Chapter 1

At twenty, I was kidnapped. Julian Sterling risked his life to save me.

He took a knife to the chest for me, almost losing his life.

From then on, I was completely devoted to him, marrying him despite my family’s fierce objections.

But after the wedding, he slowly drained my family’s empire, driving both of my parents into the hospital from sheer shock and grief.

I literally fell to my knees, begging him for mercy. He just stood there, blowing out a cloud of cigarette smoke, looking down at me cold-bloodedly. "Do you really think that kidnapping back then was an accident, Clara?"

"I hired the kidnappers. I stabbed myself. If I hadn’t played the knight in shining armor, how else would a rich, naive girl like you marry me so willingly?"

Shortly after, he locked me away in a private psychiatric facility. I ended up dying on a cold, permanently bolted hospital bed.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was right back to the day he "saved" me.

Covered in blood, Julian held me tightly in his arms, his voice incredibly hoarse and trembling:

"Clara, thank God you’re okay. You have no idea... I almost lost you!"

I pressed my face against his bloody chest, listening to his heartbeat, and calmly dialed 911.

"Hi, I’d like to report a crime. Someone orchestrated my kidnapping."

The very second the call connected, the hand Julian had cupped behind my head went completely rigid.

It was a fraction of a second, but I felt it.

"Clara?"

He looked down at me, his face as pale as paper from the blood loss. His beautiful eyes were filled with utter confusion and a flash of panic.

"Who are you calling?"

I didn’t look at him. I switched my phone to the hand furthest from him and rattled off our exact location to the dispatcher.

"Clara."

Julian’s hand slid from the back of my head to my shoulder. His grip wasn’t tight, trembling with a weak, sickly vibration.

"Don't be scared. The kidnappers already ran. I'm right here with you."

He paused, his voice dropping an octave, sounding even hoarser. "You don't need to call the police. Someone nearby probably already called them."

What a flawless performance.

Even though he was gravely injured, he was still comforting me, keeping his tone gentle and controlled. He didn't even directly forbid me from calling.

I stared at him for two seconds.

"No, I want to call them myself."

"I want to tell the detectives myself that someone is trying to kill me."

Julian’s pupils shrank instantly.

"Clara..."

He parted his pale, bloodless lips. His body swayed slightly, as if he was about to pass out.

The ambulance and the police cruisers arrived almost at the exact same time.

The police did a quick preliminary check while Julian was loaded onto a stretcher. He was unconscious now. The wound on his back was still oozing blood, staining most of his white shirt a deep crimson.

The paramedics said he had lost a massive amount of blood and needed emergency surgery.

A young female officer accompanied me to the precinct to take my statement. On the way, she asked if I was traumatized. I told her I was holding up fine.

At the station, I walked them through the entire sequence of events.

The detective was incredibly meticulous, taking down every detail about the kidnappers' physical descriptions, filling up two whole pages of his notebook.

Finally, he closed his notebook and said, "We’ll open a formal investigation immediately. Go home and get some rest. We’ll contact you the moment we have an update."

I looked at him and asked, "What if the investigation reveals that the victim's savior actually orchestrated the whole thing? Is that a crime?"

The detective blinked, caught off guard. He studied my face, choosing his words carefully.

"If someone planned it but no actual physical harm was caused to you, it might be harder to prosecute as a severe felony, depending on the jurisdiction. It usually lands under conspiracy, but we'd need solid proof of intent and execution."

Harder to prosecute without solid proof.

I repeated those words in my head and almost laughed out loud.

By the time I stepped out of the precinct, it was nearly midnight.

My parents had rushed over the second they got the news. They were waiting anxiously by the entrance.

My mom threw her arms around me, sobbing hysterically. My dad stood next to her, his eyes bloodshot, cursing the bastards who dared touch his daughter.

Looking at them, all I could think of was how Julian had driven them into their graves in my past life.

My mom had suffered a massive stroke, and my dad had a fatal heart attack. They passed away one after the other.

I wrapped my arms tightly around my mom’s waist, burying my face in her shoulder. "Mom, I’m okay. I’m safe."

This time, nothing bad is going to happen to us.

Back in my bedroom, I lay awake in bed, my mind flooded with memories of my past life.

In my previous life, at this exact moment, I was practically living at the hospital to take care of Julian. I washed his clothes, brought him meals, and stayed by his side day and night. When my mom came to visit, she cried out of sheer heartbreak, asking why I was so obsessed with an outsider.

I had told her, He’s not an outsider, Mom. He’s the man I’m going to marry.

And I did. I really married him.

At our wedding, my dad placed my hand in Julian’s. He patted Julian’s shoulder and said, Julian, she’s my only daughter. Please, take good care of her.

Julian had smiled warmly, looking every bit the perfect, honorable gentleman. Don't worry, Arthur. I will.

Within three months of our marriage, he convinced me to sign over all my shares in Vance Enterprises to his name.

He told me, Sweetheart, you’ve been feeling so stressed lately. Don't worry about the corporate politics. Let me handle the business for you.

And I, like a fool, believed him.

I signed every single document my parents had gifted me. I didn't even read the transfer agreements. I signed whatever he put in front of me.

By the time I realized those shares were no longer mine, my dad was already hospitalized from the shock.

Julian had allied with the other hostile board members, slowly eating away at our company from the inside. By the time my dad realized what was happening, the board was already filled with Julian's puppets.