Chapter 1 – Twisted Fate of a Billionaire’s Daughter Undercover

The Jones family, a well-known name in this city, had gathered to celebrate Nathaniel Jones’s eightieth birthday.

The party was lively and attended by distinguished guests.

Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered the festive atmosphere, coming from the garden. The voice belonged to Arabella Jones, a pregnant widow of Nathaniel’s eldest grandson.

The family rushed to the garden to find two struggling figures in the pool.

Gordon Jones quickly dove in to save Arabella, while security guards rescued the other figure, Ashlyn Jones.

When Ashlyn returned to the house, soaked from her near-drowning, the servants didn’t even acknowledge her. With her low status in the family, worse than even Gordon’s sister’s dog, she realized that nobody cared about her or her wellbeing.

With Arabella’s accident, the Jones family rushed to take her to the hospital.

Ashlyn retreated to her room, took a shower, and then put on a fresh set of clothes. Feeling unwell, she sank into bed. Just as she had drifted off to sleep, she was dragged out of bed by Gordon.

When Ashlyn saw Gordon, her eyes turned red. “You’re back already? How’s Arabella? Listen to me, Gordon. I swear I didn’t push her into the swimming pool.”

Gordon sneered coldly. “Save the excuses for Grandpa.”

Ashlyn suddenly came to her senses. “What do you mean, Gordon?”

Without giving her the light of day, he said briskly, “Grandpa has questions for you.”

Gordon didn’t want to waste his breath on Ashlyn. Not long after Arabella was sent to the hospital, her child was gone.

That child was supposed to be the only flesh and blood left by Gordon’s eldest brother. Because of Ashlyn, they lost the child forever.

Of course, Nathaniel was furious. As soon as he came back from the hospital, he ordered Gordon to take Ashlyn to him.

Ashlyn went stiff. Gordon’s words sent shivers down her spine.

She had been married to Gordon for so long. Of course, she knew how Nathaniel would punish people who had made serious mistakes.

They would be seriously beaten.

It never occurred to her that they would turn a deaf ear to her explanation. They didn’t even give her the chance to explain and just believed what Arabella said.

Looking at the side profile of the man who was dragging her away, Ashlyn couldn’t help but think that he was undoubtedly handsome. But this man had never been gentle or nice to her ever since she married him.

Her high fever was unbearable, but no one cared.

Now that Arabella lost her child, Ashlyn knew everyone in this family, including her husband, wanted to skin her alive.

Ashlyn pursed her lips in mock. “I can walk by myself.”

Gordon glanced at her. There was disgust and anger in his deep-set eyes, without a trace of pity or sympathy.

“Hurry up,” he said expressionlessly.

Without waiting for a response, he turned around and hurried to the living room.

Watching him leave her, Ashlyn suddenly felt that her life had been nothing but a joke the past three years.

The living room was brightly lit. She knew that the Joness were inside waiting for her.

“Kneel!”

As soon as Ashlyn entered, Nathaniel threw a teacup at her.

Ashlyn stood there, calm and collected. “Why?”

She had done nothing wrong. Why should she get on her knees?

Her stubbornness only served to make Nathaniel angrier. “Gordon, this is the person you married!”

Just as Ashlyn opened her mouth to explain herself, Gordon suddenly raised his hand and pressed his palm heavily on her shoulder. “Kneel.”

Under his strong hand, Ashlyn was forced to kneel. “Either you kneel or we divorce.”

“Gordon?”

Ashlyn already knew that her supposed husband wouldn’t protect her. But when he pressed his hand on her shoulder, she still felt that he might as well have stabbed her in the back.

She married this man regardless of her family’s objection. She naively reasoned that no matter how cold he was to her, she would gradually move him and win his heart as time passed.

Under the pressure of Gordon’s hand, Ashlyn was forced to kneel, which hurt her knees. However, in that moment, the pain in her knees was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

Ashlyn raised her head to look up at Gordon, who was standing next to her. His eyes were sharp and ruthless, devoid of any sympathy towards her, which only pained her further.

She had been too naive.

“Ashlyn, do you know your mistake?”

Hearing Nathaniel’s voice, Ashlyn looked back at him and straightened her back. “I didn’t push her. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Nathaniel grabbed a vase and threw it at Ashlyn, missing her by inches.

The vase smashed into countless pieces next to Ashlyn. A stray shard flew straight at her, cutting the back of her hand.

“Impenitent woman! You don’t deserve to kneel in our living room! You have dirtied our home and brought shame on our family! Drag her out and make her kneel outside until she knows she’s in the wrong!”

After saying that, Nathaniel addressed Gordon specifically. “Find someone to keep an eye on her. If she doesn’t admit her mistake, don’t let her get up!”

Nathaniel stormed off angrily. Glancing warily at Gordon, Jenifer Jones, Gordon’s mother, walked up to Ashlyn and said, “Ashlyn, get up. Nathaniel is just being unreasonably angry. Don’t take it to heart.”

The sole person in the Jones family who was kind to Ashlyn was Jenifer.

She was a soft-hearted woman who thought that no matter what Ashlyn did, she was still a member of this family.

Denise Jones, Gordon’s sister, sneered with disdain. “Mom, Grandpa said that if she doesn’t admit her fault, she can’t stand up. Please don’t get involved in this matter!”

Denise was by no means fond of Ashlyn, unlike her mother. She knew that Jenifer wouldn’t be able to bear seeing Ashlyn in trouble like this, so she took her mother’s arm to take her away.

Jenifer sighed and looked to Gordon, who had been silent this whole time. “Gordon, what’s on your mind? Ashlyn’s your wife. You have been married for three years. Even if she—”

Gordon’s eyes turned icy cold. “I don’t have such a vicious wife!”

His words sent a shiver down Ashlyn’s spine. She knew in that moment that explaining herself would be futile, because her own husband had already made up his mind about her.

After saying that, Gordon stood up straight and added coldly, “Behave yourself, Ashlyn.”

Every indifferent word that left his mouth was like a blow to Ashlyn’s heart.

Then, the man walked away. As the sound of his footsteps got softer and softer, Ashlyn felt as though her heart was about to give up.

Two servants appeared all of a sudden. “Mrs. Jones, you have to kneel outside as ordered.”

The two servants exchanged tacit glances and then grabbed either side of Ashlyn. They dragged her out of the living room and forced her to kneel outside.

Ashlyn had never been insulted like this. She raised her head and looked at the two servants defiantly. “How dare you treat me like this?”

But the two servants didn’t take her seriously at all. “Just stay there, Mrs. Jones! Unless you admit your mistake, you have to kneel here the whole night. Save us the trouble and behave yourself.”

Just then, thunder roared in the sky and seconds later, rain poured down relentlessly.

The two servants were stunned for a moment before they reacted. The two quickly ran into the house, leaving Ashlyn kneeling outside alone.

The rain got heavier while Ashlyn’s heart grew colder.

She didn’t know how long she had knelt outside. She only knew that when the rain stopped, the sky was still pitch black.

The two servants had fallen asleep. In fact, Ashlyn could’ve seized this as an opportunity to leave, but she wasn’t reconciled.

She simply didn’t believe that Gordon could really be so cruel.

But sometimes, even she had to admit that she was being too naive.

At the break of dawn, Gordon finally came.

Having knelt all night, Ashlyn’s back was slumped.

As Gordon approached, she stared at him blearily and pinched herself to wake up. “Are you calm yet?”

If he was calm, he should be willing to listen to her now.

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