Substituted by My Wife，I Erased Her from My Life

My wife was terrified that her childhood sweetheart’s claustrophobia would flare up in the dark room. So, she ditched the critical meeting that was supposed to save our struggling company. Instead, she drugged me, used me as a substitute, and handed me over to a ruthless syndicate of loan-shark scammers. "Five days! Just give me five days tops. I’ll find other corporate executives to trade you out. After this, whatever business you want to start, I’ll back you with everything I have!" For five agonizing days, I endured unspeakable torture. Every passing second, I prayed she would rescue me. Meanwhile, she was leisurely strolling through life with her sweetheart, taking him for haircuts and attending romantic symphonies. On the seventh day, she finally brought people to swap me out. "Babe, I'm here to take you home." I shoved her reaching hands away and stared at her like she was a total stranger. "Who the hell are you calling 'babe'? Don't flatter yourself!" "What did you put in my drink? Why is my head spinning?" I weakly set the cup down in the cup holder and glared at her. Vanessa awkwardly slipped her phone into her purse, forcing a cheerful smile as she popped a piece of candy into my mouth. "What crazy ideas are running through your head? Your blood sugar must be crashing again." "Today’s the day we pitch the venture capitalists to save our firm. Why on earth would I spike your drink right now?" She reached over and expertly began massaging my temples. Except this time, she was completely distracted. Her fingers fumbled awkwardly, missing the pressure points multiple times without her even realizing it. Following her gaze toward the rearview mirror, I noticed several black SUVs with tinted windows trailing us closely—they had been following us since we left town. In an instant, everything clicked. "You still refuse to tell me the truth." "The investor's headquarters isn't anywhere near this route. Is this road going to lead you to Julian?" Julian. Her precious childhood sweetheart, the man Vanessa had secretly loved for years. The moment his name left my lips, her hands trembled involuntarily. "Nathan, you're really just hallucinating from low blood sugar. Listen to yourself—you're completely delirious." "Julian is ancient history. He has nothing to do with me anymore." I stared at her, my vision blurring. "He got lured into a scam syndicate chasing quick cash, didn't he?" "I know he has leukemia. I know you found him a matching bone marrow donor, and this is his only shot at surviving. So your grand plan is to use me—a founder on the brink of bankruptcy—to take his place, right?" Vanessa averted her eyes, looking out the side window. "Nathan, you're overthinking." "Julian had no choice. He's a victim in all of this." Swallowing the bitter rage welling up inside me, I rasped, "Being desperate doesn't excuse being a monster. He conned young kids from his own hometown into that nightmare just to save his own skin! Don't those victims deserve pity too?" Vanessa suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her arms around me as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Nathan, years ago, Julian gave me his own medical funds to pay for my emergency surgery! My life belongs to him! I can't let him die!" "You don't understand—he has severe claustrophobia! Those thugs locking him in a pitch-black container will literally kill him! You love me so much, Nathan... please, you'll do this for me, won't you? Just take his place for a few days, please!" The frantic obsession in her eyes struck my heart like a blunt blade. "Vanessa... you're out of your damn mind." She bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled, her expression twisted in anguish. I knew right then: I had lost. From the very beginning, her heart belonged solely to Julian. And this sick scheme? It was probably Julian’s idea all along—whispering poison in her ear so she would target me, the man he hated most. As the drive dragged on, my limbs turned completely numb. I lost all ability to move. Vanessa never dared to look me in the eye again. She just silently let her tears fall onto the steering wheel. Eventually, the car rolled to a stop outside an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. She pushed the door open, grabbed my limp arms, and dragged me out. In that exact second, every ounce of love I had ever harbored for her died. A crew of masked men in dark hoodies swarmed forward, dragging me into a grimy, makeshift office. A woman who introduced herself as Brenda sneered, ripping my designer watch off my wrist before tossing a contract onto the table in front of Vanessa. "Damn, girl, you're cold. Ditching a rich husband just to trade him in for your little sidepiece! Sign the damn waiver! If you don't bring me a few real whales on time, you know what happens to him!" Her thugs roughly wheeled out a rusty stretcher. Vanessa let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Julian! Oh God, what did they do to you?!"Julian lay there, blood trickling from the corner of his bruised lips, his face