Chapter 1

I had been married for seven years.

My husband's nemesis kidnapped me and threatened my husband that they would kill me, yet he ignored it because his sweetheart had asked him to use this opportunity to subdue me and teach me a lesson so that I would give away my assets.

The moment I escaped that hellhole, I asked my husband for a divorce, but he claimed his sweetheart tricked him and knelt before me to beg me not to leave.

Chapter 1

It's extremely cold in River City in December.

I walked barefoot. After several days of running for my life, my hands, feet, and even my eyes were bleeding from the cold.

"Mrs. Wilson has appeared!" Suddenly, a large group of people with cameras rushed toward me.

I instinctively took a few steps back.

"Mrs. Wilson, you're in rags. Is it true that Charles Chase took advantage of you as everyone said?"

Charles Chase! The mention of that name immediately made me tremble, and tears rolled down my face. He was my husband's nemesis. They had been rivals since they were in school. Later, they entered the real estate business after graduation and started their own companies.

For the past two years, our companies' income was about the same, but due to the economic recession this year, my exceptional planning led Wilson Real Estate to make a good profit.

Charles asked my husband for help, hoping he would assist him since they were former schoolmates, but my husband humiliated him like he was a dog. "Charles, haven't you always thought you were so great? Kneel to me and lick the dust off my shoes and maybe I'll consider it!"

That night, I was dragged into a van.

Charles took me to an abandoned factory. I was thrown next to a ditch for quite some time and could vaguely see the maggots in the filthy water. Charles grabbed my hair and slapped me hard.

"Mrs. Wilson, aren't you the backbone of Wilson Real Estate? Without you, Wilson Real Estate could never have gotten to where it is! Tell me, do you think Gary would agree to trade your life for all of Wilson Real Estate?"

I had seen Charles a few times at bidding meetings before. I always carried a sense of confidence and determination in the business world. People often called me a thorn, and the term 'career woman' fit me like a glove. Whenever I appeared, there was no deal I could not get. However, my teeth were chattering as I kept shaking my head. "It... It's pointless to kidnap me, Charles. We can talk it out!"

Charles poured half a glass of liquor over the wound on my arm. "Mrs. Wilson, I've already informed Gary about your whereabouts and asked him for half of his company shares and two million dollars. Let's guess how long it'll take for me to get them!"

The intense pain made me tremble uncontrollably. I was in so much pain that I fainted.

In a daze, something told me that Gary would not give Charles a single penny.

Chapter 2

My husband, Gary Wilson, did not care about me. I was just the Wilson family's chauffeur's daughter.

The Wilson family was well-off and one of the richest back then.

After my parents died in a car accident, I was raised in Wilson Residence. Later, the Wilson family fell into decline, and I made a comeback with Gary's father, Howard Wilson.

Gary hated me his whole life. He did not think that a chauffeur's daughter was good enough for him. Later, Howard forced him to marry me. Howard found out that I was talented in business, so he guided me personally. Therefore, I had more say than Gary in Wilson Real Estate.

After nearly eight years of marriage, it was funny to say I could not even get pregnant because we rarely slept together.

Charles ripped my clothes off and admired my body.

"Mrs. Wilson, do you think he'll lose his mind if I send him a photo of the way you look now?"

I was going crazy. I had always won every negotiation, but I could not even stop someone from taking off my clothes. My pride was shattered as I begged him desperately, "Charles, I beg you, I'll do anything if you just let me go!"

Charles had gone bankrupt and had nothing to fear. He doodled on my body with his lackeys. He brought a fierce dog, and it bit off my flesh because Gary did not reply in time.

…

The thought of that scene made me faint with pain as tears ran down my face. When I almost fell to the ground as the media pressed me for answers, someone pulled me into the car in time.

Gary frowned as he looked at my injuries.

The driver put a coat on me as he could not stand it.

Gary leaned back a little to put some distance between us. "Did Charles and his men do something to you?"

The media pounded on the car door.

Real estate upstart, Gary Wilson's wife, was kidnapped and... Any headline like that could grab the top spot on the trending list.

My tears ran dry as my eyes went dull. The first thing the man I had been with for almost 20 years asked me when he met me made me feel like someone had rubbed salt all over the wound where I was bitten by the dog.

The pain was unbearable!

Gary probably noticed the look in my eyes, and his eyes flickered with confusion before he immediately said, "Don't stare at me like that! I wanted to pay Charles, but he greedily asked for company shares!"

Chapter 3

On the second day I was kidnapped, Charles peed next to me, and the stench made me queasy. He made me lie on my stomach and taunted me endlessly, "You gave everything to Wilson Real Estate. You worked non-stop for a month just to give Wilson Real Estate international exposure, but your husband and Wilson Real Estate, the two things you put your heart and soul into, have abandoned you!"

I clenched my fist, yet Charles broke my little finger. "You don't believe me? Call Gary immediately, then. I want you to give up!"

I called Gary.

A coquettish voice came over the line. "Gary, Vanessa was filthy now. Do you still want her?"

Gary's voice was full of disgust as he replied, "She should be tortured and disciplined. Otherwise, she'll order me around all day and think Wilson Real Estate belongs to her!"

