Chapter 3 · The Ultimate Lockdown: No Escape For Cheaters

Chapter 3

"How can you be so heartless? Ethan works so hard for this family! As his wife, isn't it your duty to take care of his parents?" Jade snapped.

"Since when is that my duty?" I shot back, a cold laugh escaping me.

I laughed.

"There's no law that says a daughter-in-law has to support her in-laws. If he wants to be filial, fine. He can take his parents back to their own place and hire a caregiver with his own money.

"So much for 'working hard,' huh?"

I pulled out my phone and opened up our joint card, Ethan and I shared it.

"Yesterday, he promised he'd leave this card for me to cover the bills," I said, my voice cold as ice.

I stared right at Jade, making sure she heard every word.

"I just checked at the bank, there's nothing left in it."

"Not only that, he even overdrew the card by 50,000 dollars."

Jade's face went pale in an instant.

She avoided my gaze, but still tried to put on a brave front.

"That... that was a deposit his company required! It's official business!" she stammered.

"Is that so?" I replied, my voice cold.

I put my phone away, not wanting to argue with her anymore.

"I don't care what that money was for. Ethan didn't leave me a dime for bills. This house is about to lose water, electricity, and gas."

"So, I can't cook. If you're hungry, figure it out yourselves."

With that, I ignored their stunned faces and headed straight for my bedroom, locking the door behind me.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

I lay down on my bed and let out a deep sigh.

I knew this was just the beginning.

When Ethan realized his card was frozen and the joint card was canceled, he'd totally flip out.

And my in-laws wouldn't give up without a fight.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before my phone started blowing up.

It was an unknown overseas number.

I stared at the numbers flashing on the screen, a cold smirk creeping across my lips.

Ethan jumped on this even quicker than I expected.

I answered the call.

For a few seconds, all I heard was static and heavy, anxious breathing.

Then Ethan's voice erupted like a volcano.

"Sophia! What the hell did you just do?"

His voice was warped by rage, gone was his usual calm, replaced by pure fury.

I held the phone away from my ear so my eardrums wouldn't burst from his shouting.

I stayed silent, just listening to his helpless rage on the other end of the line.

"Why the hell is my card frozen? Huh? I just got a text from the bank! Assets frozen? Are you out of your mind?"

He was in a noisy place, and I could hear a woman's voice in the background, sharp and urgent.

It was Silvanian, I couldn't understand a word.

But her tone was full of anxiety and frustration.

Probably his so-called "business partner."

"Sophia, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or something?" Ethan barked.

His patience was clearly wearing thin.

I put the phone back to my ear, speaking in the calmest, coldest tone I could muster.

"I'm not crazy, Ethan."

"I'm just protecting what's mine."

My coolness only pissed him off even more.

"Your property? That's our joint assets! Who do you think you are, freezing it all by yourself?" Ethan yelled.

"Right?" I let out a cold laugh, the sound cutting through the line like a knife.

"Of course I have the right.

"Our prenup spells it out, if either of us tries to move our shared assets in bad faith, the other can take legal action to protect them.

"Ethan, you took our joint money and planned to shack up in Silvania with someone else for five years. Isn't that exactly what counts as malicious transfer?"

There was a sudden silence on the other end.

I could just picture his face, shocked, panicked, and pissed off at being caught red-handed.

After a long pause, Ethan finally spoke again, but all the bravado was gone, he was just trying to sound tough, but it was all bark and no bite.

"You... what are you even talking about? Run off together? I'm just working! It's all for this family!" he stammered.

"For this family?" I repeated, my tone thick with irony.

"So for the sake of this family, you cleared out our joint account before you left?"

"For the sake of this family, you not only took every last dollar, but even overdrew the credit card by 15,000 dollars?"

"For the sake of this family, what you left me with is an empty account, a pile of debt, and two in-laws I'm supposed to slave away for?"

With every accusation, Ethan's breathing got rougher and rougher.

He thought I'd never catch on, or that even if I did, I'd just grit my teeth and stay silent for the sake of "family harmony," just like I always did before.

