After the dinner, Tracie placed me under surveillance. She immediately had Mom moved somewhere else, claiming to protect her in case someone sought revenge.

They refused to let me see her or tell me where she was. The only updates I received were the occasional photos and videos Tracie sent of Mom looking well, provided when Tracie's frequent public appearances with Elton started fueling rumors.

My job was to play her good husband.

That only made Elton bolder. He frequently started mocking me in our social circles, calling me a "trophy husband" and a spineless puppet.

He bragged that the Conners had only allowed a broke loser like me to marry into the family because I was soft and had nothing but a sick mother they could easily use against me.

Late at night, he'd flood my phone with suggestive photos of hickeys covering his chest or Tracie lying exhausted in his arms.

"Jonas, Tracie won't leave me alone. She says even the thought of you touching her makes her skin crawl. It's such a shame that you're my stand-in.

"You don't know why she married you in the first place, do you? She needed a puppet, someone who'd perform when told and disappear when no longer needed. She couldn't bear to see me suffer, so she chose you. Do you get it now?"

I knew. In fact, I'd long known.

I blocked his number and chose the only peace available to me—out of sight, out of mind.

But the next morning, Tracie and her bodyguards kicked my door open. They dragged me into the living room like a sack of potatoes and doused me with a bucket of ice water.

Tracie's expression hardened as she snapped, "Is this what you meant when you promised not to spread rumors? Was I too lenient with you, Jonas? Did I give you the impression that you could hurt Elton like this?"

She turned her phone toward me, showing the top trending headline exposing her affair with Elton. It featured intimate photos from multiple angles, along with an account written from my perspective, lamenting my wife's infidelity and the shamelessness of the other man.

I was genuinely confused. "I didn't post that. I don't even have those photos. Just look at my phone and check the deleted folder—"

Before I could finish, her slap landed on my face.

"I'm done believing you, Jonas. Do you have any idea how much money the Conners lost because of this? Do you know how much Elton is suffering? Even if your mother has ten lives, she can't pay for the damage you've done."

I looked up in shock and frantically shook my head. "It wasn't me! You have people watching me, didn't you—"

Before I could barely explain, Elton dropped to his knees and banged his head against the floor.

"This is all my fault!" he cried. "I shouldn't have hoped to be with Tracie, but all I wanted was to be by her side!

"I'm not like you, Jonas. You want your mother's medical bills paid and the Conner family shares, but I want nothing."

A chill ran down my spine when I realized that Elton was playing a masterstroke. He was the strategist putting himself in harm's way to gain shares and everything.

By playing the victim, he'd still come out on top.

"Trust me, Tracie. Elton did this to himself," I said urgently. "We've been together for years, so you know me best. I'd never risk my mother's safety for a stunt like this…"

Tracie shot me a look of pure disgust and pulled out a set of share transfer agreements. "You'll transfer the shares to Elton.

"As for your mom's treatment, we're pausing it for a while since she won't die anyway. Think of it as a punishment so you'd learn your lesson."

"What did you say? You can't stop her medication! Please!"

I lunged at Tracie like a madman and banged my head against the floor until my forehead started bleeding.

When she remained unmoved, I crawled over to Elton and slammed my head against the floor, over and over again.

"It's my fault! I did it. I'll apologize however you want, as long as you don't stop my mom's medications. She'll die!"

Knowing that Mom would actually die, I knew that I now had nothing left to lose.

"You should've done that from the start," Tracie said coolly. She fished out her phone from her pocket and kindly held it to my face.

The security footage showed Mom thrashing in agony on her hospital bed. Her face was twisted in pain, her fingers digging into her palms, her body covered in scratches she had inflicted on herself.

She was critically ill. The medication was the only thing keeping her alive. Stopping the medication meant she would have to suffer constant pain until she died.

I collapsed onto the floor, tears mixing with blood dripping from my forehead. Still, I remained stubbornly on my knees and begged. "I'm sorry, and I'll apologize. Just don't stop her meds. I'll do anything you want me to."

When Tracie handed me the shares transfer agreement, I swiftly signed my name. Then, she demanded I clear their names on a livestream, so I did as told.

My face was deathly pale as I explained, "I'm here to address the recent viral rumors circulating online. I admit to using old photographs to falsely accuse my wife, Tracie Conner, and Mr. Elton Stafford of an affair.

"While they were once in a relationship, that was ages ago, and they're currently nothing more than friends. I was jealous of Mr. Stafford's success and terrified my wife would go back to him, so I acted out in these extreme ways.

"I offer my sincerest apologies to both of them and am prepared to make full amendments for the harm I've caused to Mr. Elton Stafford."

Following their instructions, I got down on all fours and barked like a dog.

It was a public livestream, open to the entire internet. As thousands of viewers watched, they couldn't help but curse out loud.

"Ha! Look at him getting what he deserves for lying!"

"Of course he's jealous. Elton is a self-made man, while this guy sold his soul to get into a rich family."

"No wonder he mimics a dog so well. I guess he had plenty of practice begging for scraps from the Conners. Unfortunately, he can't compare to Elton, no matter how much he tries to please them."

"Honestly, if I were him, I'd just die."

When the livestream ended, the entire narrative flipped against me. People who'd been lashing out at Elton online turned on me instead. Even details of my past, Mom's illness, and distant relatives were dragged through the mud.

Tracie looked down at me lying lifeless on the floor and slightly softened her tone. "Don't worry. Public opinion moves fast. I'll have PR leak a celebrity scandal to bury this incident tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll have my men protect you and your mom…"

"No need," I said in an eerily calm voice. "Can I see her now?"

She nodded and pointed to the wounds on my body. "I'll have my men take you there. They can treat the wounds on your head on the way."

I didn't resist.

The car drove deep into the secluded countryside to a nursing home. When I finally saw Mom, I threw myself into her arms.

"I'm taking you out of here, Mom."

I'd planted a tracker on myself just to find where she was, so my uncle, Hubert Braun, could take us away. Now, it was time.

Half an hour later, Uncle Hubert arrived with his men. They knocked down the bodyguards following me and rushed us onto a private jet.

As the familiar city faded into a tiny dot below us, I took out my SIM card and snapped it in half.

May we never meet again, in this life or the next.