Chapter 1

After the court rejected my eighteenth petition for justice for my son, I applied to marry the Whitmore family’s comatose heir as a bride meant to bring him luck.

Once I married into the Whitmore family, I would gain access to the only lawyer in the entire capital brave enough to take my case.

I would also finally escape the husband who had personally committed me to a psychiatric hospital for the sake of his childhood sweetheart.

“Mrs. Whitmore, my birth date and horoscope are a perfect match for your son.”

I pushed the documents across the table, forcing my voice to remain calm.

“I understand that your son is still unconscious. You have my word—once I join the Whitmore family, I’ll know my place and fulfill my responsibilities as his wife. I’ll take good care of him.”

Mrs. Whitmore didn’t agree immediately.

She opened the file. When her gaze landed on the section marked Marital Status, her brows drew together.

“Ms. Bennett, it’s true that I don’t care about the family background of the woman chosen for this marriage.”

“But your file says you’re married. How can you marry into the Whitmore family when you already have a husband?”

“My divorce is being processed.”

Beneath the table, I clenched my hand until my nails dug into my palm.

“In seven days, I’ll have my divorce certificate.”

Mrs. Whitmore studied me.

“Your husband is Adrian Hayes, of the Hayes family?”

Hearing his name tightened something in my throat. It took me a long moment to force out an answer.

“Yes.”

“His childhood sweetheart killed my five-year-old son.”

“I searched the entire capital for a lawyer and submitted evidence eighteen times. But every time, Adrian used the Hayes family’s influence to bury the case.”

“Now, there isn’t a single lawyer in the capital willing to represent me.”

I pulled a thick stack of documents from my bag and slid it toward her.

On top was a photograph of my son lying in the intensive care unit before he died.

Tubes covered his tiny body. His face was colorless, and around his wrist was the braided red bracelet I had made for him with my own hands.

But he never got the chance to grow up.

My vision blurred.

I lowered my head and bit my lip hard, refusing to let my tears fall.

“Mrs. Whitmore, I don’t want status, and I don’t want money.”

“All I’m asking is for you to find me a lawyer willing to take this case.”

“I want the person who killed my son to pay.”

“Other than that, I promise I’ll never cause you any trouble.”

……

The room remained silent for a long time.

Mrs. Whitmore looked at the photograph before turning her attention back to me.

“I can agree to that.”

My head snapped up.

“But in seven days, I must see your divorce certificate,” she said sternly. “The Whitmore family may be desperate for this marriage, but we won’t allow my son to be accused of breaking up another person’s marriage.”

“You have my word.”

I struggled to contain my relief.

“The divorce process has already been expedited. In seven days, I’ll be legally single.”

Mrs. Whitmore closed the file.

Before leaving, she gave me a meaningful look.

“I look forward to welcoming you as my daughter-in-law, Ms. Bennett.”

“I’ll send someone to pick you up in seven days.”

The moment the door closed, all the strength drained from my body.

I collapsed into the chair.

Seven days.

In seven more days, I would finally be free of Adrian Hayes.

And I would finally have another chance to seek justice for Noah.

Three months ago, Adrian’s childhood sweetheart, Serena Vaughn, hit my five-year-old son with her car.

Noah was covered in blood when he was rushed to the hospital.

The doctors warned me three times that he might not survive before they finally managed to pull him back from the brink.

Serena didn’t show a trace of guilt.

She even walked openly to the door of his hospital room and smiled at my unconscious son.

“He got lucky this time.”

“But Claire Bennett, as long as you keep clinging to Adrian, I’ll finish what I started next time.”

For the next two weeks, I stayed outside the intensive care unit day and night.

I didn’t dare sleep.

I didn’t dare leave.

I was terrified that the moment I closed my eyes, Serena would find another way to hurt Noah.

Several days later, Adrian suddenly called me.

He said he had been in a car accident and was undergoing emergency treatment at the hospital.

I knew Noah was still in critical condition.

But I panicked.

I left for only ten minutes.

