Chapter 1

When I discovered that the “kept woman” Lucas had been hiding all this time was actually my best friend, who had supposedly been away on a business trip for six months, I wasn’t the only one shocked.

As a man who usually remained indifferent to everything, Lucas uncharacteristically lost his composure. Shielding my trembling friend, who was cowering under the bedcovers, he snapped, “Sienna, you try laying a finger on her, and you’ll know what’ll happen to you!”

I wasn’t surprised by his reaction. After all, back when things were at their most volatile, I had once doused both myself and one of his mistresses in gasoline, threatening to set us all ablaze unless he broke up with her.

He had simply poured gasoline over himself as well, smiling as he declared that if we were going to die, we’d die together.

Over the past five years, I had dealt with countless mistresses of his, employing increasingly brutal methods each time.

I had acted like a madwoman, confronting, tearing into, and emotionally flaying him without rest.

But this time, I simply drew the curtains and discreetly suppressed the news to prevent Hayes Group’s stock from crashing.

Lucas watched my actions, stunned for a moment, before his expression darkened. He said, “Sienna, what kind of stunt are you trying to pull now?”

I just looked at him and spoke calmly. “Nothing. I’ve just... suddenly realized something.”

What Lucas didn’t know was that three days ago, to punish me for tailing him, he had ordered his subordinates to cut off the funding for my mother’s medical treatment.

Not only did this worsen her condition, it cost me her life entirely. I didn’t want to fight anymore.

Lucas, I’m letting you go, and I’m letting myself go, too.

Lucas narrowed his eyes; he clearly didn’t believe me. “Realized something?”

He yanked my arm and shoved me out the door. As he got close, the scent of Maya’s perfume clinging to him assaulted my senses, making my stomach churn violently.

The moment the door clicked shut, Lucas seemed to cast aside all restraint. He gripped my chin, his eyes filled with condescending disdain. “Sienna, who do you think would believe such a clumsy lie?”

With that, he shoved me aside and turned to instruct his bodyguards, “Protect Maya well. If anyone dares to harm her...”

He glanced at me, his tone openly threatening. “No matter who that person is, execute them on the spot.”

I looked at Lucas, whose eyes were filled with wariness, and felt a moment of daze.

Over the past five years, I had dealt with countless “canaries” kept by him, yet I had never seen him care this deeply about any of them. He must love Maya to such an extreme extent to protect her so fiercely.

While I was momentarily stunned, the phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor. Before I could pick it up, a bodyguard beside Lucas rushed forward and tackled me to the ground.

Watching this scene, Lucas sneered and slowly walked over to kick the phone away. “You really never learn. I suppose there are photos of Maya and me on that phone, aren’t there?”

Seeing his actions, I dug my fingernails hard into my palms, struggled to rise, and shouted, “There are no photos of you two in there! Give it back to me now!”

That phone held the last few photos I had of my mother.

“Is that so?”

He turned his head and signaled for the bodyguard to bring the phone over. He continued, “We’ll know soon enough, won’t we?”

The phone was quickly unlocked. 0312, our wedding anniversary.

Lucas and I knew each other far too well after all these years; the lock screen password was meaningless against him.

But this time, the moment he saw the photo album, he froze. “How is that possible?”

Lucas frowned as he looked at the photos of my mother in the album. He asked suspiciously, “Did you delete the photos beforehand?”

Noticing that I was still being pinned to the ground, he paused, then waved his hand to signal the bodyguards to let me go.

I stood up, stumbled over to Lucas, and held out my hand. “I didn’t take photos of you two. Give it back.”

He remained silent, his gaze still filled with scrutiny and suspicion. Just then, a startled cry from Maya rang out from inside the house. Lucas’s expression shifted instantly. He shoved the phone into my hands and strode inside.

“Maya!”

From within the room, I could hear Maya’s intermittent sobbing and the sound of Lucas offering words of comfort.

In the past, witnessing such a scene would have driven me into a frenzy; I would have stormed in, held a knife to Maya’s throat, and demanded to know exactly what Lucas was up to.

But now, I simply took a deep breath, wiped the phone clean, changed the passcode, and walked out of the hotel.

Once outside, I took out my phone and dialed my lawyer’s number. “Please draft a divorce agreement for me as soon as possible.”