Dorothea watched with her own eyes as everything connected to the piano burned to ash.

Meanwhile, she was pinned to the ground by the bodyguards, her cheek pressed hard against the concrete.

Every time she struggled, her skin scraped against the rough surface, sending sharp unbearable pain across her face.

But she didn’t care at all. All she wanted was to break free and hurriedly put out the fire.

By the time everything in the metal barrel had burned to nothing, her cheek was torn and bloodied, staining a small patch of the concrete beneath her.

She couldn’t hold on any longer. Darkness swept over her, and she completely lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, she found herself locked in a pitch-black, enclosed room.

Dorothea snapped fully awake.

She knew this place. It was a punishment room in the Hemenways' villa, designed for servants who stepped out of line.

The space was barely two square meters, and at unpredictable times, venomous insects would be released inside.

Her whole body trembled as she curled up in the corner, forcing herself to endure the feeling of unknown bugs crawling across her skin.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she finally heard Jimmy’s voice outside the door.

“Dorothea, why are you always so difficult? Why can’t you just behave and be a proper wife?”

“You have to understand that everything I do is because I want to keep you by my side. I love you that much.”

At last, the door opened, and she was let out.

At her bedside, the floor was littered with cigarette butts.

Jimmy had stayed there for three full days. The emotion in his eyes looked too sincere to be fake.

It took Dorothea a full week to recover. Only then did the swelling from the insect bites across her body finally start to go down.

Then came Kim’s birthday. Even though she hadn’t fully recovered from childbirth, she insisted on throwing a party.

Jimmy, of course, agreed without hesitation.

Kim looped her arm through his, acting sweet and innocent. “Jimmy, can Dorothea come to my birthday party, too? We’re going to be, like, sisters from now on. We should share everything, right?”

Jimmy turned to Dorothea.

“Dorothea, you heard her. You’ll be in charge of organizing Kim’s birthday party.”

A cruel smile tugged at his lips.

“Use the same standard as your own birthday parties. I wouldn’t want anyone saying I play favorites.”

A sharp pain suddenly stabbed through Dorothea’s chest.

There was a time he had said to her, “Dorothea, I’ll be there for every birthday you ever have. And I’ll give you ninety-nine completely different birthday experiences.”

And for the past three years of their marriage, he had kept that promise.

But now, his tenderness and affection were no longer hers alone.

A week later, the yacht party was dazzling, the lights almost blinding.

Dorothea, dressed in a simple gown, moved through the crowd nonstop.

She kept a close eye on every staff member, checking every detail, making sure nothing went wrong.

At the same time, she had to greet guests, playing the role of a perfect, dutiful hostess.

Kim, on the other hand, was dressed to impress, basking in attention as she accepted compliments and gifts from every direction.

Dorothea couldn’t be bothered.

After all, she had already received a message from her mother-in-law.

In just half a month, everything would be finalized. Dorothea would finally be free of the hell that was Jimmy.

Suddenly, Kim’s gaze landed on her. “Hey, Dorothea, I don’t think you’ve given me a birthday gift yet.”

Dorothea clenched her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white, but she said nothing.

“Forget it, I won’t make things difficult for you,” Kim said with a smile. “You’re amazing at piano, right?”

She pointed toward the piano nearby. “Why don’t you play something for me?”

“Alright.” Dorothea walked over calmly and sat down at the piano. She took a deep breath and began to play.

When she finished one piece, Kim pouted. “That’s it? Play another one.”

Dorothea didn’t refuse. Her expression didn’t change as she continued playing.

When the second piece ended, Kim had already walked up behind her.

Before Dorothea could react, Kim had already slammed the piano lid down hard right onto Dorothea’s hands!

A sharp crack echoed through the yacht. It was the unmistakable sound of bones breaking.

A wave of pain washed over Dorothea, her vision going black as she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.

The next second, the entire yacht lurched violently.

“Shit! We hit a reef!”

