Chapter 2

As Samuel was dragged away, he shot me a nasty glare, his lips twitching like he wanted to curse me out.

I could read his mind.

[Savannah, wait until I get out. I'm going to destroy you!]

Too bad, he wouldn't get the chance.

After Samuel and Winnie were escorted out, the villa was finally quiet.

I sent the gawking reporters packing, then collapsed onto the leather sofa and poured myself a glass of red wine.

This was Samuel's treasured bottle. He wouldn't even let me near it, always claiming it was for important clients.

Now, I was swishing it around in my mouth.

As a matter of fact, I only awakened my mind-reading ability yesterday.

I'd blacked out from a fever, and when I came to, the whole world felt different.

All those sweet nothings people used to whisper to me now got filtered into their darkest desires in my ears.

Only then did I realize the husband I'd loved for five years had only been after my family's money right from the beginning.

And Winnie, who always acted so sweet and close to me, turned out to be a total gambling addict.

Even Brian Gunner, the stepson I'd treated like my own, was secretly plotting to push me down the stairs and finish me off.

Since fate had handed me this cheat code, I'd be wasting it if I didn't send these scumbags straight to hell.

Not long after, the villa's front door was slammed open.

An old lady decked out in gold and silver stormed in, with Brian, her so-called "golden grandson," trailing behind her.

It was Beatrice, Samuel's mother, my nightmare of a mother-in-law.

"Savannah, you jinx! How dare you call the cops on my son!" Beatrice shrieked.

She then came at me, trying to claw at my face.

I sidestepped and casually stuck out my foot.

"Ow!" Beatrice yelped.

She face-planted hard, sprawled on the floor, and couldn't get up for a long time.

Brian saw what happened and shot over like a little cannonball, sinking his teeth right into my hand.

"Bad woman! I'm gonna beat you up. You can't bully my grandma!" he shouted.

In the past, I would've felt sorry for him and just let him throw his tantrum.

But now...

I grabbed him by the back of his collar and hoisted him up like a little chick.

[I'm gonna bite this woman! Mom said if I kick this bad woman out, the big house is mine. I'm gonna smash all her makeup!] Brian thought.

Was this really what a five-year-old should have been thinking?

I snorted and gave his butt two sharp slaps.

Smack! Smack!

The sound was crisp and loud.

Brian froze for a second, then started bawling like a stuck pig.

"Help! She's killing me! My stepmother's hitting me!" he wailed.

Beatrice finally managed to get up, and when she saw her darling grandson getting smacked, she was shaking with rage.

"This is outrageous. You barren woman, how dare you hit the only heir of the Gunner family! I'll rip you to shreds today!" she shrieked.

She snatched up a vase from the table and hurled it at me.

I dodged, and the vase smashed against the wall, shards flying everywhere.

"Old hag, you clearly still don't understand what's going on, huh?" I said.

I closed in on her, my eyes cold as ice.

"Your son's been caught for fraud, and that precious grandson of yours is just a bastard Winnie had with some other man. This house, the furniture, even the clothes you're wearing were all paid for with my money," I said.

Beatrice's eyes bulged in shock, her face full of disbelief.

"Bullshit! Winnie said Brian is Samuel's! You're just jealous Winnie can have children," she snapped.

Beatrice thought, [How does this woman know? When Winnie brought Brian over, I always felt he didn't look like Samuel, but so what?

[As long as I can kick Savannah out and get my hands on her money, who cares if the kid's really Samuel's? Samuel can always have more kids anyway.]

So, turned out Beatrice had been in on the secret from the very beginning.

So the whole family was just fooling Samuel, the idiot, and me, the sucker?

I pulled out my phone and hit play on a recording.

It was a snippet from the reporters' interview earlier, the part about the paternity test.

Beatrice's face turned pale, then ashen as she listened.

"This... this is fake! You faked it!" she stammered.

"If you think it's fake, ask Samuel yourself when he gets out," I said.

I settled back into the sofa, towering over her.

"Now, take this bastard and get the hell out of my house," I said.

Beatrice's eyes darted around, then she suddenly threw herself on the floor, making a scene like a spoiled brat.

"I'm not leaving. This is my son's house. Who are you to kick me out? I won't stand for it. My daughter-in-law is trying to kill me!" she wailed.

She thought, [I'm not budging. Let's see what she can do! When Samuel gets back, I'll make him dump this venomous woman and bleed her dry.]

I watched her theatrics with a cold expression, then called up security.

"Hey, security? There are two lunatics in my house. Please send a few guys over to toss them out for me," I said.

Samuel just made bail.