Chapter 2

The next day, I went to my workplace and quit my job. Then I hired a private detective, giving him the address and phone number of the David Davies guy from yesterday, along with a photo of Chloe, and told him to investigate.

Later, I saw a news report about a local lottery winner—me.

Wearing a goofy costume and holding a sign displaying my over ten-million-dollar win, I looked ridiculous.

I scrutinized the photos, confident no one would recognize me.

My revenge plan was officially in motion.

I started with Chloe's younger brother, Kyle. He was in his early twenties, fresh out of college, unable to find a job, and spent his days loafing around.

Chloe was a classic "brother-obsessed" type, giving Kyle five hundred dollars a month for pocket money – equivalent to half our household’s monthly expenses.

My first step was to get Kyle out of the house and "motivate him to strive for success"!

I had the private detective arrange a setup: a woman would "accidentally" meet Kyle. Just as they were about to enter a motel room, the woman's "husband" would burst in!

Caught red-handed, Kyle fell to his knees, begging for mercy, and blurted out his family's contact information.

That same day, I brought Arthur, Brenda, and Chloe to the motel.

Kyle was beaten to a pulp, his face bruised and swollen. A burly man, looking like a mob boss, sat casually on the bed, smoking a cigarette, while a beautiful woman sobbed beside him.

Brenda and Chloe rushed to Kyle, hugging him and wailing uncontrollably.

Arthur's face turned beet red with fury. He shouted at the man,

"How dare you hit my son? I'm calling the police! You'll pay for his medical bills!"

The man casually flicked his cigarette butt.

"Your son tried to sleep with my wife. How do you propose we settle this?"

Brenda angrily stood up, acting like a complete shrew.

"That's because your wife was flaunting herself, seducing my son! You can't control your own wife, and you blame my son?"

Chloe's face was flushed, and she glared.

"This isn't over! You hit my brother, and you'll pay the price!"

The man smirked.

"Fine, go ahead and call the police. We're not afraid of public embarrassment.

"But as for your brother, fresh out of college, seducing a married woman… I'll post it all online. Your whole family will be famous!"

"You!"

Everyone in the family, except me, was trembling with anger.

Kyle was the absolute jewel of that family; they couldn't stand for his reputation to be tarnished.

Chloe crossed her arms, her voice cold.

"So, what do you want?"

The man grinned slyly.

"He slept with my wife, so I'll sleep with his sister. How about it?"

I raised an eyebrow. This jerk wasn't sticking to the script. He must have been taken by Chloe's looks.

"Dream on!"

Chloe glanced at me, then snapped at the man. He continued to smile.

"Alright, then just give me a thousand bucks. They didn't actually do anything before I showed up, after all."

The man had clearly prepared this in advance. A thousand dollars wasn't much. They feared Kyle's reputation if they called the police, and Kyle getting a beating was a good lesson for him.

Chloe helplessly turned to me for money. As if I'd give her any! I awkwardly mumbled that I hadn’t been paid yet.

Chloe cursed me as "useless" then SnapChated a thousand dollars to the man. Only then did she leave with Kyle.

She had no idea that I'd paid ten thousand dollars to set this whole thing up!

I sighed inwardly.

This was just an appetizer. The main course hadn't even begun.

Kyle felt humiliated and kept his head down, but seeing his demeanor, I knew this step had been successful.

He wanted to escape this cage. He wanted to get rich.

Back home, Arthur didn't criticize his son. Instead, he started yelling at me, calling me a coward for not stepping up, a pathetic loser for not even defending my brother-in-law.

Brenda droned on incessantly, complaining that a grown man didn't even have a thousand dollars in his pocket, and his wife had to pay when there was trouble.

Chloe found their nagging irritating and became even more hostile toward me.

My heart remained utterly undisturbed. That night, I continued to sleep on the couch.

Chloe was tainted. I would never touch her again.

Chloe frowned, clearly preoccupied with something.

The next day, I woke up early and left, depositing my lottery winnings into several different bank accounts.

I used to be a senior programmer, and in my younger, more rebellious days, I was part of an activist hacker group. Even while delivering packages, I never stopped learning, earning several important certifications.

These skills would be invaluable to my revenge.

That day, the private detective informed me that he had successfully entered David Davies' apartment and installed several hidden cameras. If they met again, he would definitely get the evidence.

Everything was proceeding as planned.

