Chapter 1: Insolvency

"Is something the matter, Henry Chan?" Charlotte Dawson looked towards her home, amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd, her expression grave. Even the joy of discovering her pregnancy had dimmed.

She held a cigarette in her hand, calling out to a man in a suit nearby, while the ground was littered with many cigarette butts.

As she prepared to approach him, a pair of cold handcuffs suddenly snapped onto her wrists, causing her to desperately struggle to break free.

"Charlotte Dawson is suspected of fraud and sentenced to three years in prison."

Maintaining her daughter's dignity, she tried to steady her voice, "Are you serious? How could that old man be happy? If there's any issue, we could compensate you! Let go!"

"You've lost your house, how could you repay?"

What was happening? At that moment, a cool voice came through, as Henry Chan turned away and left.

"What?" she was startled.

She wanted to chase after that cold figure, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get close, and in the end, she was dragged away! She was clueless! What did it mean? Bankrupt? Weren't they about to marry? How could this be? She rubbed her abdomen; she had just conceived his baby.

Instead, the security guards, seeing her attempt to approach Henry Chan, struck her leg with a baton, forcing her to kneel on the ground.

"Henry, it hurts so much." In the past, even a minor injury would be tenderly cared for by him.

"Are you done?" Your father is the main culprit, and now he has committed suicide."

"Grandmother has passed away? Dad, he killed himself?" She felt all her strength being drained as he pulled her away.

Her mind was still echoing with the news of death, a complete blank, as she was sentenced to death. In Luo City, she was just taken to a woman's cell; then, she was locked up in a detention center.

The cell was damp and cold; she covered her legs, trying not to cry, as the tears slid from her eyes, the cold wind blowing into her clothes.

"Hey, newbie!"

Suddenly, someone kicked her.

Charlotte stood up and realized that, without her knowing when, a group of rough-looking women had surrounded her, staring at her as if she were a dead person.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte frowned, obviously sensing that someone was watching her.

"What's wrong? Sister Li just can't stand you, scamming old men like you do, we despise that the most."

Charlotte waved her arm to push her away, but was met with a sharp slap in return.

She looked at the two people: "Aren't you afraid of getting caught by the police?"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh!" The woman known as Sister Li stepped forward, kicked Charlotte, sending her flying, then squatted down, grabbed Charlotte Dawson's head, and whispered fiercely, "Do you think, after offending Mr.Chan, that anyone in prison will care who you are?"

Their faces gradually became blurred, turning into sinister-looking demons.

Business law, she had indeed forgotten, she had violated business law, and he had personally sent her to the dungeon, to be locked up and tortured.

Charlotte gritted her teeth, seeing these women approaching, she grabbed a stool nearby and threw it at them.

"Ah!" A scream rang out.

Sister Li, covering her bloodied face, her eyes filled with blood, shouted: "The bastard, kill that wench!"

Charlotte had never encountered such a situation in her life.

She couldn't remember how many times she had been beaten, over and over again.

The inspector arrived very late, tapping a wooden stick against the wall a few times, and only then did the women stop.

"Did you bring this trouble on yourself?"

"It was her!" Several women pointed at Charlotte, who lay motionless, and said: "Sister Li was beaten up!"

Charlotte was in so much pain that she couldn't even speak, she could only watch helplessly at the surveillance camera.

She had seen the surveillance many times before, and the blood on Sister Li compared to hers was nothing.

Lying on the ground was the person whom Mr. Chan had instructed to be "specially looked after." A baton hit his face, "Causing trouble as soon as you arrive. If we don't show you some color, you really think you're somebody!"

"Lock her up."

This blow broke her arm, and she only felt her leg being dragged as if it had been cut with a knife.

The cell was empty, engulfed in darkness. She mocked herself internally, glad to no longer be beaten.

However, in the deadly silence, she wanted to speak, but it was as if thick phlegm was in her throat, and she couldn't say anything.

She vomited.

Even though nobody had prepared food for her, she couldn't help but feel the urge to vomit.

She couldn't remember how long she had been imprisoned. At mealtime, she would force down some barely edible food because she understood she had to survive.

But the nausea didn't subside, so she ran to the hospital for a check-up.

"You are over two months pregnant."

The baby is fine. She was then taken back to her cell and rubbed her belly, trying to stop the tears, but she couldn't. Although she was engaged to Henry Chan, he had always treated her with respect. If it weren't for that night when he was drunk, they wouldn't have slept together.

She didn't want him to know because she didn't want him to feel guilty, yet she was also happy, because she was carrying their baby.

She wanted her child to have a happy life, but now she faced such a bleak outcome.

Unconsciously, more than two months had passed, and she was finally released. With her family bankrupt and a child on the way, she had no choice but to start looking for a means to survive.

"Miss Dawson, your resume is impressive, but it doesn't meet our company's requirements."

She couldn't remember how many times she'd been rejected. Carrying her resume, she moved on to the human resources department of the next company.

"So, it's Miss Dawson." A female voice, tinged with a hint of sarcasm, interrupted her thoughts.