Chapter 1

Tamara Wesley's heart wouldn't stop thumping against her chest. She was shuddering deeply all over as well. The moment she fell to her knees before Jared Fender, she instinctively grabbed hold of the hem of his pants and begged and sobbed at his feet, clutching on to the last shred of hope. "Please, let go of my father. He's the only family I have left!" Jared cocked an eyebrow nonchalantly and placed a finger to his lips to shush her. In the past, when Tamara was fast asleep, Jared was always worried that she'd wake up from the slightest noise, and he would also use this gesture to remind everyone around them to keep quiet and make as little noise as possible. However, it was precisely this familiar gesture now that made Tamara shrink back in fear even more. Jared's lips curled up in a grin. However, his eyes were cold and icy like frost, sending a deep shiver down Tamara's back. "Tammy, just tell me where you hid Queenie." Tamara's face was streaked with tears as she shook her head hard. "I really don't know where she is." Jared seemed to have lost all of his patience. He then smacked a stack of surveillance camera photos in Tamara's face. "So, you still want to lie to me? You're the only one who has seen her lately!" Tamara forced her sobs down, trying to explain things, but she saw Jared raising his hand in the air a little. Then, the rope dangling Fred Wesley from the yacht's bow was lowered by at least three feet. Jared lifted Tamara's chin with his hand, the one with their wedding ring still on his fourth finger, and said, "Tammy, one more minute." Tamara's heart shook. She felt suffocated. It was her birthday today. And Queenie Lambert had indeed come looking for her after the birthday banquet. "Please tell your husband to stop bothering me! I have no interest in being the third wheel in your relationship!" Then, without even waiting for Tamara to reply, Queenie turned on her heels and left. Actually, Tamara had always known about Queenie's existence, but this was the first time she'd ever seen her. Jared had gone all out when he was pursuing Queenie in broad daylight. He'd gifted her fine jewelry, luxury cars, properties, and more. And it took the public less than a week to know that Jared was publicly pursuing Queenie Lambert, the wild and haughty daughter of a poor fisherman. Tamara had tried getting someone to investigate Queenie's background for her, but every time, Jared would hold her in his arms and tease her, saying, "Tammy, I'd be the laughingstock of the century if people in our circle knew that I was being loyal to only one woman. "You're the only person I'm truly in love with, Tammy. I'm just playing her like a game. She's just a fun little challenge on the side. "Don't get jealous of her for no reason. Nobody will ever replace your position as my wife." Tamara had actually believed him back then. She even convinced herself many times after that that Jared was just fooling around with Queenie, nothing more. However, it turned out that Jared thought Tamara had been so angry and jealous of Queenie that she'd driven her away herself. Tamara was very sure that Queenie had planned her own disappearance, but nothing she said or tried explaining to Jared could get through to him. He didn't believe Tamara. He even threatened her with Fred's life, demanding that she tell him where she'd hidden Queenie. Jared casually lit up his cigarette and started smoking like he had all the time in the world. The smoke from the cigarette immediately triggered Tamara's asthma, and her face gradually turned as pale as a sheet. She held her hands against her chest and started coughing and wheezing, her pale face quickly turning bright red this time. Jared bent down to get closer to her. Then, he said, "30 seconds left, Tammy." The wind was starting to pick up, and the rope holding Fred to the yacht was starting to sway. He could fall at any second. Jared waved his hand in the air again, and Fred dropped another three feet down in an upside-down position. "No! Jared!" Tamara screamed, unable to stop herself. Jared ignored the panic in Tamara's eyes and started counting down. "Ten, nine, eight…" Tamara shuddered. Back when she'd just started dating Jared, the elites from the upper-crust society often jeered at her and made fun of her to no end. They'd tricked her into drinking a glass of pure lemon juice, then laughed at her for not knowing her manners and making an ugly face in public. They'd purposely splashed scathing hot coffee on her body, then "apologized" later by throwing wads of cash in her face to thoroughly humiliate her. When Jared found out about it, he gave orders to round up every socialite who bullied her and tied them together in a bunch. Then, he'd started counting down, just like he was now. "If nobody is going to own up, then everyone will have the pleasure of descending into hell together." In the end, the socialites' clothes got torn off as they huddled together in shock and fear, and their parents and guardians had to personally apologize to Tamara and beg for her forgiveness before he finally let them go. Tamara knew that Jared wasn't joking this time either. If he were to raise his hand one more time, Fred would fall into the ocean, and his body would sink to its floor permanently. The salty sea breeze felt like it was tearing Tamara apart. She screamed at the top of her lungs and lied to Jared for the first time in her life. "It was me! I was jealous of her and I didn't want to see her next to you! I was the one who forced her out of Gasteron so she would leave you forever!" Jared seemed pleased with Tamara's answer. He then carefully wiped away her tears with the back of his hand. "See, Tammy, that wasn't so hard, was it? You should have just said that earlier. "Remember. You should always be as good as you are now for the rest of your life when you're with me. "Nobody will covet your place as Mrs. Fender. It's yours forever. And I'll come back to you once I'm done playing with her." The screaming confession earlier literally took up all of Tamara's energy. She slumped to the floor in great exhaustion, listening passively to Jared's words and nodding like a robot. "As for today…" Jared's gaze shifted out to sea. "This is your punishment for misbehaving." Tamara's chest seized up as her eyes spotted the rope being severed. Fred fell into the sea with a loud splash and disappeared underwater. "Dad!"