Chapter 4

I looked at him, studying the face I had loved unconditionally for five years.

Once, those eyes held nothing but devotion and tenderness for me.

Now, they held only disgust and irritation.

I smiled—faint, razor-sharp.

"Why shouldn't I be here? I just wanted to see how the renovations on our new home were coming along."

I deliberately stressed the word "our."

Logan's face darkened instantly.

Beside him, Phoebe turned ghost-pale. Her grip on the child tightened, hostility flaring in her gaze.

"What kind of garbage are you talking? This is Logan's and my house. What does it have to do with you?"

Logan immediately stepped forward, shielding Phoebe behind his back like a devoted protector.

He glared at me, his voice sharp with anger.

"Serena, stop causing a scene and get the hell out of here."

Causing a scene?

I emptied my life savings for him, only to be told I was "causing a scene"?

My heart felt like it had been dropped into an ice bath, completely numb.

Yet my smile never slipped.

I looked past his shoulder, fixing my gaze on Phoebe. My voice remained soft and calm.

"You must be Phoebe. You just asked whose house this is—so let me ask you: who paid for the renovations?"

Phoebe frowned. "Logan paid with his own savings, obviously."

"Is that what he told you?"

I nodded slowly, then shifted my icy gaze back to Logan.

"Well then, Mr. Self-Made Man who supposedly saved two hundred thousand dollars all on his own... care to explain if you want me to pull up the bank transfer records right now?"

Logan and Phoebe both froze, their faces draining of color.

Tears welled up in Phoebe's eyes as she stared at Logan in sheer shock and betrayal.

"Logan, what is she talking about? What transfer? What renovation money?"

Logan clearly hadn't anticipated me being this blunt and ruthless. Flustered, he tried to console Phoebe while glaring daggers at me.

"Serena, what the hell do you want? Whatever is between us, we settle in private. Don't bring it here!"

"In private?"

A dry laugh escaped my throat.

"When you conned me out of my money, why didn't you think about handling it 'in private'?"

"When you took my hard-earned savings to buy a house and throw an engagement party for another woman, why didn't you care about 'in private'?"

My voice wasn't loud, but every syllable sliced through the heavy air.

Phoebe's tears finally cascaded down. She shoved Logan away, her voice shaking violently.

"Logan! Tell me what's going on! Right now!"

Cornered and exposed, Logan finally dropped his mask, his face twisting with humiliated fury.

He turned on me and barked:

"Enough! Serena, I'll pay you back your damn money! Now get the fuck out of here!"

"Get out?"

My smile widened.

"Logan, do you really think I'm still the naive little girl who swallowed every single lie you fed me?"

Slowly, I raised my right hand, turning my phone screen toward his face.

On the display, the bright red audio recording timer was ticking away, second by second.

Logan's pupils dilated in horror. The blood drained entirely from his features.

Staring right into his panicked eyes, I enunciated every word with crystal precision:

"Tell me, Logan—does this count as unjust enrichment in civil court, or straight-up criminal fraud?"