Chapter 1

My important material at work was suddenly stolen.

The most suspicious is my husband Nathan Reed's so-called closest 'family', Carol。

When I questioned Carol, she pretended to be innocent, blinking her big eyes as if it was all my fault: "Claire, how could you doubt me?"

Even worse, my husband Nathan Reed refused to support me and instead tried every means to sabotage the investigation of my case.

What they didn't realize was that this matter was far more serious than they had imagined.

My real identity is employed by a confidential government research institution.

The things Carol stole are not only dangerous, but also deadly.

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The radioactive substance I was responsible for transporting vanished from my home during the night.

Nathan, my boyfriend, was away at the time. The only other individual with access was Carol—his so-called "close family friend," though everyone knew that was just a convenient excuse.

I didn't hesitate to act. This wasn't a matter to be taken lightly. I immediately alerted the authorities.

When Carol was questioned, she portrayed herself as a blameless victim flawlessly.

"Claire," she said, her voice quavering, "I understand you dislike me, but accusing me of this? That's simply cruel."

Nathan stormed into the room shortly after, his face flushed with rage.

"Claire, are you out of your mind?" he barked. "Carol's already suffered enough because of you. She lost her child! And now you're trying to blame her for this?"

Because of me?

I gazed at him, shocked by the audacity of his statement.

This was the same man I'd discovered in bed with Carol just a few weeks prior. I'd come home early from a business trip to find them together, browsing maternity websites and selecting baby items.

I had insisted on ending our relationship then and there, but Nathan refused to let me go.

As for Carol, she vanished for two days before reappearing, looking pale and fragile, as if she'd been through a terrible ordeal.

"Claire," she'd whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks, "I ended the pregnancy. Please don't hold it against Nathan. It wasn't his fault—it was mine."

Her "sacrifice" had only widened the rift between Nathan and me, turning our strained relationship into an all-out conflict.

But now wasn't the moment to address personal issues.

"The missing material," I informed the officers, "is Iridium-192. A highly radioactive element."

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. The lead officer straightened up, his expression becoming serious.

"That's an extremely dangerous substance," he said. "We need to find it right away."

He turned to face the small group, his piercing gaze cutting through the tension like a knife.

"If anyone has it, surrender it now. Stealing something like this isn't just theft—it's a serious crime. You're facing significant jail time."

Carol broke down, sobbing as if the entire world had crumbled around her.

Nathan hurried to comfort her, his voice trembling with anger. "Carol is a public figure! She'd never jeopardize her reputation by doing anything illegal. We have video evidence to prove it."

Carol was a rising social media personality who made her living promoting products. Her career depended heavily on her public image, so Nathan's confidence made sense.

But something about his tone made me uneasy.

We had a security camera in the hallway outside my apartment, installed for safety purposes.

When the footage was examined, my heart sank.

The video only showed me entering and exiting the apartment. There wasn't a single sign of Carol—or anyone else, for that matter.

"This can't be accurate," I said, my voice wavering.

But Nathan and Carol exchanged a knowing look, their expressions triumphant.

That's when it dawned on me.

This was a trap.

They had manipulated the footage.

Nathan stepped forward, pointing an accusing finger at me. His voice was loud, filled with self-righteous anger.

"It was you," he declared. "You orchestrated this whole thing. You took it yourself and are trying to frame Carol!"

The same hands that had once embraced me, that had promised me devotion and fidelity, were now pointing at me as if I were a criminal.

I met his gaze, my voice steady but firm.

"Do you even understand what you're implying?"

If I were charged with theft, I'd be facing years in prison.

Was his resentment towards me really that deep?