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00:00My name is Evelyn Sterling, and I am the true owner of the Haven Post-Pairation Care Center.
00:06Today, wearing plain old clothes and carrying a nourishing soup I had prepared for my best friend Sophie,
00:12I was stopped in the hallway by a pregnant woman.
00:14She was holding a French bulldog that was barking wildly.
00:18Dressed in luxury jewelry, she lifted her chin arrogantly and accused me of dirtying her imported carpet.
00:25Before I could even explain, she let go of the dog leash.
00:31The vicious dog lunged at me and sunk its teeth into my calf.
00:36Blood streamed down my pant leg.
00:39I broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, pointing at my nose in front of all the employees
00:44she claimed to be the lady boss.
00:47And me, the real owner, was dragged by my own employees into a freezing cold storage room with temperatures below
00:53zero,
00:54where they demanded half a million dollars from me.
00:57The only reason?
01:00Because I was Jason Sterling's legal wife.
01:03And she was the woman Jason had been keeping on the side.
01:07The hallway was filled with the mixed smell of lavender essential oil and disinfectant.
01:11It was originally designed to calm people's nerves, but at that moment, the smell felt like needles stabbing into my
01:18temples.
01:19I was looking down at my phone, texting Sophie to tell her that I had brought the fish mug and
01:23chicken soup she loved,
01:24when a French bulldog suddenly charged out from the corner.
01:27Its short legs scratched rapidly against the carpet as it ran forward.
01:31Its shoulder slammed into the insulated basket I was carrying, knocking the lid open slightly.
01:35A few drops of pale golden soup splashed out and landed on the ivory white wool carpet, instantly leaving several
01:41greasy stands.
01:42Dog stopped less than half a meter away from me.
01:44It lowered its body, a deep threatening growl rumbling in its throat.
01:47I frowned and looked at the woman holding the leash.
01:49She was probably in your 20s with a heavily pregnant belly stretching against a limited edition fur coat.
01:53The coat's glossy, fluffy collar was a style I had seen at Paris Fashion Week last month.
01:59It was worth at least $120,000.
02:03Are you okay, baby?
02:06Did you get scared?
02:11Do you know how much this carpet costs?
02:14It's a handmade wool carpet.
02:17$3,000 per square foot?
02:19What? Someone like you couldn't even afford one square inch with an entire year's salary.
02:29Your dog rushed out suddenly.
02:31I only...
02:33You what?
02:37Look at what you're wearing.
02:39Some piece of trash you picked up from a flea market.
02:45Do you even know how much one night at the Haven costs?
02:49Can you afford to stay here?
02:56I'm here to visit someone.
02:58I'm not here to stay.
03:00Visit someone?
03:05Did you hear that?
03:07She says she's here to visit someone.
03:11When did a place like ours start letting in people like this?
03:16Is the front desk completely useless?
03:18They let any kind of trash walk in here?
03:21The employees lowered their heads.
03:23No one dared to look up.
03:25No one dared to say a word.
03:27I couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore.
03:31I took took my phone out of my pocket and was about to call Sophie to come out and meet
03:35me.
03:36But the woman suddenly bet down.
03:38She unlocked the leash around the French bulldog's neck.
03:44Bitch.
03:45You dirtied my carpet.
03:53Let go!
03:54Let go of me!
04:00How dare you kick my baby!
04:02You vile creature!
04:04My sweet boy has never bitten anyone a day in its life!
04:10If you scared the baby I'm carrying because of this, what could you possibly pay me with?
04:15Not even selling yourself would be enough to make up for it!
04:19She wailed and hurled insults at me.
04:21Her heartbroken act was so convincing that anyone who didn't know the truth would have thought I'd set a dog
04:25on her on purpose.
04:26Pressing down on my bleeding wound, I stared in disbelief at this blatant distortion of facts unfolding right before my
04:32eyes.
04:33Your dog attacked me first.
04:35Instead of apologizing, you're twisting the story to blame me?
04:40My baby never bites people!
04:42It must be some filthy stench on your person.
04:46My dog only attacks bad people!
04:48You all saw what happened!
04:50This low life upset my pregnancy and hurt my dog!
04:55She isn't leaving this place today unless she pays half a million ron in compensation for emotional distress and veterinary
05:02fills.
05:03Half a million yawn.
05:04I had been mauled and left bleeding by her vicious dog, and now she was demanding I pay her that
05:08enormous sum?
05:09My gaze drifted to the staff.
05:11They hung their heads even lower, their bodies trembling slightly, none daring to speak a word of justice.
05:15It hit me at once.
05:16There was only one person powerful enough to terrify every employee on this floor.
05:20Jason Sterling, my husband.
05:22I forced myself to stand upright again and fixed my eyes back on the woman.
05:26She tilted her chin up high, a malicious, triumphant glint in her eyes.
05:30One hand rested protectively over her stomach, the other wrapped around the dog that had just savaged me, striking the
05:36pose of a clear victor.
05:37Who exactly are you to Jason?
06:09Jason, why do you need to know my relation to him?
06:10My heart and blood loss was blurring the edges of my vision in dark waves, but far more agonizing than
06:14my physical wounds was my heart packed to shreds time and again by my own husband.
06:18Every single detail of this wellness care center, from site selection and renovation to assembling the medical team and detracting
06:26postpartum meal plans had been oversees personally by me through countless sleepless nights.
06:31Jason only held the empty title of General Manessur.
