Chapter 3

Just then, I got a call from my housekeeper at home.

"Mr. Hayes, you need to come home right away."

"A woman claiming to be Derek's mother just let herself in with a key. She brought a lot of relatives and said this is her home now, and she's staying permanently."

"They even kicked me out! Even your mother came to visit you, but that woman drove her away with her behavior."

No sooner had the housekeeper finished than I received another call.

My mother, Eleanor's, voice on the phone was seething: "Liam! Look at the woman you married! Her blatant affair with that boy toy is now public knowledge."

"Even your own home has become his family's home! You need to divorce Seraphina immediately. It's better to have no wife than a woman like her."

My rage flared. I stomped to the parking garage to get my car, only to find it gone.

I asked security to pull up the surveillance footage to see who took it. When I saw Derek's smug, arrogant face, I smiled a truly chilling smile.

"Call the police for me. Taking my car without my permission is theft."

"But Ms. Hayes gave him…"

I clapped the security guard on the shoulder. "Either call the police, or pack your things and go home. Your choice."

Without another word, the security guard quickly pulled out his phone and dialed.

Only then did I turn and leave, asking my assistant to bring another car to drive me home.

I opened the security camera app on my phone and watched Derek's mother, Brenda, wearing my mother's expensive silk pajamas, imperiously bossing my housekeepers around like a queen. If they didn't do things to her liking, she'd kick them, treating them like dogs.

"Hmph, what are you looking at? I'll fire you penniless losers."

"Remember, from now on, you'll treat me as the lady of the house, got it?"

Watching her arrogant behavior on the monitor, she was just like her son.

Well done. Even my home dared to be occupied.

I immediately called the police myself. What's that saying? We should be good citizens and ask the police for help when needed.

I was about to call my friends to handle it, but then I thought, calling the police is better.

After all, her son was already squatting in jail, so I might as well go all the way and send his mother in too. The whole family should be together, right?

"Go and make sure that woman pays for the pajamas she wore and all the expensive supplements she ate. Every penny."

"Yes, sir!"

I didn't go back to the desecrated house; instead, I went to another of my properties.

Before I even stepped inside, my phone started ringing off the hook. It was Seraphina. I ignored every single call.

I unlocked the door, walked in, tossed my jacket onto the sofa, then went to the liquor cabinet, poured a drink, and took a sip.

I'd barely had two sips when the door was violently kicked open from the outside.

Seraphina burst in, seething with anger. The moment she saw me, her eyes were like those of a mortal enemy.

She grabbed whatever she could to throw at me. I easily dodged them with my drink in hand.

"Liam, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why did you call the police and have Derek and his mother arrested? They didn't steal anything from you. Why would you treat them like thieves and give them criminal records?"

Faced with Seraphina's outburst, I remained completely calm.

I gently swirled the wine in my glass, my gaze not even landing on Seraphina.

"The car and the house are mine. They—mother and son—took my car and moved into my house without asking me. If that's not stealing, what is?"

"Oh, and the divorce papers have been sent. Remember to sign them."

Seraphina's face flushed crimson with fury. She lunged at me, raising her hand to strike my face.

I caught her wrist. "When I loved you, I could tolerate everything about you. But now that my love is gone, I won't allow you to act crazy in front of me anymore."

"Hmph, Liam, I'll tell you something too."

"I don't need your help anymore. Hayes Corp is mine. I can kick you out and keep you down forever."

"I'll give you one more chance. Go to the police station now, grovel for an apology, and tell them it was all a misunderstanding so they'll clear their records."

As soon as she finished speaking, she violently yanked her hand away from mine. I pulled out my phone and called my assistant: "No compromises. I want them to stay locked up, no matter what."