I had Alzheimer’s disease. My son Albert said that instead of dragging on like this, half-dead and half-alive, I might as well die and be free. My mind had always been foggy, but Albert’s words pierced through me and jolted me awake. How could I bear to be a burden to Albert, the child I had loved with my whole life? Albert, my greatest wish as your mother is for you to be healthy and happy. If I have become your burden, then I will go… But why are you crying like that? My mind could not tell east from west, north from south, let alone day from night. Most of the time, I could not even clearly remember who I was, and only a few hazy sensations and sounds remained. But today, my senses seemed to be shattered awake by the foul stench of urine after I wet my pants. That filthy feeling, wet and sticky, mixed with a sharp ammonia smell, yanked me out of the haze. My son Albert was crouching in front of me, using a warm towel to wipe the stains on my thighs little by little. His movements were gentle and careful, so gentle that even someone half-dead like me felt warmth. But his brows were twisted into two tight knots, as if they were about to snap. Albert was thirty-five this year, and he was the greatest pride of my life. Back then, when he was born, his cries were loud and strong, and I hoped he would make something of himself. He really did not let me down, getting into a good college, landing a good job, and marrying a kind wife. But what about the Albert in front of me now? His hair was a mess, his eye sockets were sunken like two bottomless pits, and his stubble looked sharp enough to stab someone. His whole body looked like a cabbage wilted by frost, even its leaves curled and yellowed. It was all because I dragged him down. I opened my mouth, but only a strange “haah, haah” sound came from my throat, like a dying fish. I wanted to say “I’m sorry,” and I wanted to tell him that I should not have gotten this sick and should not have caused him so much trouble. But those words, and all the guilt surging in my heart, were stuck in my throat, and not a single one could come out. My daughter-in-law Elise stood nearby and handed over a clean pair of pants. There were also two huge dark circles under her eyes, and exhaustion showed clearly in her voice: “Albert, maybe… we should send Mom to a care home.” “You haven’t had one full night of sleep in almost two weeks, and your body will break down if this keeps going.” Albert said nothing, but his hands suddenly paused. With that pause, the despair he had kept bottled up for too long crashed through the dam of reason like a flash flood. He suddenly threw the towel in his hand into the basin, sending water splashing everywhere, and cold droplets splattered all over my face. “A care home? You make it sound so easy!” “Do you know how much that costs every month? Am I supposed to keep working or not?!” That voice carried despair, collapse, and the madness of someone forced to the edge of a cliff. He did not look at Elise, nor did he look at me. He only stared hard at the stain on the floor that had been soaked by the splashed water, the floor I had dirtied. Then I heard that sentence. He said, “Mom is dragging on like this, half-dead and half-alive, so she might as well leave sooner!” “For her and for us, it would be a release!” “Release…” It made my heart suddenly stab with pain. I looked at my Albert, who once clung tightly to my leg and cried to stop me from leaving when I went out to buy groceries. I looked at my Albert, who once lay beside my bed and fed me porridge spoonful by spoonful when I was sick with a fever. Now, he was hoping I would die. I had become the price of release. I did not cry or make a scene, and only took advantage of the moment when he and Elise began arguing about the care home. Silently, like an ant crushed underfoot, I moved toward the door little by little. I put on those old leather shoes with worn-out toes, the pair Albert had bought for me, saying they were comfortable for older people. I had to leave. I could not be his burden anymore. This family could only be released without me.

I left, sneaking out of the home I had lived in my whole life like a thief. The door at home was not shut tight, and Elise’s suppressed sobs and Albert’s heavy breathing drifted out from the living room. I did not dare look back, because I was afraid that if I looked back and saw Albert chasing after me, my heart would soften and I would not be able to bear leaving. The sky outside was gray, pressing down so hard that people could hardly breathe. The wind scraped across my face like knives, cutting my skin again and again, and cutting the heart that had just been pierced by a blade. I was cold, but that cold was nothing compared to the chill in my heart. People on the street looked at me strangely, as if they were looking at a lunatic. I lowered my head, stuffed my hands into the pockets of my worn cotton coat, and touched a hard, square little thing. It was the photo of Albert as a child that I had secretly hidden away. In the photo, he was grinning with a toothless mouth, smiling like a little sun, and his curved eyes were brighter than the stars in the sky. Back then, he was so tiny, and he could not be away from me for even one minute. I raised him, watched him go to school, start working, and get married. I thought my mission was complete, and I could hold grandchildren in peace and enjoy a little happiness. But I had grown old and gotten sick, and in turn, I had become his child… A troublesome, filthy child who would never grow up. I walked aimlessly, my legs as heavy as if they were filled with lead and as unsteady as if I were stepping on cotton, each step so heavy yet so hollow. When I reached an intersection, the red light came on, and all the cars stopped. I saw a little boy across the road, wearing a red coat and holding a doughnut, feeding it to his mother. That pink color, under the gray sky, looked like a dancing flame, instantly lighting up a corner deep in my memory. Suddenly, I really wanted to eat a doughnut. When he was little, Albert loved them most too. Every time I got paid, I would buy one for him. He always let me take the first bite. That sweet taste could warm me from my mouth all the way to my heart, and it was the most luxurious sweetness in those poor days. My legs would not listen to me, and I walked straight toward the other side of the road. I wanted to ask that little boy whether doughnuts still tasted the same as they used to. “Beep—!” The piercing honk was so sharp it seemed like it would tear my eardrums apart. I turned my head and saw only a blinding beam of white light, like the gates of hell opening, and like judgment descending from heaven. Then my body became light. The world went quiet. I floated up, like a weightless feather, and like a wisp of smoke, rising lightly into the sky. I looked down and saw a shriveled, skinny old woman lying in a pool of blood. Her hair was gray and thin, her cotton coat hung loose on her body, and she was still tightly clutching a yellowed photo in her hand. Even I was shocked, because that was… me? I was dead. But I did not feel released, nor did I feel light. There was only one thought in my heart, like a beast trapped in a cage, screaming wildly— Albert! If Albert could not find me, he would go crazy with worry! He had only just said those words about letting me be released, and now that I had left, what would he think? He would hate himself for the rest of his life! I could not let him do that! But where was Albert, and where was my home? I could not remember… I began to recall, desperately searching through my mind for memories. I saw it. I saw a little child spread his chubby arms and toddle toward me unsteadily. That was Albert when he was only one year old. Every step he took felt like he was stepping on the tip of my heart. “Albert, come here, come to me,” I said as I crouched on the ground and opened my arms. He grinned with his toothless mouth, giggling as he threw himself into my arms. That small, warm body carried a milky scent, and it was the best smell I had ever known in my life. Holding him was like holding my entire world. The image shifted, and I stood at the gate of an elementary school, while six-year-old Albert clutched the corner of my shirt and refused to let go. “Mom, I don’t want to go to school, I want to go home with you.” He cried so hard that the whole world seemed to shake, with snot and tears smeared all over his face. My heart was sour and soft, but I still hardened myself and pried his fingers away one by one. “Be good, Albert. You need school to have a future, and I’ll come pick you up tonight.” I watched him carry the brand-new backpack I had sewn by hand, looking back every few steps as he walked into the school gate, until that tiny figure disappeared around the corner. I stood there for a long time, feeling empty inside. Back then, I already knew that one day, my child would walk toward a distant place where I would not be. The only thing I could do was pack his bags properly for him. The river of memory kept surging forward. It was that sweltering summer, and Albert was about to take his exam. He wrote furiously in his room, while I sweated heavily in the kitchen. I made his favorite braised beef ribs and baked lobster with cheese in different ways, afraid he would not get enough nourishment. Outside the exam site, I stood under the blazing sun, anxiously looking around in the crowd. What I clenched in my palm was not just sweat, but all my hopes for his future. I hoped he would fly high and far, yet I was afraid the wind would be too strong and break his wings. When he held his acceptance letter and rushed to me excitedly, shouting, “Mom, I’m going to college!” I smiled and smiled, and then tears fell.

All the hardship of my life became worth it in that moment. The final image froze at his wedding. He wore a crisp suit, and Elise stood beside him with a smile as bright as flowers. He walked up to me with a glass of wine, his eyes red: “Mom, thank you.” “Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today.” “From now on, Elise and I will take care of you together.” I looked at him, this boy who once needed me to hold him and coax him, this boy who once needed me to hold his hand while he walked, and he had truly grown up. He had his own family and someone he wanted to protect for the rest of his life. I solemnly placed him in another woman’s hands, and my mission seemed truly complete. I smiled and drank that glass of wine, sweet and spicy, burning all the way into my heart. “Mom…” A faint murmur yanked me out of the warm memory. I floated in the cold air, watching the police tape off the scene, watching my body be covered with a white sheet. Like an invisible shadow, I floated back home. The lights at home were still on, and the door was half-closed, so I drifted lightly inside. The living room was a mess. The basin Albert and I had knocked over during the argument earlier was still tilted on the floor, and the water stains marked the floor like an ugly scar. Albert was pacing anxiously back and forth in the living room, already changed into clothes for going out, his face full of panic. Elise grabbed his arm, and her voice carried a completely different urgency from before I left: “Don’t panic yet! Maybe Mom just went downstairs to sit in the garden. Hasn’t she done that before?” “It’s so cold outside, she can’t have gone far!” “Before was before! Is it the same now?” Albert suddenly shook off her hand, his eyes bloodshot. “I just said that awful thing! She took it to heart! She must have taken it to heart!” The regret and fear in his voice pierced my soul like needles. “Then… then I’ll call Mrs. Ford downstairs and ask around first. Don’t rush out alone. We’ll split up and look, and we’ll be faster.” Elise was also frightened by his state and started frantically scrolling through her contacts. But Albert seemed not to hear her at all, grabbed the keys, and rushed out the door, his hoarse cry echoing from the stairwell: “Mom! Mom! Where are you?” I followed him, or rather, I was pulled by the huge grief and fear on him, rushing into the cold night with him. He searched like he had gone mad. The bench in the community garden where I used to love sitting in a daze was empty. At the security booth at the community entrance, the guard shook his head and said he had not seen me leave during that time. Albert was so anxious that sweat covered his forehead, and he kept describing what I was wearing to people, his words tumbling over each other. The farmers’ market I often went to had already closed for the day, leaving only messy vegetable leaves swirling in the cold wind. He stood in the middle of the empty market, looking around blankly, like a lost child. He kept muttering mechanically, “Where could she have gone? Where else could she go?” I floated behind him, looking at his helpless back, my heart aching beyond words. I wanted to tell him, Albert, stop looking, I’m right here. But the wind passed through my body and carried away all my silent calls. One hour, two hours… Time passed little by little, the night grew deeper, and the cold grew heavier. Albert’s lips had turned purple from the cold, and his steps had grown unsteady. But he was still searching, walking along every street and craning his neck to look into every dark alley. When he dragged his lead-heavy legs back home again, it was already late at night. Elise had also made every call she could make, to relatives, friends, and my old neighbors… Not one person had seen me. She sat on the sofa, holding her head in both hands, also on the edge of collapse. When she saw Albert return empty-handed, the last trace of luck in her eyes went out. “Still… nothing?” she asked, trembling. Albert did not speak, and only walked to the doorway of my room. Looking at the empty bed inside, he leaned against the doorframe and slid down little by little, like a puddle of mud. Silence, deathly silence. Suddenly, Elise stood up. Her reddened eyes stared hard at Albert, and the emotions she had suppressed all night finally erupted in that moment. “I just don’t understand! What exactly does she want? How have we wronged her?” “Just because you said one angry sentence, she runs away from home?” “Is she eight or eighteen? Doesn’t she know she’s sick?” “Doesn’t she know she could get lost or get into an accident if she goes out?!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452717”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

After I got married, my wife and I always slept in separate rooms. At first, I asked her if she could move into the master bedroom. She refused me without hesitation. “No need. Caleb would mind.” “If it weren’t for you back then, we wouldn’t have ended up like this. Let’s just leave it this way.” Caleb was her first love. I froze in place and, after a long while, finally said okay. Later, I thought that this marriage was only there to help my family get through a cash flow crisis and, by the way, solve the thorny lawsuit her company was dealing with. It was just a matter of each of us getting what we needed. Once it was done, we would naturally go our separate ways. After that, I never brought it up again. For the next three years, she took him with her to every event she attended. Family dinners, company parties, even my dad’s birthday, he was the one standing beside her. Everyone kept guessing who the real man of the house was. Now it was finally clear. Everything that needed to be solved had been solved. It was time for me to leave.

I sat in my study and read through the divorce agreement from beginning to end once more. Black and white, clear and orderly. In the property division section, I didn’t take a single thing. This house, which I had owned before the marriage, went to her, the car went to her, and the company shares had nothing to do with me. All I needed to take was my own savings. I signed my name on the agreement. Ethan Carter. Three years ago, I had still been full of hope that even if this marriage started with利益, maybe I could make it work. I was really stupid back then. I put the agreement into a file folder and set it on the table. Then I took out my phone and opened the chat with her. “Come home early today. I have something I want to talk to you about.” Then about two minutes later, one word popped up beside her avatar. “Okay.” I turned off my phone and threw it onto the sofa. I turned around and went to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. The kitchen was huge, with a side-by-side fridge, a built-in oven, and German-imported cookware, all arranged neatly. But I hardly ever used it. When we first got married, I tried cooking a few times, thinking she could eat something hot when she got home. The first dish I made was braised ribs. She took one bite and said it was okay. Then she answered a call and left, saying Caleb had something going on. The second time I made sauerkraut fish, she didn’t come home at all. The third time I made a full table of dishes, busy from four in the afternoon until seven at night. She did come back, but Caleb was behind her. The two of them walked in laughing and talking. When she saw the full table of dishes, she froze for a second and then said, “We already had plans. We’re going out to eat.” Caleb stood behind her, tilting his head at me, and said with a smile, “You worked hard.” I still feel a sour ache in my stomach whenever I think about that smile now. After that, I never cooked again. At seven that night, she still hadn’t come home. At eight, still not home. At nine, my phone rang. I picked it up and looked at it. It was a message from her. “Something came up with Caleb, so I’ll be back later. Go to sleep first. No need to wait up for me.” I stared at that message for a long time. “Go to sleep first. No need to wait up for me.” I heard that sentence for three years. Every time it was like this, and every time it was Caleb. Something was always going on with him, and she was always the one who had to go take care of it. Once Caleb said he wanted cake from that shop on the west side of the city, and she drove forty minutes to buy it, took it to his apartment, and only came home after he finished eating. By then it was already one in the morning. I asked her, “Did you eat dinner?” She said, “I ate over at Caleb’s place.” Then she took a shower and went into the study. I should have understood then. But I didn’t. I always thought that since we were married, we should at least give each other some time. Maybe after enough time passed, she would realize I wasn’t that bad. Maybe if I did enough, she would be willing to look back at this family. Now that I think about it, if a person doesn’t have a place in your heart at all, then no matter how well you do, it’s all useless. She wouldn’t like you just because you were outstanding. She would only feel that your excellence had nothing to do with her. I didn’t reply to her message. Before, I would always reply with a simple okay to show I understood. Sometimes I would even add a line saying then be careful, to make myself look generous and considerate. But today, I didn’t want to reply. Anyway, in a few days, I wouldn’t even be receiving her messages anymore.

