Chapter 3

My fists clenched tighter with every word.

The next morning, I took half a day off work and went straight to a reputable divorce attorney.

After hearing my story, the lawyer's brow furrowed deep.

"Mrs. Vance, there are two crucial steps you must take immediately."

"First, secure all proof regarding your pre-marital down payment and the joint mortgage contribution trail."

"Second, prove that every single loan, expenditure, and promissory note Mr. Vance generated for this third party was purely for personal affairs and bore no relation to marital living costs."

I noted down every word.

Leaving the law firm, I didn't go straight home.

I went to the bank, froze the shared emergency lines tied to Ethan, and moved all my essential documents, jewelry, and real estate deeds to a secure safe at a trusted friend's house.

Only after securing everything did I return to that suffocating apartment.

The moment I stepped through the front door, Amber shattered a ceramic bowl right at my feet.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I’ve been starving for two hours! Don't you know pregnant women can't skip meals?"

Ethan sat on the couch, his face dark with irritation.

"Chloe, you're getting completely out of hand!"

I glanced at the porcelain shards scattered on the hardwood. "Something came up at the office."

Amber scoffed nastily.

"Why are you even still working? Didn't Ethan tell you to quit?"

I raised my eyes, staring directly at her.

"If I quit, who’s going to pay for your luxury prenatal tonics?"

She choked on her words, her face turning an ugly shade of crimson.

Ethan’s temper flared even higher.

"Drop the sarcastic attitude!"

"Amber is carrying a child. Taking care of her is your responsibility!"

I paused, looking Ethan dead in the eye.

"Ethan, are you absolutely, one hundred percent certain that the baby in her belly is yours?"

The entire apartment fell dead silent.

Amber’s expression flickered with panic before tears instantly cascaded down her cheeks.

"Chloe, how could you humiliate me like this?"

"Ethan and I are truly in love! Fine, hate me if you want, but how dare you question our innocent baby?"

Humiliated and enraged, Ethan leaped to his feet, his palm flying up to strike my face.

I didn't flinch. I just held up my phone.

On the screen, a voice recording app was pulsing with live soundwaves.

His hand froze mid-air.

I met his glare, my voice deadly calm.

"Go ahead. Hit me."

"The second your hand touches my face, I'm heading straight to the police station for domestic abuse."

Ethan's face turned livid, but he slowly, reluctantly dropped his arm.

Amber wailed even louder, clutching her stomach.

"Ethan, I can't take this anymore! She targets me every single day. She's going to stress me and the baby to death!"

Ethan immediately melted, wrapping his arms around her to soothe her.

"Don't cry, baby, don't cry. I'll take you apartment hunting today."

"As soon as we close on a new place, I’ll throw her out."

The floating comments drifted past silently:

[This clown really thinks he's moving out? In three days, the Sterlings are coming for Amber.]

[After all, that's the billionaire heir of the Sterling empire. There's no way they'd let their bloodline wander the streets.]

[The Sterlings have infinite money and power.]

Sure enough, over the next few days, Amber became visibly restless.

She checked her phone compulsively, pacing anxiously between the balcony and the bathroom.

Around noon, she suddenly claimed she had intense cramps and demanded that Ethan take her to the hospital.

Terrified, Ethan called out of work immediately and rushed her out the door.

At nine that evening, Ethan returned.

Alone.

His face was ghostly pale. The moment he walked through the door, he barked at me, "Has Amber come back?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't she go to the hospital with you?"

Ethan tugged violently at his collar, his breath ragged.

"She... she said she had to use the restroom, and then she vanished into thin air!"

I feigned shock.

"A pregnant woman went missing, and you haven't called the cops?"

He glared at me with pure venom.

"Wipe that smug smirk off your face!"

A split second later, his phone rang.

He answered it. Before he could even say hello, all the color drained from his face.

A deep, unfamiliar male voice echoed through the speaker.

Living in the quiet apartment, I caught every single word clearly:

"Mr. Ethan Vance? Did Amber Reed reside at your address?"

"This is the Chief Legal Counsel for the Sterling Group."

Ethan’s hand began to tremble uncontrollably around the phone.

"What... what Sterling Group? I don't know what you're talking about."

The voice on the other end remained crisp, professional, yet utterly suffocating with authority:

"Ms. Amber Reed is currently under investigation for allegedly defrauding Mr. Sterling's son of substantial assets under the false pretenses of pregnancy, marriage, and private equity investments."

"We have confirmed evidence that she has been staying under your roof."

"Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp, we expect you and your wife to report to the Sterling Group headquarters to provide a formal statement."