On our third wedding anniversary, the cake with my husband’s and my name on it was poisoned.
My mother took the first bite for me. Moments later, she collapsed to the floor in agony, blood streaming from her mouth and nose. She never made it to the hospital alive.
The shock sent me into premature labor. Outside the operating room, I clutched my husband Hank’s hand.
“Please… find her. Avenge my mother!”
As a forensic doctor, Hank Chambers’ eyes turned red when he examined the body.
“Alex, don’t worry. I’ll uncover the truth and make sure the murderer pays with the law.”
But when the police arrested Lily Warren as the suspect, he stood silently in front of her, shielding her.
“The victim didn’t die from poison. I’ll vouch for Lily with everything I have!”
When I confronted him, his eyes were filled with torment.
“I’ll make her apologize to you. But Lily is still young… prison would destroy her.”
In six long years, Hank sided with Lily 2,093 times—and with me, not once.
Even my mother’s life, even my child, could be sacrificed for her sake.
If that’s the case, then I will disappear completely from Hank’s world…
And I’ll make sure he—and his hospital—pay the ultimate price
——
"Ms. Quinn, are you certain you want to divest from Mr. Chambers's hospital and transfer all your assets abroad?"
The secretary looked at me cautiously. "Once you pull out your investment, the hospital will collapse soon after. When your husband questions it..."
I stayed silent for a moment. "It’s fine. He won’t be my husband much longer."
On the table lay a letter voluntarily waiving the investigation.
My eyes drifted to the handwritten signature below, and a dull ache pierced my chest.
Three days earlier, the police stormed into the villa, intent on arresting Lily Warren.
"Ms. Quinn, a highly toxic substance was detected in the blueberry cake at the crime scene. Ms. Warren, please come with us for questioning."
Lily had sent that cake to us on their third wedding anniversary.
Hank Chambers’s usually cold expression had softened slightly, praising her for growing up and becoming considerate.
"I’m allergic to blueberries. Since Lily prepared this with care, I’ll leave it for you and Mother."
"I don’t know who sent the cake."
His voice overlapped in my memory and reality.
I snapped back to the present. His face was stern as he shielded Lily behind him.
That blueberry cake had been deliberately prepared by Lily!
Lily sobbed faintly. "Hank, I’m so frightened... They’ll take me away. Please, please."
A flicker of heartache passed through Hank’s eyes. Turning to the officer, he insisted, "This is a misunderstanding. I was the forensic doctor who conducted the autopsy. I confirmed the deceased didn’t die from poisoning."
My heart sank at his words. Just as I tried to speak, a strong hand dragged me aside.
With a cold expression, Hank pulled me into a nearby room.
"Alex Quinn, my sister, is young and ignorant. I’ll make her apologize, but prison will destroy her life!"
"If you’ll just write a letter dropping the investigation..."
A chill surged through me as I stared at the man before me.
"You’re delusional!"
"Hank, it was my mother who died. How could you say something like that?"
His brows knitted tightly as he lifted his phone, showing me a surveillance recording.
"Alex, the child is in my hospital. One word from me, and the machines will shut down."
"Will you risk your child’s life for the sake of a dead woman?"
My blood froze, and I looked at Hank in disbelief.
He had insisted I undergo prenatal care at his hospital, saying other places wouldn’t treat me as carefully.
After the car accident, I delivered prematurely and chose his hospital without hesitation.
Now, it had become his weapon of coercion against me!
My heart grew colder, leaving nothing but hollow despair.
"Fine, I’ll sign."
Signing the letter of understanding now doesn't mean I've given in.
Hank forced me to sign and give up our marriage for Lily. Then I will just collect evidence of Lily's crime and make it public before I leave completely, so that she can spend the rest of her life in prison.
As for Hank, he only has the last time left to enjoy his current position and glory. Soon, I will cut off the source of his troubles when he is least paying attention, and let him fall into the abyss!
…
The moment I left the villa, I told my secretary to arrange the withdrawal of my investment and drafted the divorce agreement.
The divorce papers arrived swiftly, though I hadn’t signed yet.
After returning home,I removed the tiny hidden cameras in the living room and kitchen. They were once for our family's safety, but now they've become the perfect evidence. They completely captured Lily drugging the cake and Hank threatening me to sign a letter of apology.
I copied the video, sent it to my lawyer, and called my lawyer: "In addition to divorce, I also want to sue them, but before revealing everything, I need to make sure that my children and I are safe from them!"
"Okay, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, I smiled faintly. By the time my child and I were safely away, that would be the day they fell into the abyss!
That evening, Hank came home. His eyes fell on the table, surprise flickering in them, before he leaned over to embrace me.
"Alex, have you thought it through? I know you love me so deeply—you’d never put me in a difficult spot."
I turned my face to avoid his kiss, bitterness stinging my eyes.
Yes, the love I had for him had cut into me like a knife.
I pushed down his outstretched hand.
"I have one condition: let’s divorce."
