Chapter 1
“I know my boss ran over your mom and daughter. But they were just two worthless lives, what are they worth? A million dollars is more than enough for two cheap lives.”
“My boss will meet you in person the day after tomorrow, at 2 PM.”
Listening to the contemptuous male voice on the other end, I felt my blood rush to my head.
The lock clicked.
Caleb walked in, wearing a jacket that had been fashionable years ago. He smiled, waving a steaming thermos at me.
Every cell in my body trembled. Finally, I managed to say to the person on the phone,
“Okay.”
Caleb didn’t notice anything amiss. Seeing me hang up, a gentle smile touched his lips as he walked towards me.
“Harper! I bought you your favorite chicken noodle soup! Come, try it!”
He wrapped his arm around my numb body and sat us down on our scavenged couch. He carefully broke apart the forks and handed them to me.
A pained expression crossed his face.
“My boss raised the price by two bucks again. That’s enough to buy Chloe a drawing book.”
Caleb looked around.
“Why aren’t Mom and Chloe here? Where did they go? I bought Chloe some desserts with today’s wages. Doesn’t Chloe love sweets? But you need to keep an eye on Mom; she can’t have anything sweet with her condition!”
Where are Mom and my daughter?
Suddenly, as Caleb’s words sank in, a chilling image flashed in my mind: Mom and Chloe being flung into the air by that Maybach that sped into the market.
“Mom— Chloe—”
I watched as their bodies, like discarded rag dolls, arced through the air and hit the ground with sickening thuds.
Their warm blood splattered on my face. My screams and the horrifying sound of cracking bones were drowned out by the piercing screech of brakes.
“What… what the hell? Where did these… beggars come from?”
The blinding high beams gradually dimmed. A slurred, drunken voice drifted over. I stared blankly at the driver’s seat.
The next second, I saw Caleb, his hands on the steering wheel, frowning as he peered through the window at me, sprawled in a pool of blood.
My entire body froze.
How could it be Caleb? Wasn’t he at the hospital? How could he be here?
He rolled down the window and vomited, the pungent smell of alcohol mingling with the metallic scent of blood, assailing my nose.
His eyes unfocused, he looked at me.
“Who’s the idiot? Get lost!”
I struggled to my feet. “Caleb!”
But Caleb didn’t recognize me. He turned the car around and drove out of my sight.
Disoriented, I was taken away by the police officer who arrived shortly after.
He didn’t show me the accident scene footage. Instead, he sighed and advised me,
“The person who hit your mother and daughter is Caleb Shen, the Shen heir. Our suggestion is to settle this privately.”
Caleb Shen! The Shen heir?
A choked sob escaped my throat. I pressed him,
“Officer, can you tell me about… this Mr. Shen?”
“Ms. Lin, I know what you’re thinking, but I still advise you not to pursue a lawsuit. The Shen family holds so much power, they could make the whole city shake with a single word. And this particular Shen heir is the most notorious playboy this city has seen in twenty years.”
The officer’s eyes held a sympathetic helplessness. Then I heard him sigh deeply.
“Instead of wishful thinking, you should try to get as much money as you can when Mr. Shen arrives.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice came from outside.
“Mr. Shen, this way, please.”
As the words fell, two figures emerged from the automatically opening doors.
I had never seen Caleb like this.
He was wearing an expensive, high-end suit from a luxury boutique, looking distinguished from head to toe. He even had a Labrador on a leash. Victoria, in a striking red dress, walked beside him.
“…Caleb!” I instinctively moved forward, wanting to demand an explanation for everything.
“Victoria! My bet about pretending to be poor expires next month. If you keep clinging to me then, I won’t be so polite!”
What ‘pretending to be poor’ bet?
Caleb’s words brought me to an abrupt halt.
Victoria shrugged indifferently. “Why are you angry at me? Isn’t this your bet with your family?”