I put my phone on the table and picked up the remote to change the channel. A variety show was playing on TV, with a few celebrities on stage joking around and laughing extra loudly. I leaned back on the sofa and suddenly thought the whole scene was absurd. I was sitting in this two-thousand-square-foot house, clinging to a marriage in name only, waiting for a woman who would never put me in her heart to come home. And she was with her first love. Openly with him, and confidently so. Because when we got married, she had made it very clear: if it weren’t for you back then, we wouldn’t have ended up like this. What she meant was that I had broken her and Caleb apart. I had stepped in and forced them to separate. I had used my family’s influence and that lawsuit to harden the bind that tied her to a marriage certificate. But what was the truth? The truth was that my dad’s company had run into a cash flow breakdown and urgently needed a large sum of money to keep things moving. And her family’s company had gotten tangled up in a troublesome lawsuit that needed my family’s connections to smooth over. The elders from both families sat down for a meal and settled the marriage. No one asked me if I wanted to get married. And no one asked her if she was willing to marry. But in everyone else’s eyes, this was a fair deal. Her family put in money, my family put in connections, and each side got what it needed. Only Caleb became the sacrifice in this deal. She probably thought I had stolen his place, that I had turned him from the legitimate boyfriend into a first love that had to stay in the dark. So she gave all her guilt to Caleb and left all her coldness for me. On our wedding night, she drank a lot and was helped into the bedroom. I helped her out of her dress, and she suddenly grabbed my wrist with frightening strength. “Ethan Carter.” She said my full name, her voice hoarse. “You know exactly what this marriage is about. I don’t love you, and I never will. If you know what’s good for you, just go to work and stay out of the way. We’ll stay out of each other’s business.” Then she let go of my hand and staggered into the guest room. From then on, we kept sleeping in separate rooms. She slept in the guest room, and I slept in the master bedroom. I suddenly remembered that in three years, she had only walked into this master bedroom twice. The first time was on our wedding night, when she came in to say all that. The second time was last year, when I had a fever that shot up to 103.1, and my whole body was dazed and heavy. The housekeeper called her, and she came back two hours later, stood at the bedroom door, looked at me once, and then told the housekeeper to take me to the hospital. She left again after that. She said there was an important party on Caleb’s side, and she had to be there. She didn’t come home again that night. When I woke up at seven the next morning, I looked at my phone and there was no message at all. After washing up, I went downstairs, and the housekeeper was already preparing breakfast. When she saw me coming down alone, she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only asked, “Sir, what would you like to eat today?” “Plain congee is fine.” I sat down at the dining table, and my phone screen lit up. It was a message from her. “Caleb got drunk last night, so I stayed at his place to take care of him. I have a meeting this morning, so I won’t be coming back.” I put down my phone and took a sip of the plain porridge. “Housekeeper, help me buy a few more cardboard boxes these next couple of days.” She froze for a moment. “Sir, are you moving?” “Yeah. I’m moving in a few days.” She opened her mouth, apparently wanting to ask something, but when she saw my expression, she swallowed it back. In these three years, she had been in this house and seen everything clearly. She understood everything. “Okay, sir.”

She answered and turned back to the kitchen. After I finished the porridge, I went upstairs and changed clothes. I had an appointment with a realtor today to look at apartments, and I had to find a new place to stay before I moved out of this house. I hadn’t asked for any property in the divorce agreement, but that didn’t mean I was broke. I had savings from before the marriage. Even though I hadn’t worked these past three years, the Lane family deposited twenty thousand dollars a month into my card as living expenses. I hadn’t spent much of it, so I had saved more than half. Altogether, it was enough for me to rent a decent apartment and get by for a year or so without any problem. As for the future, I would deal with that later. The realtor was a young guy wearing glasses, and he spoke very fast. He showed me a two-bedroom apartment on the east side of the city, not far from downtown, in a pretty decent complex. “Mr. Carter, this place gets amazing natural light. The landlord just renovated it, and all the furniture and appliances are brand new. The monthly rent is six thousand five hundred. What do you think?” I stood on the balcony and looked around. The view was open, and I could see the park in the distance. The apartment wasn’t big, but it was enough for one person. Most importantly, there was nothing here that reminded me of Nora Lane. “Fine. I’ll take this one.” The realtor clearly didn’t expect me to make up my mind so quickly. He froze for a second, then smiled so hard his whole face lit up. “Great, great. I’ll contact the landlord right away and get the lease signed!” I signed a one-year lease and paid the deposit and rent. When I came out with the key, the sunlight was great, warm on my body. I stood by the roadside, looking at the key in my hand, and suddenly felt lighter. When I got home that afternoon, the housekeeper had already bought a few cardboard boxes and set them in the living room. I was about to go upstairs and start packing the walk-in closet when I heard movement at the door. I didn’t turn around, but I had a vague feeling about what was coming. Sure enough, the next second, a familiar voice sounded behind me. “Well, look who’s home.” I turned around. Caleb Brooks was standing at the door. When he saw the boxes in my hand, his eyes stayed on me for a second. “Are you packing?” I didn’t answer his question, only asked calmly, “What are you doing here?” “Nora Lane brought me here.” “My lease ended over there, and I haven’t found a new place yet. She said I could stay here first, as long as I want.” I just nodded and said, “Oh.” Caleb clearly hadn’t expected that reaction. His smile froze for a moment. “You don’t mind, do you?” He tilted his head at me. “Honestly, I think it’s a little inconvenient too, but Nora insisted I come. She said…” “Since she told you to come, then stay.” I cut him off. “There are plenty of rooms here anyway.” He pressed his lips together and walked over to the sofa to sit down. “You really are generous.” “You were generous enough to marry her back then, and now you’re generous enough to let me move in.” I looked at him and suddenly found it a little funny. I didn’t answer him and turned to go upstairs. Caleb probably felt ignored, because his voice got louder. “Ethan Carter, I’m talking to you.” I stopped and looked back at him. “I heard you.” “But you’re not here to chat with me, so why waste both our time?” “I still have things to pack.” Caleb stood up, and the smile on his face was completely gone. “You’re leaving?” he blurted out, disbelief in his voice. “If not?” “Stay here and be your third wheel?”

Caleb was completely stunned. I turned and went upstairs, leaving him standing alone in the living room. I opened the closet and started taking out my clothes one by one. Over the past three years, I hadn’t accumulated that much. Nora Lane had never gone on a trip with me, and she had never given me anything. No wedding anniversaries, no birthdays, no Valentine’s Day. Now that I thought about it, it was really ridiculous. I folded the last coat and put it into a cardboard box, just about to seal it up, when my phone rang. I picked it up and saw a message from Nora Lane. “I have a dinner engagement tonight, so I won’t be home for dinner. Caleb just moved in, help him get settled in the guest room.” I put the phone down and kept packing. By evening, I had almost finished clearing out the walk-in closet and the study. When I went downstairs, Caleb was sitting on the sofa in the living room drinking coffee. When he heard me, he looked up and his gaze landed on the divorce agreement folder in my hand. “What is that?” I didn’t answer. I put the folder on the table, then sat down on the single sofa across from him. Caleb stared at the folder for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a laugh. “Divorce papers?” I said nothing, which counted as confirmation. His eyes lit up. That kind of brightness wasn’t surprise. It was excitement. “You’re really getting divorced from her?” “Yeah.” “When?” “Once she gets home, I’ll talk to her.” “This marriage was always just about each of us getting what we needed.” “Now that it’s done, it’s better for everyone to end it sooner.” He stared at me for a long time, his expression complicated. “Ethan Carter.” He suddenly lowered his voice. “Do you really not like her, or are you just pretending?” That question made me freeze for a second. Did I not like her? Three years ago, when we first got married, I had still been full of hope. That woman was beautiful, accomplished, and she shone whenever she stood in a crowd. I thought that as long as I was good enough, thoughtful enough, and considerate enough, one day she would see me. But very quickly, I stopped expecting anything. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” I answered Caleb. “Whether I liked her or not, it’s all in the past.” At nine that night, Nora Lane came home. At first, she looked at Caleb Brooks sitting on the sofa, and her eyes softened a little. “Caleb, are you getting used to it?” Caleb smiled at her, his voice sweet enough to make my teeth ache. “It’s pretty good.” Only then did Nora turn her gaze to me. Her eyes passed over me and landed on the file folder on the table, then moved to the cardboard boxes behind me. Her brow furrowed slightly. “What’s with those boxes?” I stood up from the sofa, picked up the file folder from the table, and handed it to her. “Nora, let’s talk.” She didn’t take the folder, only looked at me with a hint of confusion in her eyes. “What is this?” “Divorce papers.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452716”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Just because I spent a little too long shopping with my daughter Ellis at the mall under my wife Ford’s name and didn’t buy anything, the mall manager called us broke losers. The man looked me up and down with contempt, his chin lifted high. “Broke losers like you dare walk into our mall? Why don’t you take a good look at yourselves? Do you even belong here?” Disdainful eyes turned toward us from all around. Ellis argued, “We’re not broke losers. My mommy owns this mall!” Instantly, snickers rose from every direction. As if he had heard some joke, the man’s face filled with mockery. “You? This mall belongs to my wife. I’m calling her over right now, and we’ll see if you still dare say anything!” He immediately called his wife. “Hello, babe, someone here is pretending to be your husband and daughter, and they’re making trouble for me. Come over quickly.” I frowned and wanted to call my wife too. But he snatched my phone out of my hand and smashed it hard onto the ground. Crack! The phone shattered into pieces. The man planted his hands on his waist, swept his contemptuous gaze over me, and looked smug. “Trying to call backup? Let me tell you, my wife will be here soon. If you dare provoke me, you’re dead.” “And this little brat…” The man’s gaze swept past me and landed on Ellis beside me. “You learned to lie at such a young age. I guess you take after your parents. Since your parents won’t teach you, I’ll teach you properly.” As he spoke, the man rolled up his sleeves and rushed forward. He grabbed Ellis from beside me. Ellis burst into tears with a loud “Waaah!” I wanted to step forward and stop him, but two sales associates grabbed both my arms and pinned me to the floor in an extremely humiliating position. “You broke loser, don’t you know who you are? You even dared offend Manager Joel.” “Exactly. Manager Joel is Ms. Ford’s husband. What the hell are you?” Because I rarely came to the assets under my name, and Ford always handled them, it was normal that they didn’t recognize me. I desperately explained, “Let me go! I really am Ford’s husband!” “You broke loser, you still dare lie? Today we’ll teach you a lesson on Ms. Ford’s behalf!” As soon as the words fell, countless punches and kicks came raining down. Ellis was grabbed by the hair by Joel, dragged hard, slapped across the face, and cursed nonstop. “You little brat, I’ll teach you to lie. I’ll teach you to lie.” Ellis cried miserably. “I’m not lying. My mommy really is the owner of this mall. You bad people, let my daddy go!” Seeing me being bullied, Ellis wanted to rush over, but Joel yanked her small arm backward. In an instant, she fell onto the smooth floor and hit the glass railing, bleeding on the spot. “Daddy, Daddy…” Bright red blood streamed down from the top of her head, and Ellis cried even harder. But Joel had no intention of stopping, and instead he grabbed Ellis’s arm and pinched it hard. “Stop crying, you little bastard. Do you think someone will come save you if you scream yourself hoarse?” “Your useless daddy is being held down right now.” “You’re counting on that useless daddy of yours to save you? That’s hilarious.” Ellis rasped, “I’m not a little bastard, and my mom and dad aren’t useless.” I was pinned firmly to the ground, and the sight of Ellis made my heart ache. “Stop! Let go of my daughter right now!” I didn’t know where the strength came from, but I broke free from the two people holding me, rushed forward, shoved Joel away, and picked up Ellis. “Ellis, are you okay? I’m here.” I patted her back while comforting her. Joel was furious. “Bastard, how dare you push me!” “Security! Where’s security?” He shouted at the top of his lungs, drawing everyone’s attention. The blood on Ellis’s forehead kept flowing down and smeared all over her face. My heart ached terribly, and at the same time, enormous rage filled me. I held Ellis tightly and roared: “I told you, this mall really is under my wife’s name. If you don’t believe me, you can check.” “You’ll pay for what you’ve done!” The security guards who were about to step forward froze for a moment, as if they were intimidated by my appearance, and they looked at me suspiciously. “What are you waiting for? Can’t you tell he’s lying? Does the company pay you people to stand around doing nothing?” After Joel roared, the security guards grabbed Ellis and me by one arm each and forcibly separated us. He pulled Ellis’s arm hard, and the enormous force made Ellis cry nonstop. She kept shouting, “Daddy, Daddy…” My heart felt as if someone had clenched it in their palm, sending waves of sharp pain through me.

“Let go! Let me go!” I fought with all my strength to rush over and protect Ellis, but they held me even tighter. Two security guards held down my arms and pinned me hard to the floor, while Joel walked over with an arrogant expression. He slapped me across the face. “That’s what you get for pretending. You broke loser, don’t you see where you are?” The commotion drew even more people over, and they began whispering among themselves. Joel took the chance to directly slander Ellis and me. “Everyone, come take a look. This father and daughter came here to steal from my store.” “If I hadn’t paid a little extra attention, he would’ve almost stolen a watch worth a million dollars.” “Tell me, shouldn’t people like this be beaten?” When the crowd heard that, the faces that had just shown sympathy instantly turned hateful. “So they’re thieves. No wonder they’re being treated like this. They deserve it!” “If you ask me, they should call the cops and hand them over.” “She already knows how to steal at such a young age. Looks like she’s no good either!” Ellis cried until tears streamed down her face, and she explained in a torn voice. “That’s not true! My daddy isn’t a bad person. We didn’t steal anything. They’re clearly framing us!” Slap! As soon as she finished speaking, a heavy slap landed on Ellis’s face. It was delivered by one of Joel’s fawning subordinates. “What are you shouting for? Did your dad teach you that?” “No, he didn’t. My daddy isn’t broke. He is—” “Mmph—” Before Ellis could finish speaking, someone covered her mouth and kicked her to the ground. “Shut up. Who told you to talk, you little brat? You’re so noisy!” A raging fire burned in my heart, and I didn’t know where the strength came from, but I immediately broke free from the security guards and started fighting with Joel. During the struggle, I yanked out the tie around his neck. A familiar rose-red color entered my sight, and the underside of the tie was printed with the initials of my name. Wasn’t this… wasn’t this the tie Ford gave me on our fifth anniversary? It was custom-made worldwide, and there was only one of its kind. It had gone missing more than half a month ago, and my wife said the housekeeper might have accidentally thrown it away as trash. But how could my tie be with him? My pupils constricted, and I gripped the tie tightly, my hands trembling uncontrollably. “How do you have this?” Joel’s lips twisted, and he smiled. “What, jealous of me?” “I’m asking you, where did you get this?” A terrifying thought exploded in my mind. I was furious beyond control, rushed forward, grabbed his collar, and felt my chest pounding hard again and again. The flames of anger nearly swallowed my mind. “I took it from my wife’s house. Got a problem with that?” He still looked contemptuous. “You’d better not damage it. This is something you probably couldn’t afford even if you worked your whole life.” He tried to pull it back from my hand. “Bastard!” I raised my fist and slammed a heavy punch into his face. “You dare hit me?” He went crazy and grabbed my clothes, tearing at them. With the help of the security guards, he quickly pinned me down and kicked me hard in the stomach. “You dare hit me? Are you tired of living?” I stared at him. “Let me go right now, or you’ll regret it.” “Regret?” He laughed. “There’s no such word as regret in my dictionary.” “Mr. Joel, why waste so much breath on him?” “Doesn’t he care about this little bastard so much? Why don’t we make him suffer a little?” Joel’s follower suggested this while dragging Ellis over by her hair. My pupils constricted. “Don’t you dare!”

