Chapter 8 Only 50,000 dollar spent in all these years

Madelyn's words hung in the air, and the living room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Connor finally managed to squeeze out a sentence. "Didn't Rebecca give you all those jewels...?"

"When you forced me to live in the storage room downstairs, I returned all the jewelry, the designer clothes, and the luxury items to her. Have you forgotten?"

Madelyn's eyes brimmed with mockery. At this moment, the family seemed like parasites, feeding off her without remorse.

She pulled out her phone, transferred fifty thousand yuan to Roger, and then, without hesitation, blocked him.

For good measure, she blocked every single member of the Clark family as well.

"Goodbye. Don't contact me again."

Turning on her heel, Madelyn left the Clark family home, feeling an immense weight lifted off her shoulders.

As she stepped out the door, she bumped into Bryan, who was just returning home. She let out a cold snort in his direction before walking away.

"What's going on?"

Bryan asked, bewildered. He rarely came home and had no idea what had transpired. He barely knew Madelyn and wouldn't even consider their relationship close.

All he knew about her came from the family's gossip-that she was temperamental and prone to fits of anger.

"Madelyn is no longer one of us!" Roger roared, his face red with fury.

What had just happened was, to him, a public humiliation delivered by Madelyn in front of the entire family. "From now on, her name is forbidden in this house-as if she never existed!"

Seeing his father so enraged, Bryan chose to keep his mouth shut, refraining from asking further questions.

Yet, he couldn't shake the strange feeling that there was more to this story than met the eye. ---

The next morning, Madelyn arranged to meet Daniel.

The prospect of returning to the field she loved and had missed deeply filled her with a rare, long-forgotten excitement. Her smile was radiant. "Let's talk about the studio, " she said enthusiastically.

"Well..." Daniel's smile was strained.

Madelyn immediately sensed something was off. "Daniel, what's wrong?" she asked, her brows furrowing in concern.

"It's about some trouble my family is facing..."

Daniel hesitated, but under Madelyn's persistent questioning, he finally revealed the truth.

"You know my family runs a small business. It's always been stable, but starting yesterday, someone began targeting us. All our projects have been abruptly halted..."

Hearing this, Madelyn instantly understood.

To wield such immense power and act with such ruthless efficiency, there was only one person who could be behind it-Jason.

But why would Jason target Daniel?

Was it because of that photo?

Jason only had eyes for Rebecca, so why would he care about her supposed secret relationship?

Madelyn couldn't make sense of it, but her anger was undeniable. She stood up abruptly. "I'll handle this!"

Ignoring Daniel's protests, she rushed to the Miller Group headquarters with determined urgency and barged into Jason's office.

"Jason, what the hell are you trying to do?" she demanded, her voice sharp and accusatory.

Behind his desk, Jason slowly lifted his gaze.

He casually tossed the pen in his hand onto the desk, his long fingers interlacing as he leaned back with an air of calm authority.

"We're about to get divorced. Why are you here at the Miller Group?" His tone was indifferent. "I'll make sure the front desk revokes your access to the building."

Madelyn was infuriated by his dismissive attitude.

"Cut the act, " she snapped, stepping closer to him. "You're the one behind the trouble at Daniel's family business, aren't you?"

Jason didn't answer her question. Instead, his sharp gaze locked onto her face, and his voice dropped to a chilling tone.

"You care about him that much? Enough to rush here and confront me?"

"That's because you're targeting him for no reason! If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't drag innocent people into this!" Madelyn's voice rose in frustration.

Jason's expression darkened, and the tension in the room thickened. "If he were truly innocent, he wouldn't be meeting you in private."

"And what's wrong with meeting in private? Do you think everyone's like you, treating infidelity as a hobby?"

Her words struck a nerve, and Jason's anger erupted.

He stood abruptly, rounding the desk to stand directly in front of her.

The sheer intensity of his presence made Madelyn freeze. She had never seen Jason this furious before.

But it was too late to back down now.

Jason seized her wrist with an iron grip and forcefully dragged her out of the office.

"Let go of me!" Madelyn shouted, a sense of foreboding creeping over her.

She struggled against him, but his strength was overwhelming. Her wrist felt like it was about to snap under his grip.

"You're hurting me!" she cried, but her protests fell on deaf ears. Jason showed no sign of relenting.

He pulled her into the elevator, descended to the parking garage, and shoved her into the passenger seat of his car.

The doors locked with a click, trapping her inside.

Jason's car roared out of the garage, speeding toward his home with relentless urgency.

Once there, he dragged her into the house they had once shared and into the master bedroom. The door slammed shut behind them, and Jason forced her onto the bed, his movements rough and unyielding.

His heavy breathing betrayed his fury as he loomed over her, his grip on her wrists unyielding. Their proximity made her acutely aware of his presence, his scent enveloping her entirely.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!"Madelyn demanded, her voice trembling.

Jason's hands moved to her dress, tearing at the fabric. His touch was rough and invasive.

"We're still married. Isn't this perfectly normal?"

His voice was cold and deliberate.

"Our divorce isn't finalized yet, and we still have weeks left as husband and wife.

Until then, you'll fulfill your duties as my wife. You'll stay here with me and won't go anywhere."

"What are you talking about? Let me go!"

Madelyn's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Are you insane? Why should I stay with you? You're the one who said I'm no longer Mrs. Miller!"

Her struggles were futile against his strength.

Jason's voice boomed, "I didn't agree to the divorce, so don't even think about leaving!"

Piece by piece, her clothing was torn away, his hands roaming over her skin.

Madelyn bit her lip until it hurt, her eyes reddened with tears of frustration and humiliation.

He knew her body too well, knew exactly how to elicit a response from her despite her resistance.

But why? Why was he doing this?

He despised her, didn't he?

He should be the one eager to finalize the divorce.

So why was he still holding on to her?

A chilling thought crossed her mind.

"Jason, you're treating me as Rebecca's substitute, aren't you?" she accused, her voice trembling with anger and despair. "You don't care about me. You just want me in your bed so you can pretend I'm her.

Jason, you make me sick!"