Chapter 1 Chapter 1

After five years of marriage, I found out my husband was in love with my best friend, the same one who stole my fiance. Betrayed by both of them, I decided to fake my death and disappear. There were two days left. After I sent the email, Lloyd Becker walked into the study. Just as I closed the email about my fake death plan, he gently hugged me from behind and casually looked at my screen. “Sending work emails?”“Yeah, just checking some work plans.” I tried to sound natural and smiled at him. He held my hand—the one on the mouse—and kissed it softly. “Everything with the family is finally settled. Let’s go on a vacation.” He looked at me with so much love. Lloyd was the heir of a mafia family, but he always treated me with care. In a mafia family full of unruly and depraved behavior, Lloyd was not like the others. Even before we got married, he remained a gentleman and never got involved with women. People in his family were jealous of our marriage. I used to think he was the one. But I just realized that I was never his true love. This marriage was all about protecting Lillie Stewart. I was just a side character in his love story. “Let’s go on vacation after we go to Lillie’s celebration party.” Lloyd’s face changed slightly. He slowly let go of my hand. “Why do you suddenly want to go to that party?”“Lillie invited me. She may have gotten the southern weapons smuggling route, but she’s still my friend. I should go and congratulate her,” I said with a smile. He tensed up even more. “Dinner’s ready. Come out when you’re done.” Lloyd left in a bit of a hurry. I opened the hidden camera footage saved on my computer and felt a rush of emotions. While I was competing with Lillie for the southern route, Lloyd kept telling me to give up because he was worried about me. He said the Becker family did not need that route and did not want me to work too hard. But when I said I still wanted to do it, he took care of me and helped me with the work. On the day of the operation, Lillie somehow knew about our plans and attacked our men from behind. After she took control of the southern route, she sent our men home. The Becker family thanked her. All my hard work was ruined, and I became a joke in the family. That night, Lloyd held a candlelight dinner to comfort me after I failed. “How did Lillie know our time and route?” I asked angrily. Only a few important family members and I knew the details. Lloyd stiffened for a moment but quickly relaxed. Pretending like he had no idea, he said, “Maybe it was just a coincidence. You’ve been best friends for a long time. It makes sense she could guess what you were thinking.” Right then, I realized the truth. I did not say anything more. The next day, I checked the hidden camera in the study and saw that a person had taken all the files from my computer. It was Lloyd. My husband and my best friend had betrayed me together. Still in shock, I clicked on a hidden folder on Lloyd’s computer and tried Lillie’s birthday as the password. It worked! The photos showed a place I knew well. It was the wedding venue Lloyd had spent a fortune on for me. But the bride and groom in the photos were him and Lillie. At that moment, I was heartbroken and just gave up.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

“Nelly, are you really going to Lillie’s party?” On the way there, Lloyd kept asking me nervously. “Why are you asking that? Do you think I’m that petty?” I laughed. He had been acting strange since last night. “You’re the sweetest. How could you ever be petty? “Let’s just give the gift and leave. Before our trip tomorrow, let’s enjoy a nice night at the estate.” Lloyd gently caressed my head and held me close to comfort me. I knew he did not want me to go. He was afraid I would ruin Lillie’s party. But I was leaving tonight. Before I left, I wanted to say goodbye to the past. The party was to celebrate Lillie’s success. When I walked in, the noise stopped. Everyone fell silent. Lillie froze when she saw me, but she quickly smiled and hugged me warmly. “Nelly! My dear friend! I was worried you were mad and wouldn’t come.”“There’s nothing to be mad about in fair competition. Congrats, Lillie!” I said “fair competition” with an implication. Lillie let go of me awkwardly and smiled nervously. “You actually dared to come here,” Lillie said softly, but her tone was provoking. “A thief threw a party. How couldn’t I come?” Lillie’s face changed. She looked at me suspiciously. “Can’t you just admit you lost? Do you really think your plan was that perfect?” She held my arm tighter. Lillie did not think I would reveal the truth since Lloyd was involved, too. She smiled slyly and said, “Even if you know the truth, I’m still the one who won.” I sneered and pulled my hand away without saying anything. Clink... I heard the clink of a bracelet and looked at her wrist. My face instantly changed. It was the Heart of Ruby that was worth millions. Everyone in the mafia knew it symbolized who the Becker family’s lady was. Lloyd promised to give it to me after I had a child, but Lillie was the one wearing it openly. Lillie showed me her wrist and said proudly, “Lloyd gave me this for the celebration. Isn’t it beautiful?” Lloyd did not care about how I felt. It crushed my last hope. I gave her a cold look and was about to speak when she suddenly swung her hand in front of my face. “Ah! No!” I quickly raised my hand to stop her. Lillie fell, and the Heart of Ruby shattered into pieces. “Nelly, I can give you the Heart of Ruby if you want! Why did you try to snatch it?” Lillie cried in front of everyone. “That’s the Heart of Ruby! Lloyd gave it to Lillie?”“See? The Becker family still doesn’t accept Nelly.”“She’s just an orphan with no background. Does she really think marrying Lloyd makes her the lady of the Becker family?” People gossiped about me. Lloyd rushed over, but the first thing he did was help Lillie up. “It’s my fault for losing my balance. The Heart of Ruby is broken.” Lillie cried in his arms. Lloyd looked a little tense when he saw the broken Heart of Ruby on the floor, but he still comforted Lillie. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” He looked at me and said accusingly, “I gave Lillie the bracelet. You shouldn’t be mad at her.” I looked at him coldly. Lloyd noticed something was off and let go of Lillie. Then, he said we should leave. “Let’s go now. The chef has made a big dinner for us at the estate. Tomorrow, we’ll leave for our vacation.” He ignored Lillie, who was trying to stop him. We left the party holding hands. As we walked away, I softly asked, “Why did you give her the Heart of Ruby?” Lloyd looked a little guilty. “Lillie’s position in the Gacira family isn’t stable. She just had a big victory and wanted the Heart of Ruby to show off. I only lent it to her. I didn’t give it to her.” He knew Lillie’s position was unstable but did not care about how awkward it made things for me in the Becker family. I smiled and responded without any emotion.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