Ellis’s sobs echoed in my ears like a sharp knife stabbing into my heart again and again. The corner of Joel’s mouth curled into a wicked smile, and he grabbed Ellis on the spot and dragged her outside. Ellis’s thigh hit the corner of the wall, and blood spilled all over the floor. She was dragged down the stairs and disappeared from my sight. I struggled desperately to get up and rush over, but the security guards held me tightly. “Where do you think you’re going? Stay here and wait like a good boy.” “You offended Manager Joel. You think you’ll have any good days left?” The security guard’s words were full of threats, and his hands pinned my shoulders like hot irons. Ellis’s sobs came from the dark stairwell. “Get out of my way!” I kicked the security guard in the groin, and while he fell, I pounced on him and slapped his face from side to side. The bystanders were so frightened that they pulled out their phones to record me, and some people even started livestreaming. “Everyone, look! I ran into a violent maniac at the mall today. Not only did he randomly beat staff members, he also stole something!” “The mall really needs to strengthen security. How could they let this kind of threat to society in?” Only when I had beaten his face until it was swollen like a pig’s head did Ellis’s sobs reach my ears again. My thoughts snapped back, and I hurriedly rushed downstairs. The crying came from a dark corner, and when I rushed over, I saw a scene that broke my heart. Ellis was tied to a pillar, soaked from head to toe, and a foul smell came off her body, while a bucket of dirty water sat beside her. Joel held a whip and kept lashing her body, and he also slapped her. “You little bastard, you and your dad are exactly the same. Both of you are broke losers.” “I’ll teach you to cry. I’ll teach you to cry…” Ellis kept whimpering, and he looked irritated as he signaled for the person beside him to bring over a filthy rag. He crumpled it into a ball and stuffed it into Ellis’s mouth. I sprinted down, kicked one person after another, and untied the rope binding Ellis. I picked up the barely conscious Ellis. “Ellis, don’t be scared. I’m here. I’m taking you to the hospital right now. Hold on.” I carried Ellis and rushed toward the nearest elevator, but just as I stepped into it, I was dragged out. A heavy force struck from behind, and my body fell backward. I crashed hard to the ground, and Ellis was thrown out along with me, completely losing consciousness. “Ellis! Ellis!” My heart panicked uncontrollably, and I picked Ellis up, wanting to walk out again. But our way was blocked. Joel pressed one hand on the elevator button and picked up a walkie-talkie. “Security department, shut down all elevator exits immediately and lock down the mall.” “There are two thieves in the mall, and a huge amount of property has been stolen. If you let them walk out, you’ll answer for it.” My heart sank. “What do you mean?” “What do I mean?” Joel put both hands in his pockets and smiled. “This is what happens when you offend me.” “Wait to die.” My hands trembled nonstop, and Ellis in my arms was making a faint sound. Her small, childish hand held mine. “Daddy, don’t worry. I’m okay. It’ll be fine when Mommy gets here.” “When Mommy gets here…” “Mommy? Your whole family is full of broke losers. Is your mom coming from some trailer park?” Joel sneered. I forced down the fire in my heart. “Your name is Joel, right?” “Yeah. Got a problem with that? Someone like me is probably someone you could never meet in your whole life.” Joel looked down on me arrogantly and kicked me, forcing me down onto one knee. He stomped heavily on the back of my hand, his expression vicious. My eyes nearly split with rage. “You’ll regret this. This mall is under my wife’s name.” As soon as I said that, a burst of laughter rang out. Not only Joel, but even the employees behind him laughed. “Mr. Joel is the manager personally promoted by Ms. Ford, the future male owner of the mall. How do you even have the nerve?” “If you want to lie, at least make it believable. People like you really dare cling to anyone for status.” “People like this are just asking to be beaten.” Countless mocking words rushed toward me, and I looked at each of their faces. I engraved their ugly faces into my mind, and I would not let a single one of them go. “Just wait. When the time comes, I’ll make sure none of you can stay in New York!” I clenched my fists tightly. Suddenly, a foot kicked toward me, accompanied by sneers. Ellis was snatched from my arms. “You won’t let us go? Who do you think you are? In all of New York, only the Wilson family could do that.” “Exactly. A broke loser like you should stop bragging!” They grabbed my collar, and a fist smashed toward me. I caught the fist with one hand and looked at them with a gloomy gaze. “What if I said I’m Kevin, the only heir of the Wilson family?” “Hahahahaha.” Joel held my chin. “If you’re Kevin, I’ll eat shit while doing a handstand, okay?” He patted my cheek provocatively. After all this torment from them, Ellis whimpered and cried in pain. “I want Daddy, Daddy. Don’t hit my daddy…” Unexpectedly, her crying made those bastards even worse. Joel frowned impatiently. “So noisy. Throw her into the freezer.” “No!” I shoved him away and tried to rush over to take Ellis back. But once again, the crowd swarming in from all directions held down my hands and feet, pressing me firmly against the ground as my cheek rubbed against the floor. I watched helplessly as they opened that heavy door. Ellis was thrown inside. “Bastards! You bunch of bastards!” I raged helplessly and pounded the floor hard. Joel held my head down. “What are you afraid of? She won’t freeze to death in a little while, right?” The others echoed him one after another. Just then, the crisp sound of high heels striking the floor rang out. “Ms. Ford,” someone called. Joel’s eyes lit up, and he immediately pushed through the crowd and rushed out. “Ford, you’re finally here. It’s this broke loser.” “Not only did he pretend to be the heir of the Wilson family, but he also disrupted the order of our mall. You need to teach him a proper lesson.” The crowd automatically opened a path, and Ford walked over. When she saw me pinned to the ground, her pupils constricted. “Honey?!” As soon as she said that, the surroundings instantly fell silent.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452715”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

After being married to Megan for six years, I did my best to be a responsible husband. I transferred a fixed $12,000 every month, and that never changed for six years. Until the kindergarten teacher called me: “Mr. Blake, your son fainted at school. The doctor says he passed out from hunger. Please come as soon as you can.” I rushed to the hospital, only to hear Megan break down and accuse me: “Luke, do you even deserve to be a father? You only give us $2,000 a month. How are we supposed to live? Now our child has fainted from hunger, are you satisfied?” Two thousand? But I clearly sent $12,000! I tried to explain in a panic, but she looked like her heart had already gone cold. The video got posted online, and I was ruined. I lost my job, and the landlord looked at me like I was trash. In a daze, I fell into an icy lake. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment the transfer had gone through. This time, I was determined to find out where my money had really gone.

The moment my fingerprint went through, everything before my eyes suddenly went pitch black, and I lost consciousness completely. When the light came back, I found myself clutching my phone tightly, with the familiar mobile banking screen lit up again, and the screen showed the words, “Please enter transfer amount.” I froze. My finger hovered motionless above the keypad, and I did not move for a long time. The scene from just now kept flashing through my mind over and over again— The hospital ceiling, my son’s skinny little hand, Megan’s hysterical cries, and the bone-chilling lake water. My chest tightened, and I stared blankly at my phone as I entered the amount and successfully completed the transfer. Only after I saw the words “Transfer successful” did I let out a deep breath and call Megan. Megan and I had been married for six years, and our son Oliver was five. I was working out of town, and all these years I had always felt guilty toward them. So on the 15th of every month, I would transfer the money on time. “Megan, my paycheck is transferred over. Check whether you got it.” A faint tapping sound came from the other end of the phone, and only after a few seconds did Megan answer, “Yeah, I got it.” Her voice sounded a little distant, as if she was deliberately holding something back. “That’s good.” I let out a sigh of relief, but then I thought of what had happened in my previous life, and I could not help asking, “Every month, did you receive the full amount? $12,000?” I asked the last line very carefully. But Megan suddenly got angry. “What do you mean? If I didn’t get it, are you saying you could still send it to someone else?” “No, that’s not what I mean, I…” “If that’s not what you mean, then what do you mean?” Her tone on the other end of the line was sharp and aggressive. I forced myself to calm down and changed the subject. “How’s Oliver lately? Is he getting used to kindergarten?” “That’s none of your business.” She tossed out a cold line. “I’ve got things to do. I’m hanging up.” The call ended. I put down my phone, but my uneasiness only grew. In my previous life, until my son had that accident, I had always thought all $12,000 each month had gone to Megan. But at the hospital, Megan said I had only sent $2,000, and Oliver’s malnutrition clearly had not happened overnight. I opened my mobile banking app and exported six years of transfer records. For these six years, every 15th of the month, $12,000 had been sent without fail. But if the money had arrived, then in my previous life, how could my son have fainted from hunger? Just then, my phone rang. It was my son’s kindergarten teacher. “Mr. Blake, please hurry to City Children’s Hospital! Oliver just fainted at kindergarten, and the doctor says he went into hypoglycemic shock caused by severe malnutrition!” My mind went blank at once. “Miss Carter, how is Oliver right now?” “He’s still being resuscitated! Mr. Blake, I hate to say this, but how exactly do you and your wife take care of your child?” The teacher’s voice carried restrained anger. “Oliver is only five years old, but he weighs less than 33 pounds. He’s more than 10 pounds lighter than other kids his age! He usually gobbles down his food at kindergarten, and we thought he just had a big appetite. We never expected it was because he was…” She did not finish, but I knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to say Oliver had fainted from hunger, that I, as his father, was completely unfit. But clearly, I transferred $12,000 every month… Thinking of that, I said bitterly, “No, I clearly…” “Mr. Blake!” the teacher interrupted me. “Do you know what was in Oliver’s pocket today? Half a stale bagel! The child said he secretly brought it from home and took bites of it whenever he was hungry!” Listening to the teacher, a wave of coldness swept through my whole body. “I’m coming right now.” After hanging up, I slammed the gas pedal all the way down. On the way, I desperately recalled every detail from the past six years. $12,000 every month, plus Megan’s $4,000 salary as an office clerk, meant our household income was $16,000 a month. In this city, even with a $3,000 mortgage, there was no way my son should have been reduced to hiding bagels to eat. Unless… No, the transfer records were crystal clear. Unless Megan was lying. But why? He was her own son too.

I rushed into the emergency room and saw Megan standing outside the resuscitation room, scrolling on her phone. “Where’s Oliver?” She looked up. Her expression first flashed with panic, then she immediately raised her eyebrows. “And you still have the nerve to show up?” “I asked where Oliver is!” “He’s inside being resuscitated!” She shoved me and said sharply, “You only give me $2,000 a month, the mortgage is $3,500, kindergarten is $1,500, and with what’s left, I don’t even dare walk into a mall! Oliver’s starving every day, so how could he not faint?” Several family members turned to look. “Two thousand?” I stared at her. “I send $12,000 every month.” “$12,000?” Megan sneered, shoving her phone almost into my face. “Look for yourself!” On the screen were her transfer records: March 15, received 2000.00. April 15, received 2000.00. Every single month was two thousand. “I sent $12,000,” I repeated. “Luke, are you even human?” Her voice suddenly cracked with tears. “Our son is in there, life or death unknown, and you’re not thinking about raising money, you’re standing here settling accounts with me? Yes, I’m poor, yes, I’m useless, but every bite I saved went to the child! And you? You’re out there living it up, tossing me $2,000 a month, and now you want to deny it?” Someone raised their phone. I held back my anger. This was exactly how it had been in my previous life. The video went online, and I was cursed as a piece of trash. “Let’s talk after Oliver comes out.” “Talk about what?” She wiped her face. “The doctor said he needs to stay at least half a month, and that’s $50,000. Transfer the money now.” “I’ll pay. But I want to know first why $12,000 turns into $2,000 when it gets to you.” “You’re still making excuses—” The doors to the resuscitation room opened. A doctor came out with a grave expression. “The child is temporarily stable, but the malnutrition is severe, and there is heart muscle damage. He must be hospitalized for treatment.” He looked at Megan. “Has the child often been dizzy and weak before? You parents have been far too careless.” Tears instantly welled up in Megan’s eyes. “I have to work and take care of him all by myself… His father only gives me $2,000 a month, so I don’t even dare buy much meat…” The doctor glanced at me with a look as if he were looking at something filthy. He said nothing and turned to leave. A nurse wheeled Oliver out. The child was so thin he looked unrecognizable, and when he saw me, he called out softly, “Daddy.” “Yeah, Daddy’s here.” “I’m hungry.” He blinked, then added in an even softer voice, “Mom says meat is too expensive, so we can’t eat it every day.” I turned to look at Megan. She was bending over to tuck the blanket around Oliver, her fingers clenched white, and she did not dare look at me.

After Oliver fell asleep, Megan was the first to step out of the room. “Luke, let’s talk.” “We should talk.” I stared at her. “Tell me the truth. Where did the $12,000 a month go?” “I told you, I only got $2,000!” Her emotions started to rise again. “Do you have someone else out there?” “No, I don’t.” I forced myself to stay patient. “Megan, we’ve been married for six years. I work hard for you and Oliver. How could I possibly only give you $2,000?” “But the facts are that I got $2,000!” She pulled out her phone. “If you don’t believe me, let’s go to the bank and check the statement right now!” “Fine. Let’s go now.” Megan clearly did not expect me to agree so readily, and she froze for a moment. “Oliver is still on an IV drip…” “There’s a nurse watching him. We’ll go and come back quickly. The bank closes at 4:30, we still have time.” Megan still looked unhappy. “Oliver is still on an IV drip, and you actually have time to go to the bank?” “Precisely because of that, I have to figure this out.” I walked ahead. “If you don’t want to go, I’ll go myself.” “Wait!” She hurried after me. “I’m going!” At the bank, I directly requested the transfer records. The teller quickly confirmed: Sir, for nearly six years, you have transferred $12,000 to Megan on the 15th of every month without interruption. “Impossible!” Megan screamed, slamming her phone onto the counter. “Look at my records! I only receive $2,000 every month!” The teller looked troubled and suggested she log into her mobile banking app and verify it on the spot. When Megan entered the password, her fingers were shaking a little. On the screen, the records from the last three months still showed $2,000, but when she scrolled farther back, all those $2,000 entries disappeared and became $12,000. “I clearly remember it was $2,000…” she murmured, her face going pale. “If the actual amount you received does not match the system records, I suggest you contact the police. This may involve financial fraud,” the teller said with a polite smile. “No… no need to call the police.” Megan shook her head in panic and forced out a smile. “Maybe… maybe I remembered wrong.” “Remembered wrong?” I looked at her. “For six straight years, every single month?” “Luke, what do you mean? Are you saying I lied on purpose? What would I gain from that? Oliver is my son too!” “So what are you after?” I said slowly. “I just want to know why Oliver is so malnourished that he ended up in the hospital.” Megan’s eyes darted away. Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, and her face turned even uglier. She directly hung up. “It’s a sales call. ” She grabbed her bag. “Since the bank records show $12,000, then maybe I remembered wrong. Let’s go back.” She turned and walked off quickly. Watching her almost panicked back, the last bit of warmth in my heart completely froze over. Back in the room, Oliver was already awake. I asked what he usually ate, and he said softly, “Porridge, bagels, and sometimes some greens. Meat is very rare. Mom says meat is expensive, and we can only eat it once a week, just a few small pieces each time.” I looked toward Megan by the window. She had her back to us, and her shoulders were trembling slightly. “Megan, with your $4,000 monthly salary, plus the $12,000 I send, after the $3,000 mortgage, the remaining money still isn’t enough for even a meal with meat for the child?” She turned around, her eyes swollen red. “Luke, is that really how you see me? I scrimp and save to keep this family running, and this is how you question me?” Her words were cut off by a doctor entering the room. Dr. Hayes from nutrition came in holding a medical chart, his face grim. “The child’s condition is very serious. He has been in a long-term state of semi-starvation. Is your family in serious financial trouble?” “No.” I answered for Megan and listed our income and mortgage. Dr. Hayes furrowed his brows tightly. “Then that should not be the case. Nutritional intervention must start immediately, or it will affect the child for the rest of his life. During hospitalization, meals with proper nutrition will cost about $500 a day, and after discharge it will still be around $3,000 a month for at least a year, bringing the total to around $50,000.” “Money is not the problem,” I said. But Megan murmured, “$50,000… where are we supposed to get $50,000?” I opened my mobile banking app and turned the screen toward her. Balance: $230,000. Megan’s eyes widened suddenly, and her lips moved, but no sound came out. I looked into her eyes and said very calmly, “I transfer $12,000 to you every month and keep $6,000 for myself. This is money I saved by working for eight years, living frugally. Megan, if I really only gave you $2,000, how could I possibly have saved this little myself?” The room was terrifyingly quiet, and the last trace of color drained from Megan’s face. She opened her mouth. In the end, not a single word came out.

