My wife forces my sister to accompany some men for drinks so she can help her first love get investments. My sister finds an opportunity to run but gets harassed by other drunken men.

As she tries to break free, she has a heart attack, and she dies. I'm devastated as I handle her funeral alone. That's when my wife calls and snaps, "Tell your sister to apologize to Claude! Do you know how much trouble she's caused for him?"

I don't know how much trouble he's in. All I know is that one must pay the price for the things they've done.

Cynthia was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment after she'd had a heart attack at a bar.

When I arrived at the hospital, I happened to see a white cloth being used to cover Cynthia's head.

Disregarding everything, I threw myself in front of Cynthia, trembling as I lifted the white cloth.

I was engulfed in immense pain the moment I saw Cynthia's pale, lifeless face.

It felt as if something in my head had collapsed, and a suffocating sensation lingered in my heart.

Just two days ago, Cynthia had been playfully whining at me. Now, she lay motionless on the cold hospital bed.

She was only 21. She could have had a bright future, yet her life had stopped in her prime.

Heartbroken, I fainted as my vision turned dark.

When I woke up, I saw over a dozen missed calls on my phone. They were all from my wife, Jenny Gardner.

She must have heard about Cynthia's accident.

My hands trembled as I called her back.

The phone rang for a long time before it connected. However, before I could say anything, I was met with a barrage of accusations.

"Landon Lambert, where is your sister? Where is she hiding? Get her to come out and apologize to Claude right now!"

I was taken aback.

What was this "apology" about?

Suppressing my sadness, I tried to explain to her, "Honey, Cynthia had an accident. She has no other family except me. She has always liked you the most. Can you please come to the hospital—"

Before I could finish, Jenny coldly interrupted me. "What could possibly have happened? I was wondering why she had run off midway. It turns out she went to complain to you! Seriously, how dramatic! I only wanted her to accompany Claude to meet a client!

"Do you have any idea how much trouble Cynthia has caused us? She ruined the dinner with the investors! She offended Mr. Zea! Do you know how important this investment is for Claude?"

The voice of Jenny's first love, Claude Husk, came through the phone then.

"Jenny, it's fine. Landon has misunderstood me. It's understandable for his sister to refuse to help me."

My heart sank.

So, they were the culprits!

In an instant, anger and hatred intertwined within me. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my flesh.

My eyes turned red as I roared, "Cynthia hasn't even graduated from college! Why did you force her to go to that kind of place?"

Jenny's indifferent voice came through. "So what? I only took her out to enrich her experience. It's her fault for not knowing better. We only had her accompany an investor for drinks. How could she possibly die from that? And why did she complain to you? You siblings are disgustingly alike!"

With that, Jenny hung up the phone without letting me say another word.

Memories began to play in my mind like a film.

Cynthia was seven years younger than me.

When she was a child, she would always follow me around like a shadow, calling out, "Lanny! Lanny!"

I would find her annoying, but she never got mad. Instead, she would hold out candy to me, softly saying, "For you, Lanny!"

Sometimes I would deliberately provoke her to see her angry face all puffed up like a ball of dough.

However, I stopped teasing her after I turned 17.

That year, our parents had a car accident and both passed away, leaving only Cynthia and me.

Cynthia had curled up against me, her small body trembling as beads of hot tears fell onto my arm.

She asked me in a shaky voice, "Lanny, will it just be the two of us from now on?"

Hearing that, I stroked her head and promised, "Cynthia, I will take good care of you."

"I'm sorry, Cynthia," I thought. "I broke my promise."

Cynthia had a congenital heart defect and had undergone surgery when she was younger.

The doctor said she would be fine as long as she wasn't subjected to intense stress.

Jenny and Claude were the ones who caused Cynthia's death.

At that moment, hatred flooded my chest.

Back then, I'd met Jenny at a business event.

She pursued me first, as she claimed she had fallen in love with me at first sight.

Later, I learned she was attracted to my face, which resembled Claude's.