06:35He would drop by for a brief tour each day, snap a few photos to post on social media, and
06:39put on the airs of a distinguished business elite.
06:42Yet now, the mistress he'd been keeping on the side stood on ground I had built, swollen with pregnancy.
06:47Pointing her finger in my face and declaring herself the madame in charge.
06:53What are you two standing around gawping for?
06:56Drag her out of here at once!
06:58The sight of this penless hag infuriates me!
07:02Drag her far away so she doesn't stain my carpets!
07:08What do you think you're doing?
07:15Not down the main hallway. We have guests out front. Take the back kitchen passage.
07:20There's a spare cold storage room behind the kitchen. Lock her inside to let her properly cool off and think
07:26about her mistakes.
07:27A spare cold storage room. It was the basis I had desiccated exclusively for storing imported medicinal herbs and premium
07:34ingredients, kept at a constant temperature of more than 10 degrees below zero celsius.
07:40I was hauled past the winding corridor, through the kitchen thick with the aroma of cooked food, where chefs kept
07:46their heads down and pretended to be busy, fanning ignorance of everything unfolding.
07:51At last, I was dragged to the heavy iron door at the very end.
08:05I fumbled my phone out of my pocket to call for help, only for the screen to display a stark
08:09message, no service.
08:11The walls were lined with thick insulated steel panels blocking all entirely.
08:19I knew that card all too. It was the secondary card I had issued for Jason, with a monthly spending
08:24limit of 2 million yen.
08:26Discard is what grow Jason give me to buy handbars, jewelry, and Snable Boat.
08:31He said I can spend however much I want and never hold back on his account.
08:38Do you really think someone like you, who's never even laid eyes of half a billion yen, has any right
08:44to come into my territory and cause problem?
08:47The temperature inside the cold storage kept plummeting.
08:50I drew my knees to my chest and huddled tighter in the corner.
08:52It felt as though my blood was beginning to congeal inside my veins.
08:56The bleeding from my wound had stopped, yet my entire right leg was so numb it might as well not
09:01have belonged to me.
09:02Lily lingered in the doorway, her features sharp and spiteful against the swirling white cold mist.
09:07The two guards stood behind her like loyal watchdogs, blocking the only way out.
09:11Through the narrow crack of the door, I could see several chefs in white uniforms in the kitchen keeping their
09:16heads buried in their work,
09:18pretending they saw and heard nothing at all.
09:20No one was coming to save me.
09:23I was freezing, losing blood, and utterly alone with no one to turn to.
09:27Strangely enough, this desperate predicament calmed me down instead.
09:31I fixed my gaze on that glaringly familiar supplementary card in Lily's hand,
09:35her bulging pregnant belly, and the arrogant, triumphant smirk placed her to cross her face.
09:40Everything fell into place with brutal clarity.
09:43Jason had been unfaithful.
09:45Not only had he cheated on me, but he'd also let this woman run a mosh on ground I'd built
09:49for myself,
09:50letting her claim the title of the Madam of the Establishment.
09:53The supplementary card he'd given her was funded by the money I'd worked tirelessly to earn month after month.
09:59The power and arrogance he'd handed her stemmed from the business empire I had built single-heartedly.
10:04And now, his mistress was using everything he'd bestowed upon her to humiliate his lawfully wedded wife.
10:08Every gulp of frigid air I drew into my lungs felt like inhaling a mouthful of needles, yet my mind
10:13raced at top speed.
10:14I stood no chance against the two security guards in a physical fight.
10:17Even if I revealed my true identity, Lily would never believe me.
10:20And if she did, it would only drive her to greater extremes of cruelty.
10:23Provoking a foolish, vicious woman in this locked, confined space would be the most reckless mistake I could make.
10:28Grinning my teeth, I forced all my hatred and rage down into the deepest recess of my heart,
10:33then twisted my features into an expression of abject terror.
10:36Don't hurt me. Please.
10:38My lips trembled, and I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled to make my voice crack with
10:42sobs.
10:43I'll pay the money. You want half a million, right? I'll give it to you.
10:46Lily's eyes lit up instantly.
10:48Greed slithered out from her pupils like a pair of serpents.
10:51She stepped slowly into the cold storage with her dog in her arms,
10:54the sharp click of her high heels echoing against the floor as she closed in on me.
10:59Half a million? That was the price a moment ago.
11:02Now it's one million. Not a cent less.
11:08I... I don't have that much money.
11:12But I'll find a way. I'll give you all my savings.
11:16Please don't hurt me.
11:19You should have been this cooperative from the start.
11:23You had to get roughed up before you learned to be afraid.
11:26Without hesitation, I opened mobile banking and completed the transfer.
11:30The screen flashed a confirmation of successful payment,
11:32and the figure vanished from the display alongside the transaction alert tone.
11:35A genuine grin spread across Lily's face at last.
11:38Elated by the money she'd extorted,
11:40she left the cold storage door Amon,
11:42hummed a tune, and strode off with her dog in her embrace.
11:45The two security guards followed suit,
11:47leaving me collapsed alone on the freezing concrete floor.
11:50With great difficulty, I pulled a tiny voice recorder from my pocket
11:53and glanced at its flickering red indicator light.
11:56Every detail had been captured in full audio,
11:58her unleashing the dog to attack me,
12:00her extortion demand of one million yuan,
12:02and the entire ordeal of the guards dragging me into the cold storage room.
