Chapter 1

After five years of marriage, Andrew Hensley still didn't love me.

Because of his beloved Lucy Turner's false accusations, he even ordered his men to beat me so badly that I ended up in the hospital.

He forced me into the operating room and made me abort our child. All because he hated the idea of having a child with my blood.

Even my own brother, Victor Blake, believed Lucy and held a grudge against me.

And the worst part? They forced me to take the fall for Lucy. They themselves threw me in jail.

After going through hell in prison, I finally decided to cut them all out of my life. But they were the ones who ended up regretting it.

*****

When Andrew came to get me, I was in the warden's office, enduring his punishment.

He forced me to kneel, then grabbed a whip and brought it down brutally across my back.

"Sir, the family of inmate 1931 is here," the guard called out.

Only then did the warden put away the whip, towering over me as he said, "1931, you know what you should and shouldn't say when you leave, right?"

I nodded, trembling. "I know."

The warden, pleased with how timid I looked, nodded and took the papers from the guard. "Sign it."

Still in a fog, I grabbed the pen and scribbled my name.

It felt strange. No one had called me by my real name in ages.

After hesitating for a moment, I finally signed "Alissa Blake."

The warden personally walked me out of the prison.

I knew he was threatening me.

The blinding sunlight outside stung my eyes. Squinting against the glare, I saw a man standing by a luxury sports car not far away, looking every bit the part of a wealthy elite.

It was my husband, Andrew Hensley.

Ridiculous as it sounded, it was Andrew who sent me to prison.

And then there was Victor Blake, my brother, who had made it his mission to protect me ever since we were kids.

The two men I loved most in this world had joined forces and personally threw me behind bars.

Andrew frowned when he saw me just standing there. "Alissa, why are you dragging your feet?"

I finally grabbed my bag and walked over to Andrew.

But the closer I got to him, the more nauseous I felt. Out of nowhere, I doubled over, clutching my stomach, dry-heaving uncontrollably.

I hadn't eaten anything all day, so there was nothing left in me to throw up, only endless dry heaves.

Andrew didn't show a shred of sympathy. Instead, he looked at me with pure disgust. "Alissa, are you putting on that pathetic act again? Disgusting. Is this the only trick you know?"

I straightened up, only to realize Andrew was looking at me like I was some lowly, filthy beast.

Maybe, in his eyes, I wasn't even worth that much.

I remembered that not long before I was sent to prison, the test showed I was pregnant with Andrew's child.

He hauled me to the hospital and forced me into the operating room.

By the time I came out, our child was already gone.

I would never forget what he said to me right after I came out of surgery.

He said, "Alissa, you're vicious. What good could your kid possibly be? It's better to get rid of it now, before it grows up to ruin everything."

With a few cold words, Andrew ended our baby's life himself.

"Daydreaming again, huh?" Andrew's words snapped me out of it.

He barked, "Get in the car. Hurry up, let's go home. Don't make Lucy wait."

Just hearing Lucy's name sent a sharp pain through my heart.

If it hadn't been for Lucy, I probably wouldn't have ended up like this.

Andrew saw me standing there and tried to take my bag, but I quickly snatched it back. "No, I can handle it myself," I said hurriedly.

After so many years in prison, I'd learned to fend for myself.

Andrew looked a little surprised. "Looks like sending you to prison was the right move. At least it got rid of that spoiled rich girl attitude."

When I heard Andrew say that, I found it almost laughably absurd.

Sending me to prison was the right thing?

Lucy was the one who got drunk, crashed into someone, and ran off. But Andrew and Victor couldn't stand the thought of her suffering in jail.

So, they teamed up and framed me, the person they despised most, and sent me to prison instead.

In prison, I went through hell. I suffered torture no one should ever have to endure.

When I first arrived, the warden locked me up all by myself, isolated from everyone else.

At first, I actually thought Andrew had pulled some strings for me, and the warden was giving me some kind of VIP treatment by putting me in a private cell.

But later, I realized he was giving me a "special treatment."

On my very first day in prison, I saw a bunch of inmates ganging up on other prisoners.

I went and told the warden about it.

But that very night, the warden dragged me into his own private torture room.