Chapter 4
Daniel's revenge came faster and hit harder than I'd ever imagined.
The day after I asked for a divorce, the caregiver suddenly told me she was leaving. "Mr. Shaw paid me this morning and said I don't need to come back," she looked uneasy. "Mrs. Shaw, are you sure you can manage on your own?"
I nodded. "Thank you. Take care on your way."
As soon as the caregiver left, the billing department called my hospital room. "Mrs. Shaw, your advance payment has run out. Please add funds as soon as possible so your treatment won't be interrupted."
I asked calmly, "Didn't my husband add more funds?"
There was a brief pause on the line before the voice turned all business. "Mr. Shaw called us today and said he won't be covering any of your medical expenses anymore."
He was cutting off my lifeline.
He stopped paying for my treatment and fired my caregiver.
He thought this would push me to my breaking point, make me beg for mercy.
He really underestimated me.
I hung up and pressed my uninjured right cheek against the cold pillow.
I was waiting.
Waiting for him to come and admire his "masterpiece" in person.
Sure enough, Daniel showed up that afternoon.
He pushed the door open, his face lit up with smug, almost cruel delight.
When he saw I was alone in the room, his grin grew even wider. "So, Emily, how's it going?" he said, pulling up a chair and sitting down like he owned the place. "Regretting it yet?
"I told you, without me, you're nothing. Your face needs the best doctors, the priciest meds. Without me, your face is as good as ruined."
He sat there like a judge, coldly handing down my fate. "Now, I'm giving you one last chance."
He pulled out the exact same agreement from his briefcase. "Sign it, and I'll act like none of this ever happened. You'll still be Mrs. Shaw, and I'll make sure your face gets the best treatment money can buy."
He tossed the agreement and a pen onto the blanket in front of me.
He looked like he was throwing a bone to a desperate stray dog, one with nowhere left to run.
I didn't even bother looking at the agreement.
Calmly, I picked up my phone and opened the banking app.
I found the payment portal, typed in my hospital ID.
45000 dollars, staring back at me, like a challenge.
I hit "Confirm Payment."
I typed in my password.
"Payment Successful" flashed across the screen, bold and bright.
I turned the phone so Daniel could see.
The proof was right there, clear as day, staring him in the face.
The smugness drained from Daniel's face.
His eyes were glued to my phone, pure shock and disbelief written all over his face. "Where did you get all that money?"
I pulled my phone back and looked at him, my expression cool and unbothered. "Daniel, did you forget? I had a job before we got married.
"I worked in finance and investments for five years. I managed to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I never touched that money, and I never told you about it. It was my mother's last advice to me. A woman should always keep an ace up her sleeve."
Every word I said hit him like a slap in the face.
His expression shifted from shock, to humiliation, and finally, to full-blown fury.
He'd always thought I was just a helpless vine, clinging to him for survival.
He was used to me always being soft and compliant, taking his every word as gospel.
He never realized that this delicate vine had her own roots hidden deep inside.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars?" Daniel let out a cold laugh, trying to save face. "Emily, you're way too naive. Skin grafts, follow-up treatments, every single one is a money pit. How long do you think your cash will last?
"Listen up. I've got all the top medical connections. If I make one call, not a single top doctor will touch your case."
His threats were even more venomous than before.
He wasn't just out to destroy my marriage, he wanted to ruin my face, my future, everything.
I met his gaze and suddenly smiled. With the bandages on my face, that smile must have been a sight. "Is that so? Let's wait and see."
My calm and unshakable confidence pushed Daniel right over the edge.
He shot to his feet, towering over me and jabbing a finger in my face. "Emily, don't think you're hot stuff because you've got some cash. I'll make sure you regret ever going up against me.
"I'll dig up every last cent of that money. Let's see if it really counts as pre-marital property." He spat out his threats and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
This time, he looked totally rattled and out of control as he left.
After he left, I pulled the phone out from under my pillow and hit save on the recording.
Another piece of evidence in the bag.
He'd admitted, out loud, that he was going to use his connections to block my treatment.
I leaned back against the bed, staring out the window at the sky.
This game was getting more and more interesting.
Later that evening, there was a knock at my hospital room door.
I figured it was Daniel again, ready to give him the cold shoulder.
But when the door opened, it was my lawyer, Jay Lane.
He was in his forties, cool and sharp, one of the best in the business.
But right now, his face was unusually serious. "Ms. Carter," he said, setting his briefcase on the table.
"We've got a problem. Just now, my investigators discovered Daniel is aggressively shifting his assets.
"He's liquidating his stocks and funds at fire-sale prices, trying to cash out as quickly as possible. Several major wire transfers have already gone out to offshore accounts."
I nodded. "I saw that coming."
But Jay's face grew even more serious. "That's not even the worst of it."
He paused, looked me straight in the eye, and spoke slowly, each word deliberate.
He said, "The real problem is the company you two started together after marriage. Daniel's using a series of complex capital maneuvers to dilute your shares and drive down the company's valuation on paper.
"If we try to split it now, a company worth over hundreds of millions could end up looking like it's worth less than 100k dollars on the books.
"And he's even forged a 'share transfer agreement' bearing your signature."