All Chapters of New Year, New Me… And My Money: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The social media platform Ducky had crashed.Underneath Abigail Balmer and Dwayne Porter's public declaration of their relationship, a blazing red "Trending" tag had appeared. In under ten minutes, the comments passed a hundred thousand.[Abigail is such a romantic! Now this is true love!][Dwayne must have saved the galaxy in a past life.][@Brett Ridley, kept-man king, get over here and see this. Your wife's traded up again!]I set my phone down, perfectly calm, and lifted my cup of black tea for a sip.The doorbell rang. Abigail's parents, Russell Balmer and Marilyn Balmer, stormed in, radiating fury.Russell's face had gone the color of iron. He let out a heavy sigh."Brett, Abigail's out of her mind. I'll have the yacht sent over. Go take some time to clear your head if this is bothering you."Marilyn patted my shoulder gently."Brett, don't worry. You're the only son-in-law this family will ever claim."I kept my head down, pouring the tea, my face arranged into an exp

Chapter 2

The next day, Abigail didn't come home alone. She walked in hand in hand with Dwayne."Brett, we need to talk."I looked up at her, an odd unease stirring inside me.She never brought her lovers home, let alone paraded them in front of me."Dwayne's grandfather is dying. His one wish is to see Dwayne get married."I frowned slightly."And?"Abigail hesitated, then finally said it."So... we need to get divorced."The air went still.Divorced?I'd endured ten years, finally reaching the edge of my reward, and now, at the very last step, she wanted to throw me out?Watching me stay silent for so long, a flicker of guilt crossed Abigail's eyes."Just for a month. As soon as his grandfather passes peacefully, we'll remarry right away."Dwayne's eyes had gone red-rimmed."Brett, please."He walked over and actually started to kneel."Grandpa. The doctors say it's only a matter of days."I didn't move, though my mind was racing.If Abigail died and I wasn't the son-in-law

Chapter 3

On the way to the County Court, Abigail held tight to my hand, clearly afraid I'd jump out of the car."Brett, just one month. I promise."I said nothing, only pulling my hand gently free of hers.She grabbed it again, more forcefully."Dwayne and I won't go public. No wedding, nothing. No one outside will ever know. You're still the Balmer family's son-in-law who married into money."I said nothing, quietly working out how to blow this whole thing wide open.If it became public enough, how could she still force my hand?I slipped my phone into my pocket and quietly sent off a message.There was a name in my contacts: Jamie Reynolds.Jamie was a reporter. Three years ago, he'd broken a scandal about Abigail and nearly gotten crushed by the Balmer family's retaliation for it. I'd been the one to smooth things over for him. He resented Abigail for it, and he owed me a favor.We finally reached the County Court.Just as we were getting out of the car, a group of reporters swa

Chapter 4

"Are you divorcing of your own free will?"The clerk behind the counter looked up, eyes wary.I opened my mouth to say no.Abigail's fingers dug into the soft flesh of my hand, and the pain stole the words right out of me.The clerk repeated the question.Abigail's other hand pressed against the back of my neck, forcing my head down. Once. Twice.The clerk stood up, visibly irritated."Ma'am, this looks like coercion."Abigail smirked."Fine. Go ahead and ask him yourself whether it's his choice."She leaned in, her lips brushing my ear."Think about our three children. If you don't sign, by tomorrow, they won't be Balmers anymore."My whole body went rigid. I looked up at her, unable to believe what I'd just heard."Abigail, they're your children too!""So what?" Her eyes had gone ice cold. "I can have more, with any man I want. But you, Brett, can you afford to gamble on that?"I couldn't.Ten years of patience, forty-nine betrayals endured.I'd burned through everyt

Chapter 5

I pushed open the door to Abigail's office.Dwayne was feeding her grapes, mouth to mouth. He nearly stumbled back in shock when the door opened.Abigail frowned."Brett? What are you doing here?""Working."I gave the badge on my chest a little shake. It read Concord Insurance."Ms. Balmer, care to support your ex-husband's sales numbers?"Dwayne let out a scornful laugh."Brett, wow. You've really changed."Abigail's frown deepened. Clearly, having a washed-up ex made her lose face too."Are you short on money? The divorce settlement gave you two properties, plus...""I'm thinking long-term." I cut her off. "A house isn't something you can eat."Abigail studied me for a few seconds, then waved a hand, impatient."I have enough insurance already. I don't need..."I pulled a contract out and set it on the desk."This is accident insurance. The high-value kind."You could name Dwayne as your beneficiary, or you two could buy policies naming each other, as a token of your