I was captivated by her smile and fell deeply in love with her.

She treated me well, spoke to me softly, and was incredibly thoughtful. We naturally fell in love and got married.

Just when I thought our life would continue to be happy this way, Claude came back.

He was Jenny's first love, the one she held dear to her heart.

Ever since Claude came back, Jenny grew impatient with me. Even Cynthia bore the brunt of her anger.

In the past, Cynthia would come back to stay for a day or two on weekends, but now, seeing Jenny's sour face, she didn't dare to return at all.

In truth, Cynthia had always liked having Jenny as her sister-in-law.

Even so, Jenny didn't call once even when Cynthia was cremated and buried.

I hadn't slept for three whole days. The moment I got home, I collapsed onto the bed, utterly drained.

As I stared blankly at the ceiling, the pain in my heart spread.

All of this felt like a nightmare.

I hadn't noticed when my eyelids had grown heavy. In a half-asleep daze, I seemed to see my sister crying, begging me to save her.

I ran toward her with all my might. Just as I was about to grab her hand, a splash of cold water suddenly shattered the dream. The icy water snapped me awake.

There stood Jenny, one hand on her hip, the other holding the empty basin, her face twisted in anger.

"Wow, Landon, you actually have the nerve to sleep here!"

Not having eaten or drunk anything for days, combined with the shock of the cold water, I was dizzy and disoriented.

I wiped the water from my forehead. As I staggered to stand up, Jenny shoved me back down with a hard push.

With her expression full of irritation and contempt, she wiped her hands in disgust.

"Where's Cynthia? Tell her to come and apologize to Claude right now! And hand over whatever she took!"

My eyes narrowed sharply at her words. My sister was dead, yet Jenny was still demanding that Cynthia apologize to her precious Claude! And what did she mean when she told me to hand over what Cynthia took?

"Your sister is spoiled rotten by you. Since your mother died, there was no one to raise her properly. Well, as her sister-in-law, I'll teach her a lesson! Tell her to come out! Where is she hiding?"

Jenny began to search the entire house, kicking doors open with loud bangs and throwing Cynthia's belongings onto the floor in a rage.

"Has she gone back to school? Today's the weekend, right? Oh, I get it. She doesn't dare to come back after she's caused trouble, am I right?"

I couldn't bear listening to this anymore. My emotions exploded as I warned her, "Enough! Jenny, I won't let you slander Cynthia! She's dead; you and your first love killed her!"

Jenny froze, her brows furrowing deeply.

Claude sighed and peered at me with disdain in his eyes. With a disapproving expression, he remarked, "Landon, I know you've always had issues with me and never wanted your sister to help me, so you came up with this plan. But that USB drive contains crucial business secrets. It's very important to me. I'm begging you, Landon, please have your sister hand it over."

Any trace of hesitation in Jenny's eyes vanished and was replaced by a sudden realization at those words. She let out a cold snort.

"Landon, you really are something. You even came up with a lie like this. You act like you care so much for that sister of yours, and now you're cursing her! You make me sick!"

Claude added fuel to the fire. "Jenny, don't be angry. I'm sure Cynthia didn't understand the importance of that item. Someone probably told her to take it." He glanced at me; it was clear what he was implying.

As expected, Jenny's anger flared even more at his words.

Cynthia was already gone, yet they were still slandering her. Fury surged within me, and I used every bit of strength to punch Claude hard in the face.

Jenny rushed over, worriedly caressing Claude's face with a look of concern I'd never seen before. She then turned back and glared at me. "Landon, are you out of your mind?"

Yes, I was out of my mind.

No sane person would keep accepting such humiliation.

My sister was even dead because of this shameless couple!

"Landon, I'm giving you one last chance." Jenny's tone was dripping with threat as she cast a cold glance at me. "Hand it over now, or you know the consequences."

The consequences she meant were no more than a divorce.