12:05I slipped the recorder back into my pocket and curled up in the darkness,
12:09waiting for Sophie to come looking for me.
12:11Deep in my heart, I carved the name Jason Sterling firmly at the very top of my revenge list,
12:17letter by letter.
12:18For a full hour, I hutched inside that freezing cold storage room.
12:23My body shook violently at first, then gradually grew stiff,
12:26until eventually I could barely feel my hands or feet at all.
12:28The low temperature had stemmed the bleeding from my wound,
12:31but my entire right calf had swollen to twice its normal size,
12:35its skin tinged an unnatural bluish-purple.
12:37I clung to my last dread of strength to stay consciousness,
12:41telling myself I must not close my eyes,
12:43must not drift off.
12:45If I fell asleep, I would never wake up again.
12:51Evelyn!
12:56Why are your hands ice cold?
12:58You're covered in blood.
13:01Who did this to you?
13:03Who locked you in here?
13:06She brushed her fingers over my face and arms,
13:09and when her touch landed on the mangled bite wound on my right calf,
13:13she froze completely.
13:15Call an ambulance.
13:19Demand the highest grade forensic injury assessment.
13:26You...
13:26I don't want hysterics or crying fits.
13:29I want them locked away for as long as the law allows.
13:35Sophie asked no further questions.
13:37She summoned an ambulance at top speed
13:39and personally escorted me to the finest hospital in the city.
13:42When the emergency room doctor peeled back my blood-soaked trouser leg,
13:46he drew a sharp air.
13:49The French bill dog's bite force was far stronger than anyone could have anticipated.
13:53Its fangs had not only torn through flesh and skin,
13:56but also left deep indentations on the peripatium.
13:59More than 20 stitches were required to close the wound.
14:02The doctor warned that if treatment had been delayed any longer,
14:06amputation might have been unavoidable.
14:08Three hours later, the forensic injury evaluation report was issued.
14:11The forensic doctor stepped out with the official document,
14:13print standable formal pair sealed with a bright red official stamp,
14:16severe soft tissue laceration of the right lower leg,
14:18classified as second-degree minor injury under forensic injury grading.
14:28Harrison, it's me.
14:30Activate full emergency preparedness protocol, effective immediately.
14:36I will send over the evidence shortly.
14:38Three criminal charges apply.
14:40Intentional bodily harm, extortion, and false imprisonment.
14:44You need not ask how I obtain the proof.
14:47Simply tell me the maximum prison sentence each offense carries.
14:52Less than 10 minutes after I hung up, my phone lit up with an incoming call.
14:56The caller ID read, Jason Sterling.
14:58Staring at his name flittering on the screen,
15:00a violent wave of nausea chirmed in my stomach.
15:02He had cheated on me and let his mistress run rampant on territory I had built from squash.
15:07Worse still, he funded his affair with money I had earned myself.
15:11Honey, where are you? I've just landed.
15:12The overseas project is nearly finalized.
15:15The partner has made it clear our resources are extremely scarce and valuable.
15:18How have you been lately? Do you miss me?
15:21He was lying. He was not abroad.
15:23He was still in this very city.
15:25Earlier that afternoon, one of my people had sent me a message.
15:29Mr. Jason had booked the presidential suite at the city's most luxurious hotel using the supplementary card,
15:35with a three-night reservation on the bill.
15:37I squeezed the phone so tight my knuckles turned white,
15:39and the tautness of my muscles sent a tearing pain shooting through my wounded calf.
15:43Yet when I spoke, my tone was as calm as a windless lake.
15:45I'm doing fine.
15:46I went to visit Sophie today.
15:48She's recovering really well.
15:49Don't overwork yourself once the negotiations wrap up.
15:52Your health matters most.
15:54Remember to eat regular meals.
15:56Got it, got it.
15:57Don't you worry a thing, darling.
15:59I have to cut this short.
16:00The clients are arriving any minute,
16:01and there's a dinner engagement tonight.
16:04Get some rest early.
16:05Love you.
16:07He uttered those three cloudy words and terminated the call.
16:11Listening to the dial tone hum on the line,
16:13I doubled over beside the hospital bed and refayed repeatedly.
16:17He paid for a presidential suite with my funds,
16:20cozied up with his lover inside while mocking his lawful wife.
16:23Upon returning to the country,
16:25he used my supplemental card to reserve the most lavish baby shower banquet in town for his mistress.
16:30And the ultimate betrayal he had planned for me was a balance sheet stripped bare of corporate assets and a
16:37mountain of bad debt left in my lap.
16:45David, initiate a lockdown emergency forensic audit for the finance team starting today.
16:52You have half a week to compile a forensic audit report admissible in court,
16:56covering every capital flow, signed contract, and public account expenditure since Jason took over management.
17:02I want every figure traceable to its source, every cent accounted for, and every financial irregularity documented as indisputable evidence.
17:10Can this be done?
17:16I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the hospital bed, staring up at the stark white ceiling of
17:22the ward.
17:23My eyes stung faintly at the corners, yet I knew these were not tears.
17:28It was merely a physical release for the hatred balked up inside me for far too long.
17:33For the following two weeks, everything seemed deceptively calm across the city.
17:38Jason put on the as of a tygoon, sending out invitations left and right.
17:44He booked the most extravagant banquet hall in the city's priciest hotel,
17:48ordered the most lavish menu, and hired a top clear emirio team.
17:53Virtually every prominent figure in the local business circle received an invitation to the one-month-old baby celebration.