Chapter 6

"Abigail? Abigail!"Dwayne screamed, dropping to his knees, shaking Abigail's shoulders desperately.But her eyes just stared, wide open, pupils already blown.The fireworks kept going, one after another, in celebration."Call an ambulance!" Russell roared, his voice shaking.I shielded the three children."Don't look. Go inside."The ambulance arrived, and the medics started resuscitation immediately."No pulse! Charging the paddles."Once, twice, three times.Ten minutes later, the doctor stood up and shook his head."Preliminary assessment: sudden cardiac death."The moment Marilyn heard it, she fainted on the spot. I caught her just in time, before she hit the ground.Russell leaned hard on his cane, his back suddenly stooped, as if he'd aged a decade in an instant.Dwayne had collapsed to the ground, frozen in shock.I forced out dry sobs while quietly directing the household staff. Before long, a memorial hall had been set up.Russell stared at it, tears streaming

Chapter 7

Everyone turned to look at me."Abigail's memories are the proof," I said calmly. "Lucent Dynamics can extract memory fragments from the deceased within twenty-four hours of death. One look, and we'll know the truth."The smugness on Dwayne's face froze."Memory extraction. What, what would that even prove?""Whether your marriage was ever real." I held his gaze. "Dwayne, are you brave enough for that?"His eyes narrowed, fists clenching. He was hesitating, calculating.Then he smiled."Sure, why not. Abigail and I loved each other for real. What do I have to be afraid of?"That night, the Balmer estate's living room had been turned into a makeshift courtroom, with lawyers, a notary, and police officers all present.A machine sat in the center of the room, connected to a tangle of thin wires. It was Lucent Dynamics' memory extraction device.A technician in white gloves attached electrode pads to Abigail's cold forehead.The screen flickered to life with static."Beginning

Chapter 8

Late at night in the study, after Dwayne had left, Abigail took a document out of the safe and handed it to me. It was an Estate Distribution Agreement."Brett, I know the divorce is hard on you. Don't worry, I've had this notarized. Everything I own, the Balmer Group shares, the real estate, the investments, all of it goes to our three children."I took the document, my fingers trembling.Abigail patted my shoulder."I know what you're worried about. That Dwayne won't agree to divorce when the time comes, that he'll try to grab a piece of the estate."Don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing. Our children, yours and mine, are the future of this family."The memory faded out.The living room fell into dead silence.Dwayne looked like he'd been struck by lightning, frozen in place.A few seconds later, he erupted."How could there be a will? That's fake!"It's forged! Abigail never once mentioned an estate agreement!"I stood up and pulled a paper document from my bag, unf

Chapter 9

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and Dwayne's head shot up."The insurance. Abigail's accident policy names me as the beneficiary. Five million dollars. You can't take that away from me."I nodded calmly."That's right. The policy is valid."But as Abigail's legal husband, you've also inherited the couple's shared debts."I gestured, and Abigail's assistant, Denise Anders, stepped forward with a loan agreement."Ms. Balmer personally guaranteed a bank loan for one of the Balmer Group's subsidiaries," Denise said. "A total of one hundred and twenty million dollars. Here's the loan agreement and the guarantee contract. It was signed on December twenty-ninth, during the marriage."Dwayne's eyes went wide."This, this is a company debt! What does it have to do with me? I didn't even know about it!"We'd been married a week before she died. Why should I be the one carrying this debt?"I looked at him, unmoved."You knew you'd only been married a week when you showed up wantin

Chapter 10

I took over the Balmer Group's operations, and things quickly settled into a steady rhythm.Six months later, Dwayne came back. He stormed straight into the Balmer Group's lobby."Brett! Get out here!"I'd just stepped out of the elevator, two executives and a secretary trailing behind me.He charged toward me, eyes bloodshot."You lied to me! Abigail never wrote a will at all! If I'd inherited everything, what would a hundred-million-dollar debt have mattered?"Hand over the CEO position right now. It should have been mine!"I laughed softly."I gave you a choice. You chose to walk away from it yourself."Dwayne's breathing turned ragged with rage, his chest heaving."I'm suing! That renunciation agreement was signed under duress! And that fake memory..."I raised an eyebrow and smiled."Seems like you could use a reminder of whether you signed that willingly, or under duress."Five minutes later, a screen on the side of the lobby lit up, playing back the footage of Dwayn

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