Whenever she was unhappy, she'd toss the word around, knowing it would bring me to my knees as I begged her to stay. She reveled in that power.

I'd always been the one to back down in our arguments, but now… I wasn't going to concede again.

Suddenly, I felt as if an insurmountable mountain stood between us. It was one I no longer wanted to cross.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and replied quietly, "Jenny, I'll say it one last time. Cynthia is dead. She never took any USB drives."

However, Jenny didn't believe me. "Fine." She sneered. "If you won't give it up, I'll find it myself."

She began tearing through Cynthia's room, leaving her belongings in utter disarray.

After she failed to find what she was looking for in the room, her gaze soon fell upon a small ceramic doll on the desk.

"What's this?" she asked, frowning.

My heart pounded, and I stumbled forward in panic. "Don't touch that! That's something Cynthia left for me!"

But Claude was faster. He picked up the doll, inspecting it with a knowing glint in his eye before snapping his fingers as if he'd figured it all out. "Jenny, look—it's hollow. If Landon's so protective of this thing, the USB drive must be hidden inside."

Without hesitation, Jenny smashed the doll to the floor.

"No!" I screamed, my voice hoarse with rage as I watched the doll shatter, pieces scattering across the ground.

Ignoring the possibility of the shards cutting my hands, I tried to piece them back together despite my trembling hands.

It was a figurine of two children nestled close together that Cynthia had made herself. I could still remember how proud Cynthia was when she showed it to me.

"Lanny, look! Doesn't it look like us when we were kids?"

It was her favorite piece, one she'd hold and play with every time she came home. But now it lay in pieces, shattered. No matter how hard I tried to put it back together… my sister was never coming back.

Jenny then lifted her foot, her sharp heel pressing hard on the back of my hand. The shards dug into my skin. In an instant, blood stained the broken fragments. The pain was intense, but I let it deepen, almost as if I wanted to feel it like a form of self-punishment.

Cynthia's death must have been a thousand times worse than this.

At this moment, I finally saw my seven-year relationship for how it really was.

My voice was hoarse and icy as I asked, "What proof do you have to accuse Cynthia of taking the USB drive?"

Jenny scowled, her voice laced with irritation. "Claude saw it yesterday. Do you think he'd lie?"

Yesterday? How ironic. I was curious how my sister, who'd already been cremated, could've possibly taken his USB drive.

"So, you trust your lover, but not me?" I asked. I had to fight the tremor in my voice.

Jenny shot me a fierce glare. She proceeded to utter words cold enough to freeze my blood.

"Of course, I trust Claude!"

I'd already guessed the answer, yet her cold indifference still left me feeling utterly heartbroken.

I wanted to argue, but in the end, I didn't say anything. What was the point? She wouldn't believe me anyway. It would only add to the frustration.

As I looked at the two of them, all I felt was bitter irony.

Jenny crossed her arms and let out a heavy sigh. Then, she softened her tone as if she were about to compromise. "Landon, I don't want to lose my temper with you. Just tell me. What will it take for you to give the USB drive back to Claude?"

Suddenly, as if a thought occurred to her, she raised her brows. "Oh, right, you mentioned before that you wanted Cynthia to work at Starlight Corporation, didn't you? Fine, I'll make arrangements for it. Is that good enough? Can you hand over the USB now?"

I could only chuckle bitterly. I had indeed asked her once to put in a word for Cynthia. And what did Jenny say back then? She said she'd never help because she despised people who used connections.

But here she was, breaking her so-called principles again and again for Claude.

When Claude started his business, Jenny went out of her way to help him by providing every resource she could, such as helping him find a location, bringing in investors, and introducing him to clients.

Jenny clutched her phone and gave instructions to her assistant on the other end of the line. "Arrange for Cynthia Lambert to join Starlight Corporation."

There was a long silence before a cautious voice replied, "Ms. Gardner… Ms. Lambert passed away. She had a sudden heart attack that night… the same night you and Mr. Husk were hosting the investors."