sickly pale as he gasped for breath. "Vanessa... help... me..." Whatever hesitation Vanessa had left vanished instantly. She dropped to her knees, frantically wrapping her arms around him. "Did they beat you? Why are you bleeding?!" "I'm taking you straight to the emergency room! I'll get you the best specialists in the country! You're going to be okay!" Julian didn't say a word. He just clutched her tight, burying his face in her neck, refusing to let go. If this wasn't love, what was? A blind man could see their devotion. And I was merely the pathetic clown caught in the crossfire of their epic romance. Perhaps my cold, hollow stare unnerved her, because Vanessa pulled back and stammered out an excuse. "Nathan, you're much stronger than Julian. At least you aren't terrified of the dark. Besides, you're a recognized CEO—they won't dare touch you! I swear on my life, I'll find wealthy investors to buy you out immediately!" "Just look at Julian! He’s barely breathing! If I leave him here, I’m a murderer! Nathan, you always said you loved me more than life itself. I’ve never begged you for anything before. Please, just hang in here for a couple of days. Once this nightmare is over, I'll move anywhere you want. I'll support any company you want to build!" She took my limp hand, trying to press it against her tear-stained cheek, just like she always did whenever she wanted to coax me into forgiving her. Summoning the last shred of strength in my body, I shoved her away. "Save your fake tears. I'm not your precious Julian." Vanessa let out a heavy, trembling sigh. "Nathan, I know you resent me right now, and that's fair. But remember, I am your wife. I swear I'm coming back to bring you home. Just wait five days. Only five days." My chin slumped to my chest. I didn't even have the breath left to curse her. Julian let out a series of frail, rattling coughs. Panic flashed across Vanessa’s face, and she quickly helped him into the passenger seat of our car. Before hitting the gas, she didn't look back at me once. As the tinted window slowly rolled up, Julian revealed half his face. The frail, dying invalid vanished, replaced by a wicked, triumphant smirk. He silently mouthed five words through the glass: "You're going to die here." He had pulled off his escape. And I was cast straight into hell. My vision faded into black. The frantic pounding of my heart was drowned out by sheer, cold dread as I collapsed backward onto the concrete floor, knocked out cold. A splash of foul-smelling, putrid water hit my face, and blinding pain from my wounds forced my eyes wide open. A hulking thug stood over me, swinging an iron pipe ruthlessly against my ribs. "Get up, you piece of trash! You've been out cold for two days, and that bitch hasn't sent a single text! Are you two even married?! When Julian was here, she was blowing up our phones begging for mercy every damn hour!" "Speak! Is she bringing the money tomorrow or not?!" Spasms of agony tore through my body, making me shake uncontrollably. The heavy chains binding my wrists and ankles rattled against the dirt floor. Brenda stepped forward, grabbed my hair, and shoved my face down into a bucket of rancid sludge, snarling: "I don't run a charity! You better call that bitch right now and tell her to follow the goddamn deal!" Just as my lungs were about to burst, she yanked my head back up by the roots of my hair. "I’ve got a thousand ways to tear you apart, pretty boy." Two thugs dragged me across the floor and dumped me straight into an open sewer trench beneath the warehouse. The vile black water rose past my chest. In nearby rusted cages, dozens of starved sewer rats began scurrying frantically, smelling the blood. Brenda signaled a henchman to shove a burner phone into my face. "You must have her private number. Give it to me! I want a straight answer from her!" I parted my cracked lips to speak, but a mouthful of dark blood sprayed out instead, splashing across Brenda’s face. Her face twisted into demonic rage. "Filthy piece of shit! Won't talk? Open the cages!" In an instant, swarms of aggressive, screeching rats plunged into the trench, lunging at my bare skin. Their razor-sharp teeth sank into my flesh, ripping and tearing. The excruciating agony tore a bloodcurdling scream from my throat, my blood swirling into the filthy trench water. Moments later, Brenda slammed the phone hard against my bruised cheekbone. "How's that for an appetizer? Ready to be a good little husband and help me find your wife now?"I nodded weakly. Nothing mattered anymore except staying alive. Once the screen unlocked, a series of unread text notifications popped up. They were from Julian, sent to my burner number. "Nathan, Vanessa took me out for a haircut today. She told me she just wants it to be the two of us for the next few days. How about you? How’s the sewer trench treating you?" "Just finished a romantic concert with Vanessa. I casually mentioned I’d love to come back every year, and she promised she’d make it our annual tradition. You having fun getting beaten to a pulp every day?" Every single message dripped with malicious