To protect his surgeon mistress, my lawyer husband filed a lawsuit against my father.

On the day my mother died on the operating table.

He presented a stack of forged medical records, claiming my mother was murdered by my father.

The day before my father was to be executed, I spotted the long-lost scalpel at an auction.

But my husband placed an unlimited bid on the knife. He hired thugs to break my legs, and destroyed the last piece of evidence right in front of me.

That night, my father committed suicide by slamming his head against the wall in prison.

I passed out in the hallway from the shock. When I came to, my husband threw a medical malpractice waiver in my face.

"Dr. Mendes didn't mean to do it. She's running for dean next week; this can't ruin her future."

His tone was calm and casual when he said, "Sign it like a good girl. I can take care of you for the rest of your life."

Next to it was a divorce agreement. Alex tapped it lightly with his finger.

"If you won't sign, I'll just divorce you."

Without a second thought, I signed the divorce papers.

--

"Celine Reed, are you done yet?!"

Alex Klein furrowed his brow, his expression dark as he pointed at me and snapped, "All this drama over a stupid knife? You really want to humiliate me in front of everyone?"

Every eye in the room turned to me at that moment.

I didn't even try to argue. All I cared about was getting that scalpel and clearing my father's name.

"Twenty thousand dollars more..."

"Two hundred thousand dollars more."

Alex's lover, Shannon Mendes, raised her paddle nonchalantly.

"Celine, this is an auction, not a contest to see whose life is more tragic.

"Don't make it seem like Alex is bullying you. Get up already."

Her words made my husband even more disgusted with me. Without hesitation, he clasped Shannon's hand, their fingers interlocked, and then he turned to me with a taunting look.

I swallowed my bitterness and stopped wondering when exactly they'd gotten together.

Right now, I humbled myself completely, practically falling to my knees as I pleaded, "Alex, my parents have treated you like their own son all these years. Haven't they done enough for you?

"This is my father's last chance. Tomorrow he's..."

Alex let out a cold laugh and cut me off. "Evil deeds catch up with people. Your father's guilt is already sealed. You really think one scalpel will change that?"

There wasn't a hint of guilt or shame in his eyes.

My mother had clearly died because Shannon operated on her while drunk.

But when I brought all the evidence to Alex, he, a lawyer who was supposed to defend justice, turned around and dragged my father into court.

In court, everything I'd gathered was replaced and tampered with.

Alex threw out a stack of forged records and insisted my mother had been "murdered" by my dad.

I clenched my teeth and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Alex, for the sake of our five years of marriage, please..."

Before I could finish, Shannon let go of his hand and forced a bitter smile.

"Five years, huh? I guess I'll never be enough... Forget it, Alex, just let her have it."

Alex looked heartbroken.

Right in front of me, he pulled Shannon into a tight embrace, and when his eyes met mine, they were full of nothing but mockery.

"Five years of marriage?" he scoffed. "Fine. Then slap yourself 50 times.

"For the other two hundred thousand dollars, kneel and bow to Shannon ten times. Then I'll give you the scalpel."

Pain swelled in my chest, almost suffocating me. My fists clenched so tightly that my nails cut into my palms.

"Keep your word."

The massive auction hall fell silent except for the sharp slaps of my hand against my cheek.

By the tenth slap, blood was already dripping from the corner of my mouth.

By the time I finished all 50, my face was swollen and horrific. I knelt down, trembling, and began to bow my head to the ground.

One, two, three...

Blood oozed from my scraped forehead and blurred my vision, but I barely felt the pain.

Finally, while crawling on all fours, I tried to speak...

Then, I saw Alex rise from his seat and calmly promise the highest bid.

The entire room gasped.

That meant that no matter who bid, Alex would always win.

I broke down completely and screamed like a madman. "Why did you lie to me! Alex Klein! You monster!"

Before I could reach him, security dragged me out of the hall.

Several men in black had been waiting.

The burly one in front didn't say a word; he just swung a metal rod straight into my kneecap!

"Ah!" I let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Stupid bitch. You had the nerve to go after Mr. Klein's woman? I'll beat you to death!"

They rained down more blows. I couldn't even scream anymore.

Both of my legs were shattered, bones crushed into pieces, twisted on the ground with sharp white splinters piercing through the flesh.

Then, Alex appeared before me.

He was holding the scalpel.

"Give it to me..."

My breathing was shallow as I was barely hanging on. I clawed at the ground and dragged myself forward, leaving two streaks of blood behind me.

However, right in front of me, Alex tossed the scalpel into a bottle full of hydrochloric acid.

The fury and despair hit me so hard, that I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Alex walked away without even glancing back, and the bodyguards closed in.