17:59The invitation bore the inscription, the young heir of the Sterling household,
18:03printed in neat, imposing font on a gilded embossed cover.
18:07I stayed in the hospital, undergoing rehabilitation.
18:12Sophie scrolled through his social media every day.
18:15So enraged, she threw her phone down more than once.
18:21Are you out of your mind, Evelyn?
18:24That woman hurt you this badly and locked you in a cold storage room.
18:30Here you are hobbling through physical therapy every single day.
18:36While he's out living it up and splurging recklessly.
18:39Why won't you let me go confront them?
18:41I sat in a wheelchair with my right leg wrapped in thick layers of bandages.
18:45In front of me stood three laptops alongside stacks of documents merely half my height.
18:50The audit team sent over the latest progress on the financial audit punctually at 3 o'clock every morning.
18:56I went through every single report personally.
18:58Whenever anything was unclear, I would ring David directly and stay on the line until 4 or 5 a.m.
19:04to get to the bottom of every detail.
19:07Just hold on a few more days.
19:11The more recklessly he spends now, the more he will owe in the end.
19:16And the longer his prison sentence will be.
19:19I had not told Sophie, nor would I tell anyone else.
19:23Over these past few days, the audit team had uncovered financial fraud far more severe and appalling than I could
19:31have ever imagined.
19:32Jason had not merely embezzled company funds.
19:35He had forged multiple supply contracts.
19:38And fabricated three entirely non-existent partner companies.
19:43He transferred money from the corporate account to these fake accounts bit by bit.
19:47Before funneling the funds into hidden personal bank accounts.
19:52Under the guise of profit sharing.
19:54This was no longer a simple case of abusing power for personal gain.
19:58It constituted occupational embezzlement and forgery of corporate seals.
20:02Hard, irresputable criminal arts.
20:05That would be formally documented in the case file.
20:07Meanwhile, he had registered numerous properties and vehicles under Lilly's name.
20:12Every trace of the funding leading straight back to the company's operating accounts.
20:18On the night before the one month banquet, I sat in my office.
20:22Finished reviewing the final audit report.
20:25Then logged into the company backend system.
20:28And typed out a single command.
20:30All corporate operating accounts shall be locked with immediate effect.
20:34All fund transactions, transfers, cash withdrawals, and fund allocations are fully frozen.
20:40From this moment onward, no one, not even Jason, who held the passwords and digital U-Shield keys would be
20:46able to access a single cent.
20:48Having completed these steps, I leaned back in my chair, massaged my throbbing temples, and wore a weary yet frigid
20:54smile.
20:55Tomorrow was meant to be the grand day Jason had planned to host an extravagant one-month celebration for his
21:01illegitimate child with Lilly.
21:03It would also mark the absolute end of his days of indulgence.
21:06The day of the banquet dawned with brilliantly clear weather.
21:10Jason had booked the grand ballroom of the city's most exclusive five-star hotel, set with 40 dining tables across
21:17the entire venue.
21:19Three tiers of Schwoski crystal candeliers hung from the ceiling, with every beam of light precisely adjusted to a warm
21:27golden hue perfect for photographs.
21:29The audience was packed with big names from the city's business circle.
21:34The vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, CEOs of several listed companies, as well as celebrities and internet influencers
21:41invited to grace the event for hefty appearance fees.
21:45Clad in haute couture gowns and suits, they held flists of champagne, exchanged polite pleasantees with well-mannered smiles and
21:52repeated words of congratulations.
21:53Yet most of them were secretly wondering who exactly Jason Sterling was, for his name was barely familiar to them.
22:00Jason was wearing a custom-tailored suit I had picked up for him during my business trip to Paris, which
22:05had cost a staggering $380,000.
22:08A delicate cornflower brooch was pinned to his lapel, and his hair was combed back with meticulous precision.
22:14Beaming with pride, he put an arm around Lilly, who was dressed in a scarlet toasting gown draped in jewels,
22:19and delivered a grand speech center stage.
22:21My wife and I host this one-month banquet today to celebrate the newest addition to our little family.
22:27Beyond that, we wish to take this precious chance to renew friendships and strengthen ties with every business elite, old
22:34friend, and new acquaintance present here.
22:36His voice boomed across the banquet hall through the microphone, his tone perfectly calibrated, carrying the self-authorance of a
22:44successful tycoon paired with refined gentleness.
22:47As everyone can see, the Sterling Group has enjoyed remarkable growth over the past few years.
22:54Our layout in the maternal and infant industry has secured us a top-three position within the city, and a
23:00top-ten ranking across the province.
23:02We opened two new stores in the Eastern District this year, with projected annual revenue exceeding 300 million yuan.
23:09He was not lying about the group's achievements, yet he got just one word wrong, the plural pronoun we.
23:14There was no we, only me.
23:16Right at that moment, the LED screen behind him switched to display the group's logo alongside annual performance graphs, with
23:22polished and elaborately designed figures and charts.
23:26Well done, President Jason.
23:31Lilly snuggled up against Jason's arm, giggling uncontrollably.
23:34She was decked out head-to-toe in luxury jewelry that day, a thicker pearl necklace around her neck, and
23:41a diamond-encrust patat-filet watch on her wrist that left the women at nearby tables staring in awe, lost
23:46in this elaborately staged illusion, intoxicated by the thrill of being surrounded, envied, and exalted to the height of admiration.
23:55None of the guests noticed what was unfolding right outside the main entrance of the banquet hall.
