"Time to get her up!"

The cold December wind in Pinebrook was bone-chilling. In the women's prison, Madeleine Landry suddenly woke up from her sleep, feeling a sharp pain on her scalp.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a row of grotesque faces of women standing in front of the window.

"Oh, still sleeping? It seems we didn't beat you hard enough last time!" The women's expressions were excited and malicious.

Madeleine, however, showed no panic in her eyes. On the contrary, she seemed accustomed to it, with a calm expression and dull eyes.

Because she knew that, without any surprises, she was about to be beaten up brutally again.

Sure enough, she was dragged off the bed the next moment.

In the six months she had been in prison, she had been inexplicably beaten up by the "queen bee" of the prison every once in a while. The more she resisted, the worse the beatings became.

So, she gradually transformed from a rebel into a numb victim, because only by doing so could the "queen bee" shorten the time of her abuse, and she would receive fewer beatings.

"Bitch, today is the anniversary of your infidelity. Someone specially asked me to give you a special present!"

Upon hearing the words "someone asked me," Madeleine's body trembled. She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with a long-lost anger and unwillingness.

She looked at the women surrounding her in a circle, enduring the pain and weakly asked, "Who exactly ordered this..."

However, before she could finish her words, a hefty slap was thrown onto her not-yet-healed face, causing her ears to ring.

Immediately after, the "queen bee" kicked her in the belly with force.

The blow sent her off balance, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. She curled up, drenched in a cold sweat due to the sheer pain.

"Strip her clothes off!"

"Mr. Beach has already instructed us to 'entertain' this woman well. It doesn't matter if we beat her to a pulp, as long as we don't kill her."

Hearing these words, Madeleine felt shocked as if struck by lightning. A chilling tremor seized her entire body.

If she wasn't mistaken, Mr. Beach mentioned by the "queen bee" was her fiance, Clinton Beach!

And it made sense. Who else would consider today as the one-year anniversary of being caught in an affair except Clinton?

Besides the Beach family, who else possessed such power to have these female convicts brazenly torment her in prison without the fear of alerting the prison guards, no matter how noisy it got?

But why would Clinton do this to her?

She was clearly framed, so why wouldn't he believe her?

She clung tightly to her clothes, defending the last bit of her dignity with all her might. "No, don't tear my clothes. Get away from me!"

She shouted like a madwoman, resisting their hands reaching towards her.

But soon, her hands were firmly held down by two female prisoners, and she could only watch as her prison uniform was stripped off piece by piece, her dignity trampled underfoot.

Afterward, the "queen bee" grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the hard wall, again and again, until her forehead was bleeding profusely.She was finally satisfied and let go, throwing Madeleine on the ground.

"I'm a little tired, you guys continue. Remember, don't kill her, otherwise there won't be any more fun next time." The "queen bee" gave orders to her companions behind her.

The companions immediately began punching and kicking Madeleine until she was on the verge of passing out. Then they stopped the abuse and threw her into a corner like trash.

Madeleine lay naked on the cold concrete floor, her entire body in pain. But the pain in her body at this moment was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

She'd thought that ever since the day Clinton personally sent her to prison, he had let go of the hatred in his heart.

But she didn't expect that all the suffering she had endured in this prison since her incarceration was orchestrated by him as revenge.

But she was the victim, so why did she become a criminal in everyone's eyes?

Thinking of this, fragments of the past flooded her mind, and a sense of grievance and bitterness welled up in her chest...

Once upon a time, she was the beloved daughter of the Landry family, showered with love and affection by her elder brother and parents.

But suddenly one day, Abigail Price, dressed in tattered clothes, suddenly entered her life.

Overnight, Madeleine, the only daughter of the Landry family in Pinebrook, became the child of the family's maid.

And the real daughter, Abigail, was the pitiful person whose identity was stolen by the maid.

In the end, Madeleine's biological mother became a criminal, and she was coined a thief - stealing the life of the real heiress. Hence, she became the laughingstock of the city that everyone despised.

But when her mother decided to swap her life, she was just an infant!

She was completely oblivious to everything, yet nobody cared at all.

