Seeing how emotional I was, Daniel frowned, his tone impatient. "Claire, get your emotions under control. Why are you making such a scene? You can't have children anyway. Just treat this child as your own."

I stared at him and said each word clearly. "Daniel, I am not raising your mistress's bastard child."

Daniel acted as if he had not heard me at all, completely lost in his own delusion.

"From now on, the three of us can still be a family. I'll also talk to Emily and ask her to be more understanding. She won't fight you over anything. If you hadn't kept holding on to this, things between us would never have gotten this bad. Claire, we've only been back together for three years," Daniel sighed, sounding deeply wounded. "Can't you cherish what we have?"

Even though I had witnessed Daniel's shamelessness countless times, his words still made my heart ache.

But this time, I did not break down hysterically. I only spoke calmly. "Daniel, let's get divorced."

I lifted a hand and motioned to the secretary behind me.

"The divorce agreement has already been drafted."

The secretary stepped forward and handed the document to him.

"All you need to do is sign it."

Daniel's gaze fell on the agreement, and his expression darkened at once.

The next second, he raised his hand sharply and tore the papers into shreds, scattering them across the floor.

"Claire, enough. Don't take this too far."

He paused, as if forcing his emotions back down.

"You're emotional right now, so I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Rest properly in the hospital. We'll talk when you've calmed down."

With that, he turned and left.

Watching his back, I said firmly, "Daniel, I want a divorce! If you won't sign, I'll see you in court!"

Daniel walked even faster, his steps almost hurried.

The ward fell silent again. I closed my eyes, and tears slipped from the corners.

Between the car accident and the miscarriage, I spent nearly a month in the hospital before the doctor finally allowed me to leave.

During that entire month, Daniel did not visit me once.

By the time I returned to the mansion Daniel and I shared, the sky had already begun to darken.

The lights in the living room were on, and I could faintly hear Daniel talking with one of his friends inside.

"I heard Claire wants to divorce you?"

Daniel leaned against the sofa, a cigarette between his fingers, his tone indifferent. "She found out I'm with Emily again, so now she's making a fuss about divorce."

"Apologize to Claire properly. She'll forgive you."

Daniel's voice rose sharply. "She's the one who should apologize to me! We've been doing well these past three years. She's the one being petty and ruining what we had."

His friend asked again, "What if Claire insists on leaving?"

"She won't." Daniel sounded certain. "What we have survived life and death. It won't fall apart that easily. Besides, our families' interests are still tied together."

Daniel and I had been brought together through a business marriage arranged by our grandparents' generation.

I had not resisted it. At the beginning, I had even thought that perhaps we could build real feelings over time.

But not long after the wedding, I found out that Daniel had been keeping a mistress.

He had even leaked my explicit photos on purpose just to please her, turning me into a laughingstock across the internet.

I refused to back down. I reported his shady businesses directly and sent him behind bars.

Each fight became uglier than the last, and the rift between us grew deeper and deeper.

"Daniel, if you don't want a divorce, why did you get back together with Emily? You even had a child with her."

Daniel fell silent for a long while before saying lazily, "After so many years with Claire, of course there are times when things get tiring. And Emily was standing naked right in front of me. Any man would have lost control."

Rage surged from my chest straight to my head, and I almost lost control and shoved the door open.

But in the next second, I stopped myself.

Since Daniel no longer even bothered to hide the fact that he had a mistress and an illegitimate child, what would confronting him change?

It would only waste my energy.

I took a deep breath, turned around, and left.

After returning to the apartment I had bought before the marriage, I began investigating the evidence from the car accident.

Fortunately, there was traffic camera footage from the intersection.

I had my staff retrieve the footage immediately, then handed it to my legal team to organize the evidence and prepare a lawsuit against Emily.

But before we could formally file the case, my lawyer contacted me with the news that the crucial footage had been deleted.

I rushed straight to Daniel's office, unable to keep the anger out of my voice.

"Did you delete the footage?"

He did not deny it. He did not even look up.

He simply closed the file in front of him, his voice cold and flat. "Give up. Even with the footage, you wouldn't win. I've already hired the best legal team in Northhaven for Emily. They've never lost a case."