24:00Down the corridor outside the banquet hall, a plush red carpet stretched all the way to the elevator hempence.
24:07Rows of congratulatory flower baskets gifted by pliance lined both sides, their overpowering floral fragrance almost stinging the nose.
24:15I strode down the corridor with steady steps.
24:18Half a month of physical rehabilitation had let me abandon the wheelchair and walk unhanded.
24:21I wore a sharply tailored black suit and plain low-heel black leather shoes.
24:25No supervious jewelry adorned my person, only a minimalist leather watch fastened around my left wrist.
24:31Yet the entourage trailing behind me was enough to send a shock through even the most seasoned business tycoons with
24:36decades of experience in the corporate world.
24:38To my left was Harrison, heading a six-member legal team.
24:41Every lawyer carried a black briefcase, marching in perfect unison like troops on parade.
24:45To my right stood David, leading a four-person audit team, each member crabling thick-bound volumes of financial statements
24:51and audit reports over the red-top secret stamp on the cover.
24:54Bringing up the island were eight uniformed and boldly economic investigation police officers led by their captain.
24:58Their faces were grim and stern, with handcuffs already tucked ready in their pockets.
25:02Our procession came to a halt before the sealed double doors of the banquet hall.
25:07Even through the thick, soundproofed oak doors, I could clearly hear Jason delivering his impassive speech inside, along with wave
25:14upon wave of sypepharial applause from the audience.
25:17The corners of my mouth lifted into a faint smile, utterly cold and hollow.
25:23I raised my foot and kicked the doors wide open with all my might.
25:29Every single sound inside the banquet home died away in an instant.
25:32The emissor on stage froze mid-sense with his mouth hanging open, the microphone falling silent, his teleprompter had gone
25:39blank, and screen-switching controls had been seized from the backstage system.
25:42Nearly 400 guests spread across 40 tables swabbed their gazes toward the entrance as one.
25:47Their stares brimmed with shock, confusion, and bewilderment.
25:49At least half of them paled in stark horror the second they recognized me.
25:53I was Evelyn Sterling, the true decision-maker of the Sterling Group.
25:56Anyone who had partnered with the group, anyone who had crossed paths with us in business, had sat across the
26:01negotiation table with me.
26:03As for Jason, most of these people could count the number of times they had laid eyes of him on
26:07one hand.
26:09Evelyn? Evelyn?
26:10An elderly executive with gray hair at the table nearest the door was the first to rise to his feet.
26:14Several business associates beside him stood up right after, exchanging confused glances before turning as one towards Jason, who still
26:21wore a frozen smile on the stage.
26:23The smile on Jason's face vanished the second he laid eyes on me, as if a bucket of ice water
26:27had been dumped over his entire body from head to toe.
26:29Every muscle in his face went rigid.
26:31A hollow smile still languid on the corners of his mouth, yet overwhelming terror flooded his eyes.
26:36His atom drop bobbed violently several times.
26:38His knuckles whitened from gripping the microphone far too tightly, and his fingers began trembling almost imperceptibly.
26:43He said nothing.
26:44He dared not utter a single word.
26:46But Lily lacked such awareness.
26:47Drunk on the thrill of being the center of everyone's attention, and utterly carried away by the flattery, she spotted
26:52the woman she'd once extorted money from, daring to crash her grand occasion.
26:55She immediately pulled free from Jason's arm, strode to the edge of the stage in her high heels, and shrieked
26:59insults at the top of her waist.
27:10Do you believe I can have the security guards beat you and drag you out right this second?
27:18Do you even deserve to set foot in a banquet hall like this?
27:21Take a good look at yourself in a puddle and see how pathetic you look.
27:27Was the million, Ron, I squeezed out of you last time not enough of a lesson?
27:31A dead silence fell over the entire venue.
27:33No one chammed in to back her up, no one stood to their feet, and nobody bothered to ask who
27:37I was.
27:38Every guest edged backward, dragging their chairs along with them, spontaneously clearing a wide path down the middle of the
27:43hall.
27:43They had caught sight of the people standing behind me.
27:45The team of lawyers, the audit crew, and the police officers in crisp uniforms with stern, unhedring expressions.
27:51Even a fool could tell this was no casual toast from a guest.
27:54Something catastrophic was about to unfold.
27:56I stared blankly at Lily as she stumbled over in her high heels.
28:00My gaze swept across her face without lingling for a second, as if I were glancing at a sealed package
28:06ready for delivery.
28:07I walked past her side and headed straight for the stage.
28:11Lily froze on the spot, clearly unprepared to be so thoroughly ignored.
28:15She stood rigid, opening her mouth to hurl more insults, yet not a single word could force its way out
28:21of her throat.
28:21I ascended the stage step by step and stopped right at the center of the podium.
28:26Jason remained rooted where he stood, his face as pale as a corpse, his lips trembling as he tried to
28:31speak.
28:33Evelyn, why have you come?
28:34I did not spare him so much as a glance.
28:36I raised my hand and slammed the documents Harrison had held overnight hard down onto the podium.
28:41A sharp crack echoed crisply through the banquet hall via the podium microphone.
28:45In the next instant, the giant LED screen behind Jason, which had been displaying a slideshow of the baby's photos,
28:51flickered violently.
28:53Its Playbeth cute was forcibly over-readed remotely from the back end.
28:56A complete equity penetration diagram filled the entire wall-sized display.