Thoughts of suicide surfaced once again in her mind. However, just thinking of her one-year-old child made her heart ache profoundly.

Bracing herself, she painstakingly crawled towards the clothes discarded on the ground and picked them up.

Every movement brought a piercing pain, but she gritted her teeth and slowly dressed herself piece by piece.

In her heart, she vowed to survive no matter how difficult it was, just to be reunited with her child...

...

Four years later.

The prison gate was opened.

"After you leave, don't look back and live a good life."

Upon hearing these words, Madeleine nodded at the prison guard, then turned around and walked out of the prison gate.

She wore a thin coat, stepped on the white snowy ground with yellowed sneakers, and the cold wind blew against her emaciated face.

She took a deep breath, feeling the free air outside the tall walls, and shivered.

This was... the long-lost freedom.

She even felt that the air outside was sweet, and she could finally sleep peacefully without worrying about being dragged out of bed and beaten in the middle of the night.

And she could finally see her beloved baby whom she had missed day and night. Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

She quickened her steps involuntarily, hoping to rush home to see her baby soon.

After five years of separation, she didn't know if he had grown tall or short. Was he fat or thin?

Did he... still recognize her as his mother?

"Madeleine, get in the car." At this moment, a cold voice interrupted her thoughts.

She instinctively looked over and saw a black Maybach parked on the side of the road. The man sitting in the car was her elder brother whom she had got along with for twenty-one years, but suddenly discovered they had no blood relation, Matthew Landry.

"Matthew..." Madeleine uttered hoarsely.

"Quit pretending you're being abused."

"You stole my sister's life for twenty-one years, making her endure the abuse she shouldn't have endured in that family!" Matthew's face darkened as he expressed his dissatisfaction.

Hearing this, Madeleine's cracked lips twitched, but she still couldn't say a word.

After a long silence, she apologized in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry..."

In the five years of imprisonment, she had learned to be submissive and apologize. In order to survive, she could even kneel and beg for mercy anytime, anywhere.

"What's the use of apologizing? Even if you were in prison for five years, it can't make up for the harm your family caused Abigail, let alone your insincere apology!"

Matthew glared at her with disgust, then looked at the time on his watch impatiently. "Hurry up and get in the car, don't waste my time."

He hated Madeleine and found her dirty. He didn't even want to get out of the car to touch her.

Once upon a time, he adored Madeleine and thought she was the most beautiful sister in the world, but he now wished nothing but death upon her.

"I... I'm dirty, and I'll dirty the car." Madeleine gave a bitter smile and retreated a step back, not daring to enter the car.

Matthew frowned at her words, his cold gaze assessing her from head to toe.

Back then, she was the cherished daughter upon whom the Landry family had lavished all their love, living a luxurious life envied by others.

Now, dressed in crude attire, pale and emaciated, she had lost all her former glow. Anyone who saw her would think she was utterly lowly and pitiable.

Clearly, she had a tough time in prison.

"I don't have the patience to waste time with you anymore. Hurry up and get in the car. We're going to the hospital!

"Abigail had an accident, and now it's time for you to repay what you owe her over these years!" Matthew said, looking at Madeleine with resentment in his eyes.

Madeleine felt a tightness in her heart and a surge of fear upon hearing this.

When she saw Matthew just now, she thought it was an illusion. The Landry family already hated her to the bone, so why would he come to pick her up?

But now she understood. He had come to pick her up for Abigail.

"What can I do if I go to the hospital?" her tone was somewhat panicked.

"Abigail had a car accident and needs a kidney transplant. You stole her life, so now it's time for you to repay her with your kidney!"

Upon hearing this, Madeleine took a deep breath and instinctively took a big step back. The instinct to survive made her turn around and run.

"Madeleine, stop! You really are as venomous as ever." A cold and familiar male voice echoed in the air.

Before Madeleine could get very far, her wrist was pulled harshly by a man and she was thrown to the ground.

When she fell, her forehead hit the curbstone hard and blood oozed out.

She lay on the ground and looked back at the man. Just one look made her frightened and she lowered her head to avoid his gaze. Because the man standing in front of her at this moment was her former fiance, Clinton.