When my husband Lucas Graham was kidnapped by a gang, they demanded that I come to exchange places with him. For the sake of our son and the company, I didn’t hesitate to take Lucas’s place, enduring cruel torture in the den of criminals. “I’ll take good care of our son, and don’t worry about the ransom. I’ll find a way to raise the money,” I told him before I left. But a whole year passed, and Lucas seemed to have vanished into thin air, never showing up to rescue me. When I finally managed to escape, I discovered that he was in the middle of a wedding ceremony with his childhood friend, Chloe. Our parents and in-laws were there, offering their warm congratulations. Among the crowd, I spotted Jack “The Blade” Thompson, the gang leader who had tortured me for a year, raising a glass and drinking merrily. And my precious son, Leo, had been turned into a servant, his expression blank as he served tea and water to the guests, constantly kneeling and begging for forgiveness at the slightest provocation. Swallowing my bitterness, I turned and called the person who had saved me: “If you can help me rescue my son, I promise to help you bring down Graham Enterprises!”
As I pushed open the door, the cheerful music inside came to an abrupt halt. All eyes turned to me. The moment Lucas saw me, his hand, holding the ring, froze in mid-air. But he quickly composed himself. “Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow. It’s a joyous occasion today. Have you looked in a mirror? You’re a mess. Don’t spoil the guests’ mood!” I could hardly believe my ears. Shouldn’t he be explaining the situation to me? Why was he standing there in a tuxedo, happily exchanging rings with Chloe? And why was Jack Thompson, the gang leader who had kidnapped and abused me, attending their wedding? My mother’s shrill voice snapped me back to reality: “Where have you been, you ungrateful girl? Lucas was so good to you, and you ran off with that gang leader for a whole year! If you have no shame, at least think of the Evans family’s reputation!” Affair? How ridiculous. So this was how Lucas covered up his betrayal. At that moment, Jack Thompson put his arm around me, squeezing my shoulder painfully as he smiled coldly: “Still hiding our relationship from everyone? You really are disobedient.” His voice seemed to come straight from hell, full of naked threat and warning. I shrank back, my gaze becoming unfocused. Seeing this, the guests began to whisper among themselves: “No wonder Mr. Graham is marrying Miss Reed. It turns out this shameless woman had an affair first. The Evans family must be so disgraced.” “Having an affair for a year without coming home once? I’ve never seen someone so brazen. The Evans family is poor and incompetent, but who would have thought their daughter would be even worse!” “Hmph, her mother has been running around preparing for Mr. Graham and Miss Reed’s wedding, trying so hard to please them. And her son is working as a servant at the wedding. Like mother, like son, I suppose.” … Hearing the commotion, Lucas finally walked over to me, whispering impatiently: “Couldn’t you have come back tomorrow? I’m just giving Chloe a wedding ceremony. I’ve been planning this for a year, and we’re so close to finishing. Are you deliberately trying to embarrass us?” Just a wedding ceremony… But what about me? For a year, I had been beaten and tortured, my body covered in old and new wounds. When I was hungry, I had to crawl on the ground like a dog to lick up rotten food. So all my suffering and torture, even bearing the shame of being called an adulterer, was just to pave the way for their grand wedding. I closed my eyes in despair and moved to pull Leo away. “Come with Mommy, let’s leave this place.” But my son recoiled as if electrocuted, suddenly falling to his knees and kowtowing to me in panic, muttering: “No, no, no! Leo can’t leave. I have to stay and serve Mr. Graham and Miss Reed well. I want to be their most obedient little dog!”