29:00Every single share, 100%, was registered solely under my name, Evelyn Sterling.
29:06Jason's name did not appear anywhere, not even in the tiniest footnote of the shareholder list.
29:13Good afternoon, distinguished guests.
29:17I am Evelyn Sterling, the sole founder, legal representative, and 100% controlling shareholder of the Sterling Group.
29:26The man standing beside me is Mr. Jason Sterling, my legal husband, and also a former senior employee of my
29:38company.
29:41I ask everyone here to bear witness.
29:43Five years ago, he was nothing more than a laborer hauling steel bars on a construction site.
29:50It was my enterprise that gave him this job, and the only contribution he has ever made to this so
29:56-called business empire is draining it dry from within.
30:01This is a forensic audit report.
30:03It itemizes every single instance over the past three years where Mr. Jason Sterling forged official company seals, fabricated non
30:11-existent contracts, and slifed corporate assets through underhanded dealings.
30:15The total amount emizzled stands at 37 million U.S. dollars.
30:19A tomb-like silence descended over the entire banquet hall.
30:23Then, as if a drop of water had hit scourging hot oil, the venue erupted in an uproar.
30:27The moment Lily laid eyes on the 100% equity ownership displayed on the giant screen, her composure completely crumbled.
30:33She stumbled backward a step, her high heel catching the hem of her floor-length groan.
30:37Losing her balance entirely, she tumbled down and landed hard on the red carpet steps.
30:41Her elaborate makeup, which had taken nearly three hours to apply, smudging into a messy, distorted mess across her face.
30:48She whipped her head around and fixed Jason, who stood frozen stiff on the stage, with a venomous gaze brimming
30:53with the agony of deception and betrayal.
30:56Jason! You lied to me!
30:58Her shrill, heart-wrenching scream was so piercing that several female guests in the front row clapped their hands over
31:04their ears.
31:04She scrambled to her feet, the scarlet toast cone dragging heavily across the floor and creasing badly.
31:09She charged straight at him, grabbed the collar of his suit jacket, and flew into a wild flurry of slaps
31:14and punches.
31:15You told me you were the boss!
31:18You said the whole company belonged to you!
31:22You called your wife a worn-out hag and swore you'd long since cast her aside!
31:27You damned liar!
31:31Her blows rained down fast and hard, pounding against his chest, his shoulders, and his face.
31:37Jason was dazed by her assault.
31:39His suit slipped a swear, his hairstyle fell into disarray, and bright red slap marks bloomed one after another across
31:44his face.
31:45He stumbled unsettily as she tugged and pulled at him, stammering out, unincoherent pleas for mercy.
31:50Lily, calm down. Don't believe a word she's lying about.
31:52I watched this farce of two foes tearing into each other with icy indifference, feeling not the slightest stir of
32:00emotion in my heart.
32:01When Lilla finally wore herself out and had to be prude apart by two female police officers, still kicking her
32:07legs and screaming hysterically,
32:09I stepped forward and leaned in toward the microphone once more.
32:14You may all think this is the end of the matter, but today, I'd like to let you hear something
32:20far more straightforward.
32:21I reached into the inner pocket of my suit, pulled out the tiny voice recorder, set it down on the
32:26podium, and pressed play.
32:27The amplified audio blared out through the venue's entire sound system.
32:40What are you all standing around for? Drag her out and lock her in the cold storage room.
32:47How dare a low-life trash like you, who's never even laid eyes on half a million won, come onto
32:54my territory and cause trouble?
32:56Barking, shrill screams, the dull thup of fist-striking flesh, a woman's piercing turrent of abuse,
33:01followed by the deafening crash of the cold storage iron door slamming shut, and the faint, breathless pleas and whimpers
33:06of another woman.
33:07It felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the banquet hall.
33:10No one spoke. No one dared to move.
33:11The venue fell so deathly quiet that the faint hum of the bulbs inside the crystal chandeliers was audible.
33:16Moments later, the giant screen switch to footage pulled directly from the nursing center's surveillance system.
33:21Slow-motion shots of the vicious dog breaking free from its lash and launching at a slender woman.
33:26The sequence showing her being knocked to the ground as the animal's teeth tore into her flesh.
33:30And the full recording of two security guards dragging the bleeding victim down the corridor, through the kitchen area.
33:37And finally shoving her behind that heavy metal door.
33:40Not a single guest remained seated.
33:43Everyone had stood to their feet.
33:45Their expressions shifted from shock to outrage, then to revulsion,
33:48and finally to undisguised contempt as they fixed their eyes on the sharply dressed man outstaired.
33:54Watching the surveillance footage he had never known existed,
33:58every last trace of color drained from Jason's face.
34:02He opened his mouth, attempting to say something, but I would not give him the chance.
34:05I picked up the third document from the podium, flipped it open, and held it up for everyone to see.
34:09An official filing approval for the crime of occupational embezzlement bearing the official SAM,
34:14listing the illicit amount at $37 million U.S. dollars.
34:17Five years ago, this man was working on a construction site.
34:21During an inspection I was leading, he shoved me out from under an unstable scaffoldy structure.
34:27I had just stepped down from an upper floor right then,
34:30and the scaffoldy collapsed all the way from the eighth floor.
34:34It was he who pulled me to safety.
34:36I turned around and looked straight at Jason's ashen face for the first time before the entire crowd.
34:41I owed him my life.
34:44That is why I gave him my company, my connections, my trust, and every part of my life.