"If you don't withdraw the lawsuit, I can't promise I won't countersue you for framing Emily."

My breath caught, as if something had lodged itself in my chest.

He let out a soft sigh, his tone easing as if indulging a child. "Withdraw the case, Claire. Let's end it here. We can go back to living the way we used to. Don't push this to the point where it can't be fixed."

Anger burned through me.

"That was a life, our child! How can you be this calm? You watched our baby die and still defended her! All I'm doing is making Emily pay for what she did."

Daniel flicked his hand, sending the file to the floor. "If you won't take the easy way, then I'll go all the way with you!"

After saying that, he pressed the intercom and called in the secretary outside. "Escort her out."

The secretary came in, polite on the surface but firm as she ushered me out of the office.

Before leaving, I shot Daniel a glare, my teeth clenched. "Daniel, I'm not giving up."

Soon, my lawyers and I reorganized the evidence and filed the lawsuit.

On the day of the hearing, Daniel arrived with Emily by his side.

When he saw me, he instinctively stepped forward as if to question me.

I ignored them completely and walked straight into the courthouse.

Daniel froze for a moment, his expression darkening. Then, as if to provoke me, he wrapped an arm around Emily's waist and raised his voice deliberately.

"Emily, don't be scared. She has no evidence. I've hired the best legal team for you. She won't win."

I didn't respond.

Once the hearing began, my lawyer presented the most direct piece of evidence.

Daniel probably hadn't expected that I still had footage from that day.

After the accident, my car had been sent to an auto repair shop.

The dashcam had recorded everything in full. The evidence was undeniable.

The legal team Daniel hired was indeed formidable, their arguments airtight.

But my lawyers were no less capable.

The team I had hired was led by my best friend Sophie Miller, a core group made up mostly of her former classmates, all graduates of the finest law school.

When she took the case, she had only said one thing. "Don't worry. I won't let you lose."

Round after round of examination brought the truth into the open.

In the end, faced with irrefutable evidence, Emily lost the case.

Though Daniel's legal team managed to keep her out of prison, she was still ordered to pay substantial damages.

By the time we walked out of the courthouse, night had fallen.

Shadows from the trees flickered across Daniel's face, obscuring his expression.

Before leaving, Daniel stood beneath the tree, his face hidden in shifting light and shadow. "This time, I slipped up. You won't get another chance like this."

With that, he didn't linger. He turned and left, his arm around Emily.

I didn't bother with them. Instead, I had my staff deliver the verdict and the full dashcam footage to my media company.

Overnight, major media platforms across Northhaven began reporting on the case.

Social media, financial pages, even street news screens were quickly set ablaze with the story.

Public opinion spread like an explosion.

Daniel and Emily were pushed straight into the eye of the storm.

The Carter Group was shaken, and its stock price dropped.

I returned to my apartment, about to check the news and comments on my phone.

I had just unlocked the screen when a call from my staff came in before I could even open the news app.

"Ms. Parker, something's wrong! There's been a fire near the media district!"

He paused, as if struggling to continue.

"The fire broke out in the building where your media company is located. The flames are massive. The entire building is almost engulfed. And we just got word… your lawyer friend is still inside!"

My vision went dark, and I nearly collapsed where I stood.

I didn't even have time to change. I grabbed my car keys and rushed out.

I sped all the way to the media district.

From a distance, thick black smoke was already billowing into the night sky.

The entire block was cordoned off, fire engines flashing red and blue lights nonstop.

Jets of water slammed into the flames again and again, but the fire still raged wildly.

I slammed on the brakes. Before the car had even stopped, I was already out and running.

"Move!"

I pushed forward without thinking. There was only one thought in my mind.

Sophie was still inside. I had to go in and save her.

My subordinate caught up and grabbed me. "Ms. Parker, it's too dangerous inside. You can't go in!"

He stood firmly in front of me, not backing down even a step.

"Ms. Parker..." He lowered his head, unable to meet my eyes. "Please… accept our condolences."

In the glow of the flames not far away, several firefighters carried a stretcher out.

The person on it was burned beyond recognition, no longer even looking human.

I stood frozen, forgetting how to breathe.

Until a hand slipped from the edge of the stretcher, fingers curled slightly.