“I don’t necessarily think you’ll win. Maybe you’ll get tired of playing house with Harper and obediently come home to marry me?”
Caleb scoffed. “You’re dreaming! My wife will only ever be Harper!”
I stared at Caleb in shock, but his gaze didn’t waver.
Even though I stood right in front of him, he could have simply turned his head slightly to see me, the ‘only wife’ he spoke of.
But he didn’t spare me a single glance.
He held his head high, walking past me with an air of haughty superiority I’d never seen from him before.
Soon, Caleb and Victoria entered the glass partition just a few feet from me.
Their conversation in the office drifted clearly into my ears.
“Mr. Shen, the victims’ family is here. Do you want to meet them?”
I couldn’t help but look at Caleb. He had his legs crossed on the coffee table, eyes closed, rubbing his temples.
“No need! These poor people, once they latch onto you, they’re like leeches you can’t shake off! Can’t you even handle this small matter?”
Caleb’s dismissive attitude instantly ignited my fury. Just as I was about to burst in and confront him, Victoria’s voice floated into my ears.
Her red lips curved into a slight smile. “Caleb, I actually have a good idea. Why don’t you have Harper pay this money? If she doesn’t help you, then you lose the bet.”
Caleb opened his eyes and glanced at Victoria, sneering.
“Don’t dream. Harper has stuck by me all these years I’ve been pretending to be poor and sick. I don’t want to bother her with this kind of thing!”
Victoria wasn’t annoyed. She just chuckled. “I wonder if you’re scared. Could it be that Harper won’t cough up a million for you?”
I couldn’t listen anymore.
But as I took a step forward, a metallic taste filled my throat. I coughed up a mouthful of blood and instantly blacked out.
Caleb’s voice pulled me back to reality. He held me in his arms, speaking softly.
“Harper, I accidentally ran over someone while delivering goods last night. They’re demanding a million dollars, threatening to send me to jail if I don’t pay.”
I stared at him, my eyes bloodshot. “You don’t even know how to drive, do you? How could you hit someone?”
Caleb’s eyes darted away, his voice tinged with guilt.
“I didn’t want to always be stuck in bed, burdening you. I wanted to earn some money to send Chloe to her after-school classes.”
Tears instantly welled in my eyes, but I forced them back.
I abruptly pulled closer to Caleb, pressing him.
“Caleb! Then I ask you, do you know who you ran over?”
Caleb frowned, displeased. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so emotional?”
Watching the nonchalant expression on his face, the anger in my heart burned fiercely.
In that moment, I began to doubt myself. Did I truly know the man I shared my life with?!
“Caleb!! I’m asking! Do you know who you ran over?!”
By now, my emotions were completely out of control. Unstoppable tears mixed with my trembling voice.
“It was an old lady and a little girl, I think. They just seemed like they wanted to extort money from me.”
I didn’t miss the fleeting look of disdain in his eyes.
My strength drained from me in an instant. I said weakly,
“Caleb, I don’t have money for you.”
This was the first time I had ever refused Caleb’s request.
His face visibly darkened. He suddenly stood up.
“You’re really that unwilling to part with a million dollars? You’d just stand there and watch me go to jail?! I’m your husband!”
In that moment, I suddenly wanted to tear off his disguise.
The Shen family was one of the top elite families in the city. A mere million dollars, what was that to him?
“Caleb, my mom…”
Before I could finish, Caleb impatiently cut me off.
“It’s always your mom! How tired could your mom possibly be? She sits there embroidering all day! Selling to rich people, plus her pension, a million should be easy, right?”
Watching Caleb storm out, slamming the door in a fit of rage, all my strength was sapped. I collapsed to the floor, silently sobbing, biting my lip.
Tears mingled with the blood at the corner of my mouth.
All I could see were images of my mother and daughter lying dead in pools of blood, merging with fragments of my seven years of life with Caleb. For a moment, I couldn’t distinguish truth from illusion.
Not long after, the doorbell rang.