That night, I stayed in the hospital room. After Oliver fell asleep, I opened my laptop and started checking the accounts. Since the bank records showed I transferred $12,000, and Megan’s account also showed she received $12,000, then the problem might be in the middle. I remembered a case I had seen before: someone used a third-party payment platform and set up automatic transfers, so the money would be moved again the moment it arrived. I logged into Megan’s mobile banking app—her password was Oliver’s birthday, and I had always remembered it. I entered the account details and carefully checked every deposit. Sure enough, I found the problem. Every 15th of the month, $12,000 arrived. But almost within the same minute, there would be a $10,000 transfer out, and the recipient was an account called BrightPath Investments. The remaining $2,000 would be transferred the same day or the next day to another account named Dylan Brooks. Dylan Brooks? I had never heard this name before. Looking at the other months, the pattern was exactly the same: $12,000 arrived, $10,000 went to BrightPath Investments, and $2,000 went to Dylan Brooks. Sometimes the transfer to Dylan Brooks would be delayed by a day or two, but it never failed to appear. I was freezing all over. So Megan had not been lying completely. She really did “only receive $2,000,” because the rest of the money had already been transferred out before she saw it. But a transfer required either a password or fingerprint verification. Unless… she had done it herself. Or someone had obtained her account password. I took screenshots and saved all the records, then searched for BrightPath Investments. It was an investment platform that had blown up three years ago, and the boss had run off with the money, involving more than a billion dollars. Countless people lost everything. Megan had invested money in that platform? $10,000 every month for six years meant $720,000. Add in her own salary savings… I suddenly remembered that six years ago, Megan had mentioned that one of her girlfriends was doing investments and making a very high return, and asked whether I wanted to put in some money too. I was busy with a project at the time, so I casually said, “You handle it, just don’t invest too much.” After that, I never heard her mention it again. Could she have been secretly investing all this time? And increasing the amount more and more, even using our living expenses? As for that Dylan Brooks… I searched the name, but nothing came up in any app. But when I opened Megan’s bills, I saw even more transfer records: the money sent to Dylan Brooks did not only come from the bank card, but also from other transfer platforms, with amounts ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, spanning four years. The most recent one was yesterday, for $2,000. The note said: “This month’s living expenses for baby.” Baby? Blood rushed straight to my head. Megan was seeing someone else? And she had a child with him? No, impossible. I had been with Megan throughout her pregnancy and delivery all six years of our marriage. Oliver was her only child. Unless… A terrifying thought began to take shape in my mind. With trembling hands, I clicked on Dylan Brooks’ profile picture. It was a man seen from behind, and his face was not very clear. But when I enlarged the photo and looked closely, I saw that he was holding the hand of a three- or four-year-old boy. In the corner of the photo, there was a very small watermark date: May 2023. Last May. What was Megan doing then? I remembered that from April to June last year, she said her company had sent her to a nearby city for three months of training. During that time, we barely contacted each other, and she said the training was very busy, so she often did not answer calls. My heart sank little by little. I shut the laptop and walked to the window. It was late at night, and the streets outside the hospital were dimly lit. In the room, Oliver smacked his lips in his sleep and called out softly, “Mommy.” Megan had gone home for something. I took out my phone and sent her a message: “Oliver is awake. He said he misses Mommy.” Ten minutes later, she replied: “He’s asleep. I’ll come by tomorrow morning.” “What happened at home? Do you need my help?” “No need. A pipe broke, but it’s already fixed.” But I clearly remembered that just last week, she had said the pipes at home had just been replaced with new ones. I stayed on the chat screen for a long time, and in the end I typed: “Megan, let’s talk. About Dylan Brooks.” The message was sent, and it showed “Read.” But she did not reply. Five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour. She seemed to have vanished. I directly called her. Busy signal. I called again. Her phone was turned off. At 2:00 a.m., I stood in the empty hallway, my whole body ice-cold. My phone suddenly vibrated. It was a text from an unknown number. There was only one line: “Want to know where the money went? Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the café by the hospital back entrance. Come alone. Don’t tell Megan.” I stared at that text, my fingers tightening. The truth was about to come out.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452714”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

When I was three months pregnant with my second child, I met Ethan Clark’s canary. She wore expensive jewelry, carried a Hermès bag, and walked into the VIP consultation room. Ethan Clark’s secretary followed behind her and respectfully called her Mrs. Clark. I looked at the bank card in his hand, took out my phone, and called the bank’s customer service. “Hello, please help me cancel the supplementary card ending in 3306.” After putting my phone away, I looked at that VIP room, and without money backing her up, she and her Mr. Clark would both have to pack their bags and get out! After I came back from the hospital, Ethan Clark came home early for once. He had even cooked a whole table of nice dishes. “You’re back, honey, you worked hard today.” He came over and kissed me on the cheek, wearing a warm smile on his face. But the scent of lily-of-the-valley perfume on him made me feel sick. I pushed him away and rushed to the bathroom to throw up, and Ethan Clark’s face turned dark, but when I came out, he looked like he wanted to say something and then stopped himself. I wiped my mouth and spoke first. “I’m going to the company tomorrow.” “What are you going there for?!” he objected instinctively. Maybe he felt his tone had been too harsh, because Ethan softened his voice and said, “Honey, you’re three months pregnant, and you still have our child to take care of, so going to the company will only give you a headache, and you might as well rest properly at home.” I smiled. “But during my prenatal checkup today, the doctor said I haven’t been moving around enough and told me to exercise more.” “Going to the company is perfect, and besides, with you there, what is there to worry about, so that’s settled.” Ethan had no choice but to compromise. Had he forgotten that the company belonged to my family, and he was only an employee? After working there for so long, did he really think it had become his? But he was too embarrassed to ask me about the canceled supplementary card, and I figured he knew exactly what had happened, since the spending records were right there. The next day, I took a car to the company, and Ethan personally came to pick me up, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as he escorted me all the way into the elevator. In the crowd, I saw a familiar figure, and it was the woman I had seen yesterday. When Ethan saw that, he couldn’t help getting nervous, and the hand on my shoulder tightened slightly. I frowned, stepped aside, and walked straight up to her. Along the way, all the employees called me Ms. Sterling, and only she called me, “Mrs. Clark.” “Mrs. Clark?” I couldn’t help giving a light scoff, and the secretary beside me snapped, “This is Ms. Sterling!” “Ms. Sterling, she’s new, so she doesn’t know you.” I looked at him. “Mr. Blake, this is someone you brought in, yet on her first day at work, she can’t even recognize the company leadership’s titles, and I don’t need someone like that.” “Fire her.” “On what grounds, Ms. Sterling, just because I used the wrong title, and isn’t my ability more important than a form of address?” I stopped and looked at her. “What’s your name?” “Mia Collins.” “Ms. Collins, one of our company’s hiring standards is a degree from a top university, and if you can’t even remember job titles, I have serious doubts about your ability in other areas.” “HR, whoever recruited her will lose their entire quarterly bonus, and Mr. Blake, that includes you too, and if this happens again, you can get out with her!” After saying that, I ignored the look on her face and walked straight to my office, while Ethan didn’t say a single word, as if he didn’t know this person at all. In fact, my people inside the company had already sent me photos of the two of them. Mr. Blake, the person I had personally promoted and placed beside Ethan, had betrayed me. I had always been someone who liked peace of mind. If they refused to give me peace of mind, I would not let them feel at ease either. After we entered, Ethan tried to persuade me. “Why get angry over such a small thing, look at you, this is why I told you not to come, because you’re getting mad over someone insignificant.” I raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t insignificant, it’s poor management.” “I’m the boss, and she doesn’t even know the person who pays her salary, which only proves that you, Ethan Clark, have failed in your management and committed serious dereliction of duty.” “I’m now considering whether you’re still qualified for this position.” I folded my arms and leaned back in my chair, and a flash of displeasure crossed Ethan’s face. Then he walked over, placed both hands on the armrests of my chair, and trapped me between his arms. “Does that mean my wife wants me to go home and be a full-time dad?” He touched my lower abdomen. “Would that make you satisfied?” I chuckled. “Yes, so are you willing?”

He froze, then quickly smiled. “I know you too well, it’s just the pregnancy hormones acting up, and if I really go home, you’ll be unhappy again.” I smiled without saying anything and stopped dwelling on the topic, because Ethan would never be willing to leave just like that. So I wasn’t in a hurry either. I pressed the intercom. “Notify the project department that we’re having a meeting in ten minutes!” Seeing this, Ethan was instinctively surprised. “A project department meeting, honey, the current projects have basically all been finalized, so calling a meeting halfway through might be a little…” “The Starlight project has been going on for three months, as far as I know, and I already gave them a final warning before I got pregnant, but now I’m already three full months pregnant, and there has been no progress at all!” “If I don’t put some pressure on them, they won’t take it seriously.” “All right, Vice President Clark, get ready to come with me now.” I deliberately emphasized his job title. Although Ethan was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to follow me to the conference room. When we arrived, several members of the project team came in one after another, and I glanced at Mr. Blake. “Who else hasn’t arrived?” “Project Team Two hasn’t arrived yet, which is the team Mia Collins belongs to.” Hearing that, I couldn’t help laughing. “Just because Mia Collins was fired, does that mean the entire Project Team Two isn’t coming?” Mr. Blake stammered, and I said softly, “Fire every employee in Project Team Two.” “Honey!” “There is no honey here, only superiors and subordinates, so please address me by my title.” Ethan clenched his fists, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged before he finally said after a long while, “Ms. Sterling, Project Team Two has been following up on Starlight for three months, and if they’re all fired, I’m afraid it will shake the foundation.” “The Sterling family does not need useless people, and three months without any result on a project proves they never put their hearts into it, so fire them all and pay whatever compensation should be paid, and since they’re so unhappy about Mia Collins being fired, they can simply join her in unemployment.” “Mr. Blake, starting today, you will be demoted to an ordinary secretary.” “Hand your work over to Grace Reed!” Mr. Blake froze, but when he met my gaze, he couldn’t say anything more and could only silently nod before sitting to the side. Then I waved my hand. “An ordinary secretary is not qualified to attend a project department meeting, so leave first, and now the meeting begins!” I acted swiftly and decisively, questioning everyone about every task from the past three months, and everyone realized with surprise that even though I had been at home waiting to give birth, nothing I should have known had escaped me. I even knew clearly about all the little tricks they had played behind the scenes. From their initial dismissive attitude, everyone gradually became serious. Twenty minutes after the meeting ended, HR quickly issued the layoff list, causing a huge uproar in the company. The people from Project Team Two rushed into my office. “Ms. Sterling, what exactly is going on, is it just because I didn’t attend the meeting?” I raised an eyebrow. “Give me a reasonable reason for not attending the meeting, and that reason has to be convincing enough for me!” They looked at one another, and one of them flushed. “We had a reason, because we were contacting the client.” I scoffed and shook my phone. “I just finished speaking with Mr. Preston from Starlight, and he told me that in the past three months, you called him fewer than three times, so with the Starlight project stalled for so long, did you fulfill your responsibility?” “I handed this project to you, and this is how you report back to me, yet now that you’re facing me, you’re still lying, so what is wrong with me firing you, and if you have any issues, you can go to arbitration or file a lawsuit, and I’ll see it through to the end!” “If there is nothing else now, you may leave!”

The few of them immediately looked at one another and could not say a word, so they had no choice but to turn their eyes to Ethan Clark. “Mr. Clark!” Seeing that, Ethan snapped, “Didn’t you hear what Ms. Sterling said, hurry up, pack your things, and leave, so stop embarrassing yourselves here!” The few of them had no choice but to leave. The world finally became quiet, and only then did Ethan turn to me. “Honey, your temper has been a little big lately.” “Is my temper big, or is your management poor, Ethan Clark, the company has only been under your control for three months, and it has already become like this, so when I stopped your supplementary card, did you really have no clue why?” When Ethan heard me bring it up myself, his eyelid immediately twitched. “I…” He hurriedly tried to explain, but I raised my hand to stop him. “The fact that the Starlight project has failed to land for so long explains everything, and starting today, I will personally take over, so report any issues directly to me!” “In addition, promote a new person from the secretary office, and Mr. Blake, it’s time for you to take a rest!” He understood my warning, and although he was angry, he still did not say much in the end. “I’ll go out and get busy first.” I took a deep breath, glanced at him, and nodded, then lowered my eyes back to the documents. Probably because my arrival made him feel surrounded by danger, the project department soon ran into trouble. “Ms. Sterling, Starlight signed the contract, and they signed with a new company that underbid us by only twenty cents!” Hearing that, I was shocked, and immediately asked Grace Reed to come over. “What happened?” “Ms. Sterling, this company is called Sunrise Group and was founded half a year ago, and its business overlaps heavily with ours.” “I checked the company information just now, and the legal representative is called Peter Collins.” Peter Collins? I didn’t know him, but the documents showed so many overlapping business areas, and although he was a strong competitor, no one in the industry had ever heard of him. There was something wrong with this company. “Keep investigating, especially the financial transactions between our company’s internal accounts and theirs.” Grace Reed was extremely shocked, then immediately reacted and realized there was a problem inside the company. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why their price was only twenty cents lower than ours. I tapped the table and gave her a look, then smashed my water glass on the floor and lashed out at her. Grace Reed left with red eyes and a dejected expression. After the news reached Ethan, he came in with a little cake to see me. “Look at you, it’s just one project, so don’t ruin your health with anger.” “Eat some dessert, and let your husband handle whatever comes up.” I neither agreed nor disagreed, and he sent me home. On the way, Ethan was in a great mood, and as I looked at the scenery constantly retreating outside the window, I thought of the day I first met Ethan, which had been a nice day just like this. I had given a lecture at the university, and after it ended, Ethan handed me a bouquet of flowers. He blushed and couldn’t say a word, only stuffing a note into my palm. I had seen plenty of men trying to curry favor with me, but someone like him was truly a first. On the note was an art exhibition, and he had also written down the time. That unusual invitation interested me, and since it was on my way, I went. Ethan was working there as a guide, and after I listened to his entire tour, I started dating him. A man who was obedient and decent-looking was easy to handle, and after marriage, we had our daughter, but now that I was three months pregnant with our second child, Ethan had shed the innocence of youth and left behind only ambition and greed, which made him disgusting. As soon as I entered the house, Grace Reed sent photos to my phone. “Ms. Sterling, Peter Collins is Mia Collins’s father, and Sunrise Group was founded half a year ago, with the initial funds transferred in by Vice President Clark, and the registered capital was five million.” When I saw the photo of Ethan and Mia Collins walking into an apartment complex together, I couldn’t help glancing sideways. Ethan was surprised. “What’s wrong, is there something on my face?” “Nothing, I just saw a photo and thought it was pretty ridiculous.” I held my phone up in front of his eyes. “Ethan Clark, explain to me why the woman who was fired is with you.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452713”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

