My husband ordered the doctors to remove my uterus while I was still sedated in the hospital, and his mistress showed up rubbing her pregnant belly. “That baby will be my heir,” he said. I didn't cry. I simply kept my medical records, called my lawyer, and had no idea that a hidden audio recording would reveal something even worse.

The ballroom was suffocating. I moved through the crowd, greeting investors and business partners, my voice steady, my smile perfect. I could feel Minh’s gaze following me, a burning heat on my back. He was panicked. He kept pulling people aside, whispering, his composure fraying at the edges.

I stopped at the bar, watching the reflection in the mirror behind the bottles. Minh was arguing with his CFO. The CFO looked pale, shaking his head. The leaked reports about the embezzlement were making waves—the stock price was currently trending downward in real-time.

"You look like you're having a wonderful time, Vy."

The voice was cold and oily. It was Dr. Tuan. He had been invited to the gala as a sponsor.

"Dr. Tuan," I said, turning to face him. "I hope your practice is thriving. Or should I say, your new wing at the hospital?"

His face went white. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do," I leaned in. "I have the recordings, Tuan. Not just the ones about the surgery. The ones where you discuss the kickbacks from the pharmaceutical suppliers. You’re a very expensive liability."

He gripped his glass so hard his knuckles turned white. "You think you can threaten me? Minh will destroy you before you can say a word."

"Minh can't even save himself," I countered.

Suddenly, the music cut out. A commotion erupted near the entrance. Reporters—the aggressive, investigative kind—were swarming the doors. They had been tipped off by Hoang.

Minh rushed to the center of the room, trying to intercept them. "This is a private event! Get out!"

But they didn't care about his property rights. One reporter held up a microphone. "Mr. Minh, is it true that your company is currently under investigation for a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme dubbed 'Project Phoenix'?"

The room went deathly silent. Every eye turned to Minh. He looked for support, his eyes searching the crowd, but his business partners were already backing away, distancing themselves from the sinking ship.

Lan stood off to the side, looking terrified. She reached for Minh’s hand, but he pulled away, his focus entirely on the wolves surrounding him. He saw me then. He looked across the room, and for the first time, I saw genuine, unadulterated fear in his eyes.

He realized then that I wasn't just a victim. I was the one who had opened the cage.

He began to shout denials, his voice cracking, his face turning a blotchy red. It was a spectacular meltdown. I felt a strange sense of peace. The physical pain of my surgery faded into the background, replaced by the rush of adrenaline.

But then, the most unexpected thing happened. Lan walked toward me. She wasn't holding her belly anymore. She looked at me, her expression shifting from fear to a cold, calculated resolve.

"He told me you were already dead, Vy," she whispered, her voice trembling. "He told me you had a terminal illness and that this was the only way to save the family name."

I stared at her. "You believed him?"

"I was pregnant," she said, her eyes welling with tears. "He made me believe I was saving his life. But seeing this... seeing him like this... I know now. He’s going to use me as the fall girl, isn't he?"

I looked at the woman who had stolen my husband, now realizing she was just another piece of trash he was ready to discard.

"Yes," I said quietly. "He is."

"Then let me help you," she said, gripping my arm. "I have the password to his private server. The real one. The one he uses for the offshore accounts in the Caymans. If you want to finish him, you need this."

The irony was not lost on me. My enemy’s enemy was my only ally. I looked at the chaos unfolding—the reporters, the flashbulbs, the ruin of a man I had once loved.