A gemstone ring on the ring finger caught the firelight. It was the birthday gift I had given Sophie last year.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.

Footsteps approached slowly at that moment.

Daniel stood not far away, his arm wrapped around Emily's waist.

Emily leaned against him, the corners of her lips curling upward.

Her smile was careless, triumphant, even a little provocative.

Something slammed against my chest, and realization struck me.

The so-called accidental fire… had been set by Daniel.

He was taking revenge on me for winning the case against Emily.

Daniel remained composed, as if discussing a trivial business deal. "I didn't plan to go this far, but you made Emily lose the case and spread it everywhere, humiliating her. I had to get her some compensation. We're even now. I did all of this. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

I lowered my eyes to my friend's body not far away and said nothing.

Daniel followed my gaze, hesitated briefly, then said, "I only meant to teach your friend a lesson. She shouldn't have gone against Emily or encouraged you to divorce me. I didn't mean for her to die. It was just bad luck."

My parents were always busy with work and rarely had time for me. I had grown up spending most of my time with my friends.

Whenever Daniel and I fought the hardest, she would stand between us, clumsy but sincere, trying again and again to pull us back together.

When I said I wanted a divorce, she didn't try to stop me. She stayed silent for a moment, then carefully revised every clause of the agreement and stood by me through the case.

There was one less person in this world who loved me.

It felt as though something had clenched tightly around my chest.

I suddenly couldn't breathe. The pain spread outward from my chest, inch by inch, as if something inside me was tearing apart.

Seeing that I didn't respond, Daniel cast me a casual glance.

The next second, his expression changed abruptly, and he rushed toward me in panic.

"Claire, are you okay?"

I looked at him blankly, my vision beginning to blur.

When I lowered my head, I realized my clothes had already been soaked through with blood.

A blinding, vivid red.

I couldn't hold on any longer. Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

Daniel sat by my bedside, flipping through my medical reports with his head lowered.

He opened his mouth, as if something was stuck in his throat.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a low voice.

"Your old gunshot wound… it's flared up again. The bullet was removed back then, but it was close to the nerves near your chest. This time, the shock triggered severe internal bleeding. If you had been brought in any later, you might have…"

He didn't finish the sentence.

The only sound left in the room was the steady beeping of the machines.

I slowly turned my head and looked out the window.

The truth was, the gunshot wound in my chest had been because of Daniel.

We had attended a business event, and afterward, he suddenly decided we should walk home together.

The street was quiet and deserted.

That was where we were kidnapped.

The kidnappers demanded a huge ransom, but just the day before, Daniel had spent a fortune at an auction buying jewelry for Emily. On top of that, my leaked photos had shaken the company's stock. We couldn't come up with that kind of cash flow in time.

In the chaos, the kidnappers decided to eliminate him. One of them pulled out a gun and aimed straight at Daniel's heart.

The moment the shot was fired, I moved on instinct, throwing myself in front of him.

The bullet missed my heart by inches.

Shocked and guilty, Daniel had shielded me beneath him when the explosion went off.

Later, we were rescued. Somehow, we both survived.

Lying in the ICU, Daniel had said to me solemnly, "Claire, let's stop fighting. Let's live properly from now on."

I believed him.

I just hadn't expected his "from now on" to last only three years.

Daniel's voice trembled.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If I hadn't burned down your media company…"

I cut him off.

"What's the point of regret after the fact?"

His expression stiffened. He spoke quickly, almost flustered.

"I'll send Emily away. I promise, I won't have anything to do with her ever again."

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and a child rushed in, his voice urgent.

"Dad! Mom is sick, you need to come see her!"

Almost instinctively, Daniel replied, "I'm coming."

He took a step before suddenly realizing I was still lying in the hospital bed.

He paused for a few seconds before forcing himself to add, "I'll go end things with her and get them settled."

I lay there, staring at the empty doorway, and suddenly felt like laughing.

Even when apologizing to me, she was still his first choice.

I didn't want to stay any longer. I called my staff and had them arrange my discharge.

At the same time, I contacted a new legal team to prepare a fresh divorce agreement.

In the end, I compiled all the Carter Group's shady transactions and financial loopholes and sent them to his sworn enemy.

Old grudges, new debts. I would settle them all.