"You've got a pretty face, bitch. Why don't we have a little fun with you..."

I didn't know how long it lasted. When they finally left, I lay curled on the ground, consumed by hopelessness as my mind slipped into darkness.

When I came to again, I heard my phone vibrating somewhere in the distance.

My legs were broken, so I had no choice but to drag myself over and barely managed to answer it at the last second.

It was my father. "Celine, I want to see you one last time."

Before I could say a word, the phone died and shut off completely.

The prison wasn't far from the auction house.

Using my hands to prop myself up, I inched my way forward bit by bit.

My palms were already torn to shreds. All ten of my fingernails had been scraped off, and blood was dripping everywhere. But I couldn't stop. I didn't dare stop.

By the time I finally made it to the prison, the only person waiting was my husband's assistant, Finn Hutton.

"The wife-killer finally meets justice. Star attorney Alex Klein refuses to defend his family to uphold the law.

"The murderer's daughter publicly bows and slaps herself; genuine remorse or just another performance?"

Finn read the news headlines aloud to my father, word for word.

My father lowered his head, his hands trembling as he held the confession letter.

Finn gave a faint smile and then pulled up a video. It was footage of me being beaten, my legs broken, and being humiliated in an alley.

"Even if you're not ready to give up, think of your daughter. Sign it. Next time won't be this easy.

"This case is already set in stone. Don't drag your daughter down with you."

My father's body trembled violently. It looked like he was finally giving in, hands shaking as he reached for the pen.

"No! Don't! Don't sign it!" I cried out in a hoarse scream.

My father froze, clearly shocked that I was there.

Sobbing, I kept crawling toward him. My voice cracked with every word I said. "Don't sign... I-I'll figure something out... I swear I will..."

Seeing me like this, my father began to cry too. His voice was heavy with despair.

"Celine... let it go.

"We can't fight this. I'll take the fall. I don't want you caught in this too.

"When I'm gone, divorce Alex. Start fresh. Live your own life..."

I froze. A terrible feeling welled up inside me.

Back then, Alex did marry me to repay a debt.

But he never once mentioned he had a childhood sweetheart.

All these years, I poured everything I had into supporting his career and taking care of his life.

My family never wronged him. We treated him like one of our own.

Even his law firm was started with money from my family.

And now, because of Shannon...

All the kindness we'd shown him had been twisted into manipulation, like we were forcing him to repay a favor.

I became the villain standing in the way of his "true love".

My entire family got dragged into this. They were wrongfully imprisoned and killed, and now my family had shattered into pieces.

In the few seconds I stood frozen, my father looked at me one last time with tears in his eyes, then suddenly slammed his head into the concrete wall!

With a sickening thud, he collapsed.

"Ah...ah!"

The shock locked my body in place. For several seconds, it felt like my soul had left me.

Finn walked over, but still wearing that same fake smile.

"His death is a good thing for both you and Mr. Klein."

It wasn't long before Alex arrived with people to take care of my father's funeral.

I couldn't hold on anymore. My heart gave out, and I blacked out.

Right before I lost consciousness completely, I whispered, "Alex Klein, let's get divorced.

"Two lives... I don't owe you a damn thing anymore."

When I came to again, I was already in the hospital.

Steel rods had been inserted into my legs. The pain was so excruciating that cold sweat broke out on my forehead, but even that was nothing compared to the ache in my heart.

"You're awake."

A medical malpractice waiver was tossed in front of me.

Alex's expression was unreadable, and his tone was casual, like nothing had ever happened.

"What are you looking at? Your dad didn't sign a confession before he died... What a hassle.

"Don't blame me. Even if I hadn't stepped in, he was scheduled for execution tomorrow.

"Trading your dad's life to wipe the slate clean between us. Well, isn't that a fair deal?"

I locked eyes with him. I was stunned that such words could come out of the mouth of the man I had loved deeply for five years.

Even a monster, no, even an animal, wouldn't be this heartless.

"You knew it was Shannon's drunken surgery that killed my mom, and yet you pinned it all on my father.

"You destroyed my family for Shannon. You made sure my parents died in agony.

"Alex, you're lower than scum."

He looked away, brushing off my accusations like they were nothing. "Shannon didn't mean it. It was just a small mistake. She'll be more careful next time.

"Just sign the form. She's running for dean next week. She can't let something like this ruin her future.

"Relax. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

My face turned pale, and hatred erupted in my chest.

A "small mistake"?

What was supposed to be a simple appendectomy turned into an open abdominal surgery.

Her liver, kidneys, and uterus were all damaged, and the anesthesia wore off halfway through!

My mom died in agony, and she was fully conscious the entire time.

And now Alex had the audacity to call it Shannon's unintentional mistake?