Seeing my son so fearful and self-abasing, I was shocked. He was only seven years old… As he kept kowtowing, I noticed the bruises and scars hidden under his clothes, and the marks of a dog collar on his neck. I quickly went to help Leo up, but he started slapping himself, seemingly feeling no pain. “Leo did wrong, Leo deserves to be punished. I’ll go to the cold storage room for three hours right away!” I slowly turned my gaze to Lucas, hoping for an explanation. Before he could speak, Chloe rushed to embrace Leo, putting on a motherly act. “You’ve misunderstood, Scarlett. Leo and I often play house like this. Sometimes I’m the servant, sometimes he is. It’s just his turn today.” Trembling, I pointed at the marks on my child’s neck and demanded: “Are these injuries also part of your game? Is this how you treat my son?!” Seeing Chloe’s expression darken, Lucas pushed me away, his eyes full of reproach: “What are you making such a fuss about! Do you have to act like a shrew? Do you think Chloe is as scheming as you?” “Those marks are from when Chloe was drawing with Leo. They just won’t wash off. You haven’t been fulfilling your duties as a mother, and Chloe has been kind enough to take care of your son. Is this how you repay her kindness?!” Seeing Leo’s obvious fear of Chloe, my heart ached to the point of suffocation. I looked up at Lucas with tears in my eyes: “Can’t you see how scared our son is? How can you still think this is just a game!” Lucas fixed his gaze on our son, observing him for a while. A flicker of doubt passed through his dark eyes. At this moment, Chloe burst into tears: “I thought if I treated Leo well, I could easily become part of this family. I never imagined that as an outsider, I’d never truly be accepted into the Graham family. I’m destined to be gossiped about. We shouldn’t get married after all. I’m just a complete joke…” With that, she took off her veil, stuffed it into Lucas’s arms, and ran towards the bedroom, covering her face. Seeing the bride run away, the scene descended into chaos. But the guests’ words were all accusations against me, calling me a “troublemaker” and a “jinx.” Watching Chloe leave, Lucas’s brow furrowed with displeasure: “Is this the example you set for our son? It’s just a formal wedding ceremony. Do you have to turn everything upside down before you’re satisfied?!” “And the son you raised yourself, acting like he’s been abused by Chloe in front of all these people. Such good acting skills at such a young age, he could be a movie star when he grows up! He’ll have to thank his mother for that!” With these words, Lucas hurried after Chloe to comfort her. Seeing him berate me in public, my parents only beat me, cursing me for my “affair” and for not being able to keep my man. I didn’t argue anymore. I just held Leo tightly in my scarred arms, tears streaming down my face: “Don’t be afraid, Leo… Mommy will take you away soon. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” I immediately messaged my lawyer to draft divorce papers and called the person who had rescued me. “Help me this one last time, and I’ll help you bring down Graham Enterprises…”
Back in Leo’s room, I quietly packed all our documents and some essential items. Just as I lay down to sleep with my child in my arms, I heard footsteps stop by the bed. “Still angry with me, hm?” Lucas’s lazy voice poured into my ears as he pulled me into his arms, coaxing in a low voice: “Scarlett, I only planned that fake kidnapping because I was afraid you’d be petty and cause trouble for Chloe. Besides, Jack Thompson is my friend. He wouldn’t dare harm you even if I gave him permission.” The man looked utterly confident, as if boasting about how well he had protected me. But if he had bothered to look at me closely, he would have seen that there wasn’t a single uninjured spot on my body. I turned away, unable to bear it, deliberately keeping my distance as I asked calmly: “So from now on, I’m supposed to stay with the gang as the mistress, while Chloe becomes our son’s stepmother, is that right?” Noticing my attitude, the man clearly lost his last bit of patience, though he didn’t show it too obviously: “Don’t put it so crudely. If Leo calls Chloe stepmom, people will gossip even more. I’m just having a wedding ceremony with her so people won’t spread rumors about her seducing me.” He thought my words were crude only because I called Chloe a stepmother, not because I referred to myself as a mistress… Tired of his ridiculous excuses, I couldn’t be bothered to respond. Lucas looked around the room, confusion crossing his face: “Why are you packing? Where are you going?” As I was thinking of how to brush off his question, Chloe suddenly called. Her pitiful crying voice came through the phone: “Lucas, as soon as Scarlett came back, she posted about me online. She said I stole her husband, that I’m shameless, that I’m ruining the Graham family’s peace. She’s trying to force me out of the family…” “Please, help me beg for forgiveness. I know I was wrong. I’ll never mention having a wedding again. If I offended Scarlett today, I’ll go out and apologize to her right now, even if I have to do it naked. Please don’t kick me out…” Lucas clicked on the link Chloe sent, his eyebrows knotting together. The post was made using my profile picture, and every word was a threat against Chloe. I was about to explain when a sudden slap exploded across my cheek. “Chloe grew up in an orphanage, with no parents. How dare you tell her to get out! Where is a young girl supposed to go? You think too highly of yourself!” With these words, Lucas walked out, struggling to control his anger as he comforted Chloe in the gentlest voice. The stark contrast left me stunned. I wondered if he had ever thought about how I would survive when he threw me to Jack Thompson. Had he ever worried about the dangers I might face? I laughed bitterly, tasting the iron flavor spreading in my mouth, my heart already numb. I sat there all night, patting my restless son with one hand. The next morning, Lucas knocked on the door a few times and spoke in a commanding tone: “Chloe has specially prepared a yacht party for you, first to apologize, and second to welcome you back. Hurry up and bring Leo downstairs.” The time has come… It’s finally about to end.