arrogance. Trembling with rage, I dialed Vanessa’s private line. I needed to hear the truth from her own mouth. All I got was an automated operator: "We're sorry. The number you have dialed is no longer in service." Brenda snatched the phone away and spat right into my face. "Pathetic loser! You can't even reach your own woman! I’ve never seen a husband so completely cuckolded!" "Her little sidepiece is literally bragging in your face! I was wondering why a wife would leave her man to rot—turns out she's too busy playing house with her lover!" In the end, shivering and bleeding, I was dragged out and locked inside a tiny dog cage. Curled in the dark, my eyes bloodshot, I made a silent vow: if I made it out of this alive, I would cut Vanessa out of my life forever. We would be absolute strangers until the day I died. The fifth day came and went. The warehouse doors never opened. My heart sank into an abyss of despair. On the seventh day, a thug suddenly pointed at the small wall-mounted TV and yelled, "Boss, look! It’s Vanessa!" On the screen, Vanessa and Julian stood shoulder-to-shoulder, looking glamorous and radiant. A reporter eagerly pushed a microphone toward her. "Ms. Vance, what prompted you to liquidate your company’s entire asset portfolio and donate everything to charity today?" Vanessa replied calmly, "The company was already struggling. Selling the assets to help those in need brings me immense peace." "Of course, I also have a personal reason. I want to build good karma for the man I love. I pray he never faces suffering again, and that his path ahead is smooth." As she spoke, she glanced at Julian, offering him a tender, adoring smile. She added, "In a couple of days, my partner and I will be relocating to a quiet countryside estate. We plan to settle down there permanently and leave the chaos behind." Brenda stared at the screen, letting out a slow, mocking round of applause. "Bravo! What a touching speech! Leaving the chaos behind, huh?!" Without warning, she kicked the cage open and brought her heavy boot down on my rat-bitten shoulder, grinding her heel into my torn flesh. "Your bitch of a wife played me!" Still unsatisfied, she grabbed an iron rod and beat my bruised, fractured body mercilessly. I curled on the ground like a dying stray, screaming until my throat tore, vomiting bile from the sheer shock. Another thug rushed in waving a tablet. "Boss! She just sent a message through an encrypted app. She said she's too busy to come—we can do whatever the hell we want with him!" A ragged, broken laugh escaped my lips. How laughably naive I had been. She had finally gotten Julian back; they were reunited. Why would she ever want an inconvenient third wheel like me around? They didn't just abandon me. They wanted me dead. Enraged, Brenda smashed the burner phone and shattered the television screen with a metal pipe. "She thinks she can play Brenda?! I'll make sure she spends the rest of her miserable life drowning in regret!" "Bring out the wooden skewers! Drive them under his nails! They're still legally married—mutilating her husband is the same as spitting in her damn face!" A circle of men pinned my limbs to the floor, driving sharp skewers deep beneath my nails and into my open wounds. Driven by pure, primal survival instinct, I kicked frantically, scrambling backward until my heels caught empty air, sending me tumbling down a steep flight of concrete stairs. Right before the world went black, through a veil of crimson blood, I saw heavily armed tactical officers breaching the warehouse. When I opened my eyes again, two full days had passed. Outside the glass doors of my hospital room, Vanessa and Julian were being questioned by detectives. Julian coughed weakly, his voice dripping with sorrow. "I was a victim too, officer. I was tricked into that ring. I had no idea Nathan would recklessly offer his own life to swap for mine! If only he had shared his live location sooner, I would never have let him suffer like this!" Vanessa patted his back with teary eyes. "Thank God the police found Nathan in time. Otherwise... I can't bear to imagine." The detective glanced over and noticed I was conscious. He stepped inside, his tone grave. "Mr. Vance, can you hear me? Do you remember who did this to you?" Vanessa rushed to my bedside, grabbing my hand tightly, her eyes overflowing with concern. "Babe! You've been through so much! Tell the officers who hurt you—I swear I will make every single one of them pay!" I yanked my hand away with disgust. The sound of her voice made my skin crawl. Vanessa threw herself across my chest, sobbing uncontrollably. "Babe, are you still mad that I didn't come sooner? I promise, from now on, I will never break a promise to you! Didn't you want to start a new business? I'll be by your side the whole time, okay?" I shoved her off with whatever strength I had left, glaring at her with cold indifference. "What the hell are you yelling about? Who's your 'babe'?" "I'm just a guy fresh out of college trying to launch my first startup. Why would I ever marry you?" "Even for a scam artist, this is crossing the line!"