Chapter 4

The densely packed records in the file felt like sharp knives stabbing into my heart.

It turned out that Sean had begun transferring his assets long before the company went public.

He placed most of his shares under his mother’s and sister’s names.

All he left me was this seemingly glamorous villa, which was actually drowning in debt.

He had even drafted a divorce agreement.

The stated reason was “irreconcilable differences and a broken relationship.”

According to the property division section, I would leave the marriage with almost nothing.

He had left me only $20,000, calling it “settlement money.”

$20,000?

That was less than the housekeeper’s annual bonus!

I stared at the screen. My tears had run dry, leaving only fury burning in my chest.

Just then, the study door was suddenly pushed open.

I was startled and quickly closed the computer.

My mother-in-law walked in.

She had not gone to play cards after all. She came to make a surprise inspection.

“Suzanne! What are you doing hiding in the study? Slacking off?”

My mother-in-law waved a feather duster in her hand, the flesh on her face trembling.

“I told you to clean the apartment, and you’re sitting here enjoying the air-conditioning!

“Did you mop the floors? Did you clean the windows? Did you scrub the toilet?”

She rushed over, grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me outside.

“You’re asking for a beating! If I don’t teach you a proper lesson, you’ll forget who’s in charge!”

Pain shot through my scalp as she dragged me until I stumbled and fell.

My knee slammed against the floor, sending a sharp pain through my body.

“Mom! What are you doing?” I instinctively resisted and shoved her.

My mother-in-law took advantage of the moment and threw herself onto the floor, screaming and carrying on.

“Help! She’s trying to kill me! My daughter-in-law attacked me! Sean! Come home and see this! This ungrateful wretch is trying to kill your own mother!”

She wailed as she grabbed the vase from the table and hurled it at me.

It smashed beside my feet.

The shards sliced into my calf.

Blood immediately gushed from the wound.

I sucked in a sharp breath from the pain. As I stared at the bright red blood, the tightly wound thread in my mind suddenly snapped.

This time, I did not cry or beg for mercy.

I simply stared at the hysterical old woman on the floor.

I looked at the mansion bought with the profits Sean made from the startup capital I raised by selling my wedding jewelry.

I looked at the apron that symbolized my enslavement.

It turned out that yielding would never earn me respect. It would only encourage them to trample me even more.

It turned out that the so-called “perfect wife and mother” was nothing more than a fig leaf for everything they took from me.

They had shown me no mercy, so I would show them none in return.

I bent down and picked up a sharp shard of glass from the vase.

I weighed it in my hand.

My mother-in-law’s screams abruptly stopped. She stared at me in terror.

“What… What are you planning to do?”

I walked toward her, a smile spreading across my face.

It was a cold smile, like one worn by a demon that had crawled out of hell.

“Mom, didn’t you say the floor had to be polished until it could reflect someone’s face?

“Fortunately, blood makes floors shine the brightest.”

My mother-in-law backed away in terror until her back pressed against the corner.

I took out my phone in front of her and dialed a number.

I did not call Sean.

I called Gordon, my high school classmate who became a lawyer and once pursued me.

“Hello, Gordon.”

My voice was frighteningly calm.

“Draft a divorce petition for me. I want a divorce. And investigate the tax issues at Sean’s company. I have evidence.”

After hanging up, I looked at my trembling mother-in-law and gently straightened her collar.

“Mom, you can keep cleaning this place yourself from now on. I’m done serving you.”