore through my stomach.

He rushed forward,grabbed my hair and pulled me up,shouting in a low voice,“How dare you hit Olivia?What gives you the right to hit her?"

He yanked my head back high,like a dog and spoke each word slowly,“You're just a fake heiress,a worthless commoner!Olivia is the apple of the Snow Family's eye,the wife of the O’Hara Family.Who do you think you are,dare to touch her?”

I wept silently as I struggled in vain.

Before I could say anything,Olivia had already raised her voice,with a“wronged”expression on her face,“Do you really want me to go to prison?I swear I didn’t mean to!Would you only be happy if I died instead?”

After she spoke so pitifully,she suddenly bolted out of the house.

"Clara,Olivia came here herself to apologize to you and this is how you treat her?Do you even know what shame is?”

He shoved me hard and I crashed heavily to the floor.

“If you keep this up,we're getting a divorce!”he snarled and went after Olivia,completely ignoring whether I was injured or not.

I dragged my body slowly from the floor,picked up the scattered ashes,then carefully gathered them into a clean little bottle.When my tears fell into them,I hurriedly wiped them away.Though my voice cracked and was barely audible,it was full of determination,"Alright,divorce it is!"

I returned to my room,opened my phone,dialed the lawyer's number once and said calmly,"Please draft another divorce agreement for me.I want to end this marriage as fast as possible.”

I put my child's ashes in a bottle,strung it onto a silver chain and hung it around my neck,close to my heart.

That night,James returned home drunk,still reeking of alcohol.As soon as he opened the door,he came over and embraced me.

"Clara…don’t be mad anymore,okay?”After trying to bring me back to the familiar warmth,he coaxed me,"Olivia is staying out tonight.Look,she's already made the first move.”

"I know losing the child is hard on you,but you have to trust me that what I did with Olivia was just an act.I just wanted to get the O’Hara Family's shares that she had.Once we get it,we can soar to new heights.Just bear with it a little longer.Once I get that money…I’ll cut ties with her completely,I promise,"he said softly.

When his hands began to wander restlessly up my waist,I pushed his hands away.“I’m not feeling well.Don’t touch me.”

I had already printed out the divorce agreement that afternoon and stuffed it into my pocket.I planned to find a way to trick him into signing it before inheriting the estate the day after tomorrow.

Seeing that I refused his advances,James wanted to say something,but before he could,Olivia's video call suddenly came through.He casually pressed to answer and the next second,blood spattered across the screen.His expression changed drastically.“Olivia!”

In the video,she was wearing a white dress,sitting in front of a water tank in the hotel.A horrifying,bloody gash marred her wrist,with blood trickling down and dripping onto the cold floor.

While sobbing,she said with a weak and shaky voice,"James…will Clara only forgive me if I die?I swear I didn't mean to harm the baby...I just wanted to see him,I really didn't mean to,but she kept scolding me,saying I killed the child.I really couldn't take it anymore...Wuwuwu...Am I too wicked?Is living a mistake?If I die,will you all be happy?Right?"

I coldly stared at that overly dramatic face,not believing a single word.

But James panicked.He suddenly turned around,grabbed me and dragged me out like a puppet.“Go,go and see her!”

“I don’t want to,”I muttered.

But he snapped,"If anything happens to Olivia,can you handle the consequences?Haven’t you already hurt her enough?If she dies,you’ll never have peace for the rest of your life!”

By the time we arrived at the hotel,the Snow Family was already there.

The moment I stepped through the door,a piercing roar of anger ripped through me,followed by—

Smack!

Mrs.Snow slapped me hard across the face without mercy.

“You heartless bitch!How dare you push my daughter to this point!”Her hair was disheveled and her eyes bloodshot.

“So,what if your son is dead?Huh!He was just a bastard…how could he compare to the precious daughter of the Snow Family?Who do you think you are,daring to sue Olivia?Do you have any conscience?Are you trying to drive the Snow Family to ruin?”

My head spun and I stumbled backward from the blow,my face swelling rapidly on one side.

Mr.Snow also lunged forward,pointing at my nose and shouting,“The Snow Family has raised you for twenty-five years!And now you repay us with ingratitude?What right do you have to blame Olivia?She's your sister...the one you should be grateful to!”

“You're just a fake who was brought here by mistake.We've raised you all these years and now you keep calling her a‘murderer.’Do you even have any humanity left?”

Mrs.Snow cursed me even more fiercely,“Your son was a short-lived bastard.He suffered while he was alive!Now that he's dead,he's finally at peace!And he's caused our daughter so much suffering!”

Her mother wrapped her arms around Olivia as she pressed her face against her shoulder.Although she was crying bitterly,she still managed to glance at me with her eyes that were filled with undisguised triumph.

