I sneered, how could it have been a misunderstanding? After my first failure, I secretly investigated.

I discovered that the products under his company were strikingly similar to mine.

I reported him under my real name through official channels, demanded proof of data sources, but instead, the police arrested me for spreads false rumors. Everyone said I couldn't handle my failure and slandered others out of spite.

Only Salma stepped up to speak on my behalf, unconditionally believed in me as always. But in truth, she was handing everything of mine over to him.

Seeing that I wouldn't take it, Salma quickly snatched it from Adam and shoved it into my hand and said, "Just take it. Luckily Adam didn't hold a grudge over your false report back then, or you'd have ended up in jail."

As she spoke, she picked up a document from her desk, signed it and handed it to Adam, "This is the cooperation proposal we just discussed. I've agreed to it, think of it as a return gift on Jason's behalf."

I stared hard at that document. The few words that flashed by were all too familiar to me.

She had just blatantly handed over my latest research to Adam as a so-called return gift for a postcard. Absolutely laughable.

After that, she picked up the little black cat that had slipped into the room and gently stroked it and said, "Jason, this cat belongs to Adam. It used to be a stray. It'll be living with us for the next few days. Isn't it adorable?"

Salma held the cat toward me, motioned for me to pet it.

I instinctively took a step back, looked her in the eye and asked, "Are you sure you want me to touch it?" She nodded in response.

I forced myself to stroke it twice, then quickly made an excuse to leave.

Because I had been allergic to cat fur since childhood. Yet it seemed Salma, who grew up with me and used to remember it so well, had completely forgotten.

To avoid the cat, I stayed in my room the entire day. Even with medication applied, I had scratched my skin raw.

That night, Salma unexpectedly came to my room. She said, "Jason, let's have a baby. Tomorrow is Adam's product launch. Let's go together. He promised to share some of his experience with you. Didn't you always say you wanted to be a successful father? This is the perfect opportunity."

I was stunned for a moment. Five years ago, when my parents died in an accident, I who only good at doing experiments, was utterly lost.

Salma pulled me back from the rooftop and we quickly got married. As the daughter-in-law of the Lance Family, she handled everything. Since then, I had yearned deeply to have a child of my own blood.

But repeated business failures made me felt unworthy of asking her for a child. Because I could endure being looked down on, but my child must not.

So for the past five years of marriage, we always took precautions.

"Honey, can we?" Her question snapped me out of my thoughts. Afraid she would notice, I pulled her into my arms, but my eyes turned colder.

She mistook it for excitement and ran off to prepare, casted a flirty glance back at me.

I stared at her retreating figure and whispered, "Salma, I no longer want a child with you."

That night, I never saw her again. By the next morning, neither she nor Adam were anywhere to be seen.

Left with no choice, I went alone to the product launch. Just as I was about to enter the hall, I was stopped by the security guard at the entrance.

The guard asked, "Sir, may I see your invitation?"

When I didn't respond, the guard added, "Today's venue has been fully reserved by the Haynes Group. Only prominent figures in the capital are invited. If you don't have an invitation, please leave."

People waiting to enter all turned to look at me.

They chatted, "Isn't that Salma's husband? Still acting like he's the young star of the Lance Family? He's been living off the Haynes Family for five years, if Salma hadn't kept her word and married him, he'd probably still be working off debts somewhere!"

"The Lance Family used to be something, but look at the son now. I heard Salma invested in his startups 99 times and he still failed, totally hopeless, what a waste of a good wife!" another person chimed in.

Just as they finished talking, Adam arrived with his entourage.

The crowd quickly parted and the security guard rushed over to greet him, "Mr. Stone, welcome! The venue is fully prepared. Let us know if anything's lacking, we'll adjust it right away."

"We also hope you'll put in a good word for us with Miss Haynes, so our hotel can host future Haynes Group events," he continued.

"Don't block Mr. Stone's path. Didn't we tell you to leave? We don't welcome freeloaders here, don't bring down our class!" The guard shoved me aside, now acted submissive, completely different from his earlier pompous attitude.

Adam looked at me smugly and said, "Stop right there! Is this how your hotel treats guests? I welcome anyone who wants to attend my banquet."

"Especially since Jason is my benefactor, without him, I wouldn't have met Salma. He's failed so many times, he's already having a hard time. I won't allow you to treat him like this!"

He continued, "But Jason, if you wanted to see my new product, you could've just asked. I can send you an invitation. Just please don't sneak a peek again and try to copy it like last time."

The moment plagiarism was mentioned, the recently quieted crowd broke into noise again. Countless disdainful eyes turned toward me.

The crowd chimed in, "We almost forgot, do you know why he's useless even with the Haynes Family behind him? Because all his stuff is copied! Even when he helped Mr. Stone back in the day, it was just to freeload ideas!"

