After the sexual assault, my husband Adrian Sterling stood by me, urging me to heal and move on. Seven years later, after the miscarriage, he handed me divorce papers. “Laura, Mira is pregnant. Let’s get divorced.” Mira was a poor student he’d sponsored, the same one who’d caused my miscarriage. When I didn’t speak, he went on. “The truth is, for seven years, every night I’ve lain next to you, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen them on you. I can’t control the disgust. Maybe losing the child was…a mercy.” I smiled bitterly. So that’s what he saw. But he didn’t know I’d been “assaulted” to save him. He also didn’t know I’d implanted a memory chip in his brain. In three days, the chip would fail. And when it did, he would remember everything. Then he would die. Adrian spread out the agreement. “I’m leaving you the house and ten million. It’s enough to live on for a lifetime.” I set the papers aside. He hadn’t mentioned Stellar Group-our joint venture. He clearly intended to keep it. “I need time to think about it,” I said. Adrian frowned. “Laura, don’t make this difficult. I’ve been more than fair.” “Don’t worry, I’ll sign.” I forced a smile. “But the day after tomorrow is our tenth wedding anniversary. At least have dinner with me.” Adrian paused, then said helplessly. “Laura, why put yourself through this? I promised Mira I’d take her to the clinic the day after tomorrow. If you really need to make it a condition, I’ll make time to come back.” He thought I was clinging on. Just then, Mira called. “Adrian, my stomach feels a little off. I think the baby misses you too much.” Adrian’s expression softened instantly. “Alright, I’ll come stay with you now.” I watched him leave and remembered when he called me his safe harbor. Now, this home had become a harbor he couldn’t wait to flee. Afterward, I made two phone calls. One to my lawyer, asking him to draft a stock transfer agreement. The other to a moving company. To remove everything belonging to Adrian. That night, he didn’t come home, as expected. Mira sent me a photo of him shirtless, sleeping soundly. Fresh kiss marks on his chest. “See? Only with me can he be uninhibited and show his wild side.” “It’s so hard for him to hold back with you. He wants sex even though I’m pregnant.” Once, seeing these would have made me break down completely. I’d gone crazy cutting up his long-sleeved pajamas. Asking him over and over why he was hiding from me. But now, I just calmly saved the messages and turned off my phone. I understood clearly. Under mine and Adrian’s leadership, Stellar Group now had a market value in the billions. Our joint assets alone were worth nearly a billion, not to mention our status in the business community. Now, my goal was crystal clear. I wanted all the money and power.
The next day, I went to the memory chip laboratory. Ironically, the lab’s director, River, was the poor student Adrian had initially refused to sponsor. Back when our company was just getting on its feet with limited funds. Adrian said he saw his past self in Mira and insisted on sponsoring her, refusing to sponsor River instead. But I privately funded a lab for River. After Adrian’s incident, River worked non-stop for a month to develop that memory chip for me. Meanwhile, Mira chose to climb into Adrian’s bed. “Laura, the chip implanted in Mr. Adrian’s brain will fail in less than 48 hours, but the data isn’t ideal.” River pushed his glasses up, his eyes showing concern. “When we first implanted the chip, I told you that forcibly extending its lifespan would cause irreversible neurological damage to Mr. Adrian.” He thought I was still the person who would do anything to save Adrian’s life. He didn’t realize I’d changed. “Let nature take its course.” I closed the report without asking another question. River froze. “Laura, actually I have a backup plan…” “No need.” I stood up and grabbed my bag. “Just keep the data safe.” Downstairs, Adrian called, asking me to accompany him to our alma mater Riverside University for a ceremony that afternoon. “We’ve attended together every year. I don’t want gossip before we’re officially divorced.” I knew he was protecting Mira’s reputation. After graduating from Riverside University, she’d become a teacher there with Adrian’s help. Rumors about them had been circulating for a while. But I didn’t expose it. After all, I didn’t want complications at this point. At the school, when Mira saw me, she showed none of yesterday’s malice. Instead, she clutched her stomach nervously. “Laura, you came.” In front of Adrian, she always acted cautious and careful. And he fell for it every time. Even when Mira pushed me down and caused my miscarriage, he thought I was the one making things difficult for her. Just like now, he immediately stepped in front of her. “Laura, you’re a rational person. Don’t disappoint me.” He was warning me. I smirked. “Excuse me.” I pushed past him and took my seat. Adrian froze, clearly not expecting me to be so calm. “Laura, you…” Before he could finish, Mira interrupted. “Laura, what happened last time was my fault.” She spoke meaningfully. “To apologize, I’ve prepared a special surprise for you today.” It wasn’t until she went on stage to give graduation guidance to students that I understood what her “surprise” was. She played a video. Claiming it was AI-generated, adapted from a kidnapping case in Seattle years ago. A girl blinded by vanity was lured overseas, tortured, and ultimately became a plaything for men. Every frame focused on that terrified, agonized face. The ragged gasps, the raw screams… Though no explicit skin was shown, the entire venue erupted. Because the face on the screen was mine.
