Chapter 1

I was making 20 thousand a month, and my husband's mom, Laura Harrison, was green with envy.

She demanded, as if it were her right, that I hand over 15 thousand dollars every month.

"Women get out of control when they have too much money. I'll save it for you," Laura said.

I let out a cold laugh and shot her down without hesitation.

But when I got home from work, I couldn't get my key in the lock. The door was locked from the inside.

Laura was taunting me from behind the door.

"Hand over your bank card, and then you can come back in," she shouted.

"Until then, freeze in the hallway."

I didn't shed a tear or throw a tantrum. I wheeled my suitcase around and booked myself into a five-star hotel.

Ten days later, Laura was sprawled out on the couch.

Then, the real estate agent walked in with a spare key, bringing a family of five to check out the place.

The whole Harrison family was stunned. She yelled, "What are you doing here?"

The agent smiled and said, "The owner has already sold this place in a quick sale at a bargain price. Please move out by today."

*****

"Starting this month, out of your twenty-thousand salary, hand over fifteen thousand," Laura said, cracking nuts without even looking up. Shells were scattered all over the floor.

"I married your son and never took a dime from you," I said, my tone flat.

"You married into the Harrison family, so what's yours is ours." She finally looked up, with a straight face, utterly entitled.

"Women start thinking they can do whatever they want when they have too much money, forgetting their limits. I'll save it for you. It's all for you and Lucas anyway."

"I'll take care of my own money."

"Is that how you talk to me?" Laura slammed the nuts down on the coffee table. "Everything I do is for you and Lucas."

Lucas Harrison shifted next to me, reaching out to stop me. "Irene, Mom's trying to help," he said.

I looked at him. He avoided my gaze. "I'm not doing it," I said, grabbing my bag and heading out the door, on my way to work.

"You've got some nerve." Laura shrieked from behind me. "If you walk out that door today, don't think about coming back tonight."

I didn't look back. My heels clicked crisply on the floor.

When I got home from work that evening, I stood at my front door and pulled out my keys. But they wouldn't go in. The door was locked from the inside.

I tried again. The harsh scrape of metal echoed through the quiet hallway. Something was blocking the lock.

I stopped, pulled out my phone, and called Lucas.

The phone rang for ages before he finally picked up.

"Hello?" Lucas sounded quiet, with the TV murmuring in the background.

"The door won't open," I said.

Lucas was quiet for a few seconds. "Irene, just apologize to Mom; she is your elder after all."

"Did your mom block the lock?" I cut him off.

"She's mad. If you give her your bank card, she'll open the door for you right away. It's freezing out there, you know it's winter."

As I listened to him, it felt like the cold wind from the hallway had blown straight into my heart.

"So, you think I should hand over my money to her?"

"We're family. Why keep things so separate? Mom takes care of my money too."

"Your salary is 3,000 dollars, mine is 20 thousand dollars."

"You make more, so isn't it only right you pitch in more?" Lucas sounded impatient. "Come on, stop standing outside and apologize to my mom. It'll blow over."

"Got it." I hung up. As the phone screen went dark, my own blank face stared back at me in the reflection.

My backup suitcase was waiting for me at the office. It had my documents, laptop, and a few outfits. I always knew it would come to this.

I didn't cry or put up a fight. I just took my suitcase, walked down the stairs step by step, hailed a cab, and went straight to the best five-star hotel downtown. Then I checked in.

I walked into the warm, bright room, slipped off my heels, and let myself fall into the soft bed. Outside the window, the city glittered with a thousand lights. Not one of them was mine. Or rather, I had never belonged to any of them.

I pulled out my laptop and connected to the hotel's net. Then I scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I needed, Mabel, the top real estate agent.

I sent her a quick text. [Mabel, are you free? I need to sell a house ASAP,] I messaged.

She replied right away: [Ms. Wells? Which property?]

I sent her the address. [Downtown, 170 square yards, fully renovated. It's my pre-marital property.]

[What's the price?] she asked.

I paused for a moment, then typed out my reply. [500 thousand below market value. One condition: cash only, and I want it sold as fast as possible,] I replied.

I set my phone aside and stepped into the bathroom. The hot water streamed down over me. The woman staring back from the mirror had no tears in her eyes, only a cold, unshakable calm.

Lucas, Laura, you want my money? Then I'd take your home, too. Game on.