“The estate is all decorated. Let’s have a romantic night together. “We’re flying to Prance for vacation first thing tomorrow.” Lloyd wrapped his arms around me and rubbed his nose playfully against my cheek. I did not say anything. I just looked out the window in silence. The car slowly drove into the estate. Every tree was wrapped in colorful lights. When they were all turned on, it looked like something out of a dream. Inside the estate, a long table was filled with food and candles. The whole thing felt warm and romantic. Just as we sat down, Lloyd’s phone rang. “Oh, hell no!” He was about to ignore it, but when he saw who it was, he changed his mind and answered it. “What? I’m on my way!” Lloyd suddenly got up to leave, but when he saw me, he stopped and looked unsure of what to do. “If you need to go, go. I’ll stay here and wait for you.” He paused, then said, “I won’t be long.” I did not know who had called, but the only person who could make him act like that was Lillie. Lloyd always set up the best date nights. This time, I enjoyed everything alone. Then, I opened a message from Lillie. It was a photo of Lloyd in the kitchen. [Sorry, my stomach hurts. I wanted some soup from Lloyd. I’ll return him to you tomorrow.] We had been married for five years, and he had never cooked once. I did not even know he knew how to do it. Then, I heard some noise coming from outside the estate. I called Lloyd, but Lillie answered his phone. “Lloyd’s in the shower. Want me to pass along a message?”“Put him on.”“He’s busy tonight. He’s spending time with me. Please don’t call again to ruin our evening.” Lillie hung up on me. I stayed still at the dining table while the staff rushed into the room in a panic. “Madam, the Hill family’s men have broken in! We need to get you out right now!” I said calmly, “No need. You should all leave.” I stood by the table and would not leave, so the staff had no choice but to run for their lives without me. The peaceful, romantic atmosphere was shattered by the sound of gunfire. I stood alone in the middle of the estate and made one final call to Lloyd. His phone was switched off. Memories from our five years of marriage flashed through my mind. He convinced his family elders just so he could marry an orphan like me. He kicked out the housekeeper who mistreated me, and he often planned sweet surprises and romantic gestures. All those fake happy moments from before made me feel how pathetic I really was. I uploaded the video showing Lloyd sneaking into the study to steal the plan, along with the recordings of his phone calls with Lillie, to the mafia’s secret network. The Hill family’s men were right in front of me. One of them aimed the gun at my chest and pulled the trigger. Meanwhile, Lloyd wiped the soup off himself and was about to leave. Lillie stepped in his way. “Lloyd, it’s really late. Just go home tomorrow.” Lloyd pushed her hands away. “No, we’re catching a flight in the morning. I have to go back tonight.” A car screeched to a stop in front of them. Lloyd’s assistant rushed out. “Boss! The Hill family ambushed the estate! Mrs. Becker’s dead!”

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

“Impossible! I had guards at the estate!” Lloyd yelled at his assistant. He refused to believe it. “I told you I’d be back. I left them there on purpose. How could anyone have gotten in?” The assistant looked awkward and glanced hesitantly at Lillie. “Ms. Lillie called and said you’d be staying with her tonight. She told me to station those guards here.” Lloyd’s face darkened as he glared at Lillie. In a panic, Lillie said, “I was just worried about your safety! How was I supposed to know the estate would be attacked tonight?”“Why didn’t anyone call me when it happened?” The assistant hesitated and then said softly, “Your phone was off. We couldn’t reach you.” Lloyd quickly checked his phone. It was indeed turned off. He turned it back on and stared at Lillie. He angrily asked, “You turned it off, didn’t you?”“I didn’t! It must’ve died on its own! The only thing I did was call the guards here. You can’t blame me for everything!” Lillie said. Her voice was shaky. There was a wounded look on her face. She acted like she did not know anything about the night’s events. Lloyd did not say anything. He got in the car without a word and drove straight to the estate. As he sped down the road, he felt panicky and regretful. When Lloyd reached the estate, his men were already cleaning the scene up. There was blood all over the floor. The housekeeper walked up to him and said with a heavy voice, “Boss, the attack was very sudden. We couldn’t find Madam’s body.” Lloyd’s eyes lit up. “No body? Then, how do you know Nelly’s dead?”“The staff said she didn’t leave with them. Someone saw her get shot in the chest. She probably didn’t survive.”“Why didn’t she run?” Lloyd asked. But no one had an answer. Just then, Lloyd’s assistant ran up to him. “Boss, you need to see the video Madam posted.” [I’m letting you go so you can be with each other. Goodbye.] Lloyd played the video. It showed him sneaking into the study to steal her plan. At the end of the footage, I had added proof that Lillie had taken bribes from arms dealers. I had married into the Baker family as an orphan. Even after five years of marriage, the family never really accepted me. I had hoped that by leading this mission, I could prove that I was good enough for Lloyd. I wanted to get the southern weapons smuggling route to prove to the family that I deserved to be with Lloyd. He knew how hard things were for me and how much this meant to me, yet he still chose to help Lillie without a thought. The plan I had worked so hard on ended up being proof of how pathetic my love for him really was. Lloyd’s hand shook slightly as he held his phone. He recalled how I had acted when he left a while before. I was very cold and distant because I was disappointed in him. “Find her! Nelly must still be alive!”