34:50I believed five years would be more than enough to repay that life-saving debt of gratitude.
34:56But I was wrong.
35:00The debt of kindness is fully repaid.
35:03What remains are only debts to be settled by law.
35:06I gestured toward the wall covered with evidence, the case-filing approval document,
35:11and Lily, who was having handcuffs fattened around her wrists right beside him.
35:16This is how we settle our score.
35:21Jason Sterling, you are suspected of the crimes of occupational embezzlement,
35:25forgery of corporate seals, and concealment of illegally obtained proceeds.
35:29You are hereby lawfully placed under criminal detention.
35:32This is your detention warrant.
35:34Beneath the stairs of the 400 guests filling the hall,
35:36Jason seemed to have every ounce of strength stripped from his body.
35:39His legs buckled, and he crashed to his knees on the stage floor.
35:42The face that had once looked so confident and polished for social media cameras
35:46was now streaked with snot and tears.
35:49His lips twitched violently as a hoary, fragmented voice forced its way out of his throat.
35:54Evelyn.
35:55Evelyn, please listen to me.
35:56It's not what you think.
35:58That woman lied to me.
35:59She tricked me.
36:01I was blind in temptation.
36:04I'm a fool.
36:05Forgive me just once for the sake of saving your life all those years ago.
36:09I reached beneath the podium and pulled out a hampt paper file bag.
36:13I unsealed the bag, took out the top sheet of paper, and unfolded it for him to see clearly.
36:19There is no need to appeal to the fact that you once saved me.
36:23Let us settle this another way.
36:27It was a detailed three-column ledger listing the date, purpose of expenditure, and monetary amount.
36:32As my eyes fixed on the sheet, memories welled up like fetid, surging flood water.
36:37Five years prior, he had shoved me out of the path of a collapsing scaffolding at the construction site.
36:42I had knelt outside the emergency room and swore I would never owe him anything for the rest of my
36:46life.
36:47From that day onward, he had acted as if he held a blank check, signed by me, growing increasingly braven
36:54as he filled in larger and larger sums.
36:57His first request was 30,000 UN, supposedly to sign up for a training course, and I agreed without hesitation.
37:04The second was 80,000 yen, claiming his mother needed dental implants, and once again I consented.
37:14After that came 150,000, 200,000, 300,000 yuan.
37:18The figures kept bulbening.
37:19His excuses grew more elaborate, and every single time he wielded the phrase,
37:24the debt of saving your life like a master key, brazenly prying open my safe and dipping into my assets.
37:323,800,000 yuan, this talition I lent you for your MBA five years ago.
37:37You promised that once you earned your degree, you would join management and ease my workload.
37:41I transferred the money without a second thought.
37:44But you dropped out after just one year.
37:47Not even managing to get a certificate of incomplete studies spent the entire sum on a sports car.
37:55850,000 yuan for your cousin's bail after he lost a lawsuit overseas two years ago.
38:02You knelt outside my office that day, claiming your aunt would take her own life if her son couldn't be
38:07released.
38:08I pulled together an international legal team overnight to liegeate with the local court.
38:15Three days after the bail money was wired, your cousin was set free and gambled away 200,000 yuan that
38:21very night.
38:23Three years ago, your sister borrowed 600,000 rands from me to open a beauty salon.
38:30She promised the investment would break even within a year and turn a profit by the second.
38:35The shop folded after barely three months.
38:38She sold the lease right away, spent the transfer fee on a trip,
38:42and flooded her social media flad with unboxing videos of luxury goods the whole time she was away.
38:48Four years ago, your uncle needed heart surgery.
38:51You claimed there was no waiting list slot available at domestic hospitals
38:55and begged me to secure an appointment with America's top medical center.
38:58I pulled strings across three separate social circles to arrange an expedited treatment pathway.
39:03The surgery and follow-up rehabilitation cost nearly 2 million yen in total.
39:09Only later did I find out your uncle never went under the knife at all.
39:13Your family used the entire sum to build a four-story villa back in your hometown.
39:19And then there's your mother.
39:24Starting the second year I knew you,
39:26your mother demanded a lavish gift from me every single year for her birthday.
39:30The first year, it was a designer handbag.
39:33The next, a car.
39:37By the third year, she came straight to me with a real estate quotation,
39:41insisting on buying a three-bedroom apartment in the city center.
39:45Jason was trembling all over,
39:47slamming his forehead against the stage floor faster and faster,
39:51letting out incoherent pleas that sounded like an animal with its throat crushed.
39:55I gave him no chance to catch his breath.
39:57I lifted the ledger and read down line by line.
39:59Every entry bore the handwritten signature of a member of his family,
40:02and every line represented real money transferred out of my personal accounts.
40:05Your sister, your uncle, your cousin, your mother.
40:09The total sum they drained from my company accounts adds up to 9.2 million yuan.
40:15Not a single one of them hesitated or turned down the money
40:19while spending what belonged to me simply because they were your kin.
40:23But what about you, Jason?
40:26You treated my sense of indebtedity as your personal bonus,
40:30my gratitude as your bargaining chin,
40:32and every bit of kindness I showed you over these five years.
40:36As a spending limit you could squander freely!
40:41Your entire family saw me as an endless ATM!
40:46I fixed my gaze on his scraped and broken forehead,
40:50watching a streak of blood trickle down from his brow bone,
40:53mixing with snot and tears to smear across his entire face.
40:58You did save my life, that is a fact, and I will not deny it.