He miscalculated.

Chapter 3

"How can you be so heartless? Ethan works so hard for this family! As his wife, isn't it your duty to take care of his parents?" Jade snapped.

"Since when is that my duty?" I shot back, a cold laugh escaping me.

I laughed.

"There's no law that says a daughter-in-law has to support her in-laws. If he wants to be filial, fine. He can take his parents back to their own place and hire a caregiver with his own money.

"So much for 'working hard,' huh?"

I pulled out my phone and opened up our joint card, Ethan and I shared it.

"Yesterday, he promised he'd leave this card for me to cover the bills," I said, my voice cold as ice.

I stared right at Jade, making sure she heard every word.

"I just checked at the bank, there's nothing left in it."

"Not only that, he even overdrew the card by 50,000 dollars."

Jade's face went pale in an instant.

She avoided my gaze, but still tried to put on a brave front.

"That... that was a deposit his company required! It's official business!" she stammered.

"Is that so?" I replied, my voice cold.

I put my phone away, not wanting to argue with her anymore.

"I don't care what that money was for. Ethan didn't leave me a dime for bills. This house is about to lose water, electricity, and gas."

"So, I can't cook. If you're hungry, figure it out yourselves."

With that, I ignored their stunned faces and headed straight for my bedroom, locking the door behind me.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

I lay down on my bed and let out a deep sigh.

I knew this was just the beginning.

When Ethan realized his card was frozen and the joint card was canceled, he'd totally flip out.

And my in-laws wouldn't give up without a fight.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before my phone started blowing up.

It was an unknown overseas number.

I stared at the numbers flashing on the screen, a cold smirk creeping across my lips.

Ethan jumped on this even quicker than I expected.

I answered the call.

For a few seconds, all I heard was static and heavy, anxious breathing.

Then Ethan's voice erupted like a volcano.

"Sophia! What the hell did you just do?"

His voice was warped by rage, gone was his usual calm, replaced by pure fury.

I held the phone away from my ear so my eardrums wouldn't burst from his shouting.

I stayed silent, just listening to his helpless rage on the other end of the line.

"Why the hell is my card frozen? Huh? I just got a text from the bank! Assets frozen? Are you out of your mind?"

He was in a noisy place, and I could hear a woman's voice in the background, sharp and urgent.

It was Silvanian, I couldn't understand a word.

But her tone was full of anxiety and frustration.

Probably his so-called "business partner."

"Sophia, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or something?" Ethan barked.

His patience was clearly wearing thin.

I put the phone back to my ear, speaking in the calmest, coldest tone I could muster.

"I'm not crazy, Ethan."

"I'm just protecting what's mine."

My coolness only pissed him off even more.

"Your property? That's our joint assets! Who do you think you are, freezing it all by yourself?" Ethan yelled.

"Right?" I let out a cold laugh, the sound cutting through the line like a knife.

"Of course I have the right.

"Our prenup spells it out, if either of us tries to move our shared assets in bad faith, the other can take legal action to protect them.

"Ethan, you took our joint money and planned to shack up in Silvania with someone else for five years. Isn't that exactly what counts as malicious transfer?"

There was a sudden silence on the other end.

I could just picture his face, shocked, panicked, and pissed off at being caught red-handed.

After a long pause, Ethan finally spoke again, but all the bravado was gone, he was just trying to sound tough, but it was all bark and no bite.

"You... what are you even talking about? Run off together? I'm just working! It's all for this family!" he stammered.

"For this family?" I repeated, my tone thick with irony.

"So for the sake of this family, you cleared out our joint account before you left?"

"For the sake of this family, you not only took every last dollar, but even overdrew the credit card by 15,000 dollars?"

"For the sake of this family, what you left me with is an empty account, a pile of debt, and two in-laws I'm supposed to slave away for?"

With every accusation, Ethan's breathing got rougher and rougher.

He thought I'd never catch on, or that even if I did, I'd just grit my teeth and stay silent for the sake of "family harmony," just like I always did before.

He miscalculated.