Chapter 1

Three years into our marriage, I ruined one hand for him, and Grandma sold off her jewelry for him.

But in the end, for the sister of his so-called lifesaver,

he gave my marital home to her for free, and for her sake, he drained Grandma’s blood right after she came out of the ICU.

I finally saw him for what he was. I dissolved the marriage unilaterally and bought a one-way ticket to London.

But after the divorce, he went insane trying to win me back...

Sophie Reed POV

In the third year of our marriage, I went to the bank to close our joint safe-deposit box.

The teller looked at the holder names in the system and smiled politely. “Mrs. Foster, closing a joint safe-deposit box requires your husband Brandon Foster’s co-signature.”

Calmly, I took back my ID. “No need. I’m not Mrs. Foster. My name is Sophie Reed, and I’m single now.”

Just an hour ago, I had watched Brandon Foster sign an equity transfer agreement with my own eyes, transferring 10% of Foster Tech’s original sweat equity shares to Nina Young for free. Nina Young was the younger sister of his late best friend, Shawn.

Seven years ago, Brandon Foster had nothing. It was my Grandma who sold her jewelry to help him buy his first piece of hardware equipment.

Five years ago, when he was short on the down payment for a precision machine tool, I hid it from him and risked my life street racing through a stormy night to raise 200,000 RMB, breaking my left wrist and leaving it with permanent hidden damage.

Three years ago, when Brandon Foster’s company was on the verge of bankruptcy, it was me again who risked my life driving at high speed in an overseas evacuation zone to save Old Mr. Zahn, securing hundreds of millions in investment from Zahn Group for him.

But for the past five years, as long as Nina Young crooked a finger, Brandon Foster could abandon me when I was sick, cancel every date, and even transfer my marital home to her outright, all because of one sentence: “Shawn saved my life with his. I have to take care of Nina for the rest of her life.”

I tolerated it for five years.

Until today, when I saw that equity transfer agreement, and finally, completely gave up.

I pushed open the bank doors and walked straight into the drizzle outside.

But before I could reach the curb, my phone began to vibrate wildly, along with an alert from the bank system warning of an abnormal change in our joint assets.

Two minutes later, a black Maybach screeched to a stop in front of me, cutting me off.

The car door was shoved open roughly. Brandon Foster stepped out, carrying a chill all over him, strode toward me, and grabbed my arm. His grip was so hard it nearly crushed my bones.

“Sophie Reed, are you done making a scene?!”

Brandon Foster’s brows were locked tight, his eyes full of irritation and panic. “You haven’t come home for a week. You won’t answer my calls. Now you’re even running to the bank to clear out our joint assets! Do you know the security alert went straight to my phone? What the hell are you trying to do?”

I lowered my eyes and looked at the hand he was gripping. It was my left hand, and numbness spread from my fingertips through the cracks between my bones.

“Let go of my hand.”

My tone stayed flat, unshaken.

Nothing got under Brandon’s skin like my blank, unperturbed stare. It made him feel a terror he couldn’t control.

He took a deep breath and used his usual tone to cover his guilt. “I know you’re angry about me buying Nina a car, but Nina is Shawn’s only sister. Shawn died saving me back then! So what if I protect her a little more? Do you really have to blow it this far out of proportion and use our seven years together as leverage?”

Before he could finish speaking, the phone in his arms rang sharply. Nina Young’s name flashed across the screen.

Brandon Foster answered, and Nina Young’s soft, tearful voice immediately came through. “Brandon... my car broke down on Ring Road. The people behind me keep honking at me. I’m so scared, and my stomach is starting to hurt again...”

At the words stomach hurt, Brandon Foster’s expression changed instantly. He didn’t even bother questioning me anymore and spoke urgently into the phone. “Nina, don’t be scared. Lock the doors and stay in the car. I’m coming to pick you up right now!”

After hanging up, Brandon Foster shoved me aside and hurried back toward the car, his tone an unquestionable order. “Sophie Reed, stop messing around. Nina is timid, and her stomach illness is acting up again. I have to go. Whatever it is, we’ll talk when I get back!”

The Maybach sped away, its exhaust dispersing into the rainy mist and splashing dirty muddy water across the ground.

I stood in the cold rain and slowly exhaled.

I took out my phone and dialed that special encrypted number.

“Ms. Reed, hello.”

On the other end was the person in charge of the Foreign Ministry’s Special-Region Consular Protection Emergency Defensive Driving Unit, his voice precise and formal. “Regarding the special driving assignment application for high-risk regions that you submitted, we have passed the preliminary review. Since the area is on the brink of war and the risk level is extremely high, are you sure you want to accept the deployment?”

I looked toward the corner where the Maybach had disappeared. There was not the slightest fluctuation in my voice. “I’m sure.”

“All right. Given the danger of your mission, the protection driving unit has the right to provide you with family separation privilege, including enforcing a unilateral divorce for you in the backend through the national security channel. Do you need to activate this privilege?”

“Yes.”

I stroked the scar on my left wrist. “Within half a month before departure, help me get divorced.”

“Understood. The unilateral compulsory divorce procedure has been initiated and will take effect in half a month.”

After hanging up, I put my phone back into my bag and walked calmly into the curtain of rain.