During a meeting, my son’s preschool teacher called to say he had a 102-degree fever. I couldn’t get away, so I texted my husband to pick him up. It wasn’t until the meeting ended that the teacher called again. “What kind of parents are you? Your kid is so sick he can barely stay conscious. Are you coming or not?” I dumped the stack of files on my desk and grabbed a cab straight to the preschool. My son’s little face was red with fever, and he started crying when he saw me. I didn’t have time to comfort him, so I scooped him up and rushed him to the ER. When he finally broke the fever and fell asleep, I collapsed into the visitor’s chair and opened my phone. Half an hour earlier, my husband’s female client had sent me a message. “Ava, I’m so jealous you have such a great husband.” “He found out I had a fever and a cold, bought me medicine, and even came over himself to take care of me.” “If you like him, take him. A scumbag and a slut are a perfect match.” After sending it, I turned off my phone. At 2 a.m., the hallway in the pediatric hospital was finally quiet. After Noah’s fever broke, he slept soundly, his tiny hand still clinging tightly to the hem of my shirt. I stared at the drip line as the medicine fell drop by drop, and my phone screen lit up again. Ryan’s third message. “Something came up with a client, and I can’t get away. Hang in there for me.” Hang in there for me. My son had a 102-degree fever, the preschool teacher had called four times, and he was taking care of another woman, then casually tossing me a “hang in there for me.” I didn’t reply. I just dialed his number. It rang six times before he answered. It was loud on his end, with music, clinking glasses, and a woman’s coy laughter. “Hello?” Ryan’s voice was a little slurred. He’d been drinking. “Noah’s in the hospital.” “I know. Didn’t you already pick him up? What did the doctor say?” “Viral infection. Fever hit 104.4.” “Then keep him in the hospital and spend the money if you have to. Don’t be cheap.” The woman beside him laughed again. I couldn’t make out what she said, but Ryan was replying to her, his voice so gentle it was almost painful to hear. “Noah wants to see you.” My voice was very calm when I said that. “I really can’t get away right now. Mr. Bennett landed a huge contract today, then got sick at the celebration dinner, and nobody’s taking care of him. I have to stay with him. Tell Noah Dad will come see him early tomorrow morning.” The call ended. I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. Noah must have woken up at some point. He was dazed from the fever and softly murmured, “Dad.” I pulled him into my arms and pressed my chin against his burning forehead. “Dad is busy. Mom’s here. Mom is always here.” At seven the next morning, Ryan still hadn’t come. At nine, the nurse came to remove the IV. Noah cried from the pain, still calling for Dad. I coaxed him for a long time before he finally fell asleep, then picked up my phone to order takeout when a text popped up. It was from that female client, Chloe. It was a breakfast photo. A beautifully plated spread, pour-over coffee, and a plate of sliced fruit. “Someone said he didn’t take good care of me last night, so he insisted on bringing me breakfast first thing in the morning to make it up to me. So thoughtful.” Someone. I didn’t open the full image, but I knew that dining table. It was the island in my kitchen. The tableware I bought, the tablecloth I picked out, the solid wood table I wiped down three times a week. Now it was holding coffee that belonged to another woman, photographed by another woman, and sent to me as a provocation. I set my phone face down by the bed and took three deep breaths. Then I opened my contacts and found one person. “Brooke, help me set up a lawyer. The sooner, the better.” Megan was my college roommate and had opened her own law firm. She focused on family law. She texted back instantly: “You’ve made up your mind?” “I have.” “I’ll set it up right away. Don’t do anything rash, and make sure you keep the evidence.” Evidence. I opened my chat history with Ryan and scrolled back three months. “Working late tonight, not coming home for dinner.” “Out of town this weekend, take Noah to your mom’s place.” “Dinner with a client. I’ll be home later.” The excuses kept piling up, and he came home less and less. I used to think he was really busy. After all, his startup had just gotten off the ground, and a lot of socializing made sense. It wasn’t until last month, at Noah’s preschool parent event, when he promised he’d come and then said he suddenly had a meeting that day. I stayed with Noah to do crafts and play games by myself, while the other parents looked at me with nothing but pity. One mom leaned over and asked in a low voice, “Is your husband super busy with work? I’ve never seen him.” Back then, I still covered for him. “Yeah, it’s a startup. There’s nothing we can do.” Now that I think about it, he wasn’t busy. He just spent all his time on someone else. At two in the afternoon, Noah’s fever finally broke, and he had a little more energy. He kept clamoring for strawberries. I went downstairs to buy some. On the way past the convenience store at the hospital entrance, I caught sight of a black Porsche out of the corner of my eye. The license plate looked familiar. It was Ryan’s car. He was here? I subconsciously looked into the car, but there was no one in the driver’s seat. I carried the strawberries back inside. As soon as I entered the hospital lobby, I saw two people standing by the elevator.

The woman was the same female client who had messaged me before, Chloe. She wore a pale yellow dress, her hair in big waves, and had her arm linked through Ryan’s as she smiled like a flower. Ryan was dressed in a suit and tie, his hair perfectly slicked back. He was carrying a fruit basket and a bouquet of red roses. Red roses. He brought red roses to a pediatric hospital. I stood in the middle of the lobby and watched them laughing and chatting as they walked into the elevator. Ryan didn’t look my way once. My phone buzzed. It was a message from him. “I’m at the hospital. Which room is Noah in?” I didn’t reply. I just carried the strawberries upstairs at a slow pace. When I pushed open the door to the room, Ryan was already there. He was sitting by the bed, showing Noah something on his phone, while the fruit basket and roses sat on the bedside table, glaringly obvious. When Noah saw me, he happily shouted, “Mom! Dad’s here! He brought me something tasty too!” Ryan looked up and smiled at me. He’d practiced that smile for years. Warm, polite, and flawless. “You’ve worked hard. I rushed over as soon as I finished up over here. Noah’s okay now, right?” I set down the strawberries, picked up the red roses from the bedside table, and tossed them into the trash. Ryan’s smile froze. “What are you doing?” “The pediatric hospital doesn’t need roses.” “Those were for Mr. Bennett’s niece. I just happened to bring them here.” I looked at him and suddenly found him hilarious. This man was so lazy about lying that he didn’t even bother to make it sound convincing anymore. “Noah, Mom’s going to wash the strawberries.” I didn’t answer him and took the strawberries into the bathroom. The faucet ran loudly as I washed them again and again, until all the sourness in my eyes was forced back down. When I came out, Ryan was standing by the window on the phone, his voice kept very low. “Yeah, I’ll come over tonight… I know, you go ahead and order… okay, love you.” He said the last two words very softly, but I heard them clearly. He telling me he loved me was three years ago. I held Noah and fed him strawberries, one at a time, very slowly. Ryan hung up and walked over, trying to pick Noah up, but Noah pushed him away. “I want Mom!” Ryan’s face changed for a second before he quickly recovered. “Our son is close to you. Nothing I can do about that.” When he said that, there was a hint of complaint in his tone, as if Noah not being close to him was my fault. I didn’t say a word. He stood there for a while, then checked his watch. “Then I’m going. I still have stuff to do at the company.” “Wait.” He turned back at the door. “Noah had a 104.4-degree fever last night. He cried and called for Dad. He called you six times, and you didn’t answer a single one.” “I-” “You said you’d be here first thing this morning, and it’s now three in the afternoon.” “I came, didn’t I?” “To bring roses?” Ryan’s expression darkened. “Ava, are you looking for a fight today? Didn’t I say I had social obligations these next few days? Mr. Bennett is our company’s biggest client. If you offend her, are you going to take responsibility?” “Is your son more important or is the client more important?” “How can you compare them? I’m busting my ass for this family too.” “For this family?” I stood up and stared into his eyes. “Our son was lying in the hospital with a high fever, and you were out there taking care of another woman. And you call that doing it for this family?” Ryan’s eyes flickered. “How do you know… Did you check up on me?” “I don’t have time to check up on you, but next time remember to keep your female clients in line. Don’t let them send me messages.” His face changed completely. “Ava, my relationship with Mr. Bennett is purely business. Stop being unreasonable.” “I’m not causing a scene.” I sat back down and pulled Noah into my arms. “Go. Noah needs to rest.” Ryan opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but in the end he slammed the door and left. The sound of the door made Noah flinch. He looked up at me and asked, “Mom, is Dad mad?” “No. Dad’s just really busy.” “But I don’t want him to go. I want him to stay with me.” I kissed his forehead and said nothing. There were some things I couldn’t say to a three-year-old. Your dad may never come back to stay with you. This family might be falling apart.

That night, Brooke sent me a lawyer’s contact card. “Ms. Grant, the best divorce lawyer in the business. I booked you for 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow.” “Thanks.” “Ava, have you thought it through? Do you know Ryan’s asset situation?” I scrolled through my phone gallery. Over the past three months, I’d taken a lot of screenshots. The selfies Chloe sent me on the nights Ryan said he was working late. The hotel location and couple’s dinner Chloe posted on the weekend he said he was on a business trip. And the breakfast photo from this morning, taken in my kitchen. “I know. I have enough evidence too.” “All right, see you the day after tomorrow.” After hanging up, I leaned back in the visitor’s chair and stared at the ceiling. Noah was already asleep, breathing evenly, his little hand still clutching the hem of my shirt. I suddenly thought of seven years ago, when Ryan knelt in front of me to propose. Back then, he had just started his business, and he was broke. The ring was silver, and the diamond was so small you could barely see it. But his eyes were bright like stars, and he said he would definitely treat me and our child well for the rest of his life. We got married the second year, Noah was born, and the company also started getting on track. I thought life would only get better. Now that I think about it, it was probably from that time on that he got busier and busier. Busy enough to not have time for his son, busy enough to forget there was still a wife at home waiting for him. My phone buzzed again. It wasn’t Ryan. It was Chloe. She sent a new message. The location was a high-end Japanese restaurant in town. The photo showed a table full of food, and across from it sat someone whose face wasn’t visible, only one hand. I recognized that hand. A platinum wedding band, the anniversary gift I gave him last year, sat on his ring finger. I took a screenshot and saved it in my encrypted album. Then I turned off my phone and closed my eyes. On the third day of Noah’s hospitalization, his fever finally broke for good. The doctor said we could go home after one more day of observation, and I finally let out a breath and took time off work. I was a creative director at an advertising company, and I happened to have a big project in hand. The client wanted the proposal next week. But I couldn’t think about that right now. Megan’s recommended lawyer was named Lena Grant. She was known in the circle as a steel magnolia and specialized in high-net-worth divorce cases. None of the cases she’d taken had ever lost. I set up a meeting at the firm for 10 a.m. and arrived at 9:30. Lena was younger than I expected, in her early thirties, with short hair and a sharp black suit. She spoke fast, but her logic was clear. “Ms. Grant, Megan gave me a rough rundown of your situation. Show me the evidence.” I handed her my phone. She went through it for three minutes, and the crease between her brows only grew deeper. “These messages and photos are useful, but not enough.” “What else do you need?” “Bank statements, property records, company equity structure. If you can get his chats with that woman or hotel records, even better.” I was quiet for a moment. “I don’t really have access to the company side. The shares are all under his name.” “You’ve been married seven years, and the company was founded after the marriage. Under the law, you have half the rights.” Lena looked at me, her gaze sharp. “The real question is how you want to split this. Agreement divorce or litigation?” “If agreement is possible, that’s best. I don’t want this dragged out too long.” “Then let’s talk first. Tell me your bottom line, and I’ll draft the agreement.” When I walked out of the firm, it had started raining. There were several messages on my phone, all from Ryan’s mother. “Ava, what’s going on with you and Noah? Ryan says you’re throwing a fit and picking fights with him. As a wife, can’t you be more understanding of your husband?” I didn’t reply. No matter what happened, her son was always right, and I was always wrong. The year Noah was born, I had postpartum depression, and my mother-in-law said I was overthinking things. When Ryan’s startup failed, I took out my dowry money to plug the hole, and my mother-in-law said that was only right. Now that he’d found someone else outside, my mother-in-law said I was making a scene. I got into a rideshare and gave the driver the hospital address. As we passed that Japanese restaurant, I glanced inside. It was 11:30 a.m. and there weren’t many people in the restaurant, but a woman was sitting by the window, drinking coffee. Chloe. She had changed into a white dress. No one was sitting across from her, but there were two coffees on the table. The next second, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. “Hello?” “Ava, it’s me, Chloe.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452712”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Every year on my birthday, I wanted my boyfriend to take me to an amusement park once. He always said next time. Until the fifth year, when he finally agreed. But before we even got to the amusement park entrance, the car turned toward my best friend’s favorite escape room. “The escape room updated the theme Nina likes, so we can go to the amusement park next time.” For five years, every time Eric said he was taking me to the amusement park, the road would somehow turn toward Bella. The flavor Bella liked had to be eaten first, and the games she liked had to be experienced first. And my birthday wish to go to the amusement park with the person I loved had to be postponed indefinitely. When the escape room NPCs charged at us, I was so scared I fell. I tried to look up and call for help, but I saw that Eric had already protected Bella and run more than thirty feet away. The NPC took pity on me, pulled me up, and comforted me in a low voice. “Maybe they care more about the game experience.” I gave a bitter laugh. “But I don’t want to keep playing a three-person game with them anymore.”

I picked up the walkie-talkie and requested to leave the game. After Eric heard it, he came back looking very unhappy. “If you hadn’t held us back, we would’ve cleared it already. What are you complaining about now by trying to quit?” I didn’t answer, just looked at the blood pooling on the floor. Eric followed my gaze and finally noticed the wound on my knee. “Why were you so careless…” “Eric, I can’t solve this puzzle. Come take a look!” Eric’s words and the motion of wanting to hold me were both interrupted by Bella’s voice. “Lucy, wait for us at the entrance. Once we’re out, we’ll take you to the hospital together.” “We’re just one final room away from clearing the whole thing. Don’t worry, it won’t take long.” After saying that, he turned and ran toward Bella. But my eyes fell on his waist. The cartoon-print bag Bella loved was slung across his shoulder, and the plush rabbit hanging from it hurt my eyes every time it swung. We had been together for five years, and I had asked him countless times to help me carry my bag, but he always said it wasn’t right for a grown man to carry a girl’s bag. Over time, I stopped caring. A wave of bitterness rose in me. After a long while, I endured the pain and limped my way to the entrance. At the same time, the two of them walked out side by side. The escape room staff immediately surrounded them. “Congratulations! You’re the fastest players to escape this theme! Can you share your secret to clearing it?” Bella leaned into Eric’s arms, her face flushing slightly. “He protected me the whole time, so I could focus on solving the puzzles without worrying about the NPCs.” The girl in charge of reviewing the security footage had envy all over her tone. “Your boyfriend is really so good to you!” “When that NPC suddenly jumped out just now, his first reaction was to use his own body to shield you!” “If my boyfriend protected me like that on instinct, I’d probably be so moved I’d marry him on the spot!” Bella smiled without explaining. Eric glanced in my direction and said nothing, which counted as silent approval. I lowered my head and looked at the blood that had already dried on my calf. The interview with Eric and Bella was still going on. “You two are basically the top players here. You also set the fastest clear record for the wedding dress theme last month!” Bella leaned against Eric’s shoulder and smiled proudly. “Of course! We come here seven or eight times a month. We figured out your tricks ages ago!” “I knew there’d be a lot of chase scenes in the new theme, so I even changed into flats!” She lifted the brand-new shoes on her feet, drawing another round of admiration from the staff. I had seen those shoes before. At the beginning of the month, Eric had sent me the link and asked if they looked good. Back then, I thought they were a birthday gift for me, and I had looked forward to it for a whole month. So the surprise was for Bella, and forgetting about me was real. It felt like a huge stone had suddenly slammed into my chest, crushing the breath out of me. Maybe I should have left this three-person relationship a long time ago. My phone screen lit up, and a message from my boss appeared at the very top. “Lucy, think carefully about the transfer to headquarters. Tomorrow is the last deadline.” A month ago, my boss told me he wanted to transfer me to headquarters as a project manager, basically a promotion. But I didn’t want a long-distance relationship with Eric, so I turned it down. Now, I just wanted to get as far away from them as possible. “I’ll go.”

