Chapter 1

In their third year of marriage, Lynette Sterling and Zachary Wright reached a breaking point. On their wedding anniversary, Lynette walked into the police station carrying forensic evidence. "I'm reporting my husband," she told the intake officer. "He forced himself on me." Standing in the sterile light of the precinct, Zachary looked less like a suspect and more like the owner of the building. Dressed in a bespoke suit, his fingertips were faintly stained crimson. Even in custody, he exuded an air of absolute, terrifying control. An officer approached, casting an uneasy glance at the man who was a legendary nightmare in the legal world. "Mr. Wright," the officer muttered, his posture subservient. "How would you like to handle this?" Lynette's heart plummeted. They weren't asking how to process a criminal; they were asking the predator how he wanted to deal with his prey. Zachary's brow arched, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He reached out, hooking a possessive finger under Lynette's chin. "Nettie," he murmured, his voice a dark caress. "You really didn't hold back this time. You're trying so hard to destroy me." His eyes darkened. "But why the bold lies? You weren't always this heartless. You used to do everything you could to match my freak in bed." His arms snaked around her waist, locking her against his side. Lynette trashed, but she couldn't break free. Furious, she glared at the officers and demanded coldly, "This is false imprisonment! Are you just going to stand there?" Zachary didn't flinch. Instead, he pulled back his collar, revealing a map of dark, ambiguous bruises on his neck. "Intimacy between husband and wife," he said smoothly. "What do you expect the police to do? You can fake a report, Nettie, but you can't fake these marks. Surely I couldn't have forced you to leave those marks, right?" The officers shifted uncomfortably. Zachary pressed on. "Be good, Nettie. Stop throwing tantrums. Did I not satisfy you last night? You heartless little thing. You begged me last night, over and over. Now you pretend you don't know me." He sighed with the weary patience of a saint. "Forget it. I won't hold it against you. I am your husband, after all." To any observer, he looked like a man hopelessly in love. To the police, it was just another day of a dramatic wife acting out. They opened the door and ushered them out; their patience for Lynette long since evaporated. After all, this wasn't the first time. In three years, Lynette had reported Zachary to the police 36 times. However, each attempt concluded with them being tactfully advised to return home, as the evidence remained inconclusive. To Whistletown, Zachary's devotion to Lynette was legendary, and Lynette was the ungrateful woman who didn't know how lucky she was, given her "monthly tantrums". As Zachary dragged her away, the light in Lynette's eyes finally died. She had given up all hope. This was the 36th time she had tried to leave, and it was another failure. The cold wind bit at her skin. Zachary tenderly draped a coat over her shoulders. Behind them, the whispers of the precinct staff followed like a shroud. "She's an orphan who lost everything. Marrying Mr. Wright was her salvation. Why is she always so dramatic?" "Some women just love the attention." Lynette heard it all. Tears silently tracked down her cheeks. It had been three years. Every attempt at divorce had failed. Everyone said she was being dramatic, that she was making a scene. But no one ever asked her why. Once, she and Zachary had been truly happy. He would have given her the moon and the stars if she had asked. When they ate watermelon, he always gave her the sweetest bite from the center. Because she was afraid of the dark, he never left her side at night. He had even spent a fortune replacing every streetlight in Whistletown with the brightest ones, just so she wouldn't be scared walking home after dark. At their wedding, Zachary's first love, Charmaine Freemont, suddenly returned after her divorce. Homeless and desperate, she asked Zachary to take her in. But he refused without hesitation. "I'm sorry. I have a wife," he told her. Lynette thought she had married the right man, but reality slapped her hard. The very next morning, Charmaine appeared at the police station, clothes disheveled. She claimed that Lynette's father, William Sterling, had assaulted her. A case was opened immediately. William was arrested, and Sterling Group's stock collapsed. Consequently, Lynette's mother, Anna Barkley, suffered a stroke and was rushed to the ICU. The internet exploded with curses condemning William. Lynette tearfully begged Zachary, the undefeated legal titan, to defend her father and clear his name. Zachary held her tightly and promised, "Nettie, don't worry. He's your father. I'll handle it." She believed him. But on the day of the trial, Zachary stood on the opposite side of the courtroom as Charmaine's attorney. He submitted surveillance footage showing William entering Charmaine's hotel room. He stood right in front of Lynette and criticized William with the coldest, harshest words. In the end, William was sentenced to five years in prison. Anna, who had just