Chapter 3

Chloe's voice shook uncontrollably. She pointed an accusing finger at Brenda, her words cutting like jagged blades.

"And I actually listened to you. I was stupid enough to listen to your damn lies!"

Every drop of blood drained from Brenda's face. Her lips twitched, but she couldn't form a coherent sentence.

Chloe crawled forward on her knees until she gripped the bottom of my slacks, looking up at me with eyes so bloodshot they looked ready to bleed.

"Mom, I was wrong. I was so, so wrong."

"When she came back, I lost my mind."

"She told me she regretted abandoning me, that she wanted to be a real mother to me again. I thought she genuinely loved me. I thought..."

She shook from head to toe, sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath.

"I'm sorry. Please don't throw me away. I'm begging you... you're my only real mother."

Brenda lost her temper completely, lunging forward to violently yank Chloe by the shoulders.

"What the hell are you saying?! Didn't we plan all of this together?!"

"Didn't you promise we'd bleed her dry of all her wealth so our real family could live the high life?! Are you stabbing me in the back now?!"

Her voice was a razor-sharp screech, echoing wildly across the cavernous ballroom.

Chloe violently slapped her hands away, her gaze burning with pure hatred.

"Our real family? Who the hell is your family?!"

"You dumped me like trash ten years ago! Now you come crawling back the second you see I'm rich! You don't deserve to be my mother!"

Brenda's face flushed red, then pale, then red again. After stammering for words, she whipped around and glared at me with sheer malice.

"It's all you! You brainwashed her! You stole my daughter from me!"

Looking at her, I felt a sudden urge to laugh—and a dry chuckle actually escaped my throat.

"I stole your daughter? How do you even have the shameless audacity to say that out loud?"

Brenda's jaw dropped, utterly speechless.

It was only then that David finally stepped out from the crowd.

He had been hiding in the shadowy corner the entire time, keeping his head down, not uttering a single word.

He walked over to me, lifting his head. His eyes were horrifyingly red.

"Vivian, that's enough humiliation for one day. Let's just go home."

He reached out to take my arm.

I took a deliberate step back. His hand froze in midair.

"David, I want a divorce."

His hand slowly dropped to his side. It looked as if he had been struck square in the chest by a sledgehammer; his shoulders caved in, his spine bowing.

He remained silent for a long, agonizing moment before finally nodding.

"I know. I failed you."

His voice was so quiet it was barely audible.

"Whatever you want, I'll agree to it."

"You will leave with nothing. The company shares, every asset under your name—I am taking everything back."

At those words, David's body swayed slightly, but he didn't argue. He looked at me deeply one last time, then hung his head.

"Okay."

He agreed without a fight.

Beside him, Brenda shrieked in horror. "Are you insane?! Leave with nothing?! Then what's going to happen to you and me?!"

David turned his head toward her, his gaze as frigid as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

"That has nothing to do with you. Our family's affairs are none of your damn business."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Chloe was still kneeling on the marble floor, her sobs weakening into whimpers.

I walked straight past her without casting a single downward glance, heading directly for the heavy double doors of the ballroom.

Behind me, the weeping erupted once more, sharper and more desperate than before.

"Mom! Mom, don't leave! Please, I'm begging you!"