Chapter 4

[Don’t celebrate too soon, things could still go wrong. That champagne looks fake.]

Kevin replied instantly, [Who the hell are you?]

I turned off my phone. I had no interest in arguing with an idiot like him.

I had more important things to do.

I immediately called the best housekeeping service in the city.

“I want your best packing team. Please come right away and help us move.”

After hanging up, I contacted the rehabilitation center at the city’s top hospital.

I booked a VIP room with full-time care and prepaid a year’s worth of fees.

While packing, I found something heavy inside a battered cookie tin under my mother-in-law’s bed.

When I opened it, the contents nearly blinded me.

The box was filled with gold bars.

That tin had been under the bed for years. Lisa always thought it was dirty and never touched it.

Seeing my shocked expression, my mother-in-law stuttered, “Those were… hidden by our ancestors.

“I kept them… from Lisa’s unreliable father… and never dared… tell her either.”

She sighed and pushed the cookie tin toward me.

“These… are for you… as a marriage fund.”

Holding the heavy tin in my arms, I felt different emotions welling up in me.

The anger from Kevin’s mockery had completely vanished.

All that was left in me was the contempt for Lisa’s clownish behavior and deep gratitude for my mother-in-law’s trust.

If this were defined as “freeloading”, then I would readily accept it.

After all, it was being given to me by my mother-in-law.

It brought tears to my eyes. I looked at my mother-in-law and said, “Mom, I’m not getting married. I’ll stay and take care of you.”

She giggled like a child.

That afternoon, the movers arrived.

The shabby old house was emptied.

Before leaving, I hung a warning board on the front door.

[Beware of dog. Keep out.]

Of course, that was meant for Lisa and Kevin when they came back.

As I sat in the car heading to the VIP hospital room, watching the scenery pass by outside, I thought, “Lisa, Kevin, this is just the beginning of your nightmare.”

…

Half a month later, the first installment of the demolition compensation was deposited into my account.

Looking at the long string of zeroes in my bank balance, I felt like I could finally breathe again.

I went straight to a dealership and picked up a Porsche Cayenne.

I paid cash in full and took the car.

The salesgirl looked at me like she was smitten, but I did not have time for that.

I chose this car mainly because the trunk was big enough to fit my mother-in-law’s wheelchair.

I rented a large, riverfront apartment for my mother-in-law to stay in.

It was just a temporary place, over 2,000 square feet, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the river.

As for the two compensation apartments, they were still under construction. I planned to rent them out later.

After receiving careful care in the VIP hospital ward, my mother-in-law’s condition improved a lot.

Her complexion looked better, and she smiled more often.

Then, just as we were settling into our new life, Lisa and Kevin returned.

They were both noticeably tanned, reluctantly saying goodbye to each other at the airport.

To cover her lies, Lisa even changed her clothes in the restroom.

She messed up her hair, making herself look worn and miserable, before taking a cab back to the old house.

She was planning to put on a whole “released on bail” act.

However, the driver could not proceed further when the car reached the alley entrance.

A cordon had been set up ahead, and bulldozers were rumbling loudly at work.

Lisa froze in shock.

Dragging her suitcase, she stumbled forward.

What she saw was a pile of ruins.

The home she had lived in for over twenty years had been reduced to rubble.

She dialled my number again and again like a maniac.

However, she noticed she could not get through because I had already blocked her number.