41:04But the moment you started using that incident like a password to withdraw money,
41:09you turned that debt of gratitude into a transaction.
41:17This business deal is terminated today.
41:21I have repaid the life if you saved me over these past five years.
41:24Now that you have betrayed me,
41:26every single cent you embezzled from the company must be returned in full.
41:30He had staked everything on the assumption that I was blindly sentimental.
41:34He knew I owed him my life,
41:36and believed a woman bound by such a debt would remain soft-hearted forever.
41:39It was true he had pulled me from harm's way,
41:41yet he never understood that a heart is flesh and blood.
41:44Once broken beyond repair, it hardens into stone.
41:47Half a wank later, inside the visiting room of the North City Detention Center,
41:51with several documents sorted out over three days laid out before me.
41:57The iron door on the other side of the glass creaked open,
42:00and Jason was escorted in by a guard wearing an orange prison uniform.
42:04He had wasted away considerably,
42:07his cheekbones sticking out sharply,
42:09his chin covered in thick stubble,
42:11and his eye sockets and deep into his face.
42:14The moment he laid eyes on me,
42:16he jolted as if struck by electricity,
42:17stumbled forward and threw himself against the glass,
42:20pressing both hands hard onto the redransparent partition.
42:22Evelyn, you're here.
42:23You've finally come.
42:26Evelyn, I'm sorry.
42:27I truly know I was wrong.
42:28Please sign the letter of understanding, will you?
42:33If you sign it, I'll be spared punishment.
42:36Once I get out, I'll pay you back every penny I earn for the rest of my life!
42:40That baby isn't even mine!
42:42That vile woman had it with someone else!
42:44It has nothing to do with me at all!
42:47I never had any real ties to her!
42:49She was the one who claimed the child would bear the Sturley sick name!
42:52I never agreed to it, not once!
42:54I listened to him in silence until he ran out of breath and fell quiet,
42:58gazing at me imploringly with eyes as dull and lifeless as a dead fish's.
43:02Without the faintest change in expression,
43:04I held up the divorce recruitment in my hand
43:06and pressed it against the glass so he could read every word clearly.
43:10Sign the divorce agreement,
43:12and our marital bond will be severed for good.
43:16This list detailed 17 separate debts,
43:19each backed by your signature or personal guarantee.
43:22I will recover every single cent you owe me.
43:25Jason pressed himself rigidly against the glass.
43:27His lips began to quiver violently,
43:29and soon his entire body was shaking uncontrollably.
43:32For the rest of your life,
43:33you will serve your prison sentence while paying off what you owe.
43:37Take ample time to reflect on everything you have done.
43:40I turned around,
43:41picked up the letter of forgiveness
43:42he would never be entitled to sign,
43:45and tore it clean in two,
43:46just before the heavy security door of the visiting room
43:49slammed shut behind me.
43:51The flimsy scraps drifted down onto the pale gray vinyl floor.
43:55On the very same day,
43:57Lily's verdict was handed down.
44:00Convicted of intentional bodily harm,
44:03extortion,
44:04and unlawful detention,
44:05and concurrently,
44:06she was sentenced to six years and six half in prison.
44:09As bailiffs escorted her out of the courtroom,
44:12she was still wailing Jason's name.
44:14Her voice had long given out,
44:16reduced to nothing but haughty, rasping breaths.
44:19She coughed repeatedly as she was half-supported by the officers,
44:23and led into the prison transport van.
44:25The infant was placed under the care of a welfare institution.
44:29Through my legal counsel,
44:30I made an anonymous donation of an education fund to the organization.
44:34The child was blameless,
44:36yet I bore no obligation to raise another person's offspring.
44:40Stepping out of the courthouse,
44:42the afternoon sunlight was warm and bright.
44:45My Rolls-Royce waited within the marked parking space directly across the main entrance.
44:50Upon spotting me,
44:51the schauverler stepped out and held open the rear passenger door.
44:55I glanced down at the wedding bond I had worn on my left ring finger for five years,
44:59and slowly slid it off my finger.
45:02A faint, pale indentation circled my skin,
45:05shielded from sunshine for so long,
45:07its tone stood out starkly against the rest of my hand.
45:09I closed my palm around the ring,
45:11yet the warmth of my hand could not chase away the cold chill of the metal.
45:16I walked over to a roadside trash bin,
45:19spread my fingers,
45:21and let the ring drop inside.
45:25It clanged against the plastic interior,
45:28bounced twice,
45:28and settled amid crumpled paper and cigarette packs,
45:31falling silent at last.
45:39Mrs. Evelyn,
45:40shall we head back to the headquartersers or somewhere else?
45:44The Haven first.
45:46Sophie said they've rolled out a new dessert menu for me to sample today.
45:50The cityscape outside the window drifted backward slowly,
45:53sunlight streaming alongside the vehicle as if paving the way ahead.
45:56No suffocating web of toxic entanglements lingered on this road,
45:59no debts and forebalance I had carried for far too long.
46:02This path led only towards the next sunrise.
46:05I leaned back against the leather seat,
46:07watching the city glide past the window,
46:09and the commercial skyscraper I had built from the ground up
46:12and reclaimed with my own hands
46:14gradually drew nearer into view.
46:17Sunlight spilled across the windshield,
46:19into my eyes,
46:20and onto every stretch of asphalt stretching out before me.
46:23At last I understood.
46:25True rebirth begins with tearing down the old world
46:27with your own two hands.
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