My boss replied very quickly. “Then take the flight tomorrow morning.” After I received the screenshot of the ticket order, I called a ride-hailing car and turned off my phone. Eric and Bella were still sharing their escape room experience with the staff. I didn’t wait anymore and walked straight out of the mall. It was rush hour, so the car wouldn’t arrive for another ten minutes. I leaned against the bus stop sign, just barely able to stay standing. Eric’s voice suddenly rang out, carrying a hint of urgency. “Lucy! Didn’t I tell you to wait for us at the entrance? Why did you leave on your own?” I looked at Eric and said directly, “You and Bella were playing escape room. Staying there would only slow you down.” The moment the words fell, the atmosphere turned awkward beyond belief. Bella took my hand. “Lucy, saying that makes me really sad.” “If it bothers you that Eric played the escape room with me, then I won’t play with him anymore.” I pushed her hand away and took a step back. When Eric saw my movement, his tone turned unhappy. “You insisted on leaving early, and now you’re being sarcastic about it?” Thinking of the cartoon shoulder bag on him, and thinking of how he had silently let people assume Bella was his girlfriend during the interview, my grievance surged up all at once, and even my voice started shaking. “Eric, did you forget that I’m your girlfriend?” I pointed at the bag on him. “What kind of boyfriend carries his best friend’s bag? And why didn’t you say anything when the staff said you two were boyfriend and girlfriend?” Seeing me cry, Eric sighed. “When we were playing, Bella was handling the puzzles. Carrying a bag would’ve slowed her down, so I took it.” “If I explained that she wasn’t my girlfriend, people who didn’t know the situation might misunderstand her as the other woman. Then they might attack her.” “Lucy, you and she are best friends. You wouldn’t want her to be misunderstood by other people, right?” “Right now, the most important thing is getting your injury checked at the hospital.” Not wanting Bella to be misunderstood, so I, his real girlfriend, had to swallow it. I gave a cold laugh and automatically put more distance between the two of them. “I’ll take a taxi to the hospital myself. You don’t need to worry about it.” Eric’s patience finally ran out. “Lucy, I already explained it. What are you still making a scene for?” As he spoke, he snatched my phone away, canceled my ride-hailing order, and then lifted me up in his arms and shoved me into the back seat. “Whatever it is, we’ll talk after you get your wound checked.” I pressed my lips together and said nothing. Bella naturally sat in the front passenger seat, and Eric started the car. It wasn’t until we were almost at the hospital that Bella suddenly gasped. “Buddy’s home alone! Take me back first!” Buddy was the dog she raised. Bella’s home and the hospital were in completely opposite directions. Dropping her off first and then coming back to the hospital would take at least two hours. My wound was already swollen. I couldn’t wait that long at all. Eric glanced at me. “Lucy, Buddy’s been having some separation anxiety lately. We’ll take Bella home first, then go to the hospital!” He was the one who insisted on taking me to the hospital, and now he was the one asking me to wait. My matters were always behind Bella’s, and now they even had to come after Bella’s dog. My nails dug into my palm. “Pull over! I’ll go myself!” Eric’s voice suddenly turned cold. “Lucy, I’m just asking you to wait a bit. Why are you acting up again?” Looking at the impatience in Eric’s eyes, the grievance and hurt in my heart surged out like a floodgate had been opened. I wanted to ask him whether there was still room for me in his heart. But in the end, I only gave a bitter laugh. “Pull over.” Eric’s patience was obviously worn out. He pulled the car over at the intersection. He let me open the door myself and limp out of the car.

By the time I reached the hospital, the doctor took one look at my wound and frowned deeply. “It’s already infected and full of pus inside. Why didn’t you come to the hospital earlier?” I lowered my head and apologized, feeling heavy and stifled inside. While the wound was being bandaged, my screen lit up with a birthday greeting from the bank. I never expected the first happy birthday of my twenty-fifth year to come from a bank customer service rep. When I got home, Eric was sitting on the sofa in the living room. When he saw me come back, his gaze landed on the bandaged wound on my calf. “Lucy, you owe Bella an apology.” Looking at his matter-of-fact expression, I no longer had the desire to argue with him. Besides, I still had to pack for the flight tomorrow morning. I threw the hospital report in front of him. The infected wound had been circled in red by the doctor. Eric glanced at it and his tone softened. “Sorry, Lucy. I didn’t know you were hurt this badly.” I didn’t look at him. In the end, I swept my gaze around the house. The sofa was the brown leather Bella liked, and the floor was the off-white tile Bella had picked. Even beside the bed in the bedroom, there was a massage recliner reserved for Bella. It turned out that Bella’s traces had long since filled every corner of my life with Eric. I just hadn’t noticed it all this time. Seeing that I still didn’t speak, Eric wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Lucy, I’ll definitely take you to the amusement park for your birthday next year.” I had heard this line too many times and believed it too many times, but now it no longer meant anything. I hummed in response and turned to go into the bedroom. I zipped up my second suitcase. When he saw the two suitcases beside me, his face showed confusion. “Why are you packing? Going on a business trip?” I closed the suitcase and said softly, “Seasonal cleanup.” He didn’t ask any further. “Come eat first! I even added an egg for you.” Just as he finished speaking, Eric’s phone rang. When he came back, his voice sounded unnatural. “Lucy, something came up at work. I need to go back and work overtime.” If this had happened before, I would definitely have called out such a lousy lie and asked him who he was really going to see. But now, him not being home worked perfectly for me. “Okay. Don’t keep your coworkers waiting too long.” Eric was very satisfied with my understanding. He kissed my forehead, grabbed his coat, and rushed out the door. By the time I finished packing, it was already midnight. Eric called me. “The work stuff is a little tricky. Go to sleep first. Don’t wait for me.” “I’ll take you to the hospital to change your bandage tomorrow, and I’ll have lunch with you at noon. Be good.” I hummed and hung up. The next second, he appeared in Bella’s updated post. “Suddenly wanted to go to the amusement park. Eric booked out the whole place right away and even arranged a fireworks show. Good job~” In the video, the two of them leaned close together, and the fireworks reflected in both of their eyes. I lowered my eyes and looked at the gift box I usually treated like treasure. Inside was the ring Eric had given me five years ago. I grew up in an orphanage, and whenever I watched TV, I would hope to go to an amusement park once. Back then, Eric made promise after promise. “Lucy, every year on your birthday, I’ll take you to the amusement park!” “With this ring as a promise token, when you turn 25, I’ll set off fireworks across the whole sky and use them to propose to you!” But every year on my birthday, Eric would forget his promise to me because he had to rush off to see Bella. This year, he didn’t forget. He went to the amusement park. He set off fireworks across the whole sky. It was just that none of it was for me. I put the ring on the nightstand. Since the person who made the promise had already forgotten it, I didn’t need to keep it anymore.

At five o’clock the next morning. I put the keys on the shoe cabinet by the entrance and closed the door for the last time. While waiting at the airport, Eric was still active in Bella’s feed. They had gone to see the latest movie. “This movie was so heartbreaking. By the second half, someone’s shoulder was soaked with tears!” In the nine-grid photo set there were movie tickets, popcorn, and two hands tightly clasped together. In the comments, all our mutual friends were liking and congratulating them. “No need to eat dinner tonight. I’m full just from your and Eric’s dog food!” “I can feel the happiness between you two through the screen. I hope you stay together forever!” So everyone already knew about Bella and Eric, and they had all agreed to speak with me in the same way. For five years, I had been nothing but a joke. Eric liked the post first, so he had seen all those comments. But not a single explanation came from him. I laughed and liked it too. Then I sent Eric my final message. “Let’s break up!” Then I deleted and blocked all of Eric’s and Bella’s contact information. By the time Eric and Bella finished the movie and came out, the man suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. An uneasy feeling stirred him so much that he couldn’t settle down. During the times we fought before, Lucy had also brought up breaking up, but every time it had been less than ten minutes before she ran back to him to make up. So at first he didn’t take it seriously, but now six hours had passed, and there still wasn’t a second message in Lucy’s chat window. He hurriedly bought Lucy’s favorite breakfast and rushed home, only to find the house completely empty. Thinking she might have gone to the hospital to change her bandage, he felt a little relieved. The next second, he found that the half of the closet belonging to Lucy was already completely empty. He sent Lucy a message, and the screen quickly showed a red exclamation mark. He then called Lucy’s number, but all he got was the cold message that the other party could not be reached. A huge sense of losing control was taking over Eric’s heart, and he was panicking badly. He turned around and saw the ring he had once given Lucy on the nightstand.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452711”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

My daughter was run over and killed right at the gates of her elementary school. The moment I heard the news, I popped open a bottle of expensive red wine to celebrate. When her homeroom teacher called me, I hung up instantly. When my husband called, I blocked his number without a second thought. In my past life, my daughter was also run over and killed outside the school gates on this exact day. But back then, when I was the first to rush to the scene, I realized with horror that the car that killed her was my own. And the school’s surveillance footage showed that the person behind the wheel, driving straight into my daughter, was me. Both the homeroom teacher and my husband pointed their fingers at me. The teacher claimed she saw me hit the girl with her own eyes. My husband claimed I had always been mentally unstable, venting my rage by abusing our daughter at home, but he never thought I’d be insane enough to run her over. The crowd screamed at me, the police dragged me away, and in the end, I was brutally strangled to death in a cold prison cell. My husband inherited my entire family fortune. Until the moment I died, I didn’t understand how this happened. Why was I framed as my own daughter’s murderer when I had done absolutely nothing? Then, I opened my eyes again. I was back on the very day she died.

My mind was in a daze, still trapped in the agonizing pain of being strangled to death in my past life. “Babe, what are you staring at? Hurry up and drive Lily to school.” Looking at my husband, Adrian, and his incredibly gentle smile, my pupils shrank. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. In my past life, it was because I drove our daughter to school this morning. My fingerprints were left all over the steering wheel, and the police used that to immediately lock me in as the prime suspect. So today, no matter what, I could not touch that car. But there was one thing I still couldn’t wrap my head around. Why did the surveillance footage show me driving the car that killed Lily? I was clearly at home the entire time. I never even went near the school. And what confused me even more was why Adrian would frame me so ruthlessly. He had always been the perfect husband and father. He took care of Lily and me so well, keeping us happy and well-fed. In the eyes of our friends and family, marrying a man like Adrian was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Seeing me freeze, he blinked, his face full of concern. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you feeling sick?” Looking into his eyes—eyes that looked so genuinely worried but hid a murderous soul—I forced down the hatred burning inside me and squeezed out a weak smile. “I think I have a fever. Can you drive Lily to school today?” I watched his face closely as I spoke. There was no surprise on his face. Only pure, loving concern. Why? “No! I don’t want Daddy to take me! I want Mommy!” Lily screamed from the hallway. Hearing her voice, my heart gave a violent shudder. In my past life, I had driven Lily to school just like any other day. By noon, I received the news of her horrific death. When I rushed to the school, all I saw was her cold, broken body on the asphalt. I had held her corpse, screaming and crying until my throat bled. But Lily’s homeroom teacher, Evelyn, pointed at me and screamed, calling me a monster, accusing me of shedding crocodile tears. My mind had gone completely blank. I had no idea why she was attacking me. Until she pulled up the security footage. There it was—my car, running Lily down. And the woman in the driver’s seat looked exactly like me. The crowd of onlookers went wild with rage. Their spit and curses rained down on me. “You’re worse than an animal! How could you run over your own child!” “Such a sweet little girl! How could you be so heartless!” Then, Adrian rushed to the scene. I thought he would defend me, that he would tell them there had to be some mistake. Instead, he slapped me hard across the face. The gentle, loving husband vanished. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared at me: “Vivian! Give me back my daughter! You’ve always been mentally unstable! You beat me, you beat Lily!” “But she was your own flesh and blood! How could you run her over in cold blood?!” When the forensic team arrived, they found that Lily’s body wasn’t just bruised from the car crash—she had old, faded whip marks all over her back. In an instant, the crowd’s fury peaked. They dragged me to the ground, kicking and stomping on me until I was half-dead. By the time the ambulance finally arrived, I was already slipping away. Later, I was thrown into prison. And eventually, I was strangled to death in the shadows, while my husband, who had framed me, inherited my billionaire father’s entire estate. The agony of my death was still fresh. But this time, I was going to uncover the truth.

“Lily, Mommy isn’t feeling well today. Let Daddy take you, okay?” I spoke to my daughter in a soft, gentle voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lily’s skin. It was smooth, fair, and flawless. There wasn’t a single scratch on her. In my past life, there were too many loopholes. First, why did the camera show me driving the car when I was at home? Second, why did Lily have old, faded scars on her body when she died? I stared at Lily’s perfect skin now. A terrifying thought crossed my mind. Did Lily have some kind of blood clotting disorder? Or… was someone abusing her at school, causing those hidden scars? Just then, Adrian called out from the bedroom: “Alright, honey. You stay in bed and rest. I’ll change and take Lily to school.” I watched his retreating back, my suspicion growing deeper. I thought he would hesitate, but he agreed so easily. What was the real play here? While he was in the bedroom changing, I knelt down in front of Lily and whispered, “Lily, tell Mommy. Does anyone bully you at school?” Lily scoffed, looking incredibly smug. “No way! I’m the queen of my class. I’m the one who bosses everyone else around!” No one bullied her? My brows furrowed as Adrian walked her out the door. Then where did those old scars on her body come from? The mystery was getting darker by the second. As soon as their car pulled out of the driveway, I called an Uber and followed them from a safe distance. At the school gates, Evelyn, the homeroom teacher, was waiting. She took Lily from Adrian’s hands with her usual warm smile. She even patted Lily’s head affectionately. Watching this, my mind raced. My husband’s behavior was completely normal. But the more normal it seemed, the more uneasy I felt. Why would he frame me? And how did Evelyn get her hands on a video of “me” running down my own daughter? What was the link between them? Desperate for answers, I pulled out my phone and began reviewing the video I had just secretly recorded of them at the school gate, analyzing it frame by frame.

