Chapter 1

After catching my wife cheating, I lost myself to a chilling fury.

Six months later, my mother-in-law jumped from a building, my father-in-law suffered a heart attack, my brother-in-law was jailed, and my wife became infertile.

They would never know that it all began with a single pair of high heels.

It all started half a year ago.

I was a delivery driver.

This was my last delivery of the day, and my body was exhausted, but my heart pounded with wild excitement. I’d won the lottery!

Ten first-prize tickets, totaling over ten million dollars!

After the 20% tax deduction, I still had over eight million dollars left!

I symbolically donated ten thousand dollars, and that afternoon, as I walked out of the lottery center, I felt like I was floating.

Finally, I could share a beautiful life with my wife.

But I'm a man who finishes what he starts. All deliveries for the day had to go out.

Yet, as evening fell and I was about to make my final delivery, fate played a cruel trick on me.

On a shoe mat by the door of one of the apartments, I saw my wife’s high heels.

They were a custom-made birthday gift from me, engraved with her initials.

C.M. – Chloe Miller!

What were Chloe's shoes doing here?

A knot of suspicion tightened in my gut. Then, from inside the apartment, came the sound of a woman's wild moan!

“Mr. Davies, you’re so much better than my worthless husband. I’m utterly blissed out!”

The words hit me like a sledgehammer. It was Chloe's voice!

My lips trembled. I raised my hand, ready to pound on the door, but stopped.

What if they didn't open?

Was I just going to stand here, listening to them, like some pathetic idiot?

A sudden, chilling calm washed over me. Chloe was cheating. This marriage was over.

But I’d bought the lottery ticket while we were still married. By law, she’d be entitled to half of that almost eight million dollars.

My lip twitched. Chloe was morally bankrupt. I wouldn't give her a single penny. Not only that, I would make her lover pay too.

To confirm it was truly Chloe inside, I called her from just outside the door.

Her custom ringtone echoed from within the apartment. She immediately hung up and, a moment later, sent me a SnapChat message.

"What is it? I’m in a meeting!"

I stared at the message, a cold sneer twisting my lips. A meeting? At her lover's lair?

I didn't reply. Instead, I snapped a photo of the delivery slip. The resident was a man named David Davies. I left the package by the door, then turned and walked away.

From this day forward, there would be no peace for us.

I changed the password on my newly opened bank account, a password only I knew, and kept the card hidden close to my body.

Then, with an unnerving calm, I returned home.

My mother-in-law, Brenda, my father-in-law, Arthur, and Chloe's younger brother, Kyle, were already at dinner. They barely acknowledged my presence.

Brenda wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Go take a shower, quick! Look at you, all filthy. You're ruining my appetite."

My lip twitched, but I said nothing. Arthur tapped his fork against his plate.

"You haven't given us the grocery money this week. Look at what we're eating!"

I glanced at the table—meat and vegetables, far better than what I usually ate on the road.

Still, I remained silent. Kyle, Chloe's brother, got agitated. He stood up, his voice rising.

"Mom and Dad are talking to you! Can't you show some respect? I swear, I don't know why my sister even married a loser like you. No money, no talent."

Exactly!

This was Chloe’s family.

They clung to me like parasites, draining me dry.

I used to be a white-collar worker. Through my own hard work, I bought a three-bedroom apartment, putting Chloe's name on the deed. After that, Chloe moved her parents and brother from their hometown. Later, I lost my job and became a delivery driver. From then on, the entire family treated me with even more contempt.

I earned about nine hundred dollars a month, most of which went straight to Chloe. Yet she still treated me coldly, and her whole family constantly mocked and sneered at me.

Before, I had no backbone. I could only endure their insults. Now that I had money, I wouldn't let these leeches off the hook.

If I was going to get revenge, I was going to savor every moment of it.

I smiled, a slow, guileless grin, ignoring the three of them. I went straight to my room and began to meticulously plan my payback.

A little while later, Chloe returned, looking tired, those glaring high heels still on her feet.

She saw me lying on the bed, and her face twisted in rage. She pointed at me and yelled,

"Who told you to lie on the bed with your clothes on? Are you filthy?

"How many times have I told you, no bed without a shower! Are you trying to defy me? Get down right now! You’re not sleeping in my room tonight. Go sleep on the couch!"

Chloe's face was flushed, clearly still glowing from her recent 'refreshment.' When I didn't move, she got even angrier.

"I must have cursed eight lifetimes to end up with you! This is my damn karma! Do you even look like a man anymore? Get out!"

I stood up, intending to go shower, but Chloe angrily snapped that she needed to shower first.

She probably wanted to wash off the filth.

Bitch.

That night, I lay alone on the couch, listening to Chloe on FaceTime with someone, her voice incredibly intimate.

My heart was unnervingly calm as I plotted my next move.

A plan to destroy them, body and soul.