Chapter 3

Outside, the rain was pouring.

I didn't have an umbrella. I was soaked through, and the cold wind cut straight to my heart.

I got in a cab and went back to the downtown villa Ethan and I shared.

We'd bought it for our third wedding anniversary. I'd sold the old house my mom left me to come up with the down payment.

I walked to the door and habitually entered my fingerprint.

"Beep—fingerprint error."

I froze for a moment, then entered the passcode.

"Passcode error."

I pounded on the door.

"Open up! Let me in!"

After a while, the door finally cracked open.

It was Ethan's mother—my mother-in-law.

She wore a silk robe and held a glass of red wine, looking at me with complete irritation.

"Wailing like a banshee in the middle of the night! What's all the noise!"

Seeing it was me, she rolled her eyes and moved to close the door.

I jammed my hand against the doorframe, staring at her coldly.

"This is my home. Let me in."

My mother-in-law scoffed and looked me up and down in my bedraggled state.

"Your home? The property deed has my son's name on it! You can't even have children—what gives you the right to call this your home?"

"Ethan already told me you're getting divorced. Madison's moving in soon, and she's carrying our family's heir!"

"Get lost and don't bring your poverty stench into our house!"

The sound of high heels came from inside.

Madison appeared wearing my limited-edition slippers and my cashmere wrap, holding an apple, walking over leisurely.

"Mom, who's making all that noise? It's upsetting the baby."

My mother-in-law immediately put on a fawning smile and rushed to support her.

"Oh, my precious! Walk slowly, don't disturb the baby. It's just a beggar. I'll get rid of her right away."

Madison walked to the door and looked at me with fake surprise.

"Oh my, Lila! Look at you, all soaked! Didn't Ethan arrange a hotel for you?"

"You know, Ethan said the master bedroom decor is too old-fashioned. Tomorrow they're tearing it all out to renovate and make it into a nursery for me."

"All your raggedy old clothes and junk—I had the maid pack them up and throw them in the trash bins in the basement garage."

I shoved past my mother-in-law, forced my way inside, and ran straight for the second-floor study.

That's where my father's last possession was kept—a programming notebook he'd written by hand.

It was my most precious treasure!

I burst into the study. It had already been ransacked.

My desk had been cleared out. All the books on the shelves were gone.

I whipped around, my eyes bloodshot as I glared at Madison, who'd followed me up.

"Where's my dad's notebook?!"

Madison covered her mouth and giggled.

"That ratty old thing? The pages were all yellow, covered in chicken scratch I couldn't even read. I thought it was dirty, so I had the maid burn it as scrap paper."

"Lila, you're not going to get mad at me over some old notebook, are you? I'm pregnant, you know."

Burned...

My mind went "boom," and my last shred of rationality snapped completely.

I charged at her like a crazed lioness, grabbed her hair, and slapped her hard across the face.

"Smack!"

"You dared burn my father's belongings! I'll kill you!"

Madison let out a pig-like squeal, struggling desperately.

My mother-in-law screeched and rushed at me, scratching and clawing, yanking at my clothes.

"You jinx! You dare hit my grandson's mother! I'll kill you!"

I kicked my mother-in-law, sending her sprawling, grabbed Madison by the hair, and slammed her face hard against the wall.

"Give me back my dad's notebook! Give it back!"

Madison's forehead split open and bled. She burst into hysterical tears.

"Help! Murder! Mom, save me!"

Suddenly urgent footsteps came from outside.

Ethan burst in with several bodyguards.

Seeing the scene, his eyes went wild and he roared:

"Lila! Stop it right now!"

He rushed forward and kicked me in the stomach without mercy.

I flew backward and crashed hard into the stair railing. My internal organs felt like they'd shifted. I curled up on the ground in agony, unable to breathe for what felt like forever.

Ethan tenderly gathered Madison's bloodied form into his arms.

"Madison, Madison, are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?"

Madison collapsed into his embrace, crying pitifully.

"Ethan, it hurts so much... Lila tried to kill me, she tried to kill our baby..."

Ethan turned his head, his eyes vicious enough to devour someone.

"Lila, you're absolutely insane! A monster!"

"Let me tell you, after what you did to Madison today, I will never forgive you!"

"Throw her out! Never let her set foot in here again!"

Several bodyguards came over, dragged me up from the floor like a dead dog, and threw me out the front door.

"Bang!"

The heavy door slammed shut mercilessly in front of me.

I lay in the freezing rain, the violent pain in my abdomen nearly making me pass out.

Rainwater mixed with mud streamed into my eyes, blurring my vision.

I bit my lip hard until I tasted thick blood.

Ethan Chase. Madison Cooper. That old hag.

You'll pay back everything you owe me a thousand times, ten thousand times over!