Chapter 1

After failing to make the payment at the hospital, I immediately took a cab to Creed Group.

"Stuart, did you really freeze all my credit cards because of an outsider? Don't you know that Grandpa urgently needs brain surgery? How could you do this after everything he did for you?" I fumed at Stuart Creed, my husband.

Thinking about how cold and indifferent he had been at the hospital, my eyes burned with rage.

Stuart turned to glare at me furiously like I were some hysterical woman making a scene.

He scolded, "Veronica, look at what you've become! What's the point of throwing a tantrum now? What's done is done!"

His cold words made it sound like my grandfather, Alfred Gallagher, was just dealing with a common cold and not waiting for brain surgery.

I stared at the man I'd been married to for over a decade, feeling my heart sink drastically.

"Have you forgotten how Creed Group was built from the ground up? Have you forgotten it was Grandpa who took a knife for you when you were kidnapped? The wound from then still hurts from time to time for him!

"And now, you cut off his only chance to survive all for an intern? How can you be so inhumane?"

After I started dating Stuart, Grandpa used all his connections to assist him when he started up his company. He eagerly helped Stuart so that he wouldn't need to deal with unnecessary obstacles.

Grandpa even let Stuart have his patent that brought in over 100 million dollars in annual profits for Creed Group. He only charged Stuart a fee of a couple of hundred dollars.

I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that Creed Group reached its market leader status today thanks to Grandpa.

He had given Stuart everything, and this was how things turned out.

After my furious tirade, Stuart's expression went from indifferent to absolutely livid.

He hurled the wine glass he was holding at my feet. A shard of broken glass flew up from the ground and sliced across the top of my foot, drawing blood.

"You keep bringing up the same old shit. Don't you ever get tired of it? Right now, all you need to do is drop the case and tell everyone your grandfather fell down the stairs himself. Do that, and this will be over.

"If you insist on dragging this out because of Maddy and delaying the surgery, you'll be the one who caused Alfred's death!"

I glared at Stuart, whom I'd been married to for over a decade. At the moment, he felt like a complete stranger to me.

When we first started dating, he'd pick me up from work no matter how far it was. He stayed by my bedside all night whenever I was sick.

He was scared that he wasn't good enough for me, as I came from a learned and well-to-do family. So, he worked himself to the bone to give me the best life. He even respected my wish not to have children.

But now, it felt like I was seeing his true colors for the first time.

Observing my silence, he smirked coldly. "Veronica, you shouldn't have gone after Maddy out of jealousy. Your little stunt was pathetic. You've been Mrs. Creed for over a decade. Isn't that enough for you?"

He had the gall to ask me to be content with what I have. What a joke!

I stopped arguing and turned to leave.

What mattered most now was paying Grandpa's surgery fee. So, I left Creed Group and reached out to several close girlfriends.

They usually greeted me with warm smiles, but today they acted like I was the plague.

"Veronica, you're wholly dependent on Mr. Creed now. Going against him won't end well for you."

"Don't hold on to the car accident. You don't even have evidence. You ought not to be so stubborn. Just apologize to Mr. Creed, and this will blow over."

"Mr. Creed is such a powerful man. Even if we wanted to help you, we wouldn't be able to."

Even though the sun blazed overhead, I felt cold all over. The humiliation and anger came crashing down on me in waves.

When I was still in a daze, my phone rang.

"I'm giving you one day to drop the case. Otherwise, you'll suffer the consequences even if you're my wife. Maddy still needs to go abroad for an academic conference. You hear me?"

"Stuart."

A voice came through from the other end. It was Madison Rogan.

She said, "I don't mind suffering a little if it helps Veronica calm down. It's just… I hate to waste all the years you spent nurturing me and supporting my studies."

Hearing that, Stuart's tone grew even colder as he chastised, "Veronica, did you really have to make a scene and embarrass everyone? You think your grandfather would want to see you tearing down a talented academic like this?

"I'm warning you. Even if you disagree with withdrawing the case, I have other ways to make you!"

The call ended abruptly.

I clenched my fists as I thought of Grandpa, who was still in the ICU. I felt utterly powerless.

All those vows and promises of love were nothing after the passage of time.

Soon, my phone rang again. To my surprise, it was Grandpa's legal team calling me.

"Ms. Yancey, the patent license your grandfather granted to Creed Group has expired. Three months ago, he instructed us to transfer the ownership rights to you."