Seeing me carrying a large bag, Lucas suddenly became uneasy, asking cautiously: “I wanted to ask yesterday, why are you packing? Where are you going?” I made up a lie to brush him off: “I feel bad for Leo, so I’m bringing him some treats and toys.” The man immediately relaxed. When we arrived at the yacht, I realized this was just another form of wedding celebration. Chloe was showing off in a short wedding dress. But now, I had no energy to deal with this. I was constantly looking for a chance to leave. In the blink of an eye, Leo, who had been following me, suddenly disappeared. At that moment, a child’s scream came from one of the yacht’s cabins. My heart skipped a beat, and I rushed towards the sound. Jack Thompson was gripping Leo’s collar tightly, ordering someone to lock the door from the outside. “If you have a problem with me, come at me. Please, let my son go,” I pleaded. Jack habitually rubbed the scar on his forehead, a sign that he was angry and calculating how to deal with me. “I fed and housed you, and you dared to run away from my territory? Quick, tell me, did you snitch to Lucas Graham or not?!” “If not, I’ll chop up this little brat!” I hurriedly waved my hands. “No, no, I didn’t say anything. Think about it, if I had told him, would he still invite you to this party?” The man smiled at me, satisfied, then gave a look to his men. Understanding his signal, they started beating and kicking me violently, as usual, to vent their anger. Blood slowly trickled down from my head, blurring my vision, but I was already used to it. I forced a smile as I looked at Leo, my voice trembling as I tried to comfort him: “Mommy doesn’t… doesn’t hurt… Don’t be scared…” I crawled towards him with difficulty, leaving a trail of blood behind me, a horrifying sight. Seeing that I could still move, one of the thugs put his foot on my back, saying with cruel amusement: “Look at her, covered in blood. If Lucas Graham sees her like this, we’ll be in trouble. Let’s throw them into the sea to wash off, they stink!” The next second, Jack smashed the glass on one side of the cabin, revealing the churning sea below. “You want to save your son? Go find him yourself!” He grabbed Leo and threw him out the window. My son didn’t even have time to cry for help. “Leo!” Without hesitation, I dragged my battered body and jumped into the waves. Underwater, I hugged my son’s small body. “Baby, Mommy’s taking you away now. We’ll never come back…” At that moment, Lucas and Chloe were surrounded by guests in the center of the yacht, receiving congratulations from all sides. Chloe leaned shyly against Lucas’s chest, taking the ring out of its box. “We didn’t get to put on the rings yesterday. Today, at least make it up to me?” As she said this, she held out her hand amidst the cheers of the guests, quietly waiting for Lucas’s response. Lucas took the ring and was about to put it on her finger when he suddenly looked up, instinctively searching for Scarlett in the crowd. “Where’s Scarlett? And where’s Leo?” Chloe tried to stop him, but Lucas had already pushed through the crowd in panic, looking around frantically. As Lucas passed by a cabin, he overheard one of Jack’s men reporting nervously: “Boss, we’re in trouble. Scarlett Evans and her son haven’t moved for a while. I think… I think we might have drowned them!”
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