Chapter 1

It was the holiday season. So, I took my foster daughter, Megan Delgado, to the mansion in Syleria Bay to relax and unwind. From a distance, I could already see that the mansion was brightly lit.A woman yanked the door open with an impatient look on her face.“Who are you? You’re interrupting my daughter’s birthday party. Are you asking for trouble?”She seemed so sure of herself, so I thought I must have pulled up to the wrong house in the dark.When she saw that I was just in a plain white T-shirt, the contempt in her eyes intensified.“How unfortunate for us.” She scoffed. “You’ve ruined my daughter’s mood. A worthless person like you can’t even begin to make up for it.”Behind the woman, the party guests began to gather around. They chimed in to support her. “Everyone here is either a high-ranking official or someone famous from the upper class. Look at what she’s wearing. She must have sneaked into the neighborhood.”“This woman has no idea what’s coming for her. Every

Chapter 2

Just as Melanie and I were confronting each other, someone suddenly burst out of the house.“Mom! Her pendant looks exactly like the one I lost!”Before I could even process what was happening, that girl rushed over and yanked on the necklace around Megan’s neck.Megan’s skin turned red instantly from the force. “Leave my necklace alone! It’s from my dad—”She did not manage to finish her sentence. The girl ripped the necklace off so violently that it drew blood from Megan’s neck.“This was a custom birthday gift from my dad, specially made in Tzarfat! There’s only one like it in the world! Give it back!”Melanie immediately backed up her daughter and yelled, “Oh, I see! So, that’s why you’re here at our door at this hour and acting so bold! You’re trying to steal my husband, you shameless homewrecker!”As she said that, she tried to slap me. I caught her wrist mid-air and promptly slapped her back with my other hand.The impact was so hard that her cheek turned bright red

Chapter 3

Richie shoved me to the ground. Turning his back on me, he wrapped them tightly in his arms and comforted them. “It’s okay. I’m here now. Whoever did this to you is going to pay dearly!”Melanie latched onto him as if he were her lifeline. She threw her arms around his neck and whined, “Richie, what took you so long? Look at the mess you caused! Those witches tried to set us on fire!”Then, they started kissing as if they were completely alone.Crystal covered her eyes.“Ugh. Dad, Mom, I’m right here.”Richie held Melanie in his arms like she was some fragile piece of glass.“What are you talking about? I have no other women in my life. You’re the only one I love. Who hurt you? I’m going to make them pay!”I watched the affectionate display with icy calm. Then, I began to clap for the loving couple.“How touching. I’m honestly about to tear up. Who knew you could be such a manly man in private, Richie?”Hearing my voice, his hands pulled away from Melanie as if they had been s

Chapter 4

Megan had discreetly called the police earlier and even tipped off some reporters.As the officers arrived, the guests who had quieted down started murmuring again, “She’s done for now. If Mr. Delgado decides to press charges, he could have her put away for life!”Amid the chorus of schadenfreude, I swiftly went upstairs. Then, I retrieved the property deed and presented it to the officers along with my ID.The crowd stared in utter confusion. “There must be some kind of mistake. She was the one who called the cops?”The guest who was standing closest to me was the first to recover. He pointed at me and mocked me, “Did I hear that right? What kind of absolute fool calls the police on themselves? It’s like she’s begging them to put her behind bars.”The officer ignored him. After motioning for the reporters to step back, he examined my documents.“The registered homeowner is Abby Beran. The ID matches. Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Beran.”“That’s impossible!” Melanie lunge

Chapter 5

Richie remained silent before Melanie’s desperate stare.That only made her sweat more profusely in fear.I offered them a kind reminder. “Based on what you’re saying, you were acting under Richie’s direction. Officer, if an accomplice shows genuine remorse and cooperates, they can plead for a reduced sentence, right?”Melanie immediately looked at the officer, who gave her a confirming nod. “With solid evidence, if the accomplice offers full restitution and secures a statement of forgiveness from Ms. Beran, the court could consider halving the sentence.”A flicker of hesitation crossed Melanie’s face. Then, she started digging frantically through her purse for something.Before Melanie could pull anything out of her bag, Richie finally spoke. He appeared livid as he glared at me. “Everyone, I apologize for the spectacle. This is just a private marital dispute that got out of hand.”When all eyes were on him, Richie adopted a resigned expression. “My wife and I had a small argu

Chapter 6

Richie continued to glare at me until the very moment he was taken away. He sounded impatient, as though I were the one being unreasonable. “Abby, you couldn’t have children. I found a solution, so what’s wrong with that? Crystal is my own flesh and blood. Surely, she’s better than some stray you adopted! We could even have her call you ‘Mom!’”As an officer forced him to turn around, he shouted one last warning, “And this house is our marital property! I can let whoever I want live in it! You have no right to have me arrested!”I watched his back coldly and called my chief assistant. “Issue a statement immediately. Announce Richie’s termination as CEO and carry out standard PR protocol.”The police then cleared the remaining guests from the mansion.By the time I saw the little family of three being loaded into the police car, my mood for a vacation was gone. I went straight to the company to clean up the mess Richie had left behind.The next day, I convened a meeting with seni

Chapter 7

I won the divorce case, and our marriage was dissolved shortly after.As for the financial lawsuit, it was revealed that Richie had used my name to solicit investments from several long-time foreign clients. They knew nothing about what he had done.The court’s final ruling declared both him and Melanie insolvent. Melanie was officially labeled a debt defaulter, while Richie’s hastily assembled shell company was shuttered. All his personal assets were also frozen.With his investment money gone, he tried to flee abroad and repeat his schemes. But one of the investors he had swindled caught him.He begged them, “I’m the CEO of Beran Corp! I’ll get you your money back. I promise!”They simply looked down at him with cold contempt. “You’re nothing but trash Beran Corp threw away. And you dared to lie to us? Break his legs!”The thugs they hired grinned as they carried out the order. They beat Richie so brutally that he was left permanently disabled.He lost nearly all mobility and

All Chapters of The Cheater's Forbidden Party: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7