She wanted to escape.

A numbing, searing heat consumed her as someone in the darkness broke through the last barrier of restraint, dominating her, claiming her completely. The man was powerfully built, his muscular frame overwhelming. In her dazed state, she caught a glimpse of the terrifying blood-red tattoo on his left chest—a vicious dragon with wings spread wide, coiling around a cross in a storm of fury. Its eyes gleamed with savage cruelty, sending chills down her spine, just like the stranger who tormented her...

**Boom—**

A sudden clap of thunder jolted Qiao Wan awake.

Outside, rain poured in a relentless downpour. The night was pitch black, but the lights in her room burned brightly. Even now, seven months after that nightmare of an evening, the memory still made her tremble uncontrollably.

Only after confirming she was safe in her own bedroom did she exhale a long, shaky breath.

Though time had passed, that dark night and the man with the fearsome dragon-and-cross tattoo over his heart remained seared into her mind, haunting her relentlessly, leaving scars that would never fade.

**Bang! Bang!**

"Qiao Wan! Open the door!" Qiao Yinan's petulant, demanding voice cut through the storm, pounding against the door.

Qiao Yinan?

Qiao Wan frowned in irritation, pushing back the covers and carefully maneuvering her seven-month pregnant belly as she made her way to answer the door.

After that night, she had ended up pregnant.

Because she was pregnant, everyone turned their backs on her. Her arranged marriage with the Xi family was called off, the Qiao family kicked her out, and she even ended up homeless on the streets.

It was Xi Ye who, out of lingering sentiment from their engagement, extended a helping hand. When he learned her body couldn’t handle an abortion, he persuaded her to keep the baby and offered her an unused property to stay in.

**BANG!**

The door was violently kicked open just as Qiao Wan approached, the force nearly slamming the wood into her. She staggered back, barely avoiding the impact, only to see Qiao Yinan storming in with a team of doctors and nurses, her expression venomous.

Qiao Wan instantly tensed. "Qiao Yinan, what are you doing?"

"Doing?" Qiao Yinan’s beautiful smile was as poisonous as a viper’s. She flicked a strand of hair behind her ear with a crimson-nailed finger, her dark gaze fixed on Qiao Wan’s swollen belly. "I heard the bastard in your womb is seven months along?"

Qiao Wan instinctively shielded her stomach, panic rising. "Why are you here—?"

"Me?" Qiao Yinan scoffed arrogantly, then raised an eyebrow, signaling Qiao Wan to look toward the doorway.

There, Xi Ye finally stepped into view.

He held a black umbrella, rainwater cascading off its edges. Beneath it, his face was even more chilling than usual, his hostile stare locked onto Qiao Wan’s belly.

"Wanwan, you’ll help me, won’t you?"

His voice was icy.

Qiao Wan shuddered, instinctively retreating. "Xi Ye, what do you mean—?"

Just then, Qiao Yinan sauntered over to Xi Ye, draping herself over his shoulder with practiced familiarity.

Her lips curled into a mocking smile as she eyed Qiao Wan. "Sister, I came tonight to deliver two pieces of news. First, the arranged marriage between the Qiao family and Xi Ye has finally fallen to me. And second… the Xi family now needs the child in your belly."

"I'll tell you the truth tonight."

"Do you really think what happened at the hotel seven months ago was just an accident?"

"You're so naive."

"Seven months ago, Brother Xiye's family ran into some trouble. The company needed a huge sum of money to stay afloat."

"Someone was willing to invest, but that person needed a clean woman to carry his child."

"You—you were the one Brother Xiye and I personally delivered into another man's bed."

Qiao Yinan smiled seductively, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear with effortless charm.

Yet, as her crimson lips parted, the words that spilled out were like razor-sharp blades, plunging deep into Qiao Wan's heart.

The revelation struck Qiao Wan like a thunderbolt.

Shock and fury surged through her, the pain in her chest twisting like a knife. A bone-chilling cold seeped into every cell of her body.