"Tsk! Shameful. I actually felt bad for him when I heard his parents died!" another voice said.

If this were before, I definitely would have fought back, to avoid dragging down Salma's reputation. But now, I just wanted to be free of it all as soon as possible.

A crowd of people echoed their accusations while they praised Adam. They said he's grateful and talented at a young age.

I was completely shut out and I couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Adam, let's see if you're still can smile later.

A long time passed before Salma came out. She walked through the crowd and naturally linked her arm with mine. She asked, "Why aren't you going in? What are you doing out here?"

Seeing Salma appear, Adam immediately stepped forward, "Jason, let's go in together. My bad, I forgot to send you an invitation."

Salma pulled me into the banquet hall, she turned back to introduce me as someone here to learn from Adam.

People in the circle already looked down on me. Now, even fewer wanted to talk to me.

Meanwhile, Salma stayed with Adam, she introduced him to various business connections. Their laughter kept drifting over and a few times Adam even leaned entirely onto her.

The out-of-place atmosphere made it hard for me to breathe.

After coming out of the restroom, Adam suddenly appeared in front of me.

Seeing how uncomfortable I looked, he smiled even more smugly, "Jason, you're feeling bad, aren't you? Tables have turned. Never thought you'd end up like this, huh?"

"Actually, I should thank you. If you hadn't taken me under your wing back then, I never would've met Salma," he sneered.

Expressionless, I looked at him and mocked, "What do you mean by that? Don't forget how you begged me for help back then. This is how you treat your benefactor?"

Hearing this, he stopped pretending altogether and mocked, "Benefactor? Huh! You think that counts as a favor, throwing me stuff you didn't want like I'm some beggar? You never treated me like a human being, so I made sure you'd know what it feels like to be looked down on. Can't handle it now, can you?"

"You should've known long ago that all my projects came from Salma. How does it feel to be betrayed by the one closest to you?"

"Oh right, your so-called 'never-dying' parents too, always saying I had shifty eyes, telling you to stay away from me. One phone call from me and they had a car crash. They were still calling me before they died, begging me not to hurt you!" he laughed.

Hearing that, what else did I not understand? Adam didn't just steal my work, he was even connected to my parents' deaths.

I couldn't hold it back anymore. I clenched my fist and slammed it into his face. In an instant, his face was swollen and red.

But instead of fighting back, he deliberately fell backward with the momentum of my punch.

I tried to hit him again, but Salma's security guards held me down.

And she, still fuming, slapped me hard across the face and said, "Jason, are you crazy? Adam came out just to keep you company and this is how you treat him?"

Onlookers rushed in, eager to kick me while I was down.

Adam leaned weakly against Salma's shoulder, he covered his wound pitifully and whined, "Salma, I'm sorry. I just pointed out some of Jason's problems. I didn't expect him to take it so badly and hit me. Don't blame him. If it weren't for his early support, I wouldn't be where I am now. Let's just call it even today."

The fury in my chest only burned hotter. I struggled desperately and yelled, "Even? Why should it be even? Salma, how exactly did his company rise to success? Don't you owe me an explanation?"

Panic flashed through Salma's eyes, but she quickly calmed down. She said, "Explain what? I looked into it all back then. Adam was abroad the whole time. How could he have copied you? Besides, I always helped analyze your failures. You just did badly and now you want to blame others. Jason, I really misjudged you!"

With her statement, the crowd buzzed with judgment, "He's crazy. Even Salma said so and he's still trying to slander Adam? He doesn't even trust his own wife."

A woman said, "Look at the state he's in. Thank goodness the Lance Family went bankrupt early. Otherwise, he'd have ruined them anyway!"

Another man also said, "Salma, the product launch is about to begin. We can't let him mess it up."

Salma gave me a cold glance and dragged Adam away. She ordered, "Throw him out. Don't let him back in until the launch is over!"

I stared blankly at her departing figure and muttered, "Salma, we're done."

The guards dragged me out like a dog and threw me to the ground. I gave a bitter laugh, tidied up my messy clothes, looked at the building's entrance and made a call, "It's time. You can come in now."

After that, I packed my things and left the divorce papers on the living room table. Right before boarding my flight, I uploaded all the evidence online and pulled out my SIM card.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Adam was confidently giving a speech on stage about his rise to success, "Next, I will announce the latest research achievement from the Stone Group. It is ..."

Suddenly, the main doors burst open and a group of stern-faced people walked in.

Adam scowled and spoke harshly, "Who are you? Don't you know what kind of place this is? Get out now, or don't blame me for being rude!"

The person opposite showed no fear and signaled with his eyes.

Someone beside him immediately stepped forward and said, "This is a court summons. Our firm is suing you for stealing Mr. Lance's patented work. Please appear in court as scheduled."