Panic filled the cockpit as one of the crew shouted, “Damn it! The steering is out of control! We’re going to crash!”

Screams erupted all around. Guests scattered in every direction, scrambling to find life jackets.

Just like that, the celebration descended into chaos.

Dorothea had just caught her breath when someone shoved her from behind. She stumbled, lost her footing, and hit the floor hard.

The crowd surged over her, trampling her body.

Her hands that were already crushed under the piano lid were stepped on again and again.

At first, they were just swollen and red. But with every step, she could feel the bones shifting inside. The pain made her suck in sharp breaths. Eventually, after being stomped on over and over, her hands twisted out of shape completely, and she stopped feeling them at all.

By then, the yacht was completely out of control.

The captain rushed out of the cockpit and found Jimmy. “Sir, the lifeboat’s ready. Please come with me and board with your wife.”

Without hesitation, Jimmy scooped up the terrified Kim in his arms and followed the captain.

He didn’t even glance back at Dorothea, who was still being trampled in the crowd.

Seeing this, Dorothea forced herself up, shoving away the people stepping on her as she struggled into a sitting position.

She absolutely could not die here like this!

She had to survive to escape this hell and break free from Jimmy’s control!

Disheveled and soaked in misery, she silently followed behind him.

The lifeboat pulled away from the yacht and headed toward shore, but not long after, the engine suddenly died.

The captain tried restarting it several times, but it wouldn’t turn over.

His face went pale as he reported, “Sir, the lifeboat is overloaded! We need to reduce weight, or it won’t start. We’ll all be stuck here!”

Jimmy turned to her without a second of hesitation.

“Dorothea, Kim just had a baby. She can’t get wet, and she definitely can’t get sick. Put on a life jacket and get in the water.”

“I’ll send someone back for you as soon as I get her safely to shore.”

Before Dorothea could react, a bodyguard had already pulled a life jacket from beneath the seat.

With multiple fractures in both hands, she had no strength to resist.

All she could do was watch helplessly as they forced the life jacket onto her.

With a loud splash, she was shoved into the churning sea.

The cold, salty water soaked into the countless wounds on her hands, and the surface of the water quickly bloomed red.

When she woke up again, she found herself in the hospital.

Olga sat at her bedside, dark circles under her eyes, as if she had been keeping vigil for days.

“Oh, dear, you’re finally awake.”

Dorothea’s voice was hoarse. “Mom… how long was I out?”

Olga sighed. “This is all my fault. I didn’t know Jimmy could be that cruel. By the time we got the news, you’d already been drifting at sea for a full day and night. After they rescued you, you spent a week in the ICU before your condition stabilized enough to move to a regular room. Altogether… you were out for ten days.”

As she spoke, she placed a plane ticket and a stack of documents on the bedside table.

“I got everything you asked for. I’ve seen how much you’ve given up for Jimmy all these years. The stocks and cash in there… That’s from me.”

Dorothea lifted her heavily bandaged hands, trembling as she picked up the ticket and documents.

When she reached the last page, she froze.

“Mom… why is there an acceptance letter from the London Symphony Orchestra in here?”

“That’s part of it, too. And don’t worry about your hands. While you were unconscious, I brought in the best orthopedic specialists. You’ll recover. There won’t be any lasting damage.”

At that moment, a tear slipped from the corner of Dorothea’s eye.

A bright smile slowly appeared across her face.

“Dear, the car’s ready. Today, they’re officially registering the second child under the family name. Jimmy’s distracted. He won’t notice you leaving. This is your best chance.”

Dorothea nodded, clutching the plane ticket and acceptance letter tightly as she got into the car.

She made it to the airport smoothly and boarded her flight.

The plane taxied, lifted off the runway, and soared into the blue sky.

Sitting by the window, she watched as New York grew smaller and smaller beneath her.

For the first time, she felt completely at ease.

‘Jimmy,’ she swore, ‘from this moment on, we are strangers across the world, never to meet again.’