Half an hour passed, and I found nothing. I checked my watch. Cold sweat began to bead on my forehead, my heart hammering against my ribs. I was running out of time. In my past life, Lily’s “accident” happened exactly at noon, under the blistering midday sun. Yet, everything was shrouded in a thick fog. I couldn’t see the truth. Even playing my recorded video frame by frame, Adrian looked like the perfect, loving father. I put my phone down and sat at a small coffee shop across the street from the school, scanning the surroundings for any clue, any anomaly. But even when the morning bell rang and the kids went inside for classes, I was still completely in the dark. Even with a second chance at life, I had no leads. I had too little information from my past life, and time in this life was ticking away. I felt like a drowning woman, watching the water rise, helpless against the freezing current. There were less than three hours left until noon. Panic clawed at my chest. I forced myself to take deep, slow breaths to keep from losing my mind. I forced myself to focus on the most critical question: Why did the surveillance footage show me behind the wheel? The truth had to be right in front of me. I just needed to tear down the veil. But as the minutes ticked by, I still couldn’t grasp it. “What am I missing? What is the key to all of this?” I muttered, clutching my head in frustration. “Hey, kiddo, you alright? Do you need me to call 911?” The old man running the hotdog stand nearby looked at me with deep concern. I remembered him. In my past life, he was one of the people who threw garbage at me and cursed my name. “911? Wait…” A bolt of lightning struck my brain. I had been looking at this from the wrong angle! The truth wasn’t in what I could see. It was in what was hidden. Joy surged through me. I thanked the old man, pulled out my phone, and opened the video again. Finally, in one single, split-second frame, I saw it. A cold smirk played on my lips. I immediately dialed my billionaire father’s private secretary. “Vance…” After giving Vance his instructions, I paced around the sidewalk, waiting. Whether my theory was right depended entirely on what Vance found. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed. It was Vance. His voice was shaking as he delivered the results of his investigation. Hearing his words, my blood ran hot with pure adrenaline! Unbelievable. The most twisted, insane theory was actually the truth! I took a deep breath and quickly gave Vance a series of orders. At noon, the news of Lily’s death arrived. I popped open a bottle of expensive red wine, smiling. When Evelyn called, I hung up. When Adrian called, I blocked him. I poured a glass of wine and opened a local influencer’s TikTok Live stream. On the screen, Evelyn’s eyes were red, her body trembling as she cried to the camera: “Lily was such an angel! I don’t understand how her own mother could be such a monster to run her down!” Because the story was blowing up online, the school board members had rushed to the scene. To save the school’s reputation, they had security set up a large digital screen, playing the traffic camera footage on a loop. In the video, “I” was driving my car, waiting at the school gate. The moment Lily walked out, the car surged forward, striking her down, then rolling over her body again and again. Evelyn sobbed uncontrollably on camera. The stream’s viewer count exploded, surpassing 100k in minutes. The live chat was a waterfall of pure rage, all directed at me. Adrian was there too. He was kneeling beside Lily’s covered body, lifting his shirt to show the crowd deep bruises on his torso. He sobbed hysterically, a far cry from his usual composed self. “I never thought… we had a small fight this morning, and I told her she couldn’t take Lily to school. She went completely psycho! She took the car and killed our baby! Oh god, my sweet Lily!” Adrian’s tearful confession broke the hearts of everyone watching. The comments section went wild: “She ran over her own daughter? Hang this bitch!” “I can’t imagine how terrified that poor girl was when she realized her own mother was driving the car!” In an instant, I became the most hated woman in the country. In my past life, faced with this wave of hatred, I had been unable to speak a single word of defense. I was trampled to death by an angry mob. I took a sip of my wine, smiled, and headed toward the school. Let’s see if they can destroy me this time.

I walked through the crowd at the school gates, my face completely expressionless. The moment Adrian saw me, his grief turned into rabid fury. He lunged forward, grabbing my collar, screaming: “Vivian! What did Lily ever do to you?! You were her mother!!” He cried so hard he could barely breathe, looking exactly like a devastated, innocent father. In my past life, this act of his was what sealed my fate and sent me to my grave. I slowly peeled his hands off my collar, my fists clenching. Seeing my lack of reaction, his crying got louder, playing to the crowd. The surrounding onlookers glared at me, their eyes burning with hatred. Evelyn stepped forward, her eyes puffy as she chimed in: “Vivian! Even if you hated Lily, she was your own flesh and blood! If you hated her so much, why did you even give birth to her?!” I could hear the collective gasp of the crowd. Several men looked ready to tear me apart, only held back by their wives. Adrian let out a hollow, tragic laugh, his voice raspy. “You lied to me this morning. You said you were sick so I would drive her. You planned this all along, didn’t you?” “Vivian, do you even have a soul? Lily was so small! How could you?!” Suddenly, a half-eaten hotdog sailed through the air and hit my shoulder. It was the old hotdog vendor. He pointed at me, screaming: “I can’t believe I almost called 911 for this monster! You should have died in your bed!” Soon, other parents began throwing trash, coffee cups, and water bottles at me. The crowd’s fury was a raging fire. “Kill her! Kill the monster!” “If she can do this to her own kid, she’s a threat to society!” Everyone’s anger was manipulated perfectly. The mob mentality was incredibly dangerous. In my past life, surrounded by my daughter’s corpse and my husband’s lies, I had lost my mind, unable to utter a single word of defense. I was beaten, thrown in jail, and strangled. But in this life? I wasn’t going down. I looked at the sea of hateful faces and smiled coldly. “Who said I was the killer?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452710”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

I grew up in a group home. But I always knew I had a mother. She was like my invisible guardian angel. Whenever I was in danger, she would appear out of nowhere to save me. This was our silent, unspoken understanding over the years. The other kids at the group home used to laugh at me, saying I was delusional. “Just wait until she comes back!” I would yell. “Then you’ll see I’m not lying!” Sometimes, kind-hearted couples came wanting to adopt me. But I always refused. “No. I’m waiting for my real mom to take me home!” Eventually, all the kids who entered the home at the same time as me were adopted. I was the only one left, completely alone. Mrs. Gable, the director, sighed and sat down beside me. “Stop waiting, Chloe. Your mother isn’t coming back.” But I didn’t believe her. Not even for a second. Because I knew the truth. My mom had just visited me the night before. “Chloe, a lovely couple is here. They want to meet you. Why don’t you come to the garden with me?” Mrs. Gable stroked my hair gently as she spoke. “They just want to talk and get to know you. They aren’t trying to force you to leave with them.” “I heard they even brought you a little gift. Don’t you want to see what it is?” Looking at her warm smile, I knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to coax me into another adoption meeting. Because I was quiet and well-behaved, countless people had wanted to adopt me over the years. But every single time, I rejected them. This time was no different. “I’m not going! Stop tricking me, Mrs. Gable. They don’t just want to talk. They want to take me away!” “How many times do I have to say it? I have a mom! I’m waiting for my real mom to take me home!” I stood up, hands on my hips, looking at her with absolute seriousness. Mrs. Gable let out a long sigh, her eyes filled with pity. “Chloe, everyone else from your group has been adopted. They’ve started new lives. They have loving homes, and parents who adore them.” “If you’re worried about your foster parents treating you badly, I promise I’ll visit you every single week. I’ll make sure you grow up happy and healthy, okay?” I didn’t even look up. Instead, I kept coloring the greeting card in my hands and replied casually, “I’m making a card for my mom. I don’t have time to talk.” “She came to see me last night. I’m going to leave this card by the window tonight. When she comes back next time, she’ll get my present!” To prove my point, I waved the card in front of Mrs. Gable. Just then, Harper walked past the room. She was another girl from the home, and she had just been adopted by a wealthy young couple. Today was her moving day. Hearing my words, she burst into a loud, mocking laugh. “Mrs. Gable, is Chloe actually crazy?” “She brags about having a mom every day, but she’s never even seen her face!” “No wonder no one wants to adopt you, Chloe. You’re a total psycho!” With a smug sneer, she turned around, grabbed her new parents’ hands, and walked away. Mrs. Gable immediately tried to soothe me. “Chloe, don’t listen to Harper. She didn’t mean it.” Why would I be angry? I knew I wasn’t crazy. I didn’t care about Harper’s insults at all. Soon, I would prove to everyone that I wasn’t lying. That night, I purposely used a pair of scissors to make a small cut on my finger. Then, I placed the greeting card right on the windowsill. When I woke up the next morning, a cartoon bear band-aid was neatly wrapped around my finger. The card on the windowsill was gone. I jumped out of bed, practically screaming with joy as I ran into the courtyard. “Mrs. Gable! I told you my mom is real!” “Look at this!” I rushed up to her and held my finger high in the air. Mrs. Gable stared at the band-aid, completely stunned. But a second later, she smiled warmly at me. “I believe you, Chloe.” “Because your biological family has actually found you.” “They are coming to take you home today.” My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe my ears. Mom was really coming back! My card actually worked! Suddenly, a deep voice sounded from behind me. “Sweetheart, I’ve come to take you home.” I turned around excitedly, but then I froze. The person standing there was not my mother. It was a strange man.

I stared at the stranger, a sudden wave of anger washing over me. This man was not my mother. Why was he pretending to be my family? He just wanted to take me away so that when my mom came back, she wouldn’t be able to find me! “I don’t know you! I’m not going with you!” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I hid behind Mrs. Gable. The man pulled a small teddy bear out from behind his back, knelt down, and spoke softly. “Chloe, I brought you this bear. See? It has the exact same cartoon pattern as the band-aid on your finger. Do you like it?” I stared at the bear, completely frozen. How did he know what pattern was on my band-aid? Did he know my mom? Before I could process this, Mrs. Gable gently explained the situation to me. “Chloe, this is your biological father, William Sterling.” “They found your profile in the national DNA database a few days ago. That’s when they realized you were the daughter they lost years ago.” “I’ve personally verified the DNA test reports. You are indeed his daughter.” I didn’t fully understand the technical terms, but I understood the words “biological daughter.” Did this mean I could finally find my mom? I tugged at Mrs. Gable’s sleeve and asked quietly, “Where is my mom, then?” Before Mrs. Gable could answer, William gently patted my head and smiled. “She has some business to attend to today, so she couldn’t make it.” “But once you come home with me, you’ll get to see her.” Tears of pure joy threatened to spill over. I was finally going to see my mother! I wanted her to take my hand and show the whole world that I wasn’t a liar, that she had been protecting me from the shadows all along! After finishing the paperwork, I went back to my room to pack my few pieces of old clothing. But William stopped me. He picked me up in his arms, his voice filled with affection. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you shopping. We’ll buy a hundred new outfits!” “Let’s leave these old clothes behind. Consider it a farewell to the past.” I didn’t care about the clothes. I just wanted to see my mom. So I nodded, letting him carry me out of the group home. The moment we stepped through the front gates, a crowd of reporters and paparazzi surrounded us. They shoved microphones into my face, shouting over one another. “Are you the girl adopted by the CEO of Sterling Group?” “Why did Mr. Sterling choose to adopt you?” “Sweetheart, how does it feel to suddenly become the heiress of the wealthiest family in the state? Do you know your life is about to change forever?” Faced with the flashing cameras and loud voices, my face crumpled. “I don’t care about money. I just want to see my mom.” Before I could say anything else, William angrily pushed the microphones away. “This is a private family matter! Show some respect to my daughter!” “She is just a child. Stop asking her such superficial questions!” He shielded me through the crowd and placed me into the back of a luxury SUV. During the drive, I couldn’t stop imagining what my mom looked like. Would she look like me? Would she like the card I made for her? Why had she stayed in the shadows for so many years? I had so many questions, and I wanted to ask her face-to-face. But it was okay. We had plenty of time now. The car stopped in front of a massive, beautiful mansion. I immediately jumped out and ran inside. “Mom!” I screamed, rushing through the front doors. Standing in the grand foyer was a young, elegant woman with her arms wide open. Next to her stood a young girl about my age. “Chloe, come here. Let me give you a hug,” the woman said with a warm smile. But I froze right in my tracks and screamed, “You are not my mom!”

The woman’s smile faltered, and her arms dropped slowly to her sides. William quickly knelt beside me, trying to soothe me. “Chloe, you shouldn’t speak to your mother like that.” The woman didn’t seem angry. Instead, she looked at me with deep sympathy. “It’s okay, William. It’s natural that Chloe can’t accept me right away. We have plenty of time.” She looked at me and said, “If it makes you more comfortable, you can call me Valerie. I want us to build a real relationship, however long it takes.” Then, she nudged the young girl beside her. The girl stepped forward, grabbing my hand with a sweet smile. “Hi, Chloe. I’m your sister, Evie.” Despite their friendliness, I remained completely cold. Because I had seen my real mother in the dark the night before. Even though I couldn’t see her face clearly, I saw her silhouette. My real mother had short hair. This woman, Valerie, had very long hair. No matter how much time passed, this woman would never be my mother. William took me up to my bedroom. It was beautiful, warm, and bright. Most importantly, the bed was covered in plush teddy bears—the exact same design as the cartoon bear on my band-aid. My real mom must have set this up for me. In the days that followed, William and Valerie took great care of me. But the better they treated me, the sadder I felt. Why wasn’t my real mom here with me? She was the one who had protected me in the dark all these years. Why was someone else taking her place in the light? One evening, Valerie came up to my room to call me down for dinner. I was sitting on the floor, playing with the teddy bears. “Chloe, dinner’s ready. Let’s go down to eat.” Then, she glanced at the plush toys scattered all over the floor. A look of disgust flashed across her face, and she muttered under her breath, “I honestly don’t get what’s so special about these stupid cheap bears…” Hearing her words, a wild rage exploded inside me. I grabbed my slipper and threw it hard at her, screaming, “They are not stupid! My mom gave them to me!” Valerie was shocked by my sudden outburst. She dodged the slipper, her own temper instantly flaring. “Stop living in a fantasy world! Your mother abandoned you a long time ago!” “I’ve had enough of walking on eggshells around you! You’re just an ungrateful brat!” I froze, tears streaming down my face. Valerie’s mouth was still moving, but I couldn’t hear a word she was saying. Only one sentence kept echoing in my head: Your mother abandoned you. William ran upstairs after hearing the commotion, looking shocked at the scene. “What is going on here?” Valerie’s face was red with anger as she pointed a finger at me. “Your daughter! She just threw her shoe at me!” “You should have left her in that group home! Not only is she completely delusional about having a mother, but now she’s turning violent!” “Is she going to burn the house down next? I’m warning you, William, if she hurts a single hair on Evie’s head, I won’t let this go!” I didn’t care about her accusations. My mind was completely shattered by the thought that my mother didn’t want me. “Dad! Valerie is lying! She said my mom abandoned me!” “My mom protects me every single day! How could she not want me!” I rushed to my drawer and pulled out the cartoon band-aid I had saved. Even though my cut had healed long ago, I kept it like a precious treasure. “Look! This is the band-aid she gave me! It matches the bears on my bed!” “She loves me! She would never abandon me!” I sobbed, my tears soaking the front of my shirt. A flash of pain went through William’s eyes. He took a deep breath, knelt down, and said quietly, “Chloe… your mother did abandon you.”