The year Adrian was kidnapped, the company was going public and couldn’t afford any negative news. I could only suppress the information. I spent all my savings to rescue him. But I didn’t expect that under that kind of torture, he’d gone mad. Physical injuries could heal, but psychological trauma couldn’t be cured even with hypnosis. After Adrian’s ninety-ninth suicide attempt failed, River proposed the memory chip to me. It could forcibly alter that memory segment. And wouldn’t be affected by any emotions or events. But that painful experience still needed to be healed, so that when the chip failed, Adrian wouldn’t continue seeking death. So I chose to sacrifice myself. Because I believed love could overcome everything. But facts proved that Adrian not only found it disgusting-he turned it into a knife to stab me with at any time. When the video finished, Mira’s gaze swept toward me meaningfully. “I’m showing this video today hoping women will learn from it, understand how to protect themselves and maintain boundaries.” After the ceremony ended, as Mira approached, Adrian frowned. “Mira, that was too risky.” Mira looked innocent. “Adrian, I admire Laura’s courage, so I wanted to make her an example for the students.” Then she put on a show of concern for me. “Laura, I worked hard on this video to inspire you, to help you move past what happened and stop dragging people down.” Adrian’s eyes filled with affection. “You’re just too kind.” Then he looked at me. “Laura, Mira means well. Be gracious about it.” I looked at him coldly. “Do you know what impact this video will have on me once it gets out?” “What impact could it have?” Adrian suddenly became impatient. “You can’t hide it forever, can you?” “Besides, Mira said the video was computer-generated and didn’t name anyone. Even if people talk, just don’t connect yourself to it. Stop making a scene!” So in his view, this humiliation was self-inflicted. “Fine.” I didn’t continue arguing. Instead, I smiled at Adrian. “But I hope you won’t regret this.” With that, I left under his stunned gaze. The rumors came faster than I’d imagined. As if orchestrated, within an afternoon, various versions spread online. My face was edited into all kinds of obscene videos and turned into memes spread everywhere. With my identity exposed and the video’s deliberately misleading text. I received endless abuse and humiliation. “So the boss lady of Stellar Group was ruined years ago, no wonder she hasn’t had kids all these years” “Poor Adrian, so handsome but the honest guy stuck cleaning up the mess” “She sounded like she was enjoying it, where’s the pain” The group’s stock price fluctuated as a result. The next day, the board of directors suspended my position. Adrian called me, all business. “Laura, Stellar Group didn’t get where it is today easily. We can’t let it be destroyed because of your indiscretions.” He’d completely forgotten this was all Mira’s doing. “Don’t worry, as long as you sign, I’ll give you the compensation you deserve.” I gripped the phone tightly. “Your so-called compensation means stepping on my reputation to kick me out, forcing me to sign the divorce papers.” Adrian was silent for a moment. “Laura, don’t blame me.” He didn’t deny it. “Mira is innocent and insecure. If we continue working together, she won’t be able to handle it.” “I just want to protect my family.” He still didn’t know his so-called family was on a countdown. Only ten hours until the chip failed. And at this moment, media outlets exposed photos of Adrian taking Mira to her prenatal checkup.
That night, Adrian didn’t come home. When the lawyer sent over the drafted stock agreement, he asked if I wanted to pursue legal action for the online harassment from the past few days. “Collect the evidence first. We’ll settle all accounts together later.” Calculating the time, it was almost here. Then the lawyer brought up the child in Mira’s belly. “According to current law, illegitimate children have inheritance rights. Ms. Ye, should we take some measures?” “No need.” I’d never taken the child in Mira’s belly seriously. After all, how could someone who lost their ability to reproduce seven years ago possibly have a child? Adrian’s counterattack came later than I’d expected. Six hours after the photos went viral, he suddenly held a press conference. And had someone bring me to the scene. In front of the live cameras and a barrage of media, he openly held Mira in his arms. Claiming we’d agreed to divorce six months ago. Originally he didn’t want to use public resources for private matters, but he didn’t expect that because of yesterday’s incident, I’d blame Mira and try to have her hurt. “Though Mira is a student I sponsored, she’s excellent. She became an outstanding teacher at Riverside University on her own merit and is very positive, giving me the confidence to find true love again.” “So I can’t let her suffer this kind of injustice.” Mira timely raised her injured face, staring straight at me. “Laura, you know I’m carrying Adrian’s child. Why are you so cruel?” This single statement made me the target of everyone’s criticism. Adrian looked disappointed. “Laura, you clearly understand the pain of being hurt, yet you’re destroying an innocent person because of your own trauma. I can’t let you keep making mistakes.” With that, he released various reports from my years of seeing psychologists. Trying to brand me as mentally unstable. At this point, I finally understood how ruthless his heart could be. And there were only five minutes left until the chip failed. Netizens praised Adrian as a genuine, good man and hailed Mira for her courage. I faced only the bile. The media also turned their cameras on me. “Adrian has stated that you struggle with mental instability. Can you confirm this?” “The divorce was finalized six months ago. Why are you still fixated on him?” “Sources say you attempted to sabotage Mira. Was this a psychotic break, or are you truly that malicious?” To completely nail me to the pillar of shame, Adrian also pulled out a USB drive. Saying it could prove how sick I was. Thinking back to the drive here, River had mentioned the lab was broken into that evening. Though nothing was stolen, the core video file had been copied. I knew Adrian’s plan at once. “You really want to play that here?” Adrian hesitated. Mira took over. “Laura, I know you don’t want the past seen. But sometimes facing it openly is the only way to heal.” That erased Adrian’s last doubt. “Laura, You shouldn’t have pushed me this far.” With that, Adrian had his assistant play it on the big screen. My pain, my humiliation, there for everyone to see. The room froze. Only Adrian stumbled back, clutching his head. “Ah!” His chip had failed.
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