When I stayed silent, Alex seemed to get uneasy. He pulled out a divorce agreement and threatened, "You don't want me to divorce you, right? With your legs like that, you won't be able to go anywhere..."

Before he could finish, I picked up the pen and signed my name.

Alex froze, like he couldn't believe I'd actually agreed.

Then rage took over. He went ballistic, ripping the papers to shreds and shouting, "Don't think this settles anything, Celine! You can never pay me back! If your family hadn't trapped me for five years, I would've been with Shannon a long time ago!

"You want a divorce? In your dreams! Your parents' deaths were karma!"

A bodyguard held me back as I lunged at him, then forced a sedative into my arm.

Alex printed hundreds of copies of the waiver and told me I'd only be free when I signed them.

On the third day of being locked in that hospital room, Shannon showed up.

Her neck was covered in hickeys, and she was wearing Alex's coat.

With Alex not around, she dropped the sweet, innocent act.

She lit a cigarette and flicked the ash onto the gauze covering my legs.

"Celine, want to know how your mom really died?"

I glared at her, and at that moment, she looked like a demon straight out of hell.

"She wouldn't shut up about having the perfect son-in-law. Said you two were a match made in heaven, so happy together.

"Ugh! Even if I left Alex when I moved abroad, he's always mine!"

Just a few words, and I felt like I'd been smashed to pieces. I thought, "Just because of that? Just because..."

"That old hag got what she deserved. She messed with the wrong person.

"You should've seen her... Screaming in pain, unable to move. Just like you now. Hilarious, right? Hahahaha!"

Shannon laughed hysterically and ground the lit cigarette into my thigh.

The skin sizzled as it burned.

My eyes turned blood-red. I lunged at her with a roar, only to be slapped hard to the ground.

"Shannon! You'll rot in hell! You'll get what's coming to you!"

She didn't even flinch. Smiling, she casually pulled a document from her bag and handed it to me.

"Celine, let me show you something fun."

It was a body donation application. Alex submitted a request to donate my parents' bodies to the hospital.

Before I had time to react, Shannon grinned and said, "I just casually mentioned that I've been wanting to get some practice lately, and Alex handed the bodies over without hesitation.

"Now let me think... where should I make the first incision?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I grabbed the vase next to me and hurled it at her.

Shannon didn't dodge. She let the vase smash into her forehead and collapsed to the floor in pain.

"Dr. Mendes!"

Alex barged in with a swarm of reporters that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

They shoved their cameras in my face, snapping close-ups while the flashes made it impossible to keep my eyes open.

"Celine! Dr. Mendes came all the way here out of kindness, and this is how you treat her?

"It's people like you who make life so hard for doctors these days!"

With just one sentence, Alex branded me guilty.

I was painted as the villain who assaulted a doctor and ruined the patient-doctor relationship.

Reporters crowded around me, shouting, "Ms. Reed, is it true your father murdered your mother and tried to frame Dr. Mendes?"

"Dr. Mendes responded to your slander with compassion, and you still attacked her? Is this some violent trait passed down from your father's time in the military?"

"Do you think this kind of behavior honors your father's service to the country?"

"Is it fair to say that you and your father used his military background to bully ordinary people?"

My ears were ringing. I didn't even know where to begin defending myself.

Did they really care about the truth? Wasn't all of this staged by Alex?

Sure enough, that same afternoon...

The entire internet exploded with stories about me.

The surveillance footage from the hospital room was edited to show only the part where I threw the vase in anger.

Clips of my interviews were cut and twisted, making me look completely unrepentant.

"Soldier? More like a disgrace."

Within hours, angry internet users dug up every detail about my family.

The comments were vicious, accusing my family of dishonoring the military and shaming the nation.

My parents' old house was ransacked. The last of their belongings were burned to ashes.

Even the coordinates of our ancestral tomb trended online.

Every day, someone cursed me, threw eggs at the hospital, and smeared blood outside my room.

I lost the last thread holding me together. The light in my eyes had dimmed with despair.

One night, I jumped from the sixth floor of the hospital.

But somehow, I survived.

With nothing but sheer willpower, I crawled through the night and made it to my parents' old home.

I dug through the rubble until dawn.

By the time I unearthed the iron box, my fingers were raw and bleeding, and the box itself was stained with blood.

Inside was a National Defense Medal.

With the last of my strength, I pinned it to my chest.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, a military car pulled up beside me.

A man in uniform jumped out and caught me in his arms. He called out anxiously, "Celine! Celine, stay with me!"

I forced my eyes open. I recognized him, and forced myself to say, "My father risked his life for this country, and protected our land, and now he's been framed and left to die in disgrace...

"Please... I'm begging you... give my family the justice they deserve..."