Chapter 4

Several doors opened as neighbors peeked out into the hallway.

After getting slapped, Christian looked stunned for a second. Then, his eyes darted around quickly. He turned to the neighbors, his voice suddenly loud. "Everyone, please help me talk some sense into my wife… She's addicted to gambling. She lost all our savings and racked up massive debt!

"I was afraid she'd gamble away the money that could save our daughter's life too, so I had no choice but to temporarily keep the money with my ex-wife and use it when our daughter needed treatment.

"But when my wife found out, she insisted on divorcing me. She's trying to drive me and our daughter to death!"

Whispers broke through the crowd. The way they looked at me changed.

I trembled with fury. "Christian Stone, stop slandering me! When have I ever gambled?"

Christian seemed to have been waiting for that. He quickly pulled out a stack of papers from his pocket and opened them up for everyone to see. "Look. These are all credit cards and loan records in my wife's name. If it's not gambling, why would she owe so much money?"

I felt as though I had been struck by lightning. I rushed forward and snatched the papers. My personal information was printed clearly on them. But I had never taken out any of these loans.

That was when it hit me. Christian had used my identity to rack up all that debt.

"No… That's not true. I didn't do this!" I screamed, my head buzzing.

"Dear, even now, you're still lying?" Christian looked hurt, then turned to the crowd again. "I know… family matters shouldn't be made public. But our child has cancer. If my wife keeps gambling like this, our family will be ruined!"

His act stirred the crowd's emotions.

"Disgusting! What kind of mother is that?"

"Her daughter has cancer and she's out gambling? Unbelievable!"

One stone caused a thousand ripples. Soon, someone even lunged toward me, holding up a fist. "Let's get her! Let's teach this heartless bitch a lesson!"

"What are you doing? Stop!" Celeste tried to shield me. But someone threw a stone at her forehead, and blood streamed down instantly.

Ignoring everything else, I panicked and grabbed her. Amid the chaos, we fled. I hailed a cab and rushed her to the hospital.

The next few days were like a nightmare.

To completely destroy me, Christian posted his fabricated story online, along with the forged debt records. Under the title of "Saving My Terminally Ill Daughter, Redeeming My Fallen Wife," he even opened a donation channel.

The internet exploded. Sympathy poured in for him, while vicious curses flooded toward me.

My personal information was exposed. My phone was bombarded with calls and messages.

The housekeeping company I worked for fired me immediately. The night market management revoked my vendor permit. Overnight, I lost every source of income. I didn't even dare to step outside.

One day, Christian deliberately called me. "Winona, now do you see what happens when you go against me? Come back. As long as you behave, stop talking about divorce, and keep your mouth shut about things you shouldn't mention, I'll consider clearing your name.

"Otherwise… you'll never recover from this for the rest of your life. Don't forget, we're still married. If you try to take me down, I'll drag you to hell with me."

After hanging up, I collapsed onto the floor.

Outside the window, the sky was a gloomy gray. Despair washed over me, submerging me. For a moment, I even thought about dying.

Just as I was drowning in hopelessness, Celeste returned.

"Winnie, look at this!" She shoved her phone in front of my face, her voice shaking with excitement. "That bastard Christian is done for this time."

I stared blankly at the screen. Then, the next second, my eyes lit up.

Without hesitation, I immediately called the police. "Hello, officer. I want to report my ex-husband, Christian Stone. He knowingly broke the law and committed a serious crime."