*****

Early the next morning, my phone rang. It was Mabel calling. "Ms. Wells, I've gone over the details of your house. The location, layout, and renovation are all top-notch.

"You're selling it for 500 thousand dollars below market price. It's practically giving it away. Are you sure you want to sell it like this?" she asked.

"I'm sure," I replied, my voice still hoarse from waking up.

"Can I ask why? Selling it so fast and at such a low price might make buyers think it's a haunted house or there's some problem with the title."

"It's not a haunted house, and the title is clean. Only my name is on it. I can provide all the documents right away."

I paused for a moment, then added, "Tell them the owner needs cash urgently. No need to explain anything else."

"Got it. I'll list the property right away. I bet we'll hear something soon."

After hanging up, I got out of bed and ordered breakfast from room service. Once I finished eating, I opened my laptop and started working.

Lucas's messages popped up on my screen.

Lucas: [Babe, where were you last night? I was really worried about you.

[Are you home yet? Mom's calmed down. Come back, okay?

[Irene, can you stop being upset? Whatever it is, let's talk at home.]

I read his messages without any emotion, then long-pressed and deleted them.

Then I opened another conversation. Irene: [Kenneth, I need to talk to you about divorce.]

Kenneth Ellis was my college classmate, and now he was one of the top divorce lawyers in the city.

He replied almost instantly: [I'm free anytime. What's up?]

Irene: [I'm planning to get a divorce. I paid for the house in full before we got married, and it's registered under my name.

[My income is more than seven times his, and we don't have any major shared assets. Our housing funds and savings are all in our own accounts.]

Kenneth: [Has he cheated or been physically abusive?]

Irene: [No. But his mother keeps emotionally manipulating me and pressuring me for money, and he's allowed it and helped her. Yesterday, they locked me out of the house to force me to hand over my bank card.]

Kenneth: [Do you have any evidence?]

Irene: [I have a recording of our phone call from last night.]

[That's all the evidence we need,] Kenneth replied quickly. [In your situation, the divorce will be simple. Your pre-marital assets are completely yours, and since there are no shared assets or debts, dividing things will be straightforward.

[He'll barely get anything. You need to file, then wait for the hearing.]

Irene: [I don't want to wait. I want him to walk away with nothing, and I want it to happen immediately.]

[That depends on whether he's willing to settle. But from what you've told me, he and his family aren't likely to give in without a fight,] Kenneth said.

[They will,] I replied.

I stared out the window, my gaze icy.

[Once I take away the only thing they depend on, they won't get to make demands anymore,] I said.

Kenneth was silent for a moment, then replied: [Got it.]

For the next few days, I stayed at the hotel, going to work and handling my job as usual.

Lucas and Laura bombarded me with calls, texts, and messages. I blocked them all. They had no way of finding me.

The receptionist told me Laura and Lucas had come looking for me several times, but security stopped them at the door every time.

I'd already given the admin department a heads-up that some family members might show up, causing drama over money, and asked them to handle it by the book.

The bigger fuss they made, the more it confirmed I'd made the right choice.

On the fourth day, Mabel called, her voice bubbling with excitement. "Ms. Wells, we found a buyer," she said.

"That fast?" I asked.

"Your place is a hot property. The day I listed it, my phone was ringing off the hook. I picked the most genuine buyer, a businessman who wants a smooth deal and a quick move-in.

"He's ready to pay the full amount upfront, and his only request is to move in as soon as possible."

"No problem."

"Let's set a time for tomorrow. Bring your property deed and ID, and we'll meet the buyer. If everything goes smoothly, we can sign the contract on the spot."

"Sounds good."

"Once the contract's signed, the paperwork's done, and the money's in your account, you're done with this house."

"I know."

No one knew that better than I did. I wanted nothing more than to sever all ties with that so-called home.

After hanging up, I looked at Lucas's blocked number in my contacts.

I could picture him and Laura in that house right now, probably trash-talking me for being ungrateful, or plotting how to control me when I finally give in and come back.

They thought that house was theirs. They thought I needed them. But the height of foolishness was to treat what belongs to someone else as one's own and to feel perfectly justified in doing it.

I sent Mabel a message.

Irene: [Mabel, on the day of the transfer, don't bother warning anyone inside. show up with the new owner.]

Mabel replied with an OK hand gesture. She knew exactly what I was getting at.

Some lessons only hit when they saw it with their own eyes. And some dreams needed a hard kick to the face before they woke up to the fact that they owned nothing.