Lahat ng Kabanata ng I Was Banned From The Reunion Dinner: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

The cold wind hit me and cut through my thoughts.I looked down at the old coat I had worn for three years. The cuffs were worn through, and fuzz spilled out of the holes. It was ugly.The coat reminded me of my life. It was worn-out, broken, and far from respectable.Last month, I ran to meet a client with a high fever of 102 °F just to earn a little commission to cover my in-laws’ medical check-up.Whitney Parker, my mother-in-law, pocketed the money and looked at me with disgust.“What’s this tiny bit of money even for? Mr. Watson’s daughter-in-law got him a full high-end health check.”She took my whole paycheck and only gave me $300 a month for pocket money.Last week, I tried to buy a $30 lipstick. She glared at me and said, “Why do you need so much money? Supporting the family is your responsibility!”Later, I found out that she had used my salary to buy liquor for Johnson and the latest phone for Phoebe.A chill ran through me. Light snow began to fall.The flakes lan

The next evening, I walked up to the familiar door as promised.I took a deep breath and pushed it open. A thick, suffocating smell of alcohol hit me right away.Four people sat on the couch. The lights were off, and the only glow came from their phone screens.The pale light from below made their faces look twisted and cruel.When they saw me, Johnson jumped up and walked toward me.He held a thick rope in his hand.“Where’s the money?”He stepped closer. His eyes shone dangerously.“Don’t try anything. $50,000. Transfer it now!”I stood my ground and looked at him coldly.“Johnson, are you trying to kill me or just rob me?”“Stop talking! You forced us into this! No year-end bonus, supplementary cards locked, and not even enough from the loans! How do you expect us to survive?”“Survive?” I almost laughed. “I supported you all these years. Without me, you wouldn’t have survived at all!”“You supported us?”Phoebe suddenly stood up and snapped loudly, “Besides giving a l

The light in Johnson’s eyes went out in an instant.It was as if he was seeing me for the first time. He finally understood that the woman he and his family had pushed around and exploited was gone.The police led them downstairs. The noise slowly faded away.Only I, the lawyer, and the mess were left in the house.I walked to the balcony and looked down at the flashing police lights. I watched as the four of them were escorted into the patrol cars one by one.The lawyer patted my shoulder gently. “Ms. Zimmerman, I’ll take care of the rest.”I nodded.Back at the hotel, I called the bank.“I need to freeze all linked accounts. Yes, the principal card is in my name. The supplementary card user is Johnson Clark.”Then, I called the online lending platforms.“Hello, someone used my ID to take out loans without my consent. Yes, I can provide full documentation, including the police report receipt.”Customer service verified my information and filed the cases right away.By the

I spread everything out across the table.There was a thick stack of bank transfer records. They showed exactly where my hard-earned money had gone all these years.There was a $2 million insurance policy report. It was proof that they had bought insurance under my name.My phone had the voice recordings of Johnson threatening me, along with the video from that night when his whole family tried to push me off the balcony.“Ms. Zimmerman, what you’ve submitted is more than enough for him to walk away with nothing. He may even have to pay you compensation.”I nodded.When I signed the divorce petition, my hand was steady.I had only one thought from the get-go.Johnson would not get a single cent of my assets.As for emotional distress and damages, I wanted him to pay every last dollar he owed.The day the court summons was delivered to the Clark house, I was sitting in my car downstairs.I watched the court staff enter the house. A few minutes later, I heard Johnson shouting