Chapter 4

After hanging up, I began fighting back like a madman.

Three years of chat records, screenshots of money transfers, and photos from anniversaries.

I posted all the evidence online in chronological order.

Every single piece made one thing clear:

I was the one who had been deceived.

Public opinion slowly began to shift.

The abuse turned toward Claire and Ethan.

The next day, I planned to visit my father in the hospital.

From a distance, I saw a pile of belongings scattered outside his hospital room.

Claire stood in the doorway with several bodyguards behind her.

The insulated mug I had once given my father and his old radio had been thrown out like garbage.

I rushed over and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing? My father's still inside!"

She shook me off, her voice terrifyingly calm.

"Ethan has been so distressed by the rumors online that he needs to be hospitalized for observation. This is the best room, and it gets the most sunlight, so I'm having him moved here."

The bodyguards continued throwing things into the hallway.

I tried desperately to stop them, but I couldn't hold them back.

Then one of them reached toward the oxygen mask on my father's face.

With a heavy thud, I dropped straight to my knees.

"Don't touch my father! I'll do anything you want!"

I was so frantic that my voice came out distorted.

Claire gave me a cold look.

Without another word, we both understood what the other wanted.

She took out her phone, set it on a stand, and aimed it at me.

She read one sentence, and I repeated it.

"I, Daniel Carter, am the third party..."

The video had been online for less than ten minutes when the comments exploded.

The people who had sympathized with me before instantly turned against me.

My company fired me for "personal conduct issues."

The neighbors in my building avoided me whenever they saw me.

Even the nurses changing my father's medication wore frighteningly cold expressions around me.

I no longer cared.

I booked plane tickets for three days later and prepared to take my father away.

A junior colleague had invited me to join her abroad, where there were better opportunities.

I had given up that chance for Claire.

Now that I finally saw her clearly, there was nothing left for me to hold on to.

But on the morning we were supposed to leave, the front door was kicked open with a loud bang.

Claire's eyes were bloodshot as she stared at me.

"Daniel Carter, you poisoned Ethan's water?"

"I didn't..."

She didn't listen at all and motioned for the bodyguards to come forward.

They dragged me out of the house, grinding my old injuries against the pavement until the pain bored into my bones.

They shoved me into a car, tied up my arms and legs, and took me to a hillside outside the city.

A crane lifted me into the air.

Below me was a raging river.

"I'm going to show you what happens when you hurt Ethan."

The rope loosened, and I plunged into the freezing water.

Water rushed into my nose, mouth, and lungs.

I fought desperately, but only sank deeper.

I was terrified of water.

I had nearly drowned as a child, and Claire knew that.

Back then, she had held me and promised, "I'll never let you go near dangerous water again."

But now she was the one who had thrown me into it.

They pulled me up, then dropped me again.

Over and over.

I was almost out of strength.

In a daze, I heard her voice.

"Keep him hanging for a few more hours. Release him tomorrow."

She left, and the rope suddenly came loose.

I fell into the river and struggled desperately, but I kept sinking lower and lower.

Was I going to die?

The next day, Claire gently fed Ethan soup while staying beside him.

Just then, a sudden cramp twisted her stomach.

She had forgotten to eat on time again.

I used to be the one who reminded her and prepared her medicine.

She glanced at the time and casually said to her assistant,

"Release Daniel. He should've learned his lesson."

Half an hour later, the assistant rushed in with a deathly pale face.

"Miss Bennett! Mr. Carter... is missing! He must have fallen into the river!"