"The fetus is fully formed at seven months. The Xi family has waited all this time for you. Tonight, we'll perform the C-section and take the child. On behalf of the Xi family, I thank you!" Qiao Yinan's eyes burned with hatred. "Qiao Wan, don't blame us. Blame yourself for taking what was rightfully mine!"

The marriage alliance between the Qiao and Xi families should have been hers.

Xi Ye's expression was equally cold and merciless. "Wanwan, we were engaged, but my heart has always belonged to Yinan. I couldn’t break off the engagement, so I had no choice but to—"

"No choice but to what?" Qiao Wan's face turned deathly pale.

In the torrential summer rain, Qiao Wan trembled uncontrollably, staring in disbelief at her cousin and her former fiancé.

"So... you actually handed me over to another man?" Shock and anguish nearly robbed Qiao Wan of her voice. A searing pain radiated from her abdomen as a torrent of grief welled up in her chest, forcing out a raw scream: "Xi Ye, how could you be so cruel to me? I was your fiancée! How could you throw me into another man's bed!"

Even more brutal was their pretense of kindness—waiting for the right moment to snatch the child from her womb as their lifeline.

They'd played their cards perfectly. Just because she stood in the way of their affair, they'd callously pushed her into the abyss. This way, they could be together without guilt while saving the entire Xi Corporation.

And she'd actually believed they cared. All along, they'd been manipulating her like a fool...

Qiao Wan's gaze burned into the entwined figures of Xi Ye and Qiao Yinan. Hatred pooled in her eyes, turning them bloodshot.

Noticing this, Qiao Yinan feigned fright, shrinking deeper into Xi Ye's embrace. "Brother Xi Ye, sister's stare is terrifying..."

"Don't be afraid. I'm here." Xi Ye soothed Qiao Yinan tenderly before casting an indifferent glance at Qiao Wan. His eyes shifted to the waiting medical team. "Prepare for surgery!"

Instantly, doctors snapped open instrument cases.

A nurse in a white mask advanced slowly, the anesthesia syringe gleaming ominously under the lights. The needle's sharp tip caught the light with clinical precision.

Tucked against Xi Ye's chest, Qiao Yinan let her wavy bangs cascade forward as she lowered her head—concealing the sinister smirk twisting her lips. With practiced ease, she tucked the stray locks behind her ear, a habitual gesture she favored.

Danger closed in on Qiao Wan.

She tried to flee, but Xi Ye blocked the doorway.

The room teemed with white-coated figures—some gripping scalpels, others pulling on gloves—all staring at her with the detached chill of butchers eyeing slaughter-bound livestock.

In that lightning-flash moment, desperation ignited Qiao Wan's defiance.

"I'd rather die than let you have your way—"

With a burst of desperate strength, she shoved aside the approaching nurses and flung open the nearest window. Seizing the moment of stunned hesitation, she climbed onto the windowsill and leaped into the raging storm.

Xi Ye's vacant property was a modest villa, and Qiao Wan thanked her lucky stars she'd been living on the ground floor.

The night swallowed her as she tumbled onto the muddy ground, filthy water splattering across her face. Scrambling to her feet, she ran blindly forward, barefoot now, her flip-flops lost somewhere in the chaos. Behind her, Xi Ye and Qiao Yinan's furious shouts cut through the storm, ordering someone to catch her.

The downpour roared, thunder shaking the heavens.

Drenched to the bone, only one thought pulsed through Qiao Wan's mind—no one would take her child from her.

The inky darkness and sheeting rain blurred her vision when suddenly, headlights pierced the night. A red sedan came speeding toward her, engine screaming.

She whirled around in panic—just as twin beams of blinding light seared her vision.

CRASH—

Her body was thrown two meters through the air before slamming onto the pavement.

Blood gushed from her forehead, pooling beneath her, swirling in crimson ribbons across the asphalt as the relentless rain washed it all away...