been discharged from the ICU, collapsed again. This time, she was on the brink of death. That night, Lynette destroyed everything in their home. She smashed their belongings and burned every happy memory they had shared. Then, she tearfully confronted him. "Zachary, that was my father. He watched you grow up. You know what kind of man he is. Do you even understand what you've done?" As Lynette teetered on the edge of collapse, Zachary remained unnervingly composed. He said coldly, "Nettie, the law exists to uphold justice. Whoever commits a crime must face the consequences. Your father is no exception. Don't ask why I refused to help him; ask instead why he chose to do something so vile. Besides, Charmaine was hurt because of me. Isn't it only right that I defend her?" Each word rang with righteousness, as if stripped of any personal motive. Lynette sobbed uncontrollably. She looked at him in despair and asked, "What about me? I'm your wife. Do you not care about me?" Zachary frowned and pulled her into his arms. "Nettie, William's crime has nothing to do with you. You're still my wife. I'll take you to pick him up in five years when he's out." Though Zachary held her close, Lynette felt only a chilling void. There wasn't a shred of warmth. Her home was gone. Her family was gone. And it was Zachary's own hands that had torn it all apart. Anna was unable to endure the blow and jumped to her death. Sterling Group went bankrupt, leaving Lynette with hundreds of billions of dollars in debt. The Sterling family's sudden downfall became the talk of the town. Whistletown's brightest jewel was now buried in dust. Later, in order to divorce Zachary, Lynette personally leaked Wright Corporation's trade secrets to their competitors. The company suffered devastating losses, and shareholders demanded that legal action be taken against Lynette. Zachary shouldered all the pressure himself but still refused to divorce her. For three years, Lynette tried every imaginable way to leave him. She fled overseas. But he contacted the embassy, reported his wife missing, and did everything he could to bring her back. After that, he forced her to wear an electronic tracking bracelet. She smashed it with a hammer. He warned her that if she hurt herself, he would have William hurt the same way. After Anna's death, William was Lynette's only family left, leaving William her only weakness. She was left with no option but to yield, her sanity fraying at the edges. Yet to the outside world, Zachary's devotion appeared boundless. He cleaned up after her messes and shouldered the Sterling family's crushing debts. So what right did Lynette have to protest, to cause a scene? Just as Lynette's doubts began to consume her, Zachary brought Charmaine on as his secretary. That day, he spoke with solemn conviction. "Charmaine is divorced, and she's alone in Whistletown. After what happened before, she fell into depression. I owe her my care." From that moment forward, Zachary and Charmaine were inseparable. When Lynette had a high fever, Charmaine miraculously fell ill too. And Zachary left Lynette, saying, "Nettie, I'm righting your family's wrong." When Lynette miscarried, Charmaine dragged him off on an overseas trip. No matter what he did, it was always for her. The outside world saw a great attorney who adored his wife. But what Lynette saw was Zachary hurting her by choosing Charmaine over her again and again. For three years, Lynette's body weakened as her mind unraveled. Every night, she would hurt herself. She had once told him, "If we don't divorce, I'll die." For a fleeting moment, panic crossed Zachary's face. Yet he clung to her with unyielding resolve. "Nettie, I love you too much to ever let you go. You won't die—I won't allow it. Only death can part us, never divorce." Lynette attempted to end her life countless times, but Zachary stationed watchful eyes around her day and night, denying her even the chance. As the scars on her arms multiplied, she began silently counting down the days, waiting for the day her frail body would surrender and grant her release. Charmaine's relentless taunts eventually shattered Lynette's restraint. In desperation, she arranged for Charmaine to be kidnapped. When Lynette refused to reveal where Charmaine was, Zachary struck her for the first time. To appease Charmaine's fury, Zachary ordered men to brutalize William in prison until he lay hospitalized. He warned Lynette to behave, to stop targeting Charmaine, and to abandon any thought of leaving. To outsiders, this seemed destined to be their life forever. But Lynette knew her time was running out. Doctors had diagnosed her with somatic depression entwined with psychosis. Without urgent treatment, her mind would collapse completely. Each night, while Zachary remained at Charmaine's side, Lynette hid in her room and hurt herself. She reopened the wounds on her wrists again and again. In desperation, she lured Zachary, hoping to secure evidence of sexual assault so they could divorce. Her only hope for peace was in a life far removed from him. Painful memories shook her to the core. Raising her eyes, she pleaded one final time. "Zachary, I'm begging you. Let's get divorced."