My expression was neutral, devoid of emotion. My heart was utterly broken and disillusioned with this family.

Once I had the evidence, I would get my revenge. I would make Chloe and her parasitic family pay.

Even though I was rich, I wouldn't leave them a single penny.

Step one was complete. Time for step two.

That evening, I invited Kyle out for drinks. Kyle, still sporting a black eye, came along. He ordered the most expensive dishes and started chugging beer.

Kyle scoffed.

"Brother-in-law, did you hit the jackpot? Daring to treat me to dinner? Aren't you afraid of Chloe yelling at you?"

I smiled. I told him I knew of a way to get rich, and asked if he'd be interested.

Kyle's eyes lit up. He eagerly pressed me for details.

I'd recently received a call from an old college acquaintance, telling me to go south to "make money." I knew my acquaintance was trying to scam me, so I figured I’d pass this "opportunity" on to Kyle.

I told him a former colleague had contacted me, asking me to be a "trader" at an offshore foreign company. He'd just sit in front of a computer all day, earning five thousand dollars a month, with a year-end bonus.

But I couldn't leave my current job, so I'd recommended him instead. Did he want to go?

Kyle’s face beamed at the mention of five thousand dollars a month, just sitting at a computer. He didn't notice my cold smirk throughout my explanation.

Still, I pretended to be cautious.

"After all, it's an old colleague. Whether it's reliable is another matter. Maybe you should think it over. But don't tell your sister I told you, or she'll yell at me for sending you so far away."

Kyle laughed.

"Brother-in-law, you're just too timid. Chloe has you wrapped around her finger. A grown man afraid of his wife? I really want this job, but I don't have any money. Brother-in-law, could you lend me some travel expenses?"

Even facing his doom, this guy wanted to squeeze me for money one last time. I "hesitated" for a long time before SnapChating ten thousand dollars to Kyle, reminding him not to tell his sister.

Kyle laughed and agreed. That night, Kyle got drunk, muttering about getting rich and earning his mother's and sister's respect. I watched him, smiling, but said nothing.

A hothouse child, longing for the outside world, but utterly unprepared for its dangers.

The night passed without incident. Kyle left, pocketing the ten thousand dollars I'd given him. He even sent Chloe a SnapChat message:

"Sis, I'm off to work. If I don't make something of myself, I won't come back!"

Chloe was panicked. She frantically FaceTimed Kyle, but his phone was off. The whole family searched like mad, but found no trace of him.

A day later, Kyle finally FaceTimed Chloe.

"Sis, don't worry. I'm just playing around with some friends for a couple of days. I'll be back soon. I'm in a border town."

Seeing that Kyle was safe, and surrounded by friends, Chloe relaxed, though she still lectured him.

I observed the entire exchange. The first part of my plan for Kyle was complete.

Next, it was Arthur's turn.

I watched the old man, picking his teeth after finishing his meat, scrolling through videos of beautiful women on TikTok.

I'm skilled in coding, and decoding. Yesterday, I used a specialized program to uncover all the family's secrets and private information.

Arthur had two SnapChat accounts.

One had his actual profile picture.

The other featured a handsome, middle-aged man.

He listed his age as 42 and spent his free time chatting with pretty women. He'd even secretly gone on dates behind Brenda's back.

But as soon as they saw Arthur in person, the women always cursed him out and ran away.

This old pervert was quite the player.

He had strongly opposed Chloe marrying me. To buy this apartment, I'd emptied all my savings. My father even sold our family home in the countryside, leaving my parents living in a rundown shack.

Even though I'd won the lottery, I needed to deal with Chloe's family first, then I could properly care for my parents.

Through the private detective, I contacted a nightclub dancer, paid her ten thousand dollars for some photos and videos, and told her she'd need to send voice messages and video chat if needed in the future.

The woman winked at me, saying she’d do anything as long as it wasn't illegal.

I registered a new SnapChat account, using a profile picture of a seductive, well-preserved woman, filling the feed with alluring photos.

Then, I started chatting with Arthur.

Arthur was ecstatic that a female netizen was actively chatting with him. He sent red envelopes and emojis, acting utterly impatient.

When he suggested a video call, I simply forwarded the account details to the nightclub dancer.

Everything fell into place seamlessly.

Arthur was quickly reeled in.

As for his requests to meet, I just smiled and replied, "Soon! Just a little longer!"

The real show was only just beginning!