Chapter 1

After my father's sudden death from a heart attack, I made a shocking discovery that someone had tampered with his medication.

The pills that were supposed to protect his heart had been replaced with drugs that accelerated his condition, pushing him closer to the edge.

Just when I was about to start an investigation, I discovered an audio recording from the dashboard camera in my husband's car.

In the recording, I heard my husband's and his female assistant's voices.

That woman sounded sweet, but her words made my skin crawl.

She said, "Mr. Nolan, you're so clever. Coming up with that medication swap plan was genius."

She added, "Now that the old man is gone, all the Lane family's money is yours."

My husband laughed under his breath. "Once I get my hands on all the Lane family's wealth, I'll divorce Diana, that idiot, and marry you openly."

*****

I slumped into my seat, totally shocked. Was this recording even real?

In my memory, my husband, Henry Nolan, had always treated my dad with so much respect.

When seeing my father's body, Henry looked absolutely distressed, as if he'd just lost his own dad.

He personally handled every detail of the funeral, making sure everything was flawless.

Back then, I was moved to tears, convinced I'd hit the jackpot marrying him.

But now, after listening to that recording, I finally woke up from the illusion. How could I have been so blind?

There was no way I would let either of them get away with this.

I couldn't sit still a second longer. I started the engine and sped off to Henry's office.

Later, I burst into Henry's office, and the sight that greeted me made my stomach turn.

His assistant, Julia Carter, was perched on his lap, their faces inches apart as they were about to kiss.

But when they saw me, they didn't even flinch. It felt like they'd been waiting for me to walk in.

Julia even shot me a defiant, smug look.

Clearly annoyed that I'd interrupted their moment, Henry snapped, "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay home and pack my clothes for the business trip?"

I stormed in to confront him about switching my dad's meds and causing his death, but the cold, emotionless look Henry shot me was like a bucket of ice water. It snapped me back to my senses.

I couldn't tip him off that I knew the truth about my father's death. If he suspected, he'd start covering his tracks.

With that in mind, I grabbed a file off his desk and threw it at them, yelling furiously, "Henry, have you no shame? My dad's barely in the ground and you're already doing this kind of thing at work?"

Henry shot up instantly, positioning himself protectively in front of Julia, his face clouded with fury. "Diana, have you completely lost your mind?"

"Lost my mind? I think it's you two sleazeballs who've gone off the deep end! Messing around in the office, in broad daylight like this?" I snapped back.

Julia peeked out from behind Henry, her eyes glistening with crocodile tears as she put on her innocent act. "Diana, you really must be misunderstanding. We were only discussing work."

I scoffed coldly. "Do you really think I'm blind to what's going on here?"

Henry finally dropped the facade. He yanked a document from his drawer and slammed it down on the desk.

"Diana, you just sit there living off me and won't even let me touch you. So I only turned to Julia for some company. You think I'm going too far?" he spat.

Hearing Henry's utterly shameless rant and seeing the divorce papers coldly tossed in front of me, I started to realize this man was a total stranger to me.

So all these years, his so-called love had been nothing but an act. Only now did I finally see his true colors behind his mask.

Julia ditched the sweet act and shot me a smug look. "Come on, Diana. You're completely past your prime. Divorce him and make way for someone younger."

Henry didn't say a word to defend me. Instead, he shoved the divorce papers across the desk, ordering me to sign them right now.

"Ever since your dad died, you've done nothing for the company. I've been the one running it, so the company belongs to me now. You don't have a problem with this, do you?" Henry sneered.

He was basically kicking me out with nothing.

It was obvious that Henry had been scheming to get his hands on my dad's company for ages.

Of course, I wasn't about to sign, but Henry sat there, looking completely smug, like he'd already won.

"Oh, there's one more thing you don't know yet," Henry said. "Turns out your little brother hurt someone a few days ago, and guess who it was? Julia's sister.

"Whether he ends up behind bars all depends on whether Julia wants to forgive him or not. So, you'd better consider your next move very carefully."

I was stunned. My brother had always been the gentlest guy. How could he possibly hurt anyone?

Julia snickered. "Go ahead and sign already. Isn't your brother turning eighteen soon? Wasn't he always dreaming about joining the army? If he gets a criminal record, all those dreams will be toast."

I was shaking all over with anger. Those two would stoop to anything, pulling every dirty trick just to snatch away my family's fortune.

Now my brother was the only one I had left in this world.

With no other way out, I forced myself to sign the divorce papers, biting back the humiliation as I did.

It wasn't until after I'd signed that I realized that they hadn't left me a single thing.

I looked up at Henry and said through gritted teeth, "My dad founded this construction company. The only reason those other firms want to work with us is because of him. How can you kick me out without a single share?"

Henry looked satisfied as he tucked the signed divorce papers away. Then he hit me with an even nastier jab.

He said, "Your dad was nothing but a washed-up has-been. What real work did he ever do for the company? Snagging a few deals with his reputation? Honestly, I'm being lenient."

My dad had a sterling reputation in the construction business. Everyone knew he was the most honest boss around. Most people invested in our company out of respect for him.

Before we even got married, Henry pleaded to marry into our family. I actually felt sorry for him and begged my dad to give him a position at the company.

However, that was all part of his carefully crafted scheme from the very beginning.

Rage flooded my mind, and all I could think about was throwing myself at Henry, ready to fight him to death.

But the moment I lunged, he shoved me back hard.

In the end, security guards threw me out of the office.