Chapter 6

When Natalie woke up again, she was lying in a modest hospital room. Her entire body was covered in bandages.

The nurse was rough when inserting the needle. However, Natalie was already numb to the pain. Her gaze was vacant as she lay helplessly in the hospital bed.

The nurse said, "You seem like such a decent person. Why would you go and steal from someone's home? You deserve to get beaten to a pulp. And you just had to steal from the Carter family. They have all the power here. Do you have a death wish?

"Once you're well enough to leave, you'll probably be held for a few days at least."

As the nurse continued to talk, Natalie parted her lips. Her cracked lips tugged painfully at the wounds. "Hey, can I make a phone call?"

The nurse was genuinely surprised to hear her question and instinctively placed a hand on Natalie's forehead.

She asked, "Are you actually insane? Do you even know where you are? This is the police station's medical ward. You were brought here for theft, remember? Your belongings have been confiscated. Once you recover, you'll still have to be detained."

Tears welled in Natalie's eyes. She asked, "What about Adrian? Can I see him?"

Before she had been knocked unconscious, she had managed to get her marriage certificate with Adrian. But the name on the marriage certificate wasn't hers. It was Olivia's. Even the woman in the photo commemorating the marriage was Olivia.

At that moment, all she wanted was to ask him what had happened. Why? How had she gone from his legitimate wife to his actual mistress overnight?

She had always thought that there would be a day when their marriage would be made public, and she could stand proudly by Adrian's side.

It didn't matter if she was insulted, misunderstood, and hated by everyone. She believed that she would no longer be the shameless woman everyone hated.

But the marriage certificate, the only thing that could prove her identity, had plunged her into despair. She had endured so much over the years, only to discover such a cruel truth. She couldn't accept it.

Natalie begged, "Could you please help me call Adrian? Just tell him that Natalie Shaw is looking for him. I really have something important to tell him."

The nurse looked at her as though she were a hopeless lunatic. "Mr. Carter is on vacation with his fiancee. Someone like you can't just contact him whenever you want. Have you lost your mind?"

Seeing the despair on Natalie's face, the nurse sighed. "Don't believe me? See for yourself. You're a thief now. Even if you want to beg Mr. Carter for help, there's no way he'd help you."

Natalie saw a photo of Adrian and Olivia on the nurse's phone. They were openly flaunting their relationship. The happiness and contentment on his face devastated her.

With tears in her eyes, she grabbed the nurse's wrist and pleaded, "I just want to make a call to him. Can you please help me? It's just one call."

The nurse looked helpless, but Natalie's emotional state made her feel uneasy. So, she tried to calm her down. "I can't decide this on my own. Get some rest. I'll speak to my supervisor."

Half an hour later, Natalie finally got her phone back and was allowed to make a call to Adrian. She clutched the phone tightly as the call connected, her heart pounding.

If he could prove her identity to the police, she could leave and see him. She could also ask him what had happened to their marriage certificate.

However, the call was declined, completely shattering her hopes.

The nurse said, "I told you. He's the heir of the Carter family. He doesn't have time for someone like you. Enough of this. Stop wasting our time."

A police officer took the phone away.

Natalie remained in a daze. Adrian had never ignored her calls before. But this time, he was with Olivia and had no time for anything else. He didn't even care that she had been wrongly accused and detained in the police station.

She was distraught, tears slowly welling in her eyes.

The police officer clicked his tongue impatiently. "Looks like you won't believe it until you see it for yourself. I'll call him for you."

This time, the call was answered almost immediately.

Adrian's cold, distant voice came through the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Carter. I'm sorry to bother you. We're from the First Division of the Galton Police Department. There's a woman named Natalie Shaw who says she needs to speak with you—"

Before he could finish talking, Adrian's voice turned colder as he cut him off. "I don't know her. This is my private number. Contact my assistant if you need anything."

Then, he hung up.

The officer put down his phone and snorted. "See? You really are crazy. You're just a troublemaker."

Natalie let her hand fall limply to her side and stared at the door for a long time. Then, a sorrowful smile slowly curved her lips.

A week later, she was transferred to a detention center. The iron gate swung open with a clang. Someone shoved her hard from behind, and she stumbled inside.