Worried that Elena might get mistreated when she returned to Newshire, Anthony and Gianna had prepared a number of assets for her before she even arrived in the city.

Several of the Leone and the Shaw families' most important clients were part of her private portfolio, but she never made that information public.

Nodding, Elena replied, "I've made my decision."

Calvin clicked his tongue. "They're screwed for thinking you're a puppet they can control and push around."

After the dinner, Elena had just headed downstairs when she missed a step and nearly fell. Calvin swiftly grabbed her to keep her steady.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Once she regained her balance, she looked up and saw Henry exiting from a nearby private lounge with a group of people.

The atmosphere turned tense.

Henry's friends immediately made a ruckus.

"Oh, my. If it isn't Elena, Henry's wife. Don't tell me she actually found herself a new man. Look at them. They look pretty cozy with each other."

"Are you interested in foreigners, Elena? Guess you're looking for an international marriage next, huh?"

The more they spoke, the more deplorable their comments were.

"You know, with the way Henry looks, there's no way she doesn't lust after him. I bet she's gone mad with lust, so she's looking for other guys to satisfy her."

"What do you know? This just means she's bored with the local flavors and wants something exotic."

While the men were still mocking Elena, Henry stormed up to her and questioned angrily, "Who is he?"

"That's none of your business," Elena replied indifferently.

Henry grabbed her by the jaw. "You'd die without a man, wouldn't you, Elena?"

He was blatantly humiliating her.

Calvin quickly tried to explain, "You got the wrong idea. We're just—"

However, Elena lifted her head and cut Calvin off with a chuckle, saying, "That's right. At the end of the day, it's your fault for not fulfilling any of your duties as my legally wedded husband. What am I supposed to do if I don't find myself another man? Live like a widow instead?"

An awkward silence fell over the hallway. Even Henry's snarky friends had shut their mouths and were gawking in shock.

They knew full well just how devoted Elena had been to Henry the past few years. But now, she was openly admitting to being involved with another man.

Meanwhile, Henry's expression was so cold it could kill. "What did you say?"

With a brazen smirk, Elena said with crystal clear enunciation, "I said, since you're not keeping me satisfied, I've decided to seek satisfaction elsewhere. What's wrong with that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Henry threw her over his shoulder and marched out of the building.

Elena squawked in alarm, but before she managed to struggle free of Henry, he'd stuffed her inside the car. It was a bulletproof SUV, and once the door closed, the atmosphere in the car was so still that it felt like a vacuum.

At the very next moment, Elena was pressed against the seat.

Sneering, Henry undid his tie while pressing the button to pull up the divider between the back seat and the front.

"You said I'm not keeping you satisfied, huh? I'll satisfy you this time."

"Henry! Have you gone mad?"

Elena barely managed to get the words out before Henry kissed her. It was the first true act of intimacy between them since the day they got married.

Henry's breath grew ragged and impatient. He thought he felt nothing for Elena, but the sweet taste of her lips and the warmth of her skin stirred up the instinctive desire he'd kept suppressed for years.

Elena's mind was a mess. Everything was spinning out of control.

Henry grabbed her by the waist and pinned her down against the back seat. Just then, his phone rang. Pausing, he frowned and checked his phone. After taking the call, he immediately tensed up in a panic.

"Irene has been taken to the ER?" he exclaimed.

Just moments ago, the atmosphere in the car had been heavy with Henry's desire to claim Elena, but it all vanished with a single phone call.

As they headed to the hospital, Elena finally got the gist of the situation. Someone had gone online to reveal that Irene wasn't related to the Shaws by blood but a fake heiress, even though the Shaws made it seem like she was their biological daughter. Although the Shaws immediately came forward to refute that, the one who dropped the bomb also uploaded a DNA report to back his claims.

Immediately, the scandal went viral online.

Irene had over ten million followers on social media, and her entire image was based on her being a wealthy socialite. Now that her true identity had been exposed, her fans turned rabid. She was flooded with insults hurled at her online. Having never faced anything like that before, Irene tried to take her own life by overdosing on pills.