Just ten minutes.

Then I discovered that Adrian’s supposed accident had been nothing more than a lie designed to lure me away.

By the time I rushed back to Noah’s room, the monitor was already sounding a shrill alarm.

My son had eaten something that triggered a severe allergic reaction.

He went into shock and died.

I investigated like a madwoman until I finally discovered that Serena had bribed a hospital aide to bring the food into his room.

But when I confronted Adrian with the evidence, he barely glanced at it.

“Serena was careless. Someone sent the wrong food by mistake.”

“Noah didn’t make it because that was his fate. No one else is to blame.”

That was his fate.

Those four words erased all five years of Noah’s life.

They also destroyed the last bit of hope I still had in Adrian.

Only then did I understand.

No matter how many years Adrian and I had been married, even though I had given birth to his child, his heart had always belonged to Serena.

But I refused to give up.

I carried my evidence from one law firm to another and tried again and again to bring the case before the court.

The moment the lawyers saw the defendant’s name, they either canceled our agreement or refused to see me again.

After my eighteenth petition was rejected, I received several messages from an unknown number.

[Claire Bennett, you were nothing more than a toy Adrian decided to keep around on a whim. Did you really think you could touch me?]

[Every piece of evidence you submitted was intercepted by Adrian and sent to me to burn.]

[Someone of your status thinks she can challenge the Hayes and Vaughn families?]

[Know your place and leave Adrian. Otherwise, you’ll be the next one to die.]

The messages had come from an unfamiliar number.

But every word pointed straight to Serena.

I showed them to Adrian.

I thought that even if he no longer cared about me, he would at least remember that Noah had been his biological son.

But he didn’t even finish reading before tossing the phone back at me impatiently.

“Noah’s death was a misunderstanding. Serena didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“Be more generous, and stop making up lies to frame her.”

“Serena and I grew up together. If there were really something between us, do you think you ever would’ve had the chance to marry into the Hayes family?”

“I think Noah’s death has affected you so badly that you’ve started imagining things.”

“I’ll have someone take you to get treatment this afternoon.”

I desperately tried to explain.

I begged him to investigate Serena.

I begged him to look at the evidence one more time.

But that afternoon, he still sent four bodyguards to force me into a psychiatric hospital.

No one there listened to me.

Whenever I mentioned Serena, the doctors wrote worsening delusions in my medical records.

Whenever I said I wasn’t sick, they claimed I was refusing treatment.

They locked me away for an entire month.

It wasn’t until I knelt at Adrian’s feet and admitted that everything had been a product of my imagination—until I admitted that Serena had nothing to do with Noah’s death—that he finally agreed to let me out.

The day I walked out of that hospital, I had learned my lesson.

When Adrian spent a fortune outbidding everyone at an auction for Serena, I pretended not to notice.

When he placed the anniversary gift meant for me around Serena’s neck, I smiled and said it looked perfect on her.

Even when I found them half-dressed in our marital bed, I simply closed the door and acted as if I had seen nothing.

Adrian thought I had finally learned my place.

Serena believed that one month of torment had completely broken me.

Neither of them knew that I had been secretly collecting evidence of their affair throughout our marriage.

Nor did they know that hidden inside the contract I had coaxed Adrian into signing three days ago was a divorce agreement.

Adrian still believed I was the same Claire Bennett he could control—the woman who would never dare leave him.

My phone suddenly vibrated, pulling me back to the present.

When I saw the name on the screen, the last trace of emotion faded from my eyes.

I answered.

Adrian immediately began issuing orders as if they were only natural.

“Serena wants the osmanthus cakes from that shop on the west side.”

“Bring them to Xieshui Residence within half an hour.”

Xieshui Residence.

That was our marital home.

It was also where he had spent the entire previous night with Serena.

He hung up before I could respond.

I stared at the dark screen in silence for several seconds.

Then I picked up my bag and walked out.

Only seven days remained until I was free of Adrian Hayes.

Until then, I couldn’t let him notice anything was different.