Chapter 4

The moment I said "get the money," a look of triumph lit up the faces of Lindsay and her family.

"Oh, now that's more like it!" My mother-in-law couldn't stop grinning. She stood up and patted me on the shoulder, the way someone might pat an obedient farm animal. "We're family. What can't we talk through? No need to make everyone miserable. Ethan, don't you worry. Mom will remember this, and once Tyler makes something of himself, he'll pay you back double!"

Tyler was beaming too. He pulled out his phone right away. "I'll send you my account number! Just do a transfer. No need to pull out cash, that's such a hassle!"

From the side, Kayla added in a snide, sing-song voice, "My sister-in-law really knows how to handle him. She keeps her husband in line. Not like my Tyler, who can't do anything."

The smile came back to Lindsay's face as well. She walked over and tried to take my arm again, her voice suddenly soft. "Honey, I knew you loved me most. Don't worry, we'll count this as a loan to my brother. I'll make sure he pays it back."

I watched the whole family put on their show, and I felt nothing stir inside me. There was only disgust, and a deep sadness.

Pay it back? With what? Talk?

I didn't look at them again. I went straight to the door and put on my shoes.

"Hey, you're really going to the bank? A transfer's so much easier!" Tyler was still calling after me.

I didn't turn around. "I've got some other things to take care of. I'll get the money while I'm out."

As I shut the front door behind me, I heard them break into cheers they couldn't hold back. I could picture it: Lindsay standing in front of her mother and brother like a victor, soaking up their praise and flattery.

And I, in their eyes, was nothing more than an ATM they had successfully tamed.

I got into the car but didn't start it. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. The scene of Lindsay hanging up on my mother kept replaying in my head like a movie.

I took out my phone and called my mom back.

She picked up almost instantly.

"Ethan..." My mother's voice was thick with tears. "Are... are you all right? Is Lindsay... is she angry? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have called at a time like this. Your dad's fine, it's just his old trouble. He doesn't need to see a doctor..."

"Mom," I cut her off. My nose stung, and the tears nearly spilled over. "Please, don't say that. Dad's health comes first. Don't worry about the money. First thing tomorrow morning, take him to the best hospital in the city, see the best specialist, and get the most complete checkup they have. I'll send you the money right now."

"But... how can we? Didn't you say..."

"Don't listen to Lindsay." My voice was cold as ice. "Mom, I just want to ask you one thing. All these years, have you and Dad been treated unfairly?"

There was silence on the other end. After a long while, my mother finally choked out, "Silly boy, what are you saying? We're your parents. As long as you're doing well, we haven't been treated unfairly at all."

After I hung up, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears ran down my face.

I wiped my face hard with the back of my hand, and my resolve slowly settled into place.

I didn't go to the bank. Instead, I drove downtown to a well-known law firm. Through a friend, I had already booked an appointment with the best family law attorney there, Daniel Hayes.

In a quiet conference room, I told Hayes everything from start to finish: my situation, the $8 million bonus, everything I had given Lindsay's family over the years, and all that had just happened.

Hayes listened quietly, occasionally jotting something down in his notebook.

When I finished, he pushed up his glasses and laid it out calmly. "Mr. Carter, based on what you've described, the $8 million bonus was earned through your work during the marriage, so in principle it counts as marital property. However, given the unusual nature of this income, and the long-term behavior of your wife and her family, if we can prove she intended to fraudulently transfer or squander marital assets, or that she's guilty of some other serious misconduct, the judge may weigh the division of property in your favor as the party not at fault."

"Mr. Hayes, I don't want to split it with her," I said evenly, looking at him. "I want her to get nothing. Not a single cent."

Hayes paused for a moment, then understood what I meant.

"That'll be difficult, but it's not impossible." He thought it over. "We need to do a few things. First, preserve evidence. Keep every call and text between you and your wife and her family, especially anything threatening or coercive. Second, protect your personal assets. That $8 million must never go into a joint account. Third, we need to find an opening, a piece of decisive evidence that proves your wife is guilty of serious misconduct."

I nodded and showed him some phone calls I had secretly recorded before, along with records of the money I'd transferred to my brother-in-law.

By the time I left the law firm, it was already dark.

I drove aimlessly around the city. On my phone, the missed calls and messages from Lindsay and her brother had piled up.

"Honey, did you get the money?"

"Why aren't you answering? We're dying waiting here."

"You're not backing out, are you? You're a grown man, you can't go back on your word!"

I didn't answer a single one.

I parked beside a quiet park and began thinking through what Hayes had said, calmly.

Decisive evidence...

A detail I'd ignored for a long time suddenly struck me like lightning.

Last year, Lindsay had insisted I add her name to the deed of our house, saying it would make things easier for our kid's schooling later on. I didn't think much of it at the time, and I agreed. But lately she kept complaining to me, half casually, that the mortgage was a heavy burden, that her parents were getting older and it wasn't convenient for them to stay with us, so we might as well "temporarily" transfer the house into her mother's name. That way, she said, they could apply for some benefits meant for seniors.

Back then I'd just thought she was dreaming, and I'd flatly refused.

My heart sank.