Chapter 0001

When Helena Lane arrived at the police station, dawn had yet to break.

Tiny snowflakes swirled in the night wind, melting as soon as they touched the ground, leaving a muddy mess.

Two hours earlier, Helena had received news that her newlywed husband, Kenneth Keller, had been arrested on suspicion of assault. Not wanting to alarm her family, she came alone as his lawyer and closest relative.

Seated in the visitation room, Helena was focused on cleaning the grayish mud off her high heels when Kenneth entered, escorted by two officers.

Seeing her, his eyes flickered with a hint of surprise before he casually slouched into the seat across from her, looking more relaxed than he ever did at home.

There wasn’t a hint of panic in his demeanor and certainly no trace of fear.

As the heir to one of Greenwick’s most powerful family empires, Kenneth was notorious for his rebellious streak, acting with complete disregard for convention and authority.

Fear?

It was something others felt around him, not the other way around.

Had it not been for the high-ranking officer overseeing the case, he wouldn’t have been here at all, no matter what trouble he caused.

Helena stared at him, expressionless, and got straight to the point. “Mr. Keller, care to explain what happened last night?”

Kenneth draped his arms over the back of the chair, lazily studying the woman seated opposite him, who looked all serious and professional.

Her camel cashmere coat was pressed to perfection, her clear, unblemished face free of makeup, and her low ponytail perfectly in place.

She showed none of the anger or panic one might expect from a wife who’d just learned of her husband’s charges.

Her demeanor was all business.

“And are you asking as the corporate attorney, or…” he let his lips curl slightly, pausing deliberately, then lowered his voice to a murmur, “as my wife?”

The low, suggestive tone seemed to linger in the air, but Helena remained unfazed, her gaze cool. “Is there a difference?”

He raised an eyebrow. “If you’re here as an attorney, I want a replacement.”

He paused, then gave her a sidelong glance, a touch of mischief gleaming in his eyes. “If you’re here as my wife, then you should start by calling me ‘honey.’”

Helena glanced at him, completely unamused by the little game he was playing in a situation like this. This was all too typical of him.

“If the charges stick, you’ll be looking at three to ten years behind bars.” Helena’s cool voice was laced with sarcasm as she added, “Tired of your fancy feasts, Mr. Keller? Thought you’d try bread and pickles for a change?”

Kenneth met her mildly annoyed gaze. He was entirely unfazed and even held a roguish grin. “What, worried about me?”

Seeing that Kenneth had no intention of cooperating, Helena, who had only come as a formality, decided not to waste any more time and rose to leave.

“This is the police station, Mr. Keller. Talking nonsense here is more troublesome than keeping silent,” she reminded him, urging him not to spout off.

“And remember, we signed a prenuptial agreement.”

Feelings of attachment had no place in their contractual, paper-thin marriage.

Were it not for the fact that he was needed at the South City project bidding event that afternoon—or the concern that his grandmother would worry if she learned of his arrest—she wouldn’t have bothered with him at all.

It wasn’t until Helena’s figure disappeared through the door that Kenneth slowly withdrew his gaze. She hadn’t even glanced back, completely indifferent to whether or not he’d assaulted another woman.

But then again, to her, their marriage was never real.

She’d personally drafted the prenuptial agreement and had never considered him a life partner.

In truth, she had never intended for him to play any lasting role in her life.

The roguish smile on his handsome face faded gradually. His eyelids lowered, and his eyes held a barely perceptible hint of disappointment.

Ten minutes later, Helena found herself outside the interview room, facing the lead officer, Eric Langston.

After five years, Eric’s aura was more intimidating than ever, radiating a fierce, unapproachable presence that surpassed even what she remembered.

Helena had anticipated seeing Eric at the police station, but when she finally faced him, she paused for a couple of seconds to collect herself.

Five years ago, Helena could never have guessed that, Eric, her frugal, hardworking senior—a man she’d worked part-time jobs with—came from a prominent family.

That was until Eric’s mother warned her, “A beggar of unknown origin, a stray the Keller family took in, daring to latch onto my son? Take a good look at yourself!

“My son has a fiancée—someone whose family background, upbringing, and character make you unworthy to even shine her shoes. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, they’ll be going abroad together soon.

“You’d better understand your place and stop shamelessly clinging to my son. Getting rid of someone as low as you is easier than squashing an ant.”

Before she turned seven, Helena had been forced to beg on the streets, only to be rescued during a police raid on a human trafficking ring.

Since her parents were never identified through the DNA database, she was sent to an orphanage. She grew up used to the scorn of others but never had she felt such raw humiliation.

It was as though her dignity had been ripped away, thrown to the ground, and trampled upon.

Any feelings she had for Eric vanished completely. If he hadn’t hidden his identity, she wouldn’t have suffered this shame. Out of pride and resentment, she never saw him again after that, even after he graduated.

As time went by, Helena realized that Eric’s mother had been behind it all and that she might have directed some of her resentment toward him unfairly.

With a polite yet distant smile, Helena broke the silence. “Eric, it’s been a long time.”

Eric assessed Helena with an impassive gaze. Seeing her composed demeanor, he raised his brows slightly and nodded.

He then turned and entered the interview room first.

Helena exhaled deeply, steeling herself as she followed him inside as a witness. Her marriage to Kenneth was a well-kept secret. Aside from close family, no one knew they were married.

Kenneth refused to cooperate with the police, adamantly withholding any details about what happened the previous night.

Left with no choice, Helena had to implement a backup plan: testifying as his wife.

After all, rumor had it that in Wellington's criminal investigations division, Eric was known as the “Judge"—once he set his sights on someone, even the smallest sins from birth would be unearthed.

Kenneth, being the reckless type, was bound to have skeletons in his closet.

With the South City project at a critical juncture and Kenneth’s role as CEO on the line, this was the worst possible time for a scandal.

Moreover, his grandmother's frail health couldn't withstand such a shock.

Helena knew she had to protect him, both for professional and personal reasons.

Once the deposition was complete, Eric regarded Helena with a complicated expression. “When did you and Mr. Keller get married?”

Helena met his intense gaze, feeling a slight ripple in her heart before quickly composing herself.

She replied calmly, “Almost a month ago. Would you like to see the marriage certificate?”

It had only been a month since Eric had applied for a transfer back to Greenwick. Had it not been for a minor delay in the paperwork...

Eric’s gaze darkened, and after a moment, he spoke with difficulty, “Are you certain you were with him the entire night?”

After a brief pause, he added, “As a lawyer, you should be aware of the consequences of perjury.”

Sensing his doubt, Helena took a deep breath and responded with professional confidence. “According to Article 305 of the Criminal Code, committing perjury is punishable by up to three years in prison or detention. In serious cases, it carries a sentence of three to seven years.

"And if a lawyer commits a crime intentionally, their license will be revoked. Which is precisely why my testimony carries even more weight.”

Kenneth had been accused of breaking into a hotel room at 12:37 a.m., assaulting and raping a female celebrity, and not leaving until more than two hours had passed.

Testifying as his wife, Helena claimed that Kenneth had been home until just before midnight, stepping out only at 11:57 p.m. By her calculations, even in the fastest sports car, it would take at least an hour to reach the hotel from their house.

Moreover, she had obtained all surveillance footage from the route Kenneth took after leaving, each clip showing him driving past, proving he had no time to commit the crime.