My Husband Had His Secretary Whip Me 100 Times

I stole three thousand dollars from my husband, Ethan Vance.

That very night, he called the police and had me arrested.

After learning about the situation, the police officer tried to persuade Ethan:

Your wife only took the money to pay for your son's emergency surgery. Why don't you let this go?

Ethan sneered, his voice cold as ice:

"She has hands and feet. If she wants money, she can earn it herself. If I let her off easy this time, she will only get worse in the future."

I smiled bitterly.

Ever since our wedding day, when I had urgently asked him for a hundred thousand dollars because my father was critically ill in the hospital, I had been branded as a greedy gold digger in his heart.

After we got married, if my expenses exceeded even a single dollar, I had to file a request with his secretary, Scarlett Ward.

And every single time, Scarlett rejected my request.

Scarlett wrapped her arm around Ethan's, looking at me with pity:

"Chloe, if you needed money, you could have just asked me. You don't have to keep using the baby as an excuse. Leo is only three and a half. How could you teach your own child to lie like this?"

I glanced at the Herms bag resting on Scarlett's arm.

It was a limited-edition piece Ethan had bought for her, with her name custom-engraved on the leather.

The police officer whispered to me:

"Three thousand dollars isn't a massive crime. Just beg your husband. If he drops the charges, you can go home."

I looked at Ethan, then slowly shook my head.

"I stole the three thousand dollars. I admit it."

Ethan's brow furrowed.

His eyes filled with an even deeper, more intense disgust than before.

I turned my head away, refusing to explain any further.

The officer sighed:

"Mrs. Vance, how about this? If you return the three thousand dollars right now, we can handle this with leniency."

"I can't return it," I said, staring out the window. "The money has already been paid to the hospital for my son's surgery."

I looked calmly at the officer and then at Ethan:

"I will take full responsibility for what I did."

Ethan's frown deepened.

Scarlett spoke up:

"Chloe, you were the one who committed a crime in the first place, and now you have this attitude. Aren't you just breaking Ethan's heart?"

"I don't care," I replied flatly.

Ethan let out a cold laugh.

"As expected, you haven't changed a bit. Officer, take her away. Three thousand dollars is more than enough to press grand theft charges."

"Mr. Vance, please calm down," a female officer stepped forward, holding baby Leo's critical illness notice.

Her eyes were red.

While the other officers were questioning me, she had been standing to the side, reviewing my baby's medical records, her face filled with unbearable pity.

"I'm a mother too, and I understand your wife's desperation. Your child's critical illness notice is right here. Even if there is a misunderstanding between you two, this was an emergency. It shouldn't be treated as criminal theft."

As she spoke, she urgently tried to hand the notice to Ethan.

But in the next second, Ethan snatched it and tore it into shreds.

I stared at him in utter shock.

I had always known Ethan hated me.

He hated me because I raised the price on our wedding day, making him lose face in front of high society.

But how could he hate our own child...?

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

Ethan sneered at the female officer:

"You don't know her. On our wedding day, she forged her father's critical illness notice just like this, blackmailing me for money."

I stared at him, my mind going completely blank.

The female officer wanted to say more, but Ethan pulled out a notarized documentour prenuptial agreement.

"It is written clearly here. After marriage, our finances are completely separate. There is no marital property. Her taking my money is theft, plain and simple!"

The agreement was thrown carelessly in front of my face.

This agreement was the condition he had set on our wedding day. To prove to him that I wasn't a gold digger, I had signed it without hesitation.

After our marriage, his billions had absolutely nothing to do with me.

And the notary of this agreement was his secretary, Scarlett.

The female officer looked at me:

"Mrs. Vance, is there anything else you want to say?"

I looked at the prenup on the floor and shook my head.

The handcuffs were clicked onto my wrists.

The male officer said, unable to bear the cruelty:

"Mr. Vance, that's your child after all. A theft charge will leave her with a permanent criminal record. It will ruin your wife's reputation and traumatize your child for the rest of his life."

Scarlett immediately countered: "If a mother doesn't set a good example, how can the child grow up to be an honest and upright person?"

She glanced at Ethan, then added quickly, "I'm just speaking my mind, Ethan. This is your family matter, after all. You don't have to listen to me."

Ethan looked at her, then turned to the police:

"Please handle this strictly according to the law."

I kept my head down, refusing to say a word.

As I walked past Ethan, the female officer tried one last time:

"Mr. Vance, it will take some time to process the booking. If you regret this, you can still drop the charges before dawn."

Ethan said nothing. He watched me get into the police car, his expression unreadable.

I sat in the cold cell of the police station all night.

I never received Ethan's notice to drop the charges.

The female officer looked at me and sighed. I smiled bitterly and lowered my head.

During the entire interrogation process, I did not say a single word in my defense.

Stealing the money.

Saving my child.

That was my motive.

And that was my crime.

I was locked up in the detention center for fifteen days.

When I was released, nobody was there to pick me up.

I walked all the way back to the mansion on foot.

Ethan and Scarlett were sitting in the living room.

Ethan held a heavy leather whip in his hand. He looked at me coldly:

"As my wife, you actually committed theft. I must punish you so you learn your lesson."

My face remained blank.

I had known about the Vance family's strict traditions before I married him.

Back then, to stop Ethan from marrying a poor girl like me, his mother had whipped me a hundred times.

I loved Ethan so much back then that I actually endured it.

His mother had never expected me to survive.

Afterward, Ethan had held me close, crying, swearing he would marry me and love me for the rest of his life.

Now, seeing this same man holding the whip himself, ready to strike me, I laughed at my own foolishness.