Before I could even process his words, William began to tell me the story of what happened years ago. “When you were a year old, your mother said she was taking you to a local market.” “But she never came back. I called the police, but no matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find a trace of either of you.” “The investigators told me she had most likely run away with you. It happened a lot back then.” “I really thought she had fallen in love with someone else and took you with her. So, I filed for divorce. Later, I met Valerie, and she helped me rebuild my life.” “It wasn’t until I found your DNA match recently that I realized you had been living in a group home all these years. Your mother… she must have dumped you on the side of the road back then.” “Thank God a kind stranger found you and took you to the shelter, otherwise you would have died out there…” His words felt like sharp needles stabbing directly into my heart. Was it true? Did my mother really abandon me? I stood there, paralyzed, as tears poured down my cheeks. Seeing my state, William gently patted my head. “I know it’s hard to accept, Chloe. But I need you to move on so you can start your new life.” “Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be in the other room.” With that, he walked out with Valerie. I clutched the cartoon band-aid in my hand, a suffocating darkness swallowing me whole. My mother didn’t want me. My father had a new family. My existence felt entirely pointless. Hearing the faint sound of laughter from the other room where William, Valerie, and Evie were, the last string in my mind snapped. I don’t know how long I stood there, but by the time I snapped out of it, it was late at night. I quietly crept up to the roof of the mansion, clutching the band-aid. Staring at the little bear pattern, I laughed through my tears. “Mom, you’re a liar.” With that, I took a step forward and jumped. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying safely in my bed, completely unharmed. On the nightstand beside me, there was a brand-new cartoon bear band-aid. In that moment, I knew. My mom had saved me. She had never abandoned me. She loved me more than life itself. I resolved to stay alive. I would live until the day I could finally hold her in my arms. From that day on, I was no longer quiet or sullen. I became active, vibrant, and threw myself into my studies. William and Valerie were shocked by my sudden transformation, but they were genuinely happy to see me thriving. Even though William had destroyed all photos of my mother in his anger years ago, leaving me with no idea what she looked like, it didn’t matter. I studied as hard as I could. If I climbed high enough, I would eventually find her. And when that day came, I would stand proudly by her side. Years later, when the SAT scores were released, I received a call from the admissions office. “Chloe Sterling, you scored a perfect 1600. You are the state valedictorian.” “Harvard’s prestigious finance program has extended an invitation. Would you like to accept?” William was ecstatic when he heard the news. “That’s my girl! You’ll study finance and take over the Sterling Group one day!” But my face remained completely blank. I said softly, “I’m not going to Harvard. I made a promise to my mom. I’m going to find her.” William’s face instantly twisted in rage. He pointed a finger at my face and yelled, “I thought you had grown out of this nonsense! You’re still as naive as you were years ago!” “I told you, she abandoned you! You don’t even know who she is or what she looks like!” “I’m warning you, Chloe. If you run off to chase this imaginary mother of yours, you are cut off from the Sterling family! I will disown you!” I didn’t argue. I went straight to my room and packed my bags. That very night, I moved out of the Sterling mansion. No matter how much William pleaded afterward, I never looked back. Because I finally knew who my mother was.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452708”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

At our wedding, my fiancé, Ethan Sterling, announced he was going to present me with a grand surprise. The next second, the giant projector screen behind the altar started playing a video of me dancing provocatively. The caption read: “Thirty-year-old desperate cougar. $100 a night. First come, first served.” The venue erupted into whispers and gasps. Before I could even process it, Ethan slapped me across the face. “Are you really that desperate for men, Chloe?” I let out a cold, bitter laugh. So this was his so-called “surprise”? Faced with my freezing glare, Ethan suddenly froze, looking slightly guilty. Then, the AV technician at the back of the room, who was wearing a baseball cap, chuckled softly. “Surprised?” The woman took off her cap, revealing the very face Ethan had been obsessing over for years. It was Mia Hayes, his precious college mentee. She strolled up to the stage with a coquettish smile and wrapped her arms around Ethan’s waist. “This is my surprise for you, Ethan. Do you like it?” Then, she turned to me with an innocent, wide-eyed look. “Chloe, it’s just a joke. You’re not mad, are you?”

A joke? I smiled at her, stepped forward, and slapped her hard across the face. Mia collapsed onto the floor instantly. Ethan lost his mind. “Are you insane?! Why did you hit her?” “What’s the matter, Ethan? Can’t you take a joke?” I stared ruthlessly at the cheating bastards in front of me. I was so done with this. How many times had this happened? Since the day Mia entered our lives, she had been pushing my boundaries over and over again. When she broke my laptop, she just giggled. “Oh, you wanted a new one anyway. I’m doing you a favor, Chloe. No need to thank me!” When she slept in our bed, she rolled her eyes. “I just slept on your bed for a night. What’s the big deal?” Her trashy words and toxic “pranks” had completely drained whatever little love I had left for Ethan. There was absolutely no point in continuing this wedding. I turned around to leave the stage, intending to take my parents and walk out. But Ethan blocked my path. “Apologize to Mia right now!” “Apologize?” I laughed out loud again, completely amused by his audacity. I pointed at the giant screen. “Does that video not require an apology first?” Ethan looked back and forth between me and Mia. “She’s practically a child! Why are you being so petty?” As soon as those words left his mouth, I raised my hand and slapped him too. Before he could rage, I said calmly, “You just slapped me because of that video. Shouldn’t I return the favor?” “You—” “Ethan,” Mia whined, rubbing her bruised cheek and acting like a victim. “Chloe is way too petty. She can’t even take a joke at a party like this. How is she ever going to accompany you to high-society events in the future? Hitting me is one thing, but hitting you? She has gone too far.” Ethan looked deeply touched. The gaze he turned on her was incredibly tender. “Alright, don’t cry. But really, why are you so mischievous? Playing a prank at a wedding of all places?” His words sounded like a scolding, but his tone was pure pampering. “Well, I just figured you and Chloe already have everything,” Mia said, tilting her head. “I couldn’t think of a normal gift, so I wanted to give you a real shock.” She then turned to me with a smug, mocking look. “And Chloe, I heard that women your age love young male models. I already sent your video to a Snapchat group full of male strippers. They’re all super excited. Don’t thank me, honey!” Meeting Mia’s provocative eyes, I slapped her yet again. “Chloe Vance, you’ve crossed the line!” Ethan roared, shielding Mia in his arms like she was some precious treasure. “Do you think I won’t call off this wedding? If you keep acting like a psycho, we don’t need to get married at all!” I sneered. “I’m sorry, but a woman of my age refuses to take any disrespect. Whoever makes me miserable, I’ll make them suffer ten times worse.” “You…” Ethan was shaking with rage. “Mia already said it was a joke! Is all this really necessary?” Before I could speak, the guests in the audience couldn’t hold back anymore. “Is that even a joke? That’s straight-up cyberbullying.” “Damn, if my wife was humiliated like that, I’d probably be in jail for murder by now.” “Well, you can’t compare yourself to Ethan. After all, Mia is his precious little mentee.”

The guests spoke loudly, and Ethan’s face flushed a deep, embarrassed red. My parents stood up, their faces completely dark. They looked at Ethan’s parents and said coldly, “If your family didn’t want this marriage, you could have just said so. There was no need to humiliate our daughter like this.” My parents had been against me marrying Ethan from the very beginning. I was the one who had insisted on being with him. Now, I guess this was my karma. “Oh, Mrs. Vance, please, you misunderstand!” Ethan’s mother panicked, rushing over. “Our Ethan had nothing to do with this! It was all that brainless girl from the Hayes family!” “Yes, exactly!” Ethan’s father chimed in. They quickly tried to salvage the situation, then glared at Ethan. “What is wrong with you? Get that girl out of here right now!” Faced with his parents’ furious glares, Ethan, naturally, blamed everything on me. “Are you happy now?” he hissed. “Ruining our wedding like this. What do you even get out of this?” Blaming me? “So, in your eyes, Mia did nothing wrong?” Ethan looked guilty, but he still refused to condemn Mia. He simply muttered, “Mia, just apologize.” Mia looked at Ethan, then turned to me, rolling her eyes. “Seriously, whatever. Older women are always so dramatic. Fine, I’ll apologize. I’m sorry, okay? Happy now?” It was the most insincere apology in the world, yet Ethan patted her head. “Good girl, Mia.” “But your ex-fiancée hit me! Shouldn’t she apologize to me too?” Mia sniffled, her eyes red as she clung to him. Ethan’s heart practically melted. At that moment, he lost all his senses. He pointed at me. “Chloe, apologize to Mia.” Seeing that I remained indifferent, Mia burst into tears and ran out of the venue. Ethan didn’t hesitate for a second. He ran right after her. Before he walked out of the door, he threw a cold glare over his shoulder. “Clean up this mess yourself. After all, you’re the one who ruined it.” Ethan’s parents were completely dumbfounded. They screamed at his retreating back, “Ethan Sterling! This is your own wedding!” Ethan paused at the door, seeing his parents’ pale faces, but he only hesitated for a second. “Mia is too fragile right now. I have to go check on her.” The Sterling family was completely stunned, staring at the empty doorway in utter disbelief. True love, indeed. I couldn’t help but clap my hands. Then, I cleared my throat into the microphone. “Well, everyone, as you can see, my fiancé has found his true love. Therefore, I will do him a favor today…” I announced the cancellation of the wedding on the spot. No matter how frantically the Sterlings tried to explain, the wedding was officially over. My parents and I walked out of the venue. My dad was so furious that he immediately made a series of phone calls. With those calls, every single joint venture and project our family had with the Sterlings was put on hold. Even some of the guests at the wedding, realizing how unreliable Ethan was, decided to terminate their contracts with the Sterling Group. In short, Ethan’s little stunt with Mia had cost his family millions in a single afternoon. But simply canceling the wedding wasn’t enough to satisfy my anger. I immediately called the dean of Mia’s university. She liked playing jokes, right? I was going to play a game with her that she’d never forget. As soon as I hung up, my assistant sent me a link to a trending video on TikTok. In less than half an hour, I was already trending. Mia had recorded a video of herself, playing the victim.

“Yes, everyone, you saw that right,” Mia said in the video, looking sadly at the camera. “That was the wedding of that desperate older woman. Who would’ve thought she’d get caught cheating by her husband right at the altar? Guess what happened next?” “I heard she actually posted her own contact info in a male stripper group chat. Talk about thirsty!” “Here are the screenshots, guys.” “If any of you like wealthy older women, feel free to hit her up. I heard she’s loaded.” Mia had leaked my photos from the wedding, and she hadn’t even blurred out my phone number. Immediately, my phone began ringing off the hook. Spam calls and disgusting text messages poured in every second. I had no choice but to have my assistant get me a new SIM card. It wasn’t a huge hassle, but explaining the number change to all my business clients was going to be annoying. Whatever Mia’s goal was, she had officially messed with the wrong woman. I dialed Ethan’s number, intending to warn him that I was going to ruin Mia. But he didn’t pick up. When I called a second time, he declined it and sent a text instead. \[Are you done? Mia is so traumatized by you that she can’t even eat or drink. Are you satisfied now?\] \[I’m telling you, the wedding is off. Don’t even think about marrying me until you’ve reflected on your behavior and apologized to Mia.\] I laughed out loud. Had his parents not told him? I was the one who canceled the wedding. I replied with a single text: \[I’ve already filed a lawsuit against Mia Hayes. If you want to save her, prepare to trade your company’s shares for her freedom.\] Since the love was gone, Ethan and I only had business to talk about. Before the wedding, the financial agreements had already been drafted. Even the luxury villa Ethan and I had been living in was a pre-marital gift bought entirely by my parents. It wasn’t that the Sterlings couldn’t afford a house, but I preferred living on the south side of the city, and since my parents owned a villa there, they just let us use it. On the way home, my parents were worried I’d be heartbroken. My mom kept gently nudging me. “Chloe, sweetie, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Please don’t do anything reckless…” Seeing the worry in their eyes, I immediately held up my hand. “Mom, Dad, I promise you, I don’t love him anymore. He’s dead to me.” Hearing this, they both let out a massive sigh of relief. After dropping my parents off, I drove back to the villa. I planned to have the housekeeper pack up all of Ethan’s trash and throw it out. But the moment I pushed the door open, I saw Mia. She was wearing one of my expensive silk robes, lounging casually on my sofa. “Oh, you’re back? I thought you’d have some pride and run back to your parents’ house. Didn’t you say the wedding was off? Why are you still lurking in Ethan’s house? How shameless.” Staring at her smug, condescending face, I took a deep breath. “Maria…” “Yes, Miss Chloe, you’re back,” Maria, the housekeeper, hurried over. Seeing my furious expression, Maria looked incredibly anxious. “Mr. Ethan brought her here… I couldn’t really stop him…” “Pack up everything that belongs to Ethan Sterling. Call his family to come pick it up.” “Yes, ma’am.” With my direct order, Maria quickly gathered the other maids and started packing. Hearing this, Mia jumped off the sofa. “Are you out of your mind? The wedding is off! Do you seriously think you can steal Ethan’s house?” “Who told you this house belongs to Ethan?” I stared at Mia with a cold, piercing gaze. She sneered. “What? Don’t tell me you’re going to claim this mansion is yours?” “And you think it’s yours?” I countered. Mia lifted her chin proudly. “Yes! Ethan said he’s giving this house to me. It’s mine now.” “Great. The deed is worth ten million dollars. Are you paying for it, or is he?”

“You’re absolutely insane! Money-grubbing bitch!” Mia screamed obscenities at me for a solid five minutes. I didn’t say a single word. I just walked to the door and pressed the intercom. The police arrived ten minutes later. “Who called the police?” the officer asked. “I did,” I said, pointing directly at Mia. “This woman broke into my private property, and she’s currently wearing my stolen clothes.” Mia never expected me to actually call the cops. She instantly panicked and began screaming her twisted version of the story to the officers. I didn’t bother arguing. I simply walked over to the safe, pulled out the deed of the house, and handed it to the officer. “I am the sole owner of this property. I have no idea who she is.” That shut Mia up. Before she could even figure out what was happening, the officers handcuffed her and dragged her out for trespassing and grand larceny. Ten minutes after they left, Ethan rushed in. “Mia, baby, I’m back—” He froze when he saw me standing in the living room. “Where’s Mia?” “At the police station.” Ethan practically exploded. “What did you do?!” I remained perfectly calm. “I told you. If you want to save Mia, prepare to trade your company’s shares.” “In your dreams!” Ethan threw the strawberry cake he was holding onto the floor and ran out to chase after the police car. Maria and the maids had finished packing all of Ethan’s belongings, but nobody from the Sterling family had come to collect them. I told Maria, “Find a moving company. Ship everything to the Sterling estate. Make sure it’s cash on delivery.” Then, I called an interior designer to completely remodel the house and instructed the neighborhood security to permanently ban Ethan and his family from entering the premises. After handling all of this, I went straight to the office. Over the next few days, I was completely absorbed in severing all business ties with the Sterling Group. The Sterlings tried calling us dozens of times a day, but my parents and I ignored every single one of them. According to our mutual business associates, the Sterling Group was drowning. Virtually overnight, their market value plummeted by hundreds of millions of dollars. They went from being high-and-mighty elite capitalists to a debt-ridden company on the verge of bankruptcy. It wasn’t just because our family pulled out, but because Ethan had proven himself to be incredibly unstable. No serious investor wanted to work with a man who would ruin his own wedding for a side chick. He had dug his own grave. While his parents were working themselves to the bone trying to save the company, Ethan was still running around trying to get Mia out of jail. He didn’t care about his family’s business at all. After failing multiple times to bail Mia out, he finally swallowed his pride and came to find me. “What do you want from me, Chloe? You’re targeting my family, and you’re targeting Mia. Isn’t this all just a scheme to force me to marry you? Fine! I agree to marry you. Are you happy now?” Ethan looked like he was making the ultimate sacrifice. I looked at him, completely disgusted that he thought marrying him was some kind of prize. I shook my head. “Oh, please don’t. I wouldn’t want you to feel forced, Ethan. You and Mia deserve each other. An ‘older woman’ like me is far beneath you.” “You—” Ethan wasn’t completely stupid; he could hear the mockery in my voice. But he still tried to soften his tone. “Look, I’ll marry you. My mom said this Thursday is a good date. Let’s just do it then.” “Sure.” Realizing he was completely delusional, I decided not to waste my breath. If he wanted to humiliate himself publicly, I was more than happy to facilitate it. Over the next two days, I had my lawyer officially press charges against Mia. With solid evidence of defamation, cyber-harassment, and trespassing, it was more than enough to keep her in a cell for a long time. My assistant told me that Ethan visited her every single day. He kept telling her, “Don’t worry, Mia. I’m going to marry Chloe on Thursday. Once we’re married, she’ll have to drop the charges.” Thursday arrived quickly. The Sterling family had sent out the invitations early on. Surprisingly, a few guests actually showed up, mostly curious to see the drama. But the scheduled hour came and went, and I, the bride, was nowhere to be seen. Ethan was losing his mind, calling my phone repeatedly. I finally picked up on his fifth call. “What the hell are you doing, Chloe?! Aren’t you afraid my parents will think you’re unworthy of our family and call off the wedding?” Ethan’s furious voice screamed through the receiver. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Actually, Ethan, I agree with your parents. I really don’t think I’m worthy of your prestigious family. So, let’s call it off permanently.” I hung up immediately. No matter how many times he called back, I ignored him. Just as Ethan was about to throw a tantrum at the venue, the projector screen behind him started playing a video. After watching it, Ethan ran out of the hall like a lunatic.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452707”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster