Chapter 2

Early the next morning, before I even got out of bed, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door, and several men in black suits pushed past me and barged straight in.

The one in front was a middle-aged man with glasses and a briefcase, and he looked very shrewd.

“Mr. Ethan, I’m the lawyer hired by Ms. Margaret.”

“Regarding your use of your position to scam Ms. Margaret out of $800,000, we are formally filing a lawsuit in court.”

I leaned against the entryway and watched coldly as they sized up my living room.

Mia came out from behind the lawyer carrying several large woven bags.

“This house was paid for with the down payment my mom gave us, and even though it’s under your name, now that you owe compensation, the house should go to my mom.”

As she spoke, she directed the men to pack things into the bags.

My computer, projector, and even my treasured tea set were stuffed into them like trash.

I pulled out my phone to call the police.

Mia screamed and lunged at me, snatching the phone away and smashing it hard onto the floor.

“Call the police? Go ahead! You scammer, the police will arrest you first!”

The screen was shattered.

I bent down and picked it up, but it would not turn on anymore.

I took a deep breath and gave up on calling the police. If I fought them head-on now, it would only make things messier.

I watched them run wild through the home I had spent three years carefully building.

That tea set was a promotion gift from my dad, and one of the men in black accidentally smashed it to pieces on the floor, sending shards everywhere.

Mia did not even look at it.

“Ethan, the lawyer said this counts as classic illegal fundraising and workplace fraud.”

“If you sign this compensation agreement now and admit that you owe my mom eight million, we can consider not issuing a letter of leniency,”

“and you might spend fewer years inside.”

The lawyer handed me a printed document.

I took it and looked it over.

The terms were vicious.

Not only did I have to pay eight million, I also had to admit that all the investment products were forged by me, and that I had embezzled public funds.

Once I signed, my life would be over for good.

“What if I don’t sign?” I crumpled the document and tossed it into the trash.

Margaret rushed over and slapped her hand on the dining table.

“Don’t sign? I already found the media!”

“Tomorrow I’ll have you on the front page! I’ll make sure everyone sees how the elite from the financial regulator eats people alive!”

At that moment, my phone started vibrating wildly.

It was my mom calling.

The instant I answered, noisy shouting and crying came through the line.

“Ethan, come back now!”

“Your mother-in-law brought more than a dozen people to block our front door and hung up banners saying you stole someone’s life-saving money.”

“Your dad got so mad that his heart condition flared up. He was just taken away by ambulance!”

My hand tightened so hard my knuckles turned white.

“Mia, Margaret. You went to harass my parents?” My voice was as cold as ice.

Mia’s eyes flickered, but she quickly lifted her chin again.

“That’s because you refuse to take responsibility! If a child owes a debt, the father pays it. They raised a scammer like you, so they should suffer for it!”

I took a deep breath and put my phone back in my pocket.

“Get out. All of you, get out.”

I grabbed the fruit knife on the coffee table and drove it hard into the solid wood tabletop.

“Before the court ruling comes down, if anyone dares touch a single thing in my house, I’ll trade lives with them.”

The killing intent in my eyes clearly frightened them.

The lawyer tugged on Margaret’s sleeve, signaling that they should retreat first.

Mia pointed at me and said through clenched teeth,

“Ethan, just wait. See you in court tomorrow. I’m going to make you kneel and beg my mom for forgiveness!”

The door slammed shut.

I collapsed hopelessly onto the floor covered in broken porcelain.

This was the marriage I had protected for three years. This was the family I had poured my heart into.

I opened the safe and reached for the USB drive hidden in the compartment—it was still there.

Inside were all my operation records from the past year, video of every time Margaret came to me for investment advice, and some secrets Mia did not even know about.

I had originally wanted to leave the relationship with the last shred of dignity.

Now it looked like I did not need to.