It didn't matter. My baby was alive.

What did a few lashes matter?

Ethan's brow furrowed.

Seconds passed.

He still didn't get the tearful begging and pleas for forgiveness he expected from me.

He handed the whip to Scarlett:

"Scarlett has been interning with me since she graduated. She's like a sister to me. She will administer this punishment on behalf of the Vance family."

I froze.

The whip was already in Scarlett's hand.

According to the Vance family rules, the punisher had to be a representative of the family.

The whip struck my back fiercely.

I lost my balance and fell forward, my hands slamming onto the cold floor.

Before I could even scream, the second strike landed.

"Ah!"

I couldn't hold back the scream of agony.

"One hundred lashes. Not a single one less," Ethan's cold voice came from above. "Chloe, you can see your son after the punishment is finished."

Hearing my son's name, I clenched my hands into fists.

When the next strike fell, I bit my lip and didn't make another sound.

"While you're being beaten, think about what you did wrong. Are you setting a good example for our son?"

Ethan turned and walked away.

Scarlett put her entire strength into every single blow.

When she got tired, she handed the whip to the bodyguard she brought.

The sound of the whip slicing through the air lasted for half an hour.

"Chloe, have you learned your lesson yet?" Scarlett smiled playfully.

I glared at her, refusing to speak.

"Looks like you still don't get it. Keep going!"

"That's already a hundred!" I struggled to stand up.

But Scarlett pinned me down hard: "The point of the punishment is to make you admit your mistakes. Clearly, you haven't. Keep whipping her."

"Let me go! I need to see my baby! Ah!"

The whipping continued for another half hour.

By the time they finally let me go, I was lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing.

"Now, that's what I call learning a lesson," Scarlett smirked.

I lay on the cold floor alone, shivering as I dragged myself up.

I stumbled and crawled towards my baby's nursery.

"Leo..."

When I pushed the door open, the sight before me made my blood run cold.

Fifteen days.

I didn't know how my baby had survived these fifteen days.

When I left, he was a chubby, healthy little boy.

Now, when I held him, his tiny bones poked painfully against my chest.

His eyes were deeply sunken, his lips were cracked and bleeding, and dried vomit was crusted all over his clothes.

"Where is the nanny? Where is the private nurse I hired for Leo?!"

I grabbed the butler, Thomas, like a madwoman.

To keep me from touching his money, Ethan made sure his fortune had nothing to do with me. Even the family maids were forbidden from serving me.

I had paid for Leo's private nurse with the money I earned from working part-time.

But now, her phone wouldn't even go through.

"The nurse... she was dismissed, ma'am. Miss Scarlett said she was hired with stolen money, so she let her go. She said you should take care of your own child."

I stared at him in utter disbelief.

Without a second thought, I scooped Leo up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, ma'am?"

"To the hospital!"

"Ma'am, Miss Scarlett said Leo cannot be taken anywhere."

"But look at him! He's dying!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Thomas looked at me with pity. "Mr. Vance told us to obey Miss Scarlett's orders."

"What?!"

I looked around. The maids had gathered near the staircase.

They pretended to do chores, but their eyes were fixed on me.

If I tried to run, they would stop me.

"Ma'am, please don't make things difficult for us."

"Chloe, you just got whipped. Why are you making a scene again?" Scarlett suddenly appeared.

Clutching Leo tightly, I gritted my teeth and slammed myself hard into Scarlett.

"Ah! Chloe, what are you doing?!"

"Miss Scarlett!"

The maids rushed to help her, leaving the staircase wide open.

I dashed down without hesitation.

Suddenly, Scarlett started sobbing loudly:

"Ethan, save me!"

"Chloe?"

Ethan was walking up the stairs. I was blocked once again.

"Ethan! Save me!" Scarlett lay on the floor, crying as she reached out to him. "Chloe tried to kill me!"

"Scarlett!" Ethan rushed to hold her, then barked at the guards, "Hold Chloe down!"

"Let me go! I need to go to the hospital! Let me go!" I thrashed wildly.

A dozen bodyguards easily pinned me to the floor.

I screamed like a lunatic:

"Ethan! She is trying to kill our son! I have to take Leo to the hospital! Tell them to"

Slap!

A harsh slap cut me off.

Ethan stood over me, looking down coldly:

"I was the one who ordered Scarlett to punish you. If you want revenge, come at me!"

"Mr. Vance! Your son!" a bodyguard gasped, holding Leo out to him.

At first glance, Ethan's pupils dilated in shock.

"Chloe Vance!"

Ethan lunged forward and choked me in a frenzy:

"Is this how you take care of our child?!

"Is this what you meant by 'stealing money to cure him'?!

"You used our own child just to extort money from me!

"Is there anything you won't do?!"

My throat was squeezed so tight I couldn't breathe.

I could only make weak, choking sounds.

"Thomas!" Ethan roared.

"Give the baby to Scarlett!"

My eyes widened.

Ethan glared at me through gritted teeth:

"You don't deserve to be his mother.

"From today on, Scarlett is Leo's stepmother!"

Scarlett's eyes lit up, quickly hiding her smugness.

She took Leo into her arms with a look of fake concern.

"Ethan! Don't give him to her! Give him back to me! Give Leo back!!"

"Lock her in the basement!" Ethan growled.

"No water for three days! Let her stay there until she realizes our child is not her cash cow!"

Scarlett held Leo, her eyes red:

"Don't worry, Chloe. I'll take good care of Leo for you."

"Ethan! Noah!"

A bodyguard shoved me down into the dark basement.

The heavy door slammed shut, plunging me into complete darkness.