Watch Me Bankrupt Him

I was locked in the basement. Only the sound of rats scratching at the walls kept me company in the darkness.

I cried and pleaded, “Cole, please spare Oliver. He’s only seven years old. I’ll climb all six thousand stone steps on my knees and fast for seven days in his place.”

Cole Jackman said impatiently, “If you hadn’t hired someone to crash into me and then pretended to save me, I would never have married you. Ashley wouldn’t have been so heartbroken that she was taken away and forced to suffer in the mountains. You should bear the consequences of the marriage you forced. Only a mother who lies and harms others could give birth to a child with such dark energy.”

I collapsed helplessly on the ground, tears streaming down my face. “I never hired anyone to hurt you.”

Cole retorted coldly, “The evidence is right in front of us. Your acting skills are impressive, but you won’t fool me again.”

He turned to the guard. “Starve her for three days. Not a drop of water. Let her reflect.”

I had pushed Cole out of the way of that car. I was the one thrown aside, the one who suffered broken bones and internal injuries, the one who lay unconscious for seven days.

He proposed to me after I woke up. For eight years, he treated me with tenderness. He would panic if I so much as burned my hand.

However, Cole's unattainable first love, Ashley White, who had disappeared for eight years, returned. My life-saving grace became a lie, and I was branded a despicable liar.

For three days and nights, I had neither eaten nor drunk anything. My lips were cracked, and even my breath tasted of blood.

In my daze, I seemed to hear Oliver’s voice from the day he was taken away.

“Mom, don’t cry. I’ll be good. Then Dad won’t hate me. I’ll pray for Ms. White so Daddy won’t be angry with you.”

The maid tossed a few pieces of bread onto the floor. “These are Ms. White’s leftovers. She gave them to you out of kindness. Be grateful.”

I forced myself to swallow, thinking, 'I can't die. I have to find Oliver.'

The maid sneered. “You’ll even eat food thrown on the ground. Pathetic. No wonder Mr. Jackman prefers the noble Ms. White.”

Ashley’s so‑called nobility came from the emerald jewelry set I had given Cole. It was my mother’s heirloom. He handed it to Ashley simply because she said she liked it.

Oliver had merely spoken up, and he was punished to kneel all night.

Time blurred until the basement door was kicked open.

Harry Jackman rushed in and helped me up, guilt written across his face. “Nicol Darcy, Oliver survived six heart surgeries. He’ll pull through this time too. You invested your entire dowry into the failing Jackman Group and hid it from Cole so he wouldn’t feel inferior. You saved this family. Cole wronged you.”

Harry and I arrived at Mount Silva. The stone steps leading up the mountain were covered in bloodstains.

Harry clutched his chest as he struggled to breathe, his cane nearly slipped from his grasp.

I trembled as I climbed, imagining the suffering Oliver must have endured with every step.

When I pushed open the monastery door, I saw Oliver lying motionless on the ground.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I stumbled over to Oliver, staring in disbelief at the dark purple lividity on his body and his knees that revealed the bone beneath.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I screamed, “What did I do wrong?”

I gathered Oliver into my arms, holding him close.

Harry stared in horror. “Cole is bewitched by Ashley. He didn’t mean for this to happen. I’ll make him repent. Please… don’t withdraw your investment from the Jackman Group.”