My Husband's First Love is My Half-Sister

My beloved cat was poisoned to death. It was the last gift my gravely ill mother gave me from her hospital bed five years ago. It had accompanied me through countless sleepless nights, and the warm comfort I clung to while crying after every failed IVF attempt.

While clearing out the cat's belongings, I unexpectedly discovered purchase records showing multiple deliveries of dog supplies to a villa over the past three months.

But I was always terrified of dogs, and only my husband, Thomas Crawford, and I had access to the membership card.

Driven by suspicion, I secretly visited the villa listed in the records. There, at the entrance, I witnessed my husband, Thomas, passionately kissing my half-sister, Joan Lawrence—the very woman who had made my childhood a living hell. At their feet stood a large Border Collie, wagging its tail.

Joan's eyes narrowed seductively as she clung to Thomas. "Tom, will Victoria Lawrence agree to donate her bone marrow to me? After all, she is pregnant."

“I poisoned her beloved cat. She's heartbroken and showing signs of miscarriage. Once she's on the operating table, we can do whatever we want with her.”

“When your illness is cured, and the company’s assets are transferred, I’ll marry you right away. We’ll have our own child.”

Thomas did not care at all about the life of my beloved pet, who had accompanied me for years, nor about our child’s life. He cared even less for the agony I endured through five rounds of IVF to conceive this child.

I secretly used my phone to record everything.

Then I called Thomas directly. "Where are you? What are you doing?"

I watched him answer the call while still hugging Joan's waist tightly, planting a peck on her lips. “I’m in a meeting. What’s wrong?”

I sneered and looked at everything that was laid out before me. Thomas's company was built with the Lawrence Family's financial support, but he didn’t know that the true power behind the Lawrence family now was me.

If that were the case, I would take back everything that I had given him.

The light in front of the villa cast long shadows of them kissing.

With my own eyes, I watched as my husband's hands lingered on my half-sister's waist; it was the same familiar gesture that he had used to caress me as well.

Who would have thought that the pet store's transaction records would lead me here and to witness all this?

Instinctively, I clutched my abdomen as I recalled the doctor's warning. “Miss Lawrence, you're showing signs of miscarriage. You must avoid any major emotional fluctuations. This child was not easy to have.”

I fought desperately to suppress the churning emotions. Five rounds of IVF, countless days and nights of hope and disappointment, had finally brought this tiny life into being. I couldn't lose the child.

“Tom, I'm scheduled for a bone marrow transplant next week. Do you think Victoria will really agree to donate? She's pregnant, after all...” Joan nestled into Thomas's embrace as she traced circles on his chest with her fingers.

“I poisoned her beloved cat. She's heartbroken and showing signs of miscarriage. Tonight, I'll light the aromatherapy candles. Once she bleeds and is hospitalized, we can do whatever we want to her.”

My breathing stopped.

Turned out, for Joan, Thomas poisoned Ali to death to stimulate my miscarriage.

Ali was an adorable, white, long-haired cat that was given as a last gift from my mother at her hospital bed. “Victoria, Mom can't stay with you anymore. Let Ali take Mom's place, okay?”

Since then, every late night after a failed IVF cycle, every night my husband came home late from business dinners, and every time my father favored Joan and treated me with indifference, it was Ali that curled up in my arms, its gentle purring slowly mending my broken heart back together.

But three days ago, Ali suddenly foamed at the mouth and died in my arms. Those amber eyes gazed at me until the very end—like a farewell, yet also filled with confusion.

At that time, Thomas had held me with reddened eyes, his voice choked with emotion. “Victoria, don’t be too sad. Ali has gone to keep your mother company.”

I had thought he understood my grief. Now I realized that the one who killed Ali was the very man who held me and comforted me. That was terrifying.

“When you’re cured, and the company’s assets are transferred, I’ll divorce her and marry you immediately. We’ll have our own child.” He kissed Joan’s forehead tenderly.

I dug my nails deep into my palms, lifted my phone, and activated the video recording function to record everything before my eyes. My hands trembled along with my heart.

Thomas had no idea about the envelope my mother had slipped to me secretly before her death—it contained the share transfer agreement for 50% shares of the Lawrence Group.

Back then, consumed by grief over my mother's loss and Thomas's meticulous care, I locked those documents in a bank safe deposit box and nearly forgot about them.

Thomas's company was founded four years ago using the Lawrence Family's capital and connections.

He always believed that the Lawrence family was now in the hands of Joan and her mother. That was why he treated me, the unfavored eldest daughter, with a superficial marital relationship.

What he did not know was that the true power behind the Lawrence Group was the very wife he dismissed as "a person who only knew how to cry and could not even take care of a cat."

I encrypted the video and sent it to my lawyer. [Help me investigate everything, especially Joan’s illness. Also, my mother’s agreement can be activated in seven days.]

Then, I dialed Thomas's number.

I watched from nearby as the man frowned, took out his phone, and made a shush gesture to Joan, before switching to a gentle tone, “Victoria, what's wrong?”

“Where are you? What are you doing?” My voice was so calm, even I was a little surprised.

Thomas answered while still wrapping his arm around Joan's waist. “I'm in a meeting, and it's an urgent project. Are you feeling unwell? I'll come home early today.”

Watching this scene, my eyes stung.

I remembered the rainy night of my first failed IVF attempt. I had sat in the hospital’s icy corridor, crying uncontrollably. Thomas had rushed through the rain, soaked to the bone, and pulled me into his arms.

“It's okay, Victoria. We have each other, it's enough. Even without a child, I'll love you forever.”

Back then, I truly believed him.

“Is it really urgent?” My voice cracked, though I knew the answer; I couldn't help asking.

There was a pause on the other end before Thomas's voice softened further. “Are you scared of being home alone? I'll finish this meeting and come back to be with you, okay?”

“No need.” I hung up the phone abruptly, turned, and left the villa with faltered steps.

Before getting into the car, I couldn't resist glancing back.

The lights on the villa's second floor were on, so the two figures embracing so intimately were illuminated so glaringly.

Once upon a time, we were that deeply in love, too. But now he had poisoned my cat and was planning to drug me to kill our child, for the sake of another woman.

I silently bit my lips and drove straight to the hospital.