"Clara,I really didn’t mean any harm…If you hate me this much,then…then I’ll cut myself again…Would you only stop your suffering if I die?”she sobbed,pretending to struggle free from her mother’s embrace.

“Olivia!”Mrs.Snow quickly grabbed her and shouted angrily,“If anything happens to you again,just wait and see how I’ll deal with this slut!”

Olivia's tears flowed like broken pearls.“You’ve always looked down on me,thinking I stole your husband.But I didn’t…James is indeed your husband,but he’s always loved me…If you want to blame someone,blame our deep connection.He said from a young age that I was the one he wanted to marry…”

“Enough!”James growled,then he shoved me roughly and glared at me coldly.“Clara,you’ve gone too far!”

“You've driven Olivia to this point.Are you satisfied?She's already harmed herself.What more do you want?She didn't do it on purpose.Do you have to push her to the brink of death to be happy?"

“Apologize to her immediately!Get on your knees,beg her not to give up on life!”

My nails dug deeply into my palms and my body trembled slightly with anger.

My eyes travelled around the hotel room.These people who once gave me a“home”and“support”were now attacking me like wild beasts,defending a woman who had killed my child.Then I laughed and as my tears streamed down my face,I felt cold to the bone.

I gently wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth,my gaze growing colder by the second.“Mr.Snow.Mrs.Snow.You’d better remember this.Your so-called precious daughter is the murderer who took my son’s life.I will never give up suing her.”

The moment I refused to bow,the Snow Family exploded.

“Ungrateful wretch!”

“Good-for-nothing!”

Mrs.Snow's face twisted with anger as she spat at me,pointing her finger as if I were the greatest disgrace of her life.

For them,my son’s life wasn’t even worth a single tear from Olivia.

"Clara.”James’voice was as cold as ice.“Stop this nonsense.What do you want?Do you want to destroy all of us?If you really take this to court,do you think you’ll win?”

“If you insist on being unreasonable,there’s only one solution—divorce.”His face was cold.“If it comes to that,you won’t even have the last of my love left.”

My eyelashes trembled slightly and my heart clenched painfully.After all,I had entrusted all my weakness and loneliness to him through countless painful struggles.

I had once told him,“It feels like I never really belonged to any family.My birth parents died and my foster parents never treated me like family.Sometimes,I think…maybe I’ll just end up alone for the rest of my life…”

He had pulled me into his arms,pressing his forehead to mine,promising with deep sincerity,“Then I’ll be the closest person to you.I’ll give you a home.”

And yet,now,he had shattered my dreams of a home with his own hands.But it’s fine.After all,I had already planned to leave him.

I drew in a deep breath slowly and pulled out the papers I had long prepared from my pocket.

“Alright,”I smiled,my voice as cold as snow,“You wanted a divorce,right?Sign it.”

I slapped the paper onto his chest,forcing him to take it.

James froze.

“You've already...prepared this?”he stared at me like looking at a stranger.

I sneered,“I'm not afraid of divorce.Today,I'll make you sign.If you refuse,I'll go to court to sue Olivia and I'll see who among you can protect her!”

The Snow Family panicked.

“We can’t let her file charges!”Mrs.Snow’s face turned ashen as she grabbed James’s arm.“Hurry,sign it!If she really drags this to the O’Hara Family’s attention,we’re finished!”

“Sign it and she’ll shut up!”

“Yes,yes!Just get the divorce first to calm her down.Then she won’t really sue Olivia…”

The atmosphere in the room flipped instantly.A moment ago,they had been so arrogant.Now,every one of them was pushing James to sign the papers.

They didn't care whether I,their“daughter,”got divorced or not.They were afraid I would expose Olivia's crimes.

The Snow Family hadn't yet taken the drastic measures of silently killing someone as old as me to keep the truth.

James remained motionless,frozen in place,his eyes filled with unprecedented fear and resentment.Because for the first time,he realized I was truly determined to leave him.

“You actually…want to divorce me?”he muttered.

I stared at him,speaking slowly and deliberately,“Sign it.”

“Don’t force me.”His eyes grew colder,his jaw tight as he ground his teeth,pressed the pen hard to the paper,scrawled his name and flung the divorce agreement aside with a furious shout.

“Fine!You want a divorce,don’t you?Then get out!Get out of my house!Never come back!Don't regret it!"

My eyes were red,but my heart was completely dead.

I picked up the divorce papers.Without another word,I turned and walked away.

Behind me,the Snow Family sighed in relief.They all thought that by signing the divorce agreement,I had given up everything.

How wrong they were.

I would give everything to send Olivia to hell!