Jean Felton said, "Gary, I want this bag, but it costs 600 grand!"

Gary replied, "Buy it. I'll give you the money."

Gary had asked Charles for money so that he would not bully me. However, Charles treated me like trash. His men called me names and made fun of me.

I told Charles I could quickly make money if he spared me. However, he ripped my clothes off and said he would give everyone a taste of me if Gary did not pay them today.

While the men were drunk, I broke the bones of my hand to break through the chains and escaped.

Gary finally saw my dangling hand and frowned. "Did you break your hand? Can you still type out a proposal? There's a bid in three days!"

I suddenly felt nauseous and threw up in the car.

There was a grunt. Gary kicked me on the shoulder in case I touched his new shoes.

…

I was in a luxurious single room when I woke up.

"Darling, you're finally awake. We were so worried about you." Howard and his wife were by my bed. They were so worried about me that their hair had turned gray.

Howard said with a pained look, "It's my fault. I gathered all the money a few minutes late and asked Gary to send it to Charles. Unexpectedly, he didn't keep his word and said he didn't want the money but wanted to kill you instead!"

Gary seemed a little unnatural when he heard that.

I asked Howard, "Howard, how much money did you give?"

Howard sighed as he replied, "Charles wanted 2 million dollars! I was in such a hurry that I only gathered about 800 grand. I asked Gary to bring it all to you."

However, when Charles showed me Gary's reply previously, not a single penny was sent over.

Instead, Gary answered: [Kill her if you dare! Do you think it's worth it to sacrifice your whole life for a woman?]

Chapter 4

After Howard left, Gary probably saw that I looked like I was about to die, so he suddenly explained, "I knew he wouldn't really kill you, so..."

"Gary!" Jean suddenly appeared, carrying a fruit basket.

Before Gary could finish speaking, he turned to smile at her, took the fruit basket, and placed it on the table. "Jean is so thoughtful. She even bought your favorite mangoes to visit you."

I was allergic to mangoes—to the point where they could kill me.

If it were before, I would have thrown the mangoes in the trash right in front of Jean and tossed the money she spent on them to her. However, I was now powerless.

Charles was like a nightmare, and he had a tight grip on me.

Jean frowned and took a few steps back. "Vanessa, why do you have so many wounds on you? And your legs... look so scary! Gary, I'm a little scared."

Gary grabbed Jean and whispered, "Go out if you're scared. You're usually weak, so you shouldn't come to an unlucky place like the hospital!"

He sent Jean out and said he would return to check on me later, but he did not come back all night.

I had gotten used to it.

Jean and Gary were considered childhood sweethearts, but they did not live in the same city for a long time. A year before we got married, Jean's family had some issues and sought refuge with the Wilson family. Gary had been taking great care of her ever since. Jean could freely enter our bedroom, take my jewelry, sleep on my bed, and swipe my cards.

She was physically weak, so on every anniversary, my birthday, or when I was sick, Jean always somehow happened to be unwell. Gary would keep her company for at least half a month every time.

I stayed in the hospital for two days, and my broken arm was immobilized by a brace.

Gary asked me to type out some documents for a bid.

I contacted a lawyer and wrote a divorce agreement. The lawyer was my close friend, Elaine Douglas. Over the years, she had been providing legal advice for the Wilson family at my request.

Elaine asked, "Darling, are you willing to give up the estates and the company to Gary?"

I replied calmly like I was an outsider, "Give him everything."

The next day, Gary's assistant, Quinton Young, came in. He could not help but frown when he saw me. "Ms. Leeman, are you alright?"

I answered, "Did Gary send you to get the bidding document?"

Quinton nodded.

Speaking of, I had dedicated myself entirely to Gary over the years. I lost myself and my friends. On the days when I did not see Gary, I interacted more with his assistant, Quinton.

Quinton was capable. I hired him and brought him into Wilson Real Estate. He never called me Mrs. Wilson and always referred to me as Ms. Leeman.

Over time, many people at Wilson Real Estate started calling me Ms. Leeman. They would always ask me whenever there were major decisions to be made.

During one of our previous arguments, Gary strangled me as he asked, "At Wilson Real Estate, is it me or you who has the final say?"

After that argument, I stepped down from my position as general manager and became a planning manager, but people still asked me for advice.

Jean became the general manager just a few days later.

Gary told me, "She's part of the family. We need to help each other!"

Jean posted a diamond necklace I liked and won at an auction on her social media. The caption read: [A gift from my dear Gary for starting work!]

Gary liked the post. I clicked on Gary's social media, but it was blank.

Back to the present, I handed the documents to Quinton.

He seemed unable to hold back and suddenly said, "Ms. Leeman, I know everything the public is saying today is false! You're not like that."

I wondered, 'The public?'

Quinton clicked on a trending article titled: [Wilson Real Estate's Mrs. Wilson, Vanessa Leeman, Failed the Scheme with Her Lover, Charles Chase, and Lost Both Her Reputation and Fortune!]

The article had nearly three thousand words, stating how I had hooked up with Charles and staged the kidnapping.