Chapter 2

I had just calmed Dad down and gotten him to sleep when my phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a bank transaction alert.

"Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 3,200 dollars."

A moment later, my phone started vibrating nonstop.

"Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 8,600 dollars."

"Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 15,000 dollars."

"Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 45,000 dollars."

In just ten minutes, more than 70 thousand dollars had been swiped from my account.

Cedric was trying to get back at me. He actually thought I'd call him like I used to, begging him to forgive me and coaxing him back.

Instead, I called the bank's customer service line.

"Hello, I've lost my card. Please cancel it and freeze all accounts under my name."

After hanging up, I stared at the empty living room and made a decision.

The house was in my name and Cedric's, but Dad had scraped together his entire life savings for the down payment. I was the one working overtime endlessly to pay off the mortgage, while Cedric hadn't contributed a single cent from the start.

Since he looked down on people from the countryside so much, he could forget about ever setting foot in this house again.

I pulled out my phone and typed a message to Cedric.

"I'll have my lawyer send you the divorce papers tomorrow. From now on, you can go live your life wrapped in your precious pride.

"As for the 70 thousand dollars you spent today, it counts as dissipation of marital assets. I'll reclaim every cent during the divorce settlement."

The next morning, after making sure Dad was resting comfortably, I went to work as usual.

The moment I stepped into the office, I could tell something was very wrong.

"That's her, right? She looks decent enough. Who would've thought she was such a horrible person behind closed doors?"

"I know, right? I heard she didn't just abuse her husband; she also kicked him out of the house in the middle of the night and froze all his bank cards!"

Hearing the hushed gossip, I frowned and walked straight into my office.

My assistant, Leon Wright, came rushing in behind me, looking panicked. He held out his phone with trembling hands.

"Ms. Lambert, y-you need to see this," he stammered nervously. "It's gone completely viral online."

On the screen, a video was playing. Cedric sat on a corner of the street in the dead of night, wearing only a thin shirt. His face was dark with resentment as he told his story.

The caption read, "Marriage is a nightmare. My father-in-law faked an illness to frame me. My wife kicked me out of the house in the middle of the night. She even froze all my bank cards. Guys, learn from my mistakes!"

The video had already racked up over a million likes, and the comments section was filled with vicious insults.

"How could she treat such a good husband like that? She must be cheating on him."

"You need to check your bank statements right now. Your wife is obviously a gold digger. She's probably transferring your assets behind your back!"

"Guys, I found her personal information. This is going to be huge. Two bucks for the full scoop."

My personal information, photos, and even my company's name had been exposed online.

Just then, the intercom on my desk suddenly buzzed. It was the CEO, Ethan Caldwell.

"Susan, come to my office right now."

I pushed open the door to his office. His face was grim. He slammed his tablet onto the desk with a heavy thud.

"We're in the middle of preparing for the company's IPO! Do you have any idea how badly this kind of negative publicity can hurt us?" he roared.

"I don't care what the truth is. You have three days to fix it. If you fail, clear out your desk and step down as a senior executive."

When I stepped out of his office, my back was soaked with cold sweat.

I had poured five whole years of my life into this company. I had worked my way up from an intern to a senior executive, pulling endless all-nighters and drinking at business dinners until I threw up.

Now, that malicious man, Cedric, was about to ruin it all.

I called him immediately, but it went straight to voicemail.

Without wasting any time, I drove to Janet's place.

"Well, well, well, Susan. What's the matter? You saw the video online and got scared? Are you here to beg Cedric to come home?"

Janet stood in the doorway with a mocking smirk. She had no intention of letting me in.

"Where's your brother? Tell him to come out," I said coldly.

"He's not here," Janet replied, blowing a cloud of smoke in my face. Her eyes were filled with disdain.

I glanced inside. Sure enough, I didn't see Cedric's shoes by the entrance.

"Fine, then I'll wait for him inside."

I tried to step past Janet, but she thrust out an arm to block me. That all-too-familiar smug grin was plastered across her face.

"Whoa, slow down, Susan. Since you're here, there's something I want to talk to you about."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "My boyfriend and I are getting married soon, but we're still short about 30 thousand dollars to buy a nice car to show off…

"Money's a little tight for me right now. As my sister-in-law, how about you help me out?"