Chapter 4

I followed her lead and continued, "But my husband seems to have noticed something lately. He's not as generous as before. I'm scared he'll find out the truth, and then my child and I will have nothing left.”

"Girl, do you have any way to get him to fork over a big sum? I want to buy my kid a house so that even if we split up later, my child will still have security."

Vivienne quickly replied, "That's easy! Just say the kid is getting married, needs to buy a house, or wants to start a business. Find a reason he can't refuse.”

"Men care about their image, especially successful ones. Tell him it's for your brother, that it'll make you look good to your family. He'll definitely agree.”

"I'm actually planning to have my husband buy my son a school district house soon, plus some gold as gifts. Gold holds its value, and it'll all be my son's in the future anyway. You should act quickly too. Before he catches on completely, get those assets locked down."

Reading her reply, I sneered inwardly.

Just as I thought. She was still scheming about how to scam me of my money.

I replied. "Thanks, girl! You're so right. I'll do exactly what you said. If you come up with any other good ideas, let's keep sharing!"

"No problem. Girls help each other out!" Vivienne sent back a smiley emoji.

A few more days passed. Unable to stand my coldness any longer, Vivienne took the initiative to approach me.

She dressed herself up carefully, wearing my favorite dress and light, delicate makeup. With a gentle smile on her face, she walked over and looped her arm through mine.

"Honey, I need to talk to you about something."

I kept my voice steady. "What is it?"

"So here's the thing." Vivienne held onto my arm, sounding hopeful. "Dylan is about to start middle school soon. You know his grades. There's no way he can get into a good school on his own."

She paused, observing my expression before continuing.

"I've been thinking. Dylan may not be the best student, but he's clever. I really don't want him going to some terrible school. As his sister and brother-in-law, we should help him out…”

"I already found a spot at a top middle school. A teacher is holding it for me, but we need a house in the school district. It's not too expensive. Just five million dollars."

As she spoke, she gently shook my arm, trying to coax me into agreeing with her little act.

She wanted five million dollars to buy her actual son a house in a good school district. The house I currently lived in only cost two million!

The fury inside me was almost impossible to suppress.

Over these five years, I had already spent more than enough on Dylan. His food, clothes, and lifestyle were at least twice as good as other kids his age, yet Vivienne still was not satisfied. She kept finding new ways to scam me out of money.

I looked at Vivienne's fake smile and thought about her bragging on social media. I thought about her calculated messages in our private chat. I thought about the five years of lies I endured and the sincerity I gave. Every emotion erupted in that moment.

I yanked my arm out of her grip and stepped back, putting distance between us.

Vivienne's smile froze on her face. She looked at me, startled. "Honey, what's wrong?"

I did not answer her question. I just stared directly into her eyes and spoke, word by word, my voice ice cold, filled with long-suppressed anger and disappointment. "Vivienne, stop the act."

Vivienne's face changed slightly. Her eyes immediately turned red. "Honey, what are you talking about? I don't understand…”

"I know it's a bit expensive, but it's for the child's future. We don't have kids of our own, so it's only right to care more about him."

Her words almost made me laugh out of pure anger. Thinking of Owen's investigation results, I did not want to hold back anymore.

I stared into her eyes and said, "Don't understand? Then let me be blunt. Raise your own son yourself!"