Just as the car came to a stop outside the hospital building, Henry also got off the call with his family's public relations team.

He turned to Elena and demanded, "Release a statement right away saying that Irene is your biological sister, and that you two share the same parents."

Elena retorted, "Why should I?"

"If either your parents or I do it, everyone is going to think we're just taking her side and favoring her. You're the Shaw family's biological daughter. It's more convincing if you come forward and give a statement."

Elena knew that, of course, but she asked once more, "My question remains the same. Why should I?"

Why was it that even when the Shaw blood ran in her veins, she was constantly being asked to step aside for Irene's sake?

Why was it that even though she was Henry's wife, he didn't even show her the most basic respect?

Why was it that every time something happened, she was the one who had to clean up other people's messes for them? Why did she have to be the pawn pushed around at will?

Henry's expression turned hostile.

"You won't be helping her for nothing," he said irritably as he tugged at his necktie. "I'll make you a deal. Help Irene clear her name, and I'll fulfill my duties as your husband."

Stiffening, Elena asked, "What do you mean?"

Henry stared at her with an emotionless face and said bluntly, "I mean, I'll sleep with you. You can drop the act. I can see that you were putting on a show for me back at the club. You never had anything going on with that man. You were just trying to get a rise out of me. You want me to get jealous and make the first move to sleep with you."

Scoffing, he continued, "Unfortunately for you, you're a poor actress. Well, I'm in a generous mood right now. As long as you're willing to lend a hand, I'm willing to keep you satisfied on a regular basis."

Eyes reddened, Elena stared at Henry and asked, "What do you take me for, Henry?"

He acted as though sleeping with her was something that could be used to make a deal. Just how little did he think of her?

For some reason, when Henry saw Elena's expression, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Frustrated, he didn't want to give it any further thought. He grabbed her by the head and kissed her fiercely.

All he wanted to do was silence her—to put an end to her stubbornness. He figured that as long as he slept with her, she would obediently help him settle everything just like she always did.

Alas, things didn't fall in place the way he expected them to.

At the very next moment, he felt an excruciating pain coming from his tongue. The taste of blood rapidly filled his mouth.

Releasing Elena, Henry roared, "What the hell are you doing, Elena?"

The corners of Elena's lips were stained red with blood, while the rest of her face was as pale as a sheet.

Seeing this, Henry felt a strange feeling in his heart. But just then, his assistant, Isaac Lowry, came to the car window and said, "Ms. Irene is awake, Mr. Leone. She's at the hospital crying for you."

Henry's expression froze briefly. Once he came back to his senses, he said to Elena, "During the press conference today, you're going to publicly announce that Irene is your biological younger sister. Otherwise, you can spend the rest of your life without me ever touching you again."

He got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

Once everything fell silent, Elena couldn't take it anymore. Tears poured down her face.

The rest of her life, huh?

"Things between us ended long ago, Henry," Elena thought to herself.

She pulled out her phone and slowly typed a message to Lawrence, her lawyer.

"Mr. Wagner, head over to the Shaw family press conference now and make a public announcement—Henry and I are officially getting divorced."

Once done with that, Elena looked at James Sullivan, the driver who was sitting up front, and instructed, "Take me to the airport."

…

One hour later, Elena was seated on the private jet Gianna had arranged for her when her phone began buzzing incessantly.

She received over a dozen unanswered calls, accompanied by a stream of interrogative and threatening messages. They were all from Henry.

"The press conference starts in 20 minutes. Where are you?"

"I've given you a chance, Elena. If you don't come forward to clear Irene's name today, don't expect me to touch you ever again!"

"Where are you? If you still refuse to respond to my messages, you'll have to bear the consequences."

Elena read these messages without a flicker of emotion in her eyes. Turning her phone off, she took out the SIM card and crushed it before tossing it into the trash.

As the private jet taxied along the runway, she leaned against her seat and stared out the window.

She bade goodbye to Henry, as well as Frank and Molly, her supposed "parents".

From this day onward, they no longer had anything to do with each other.