The Gantt family raged for a while, but in the end, there was nothing they could do except leave in frustration.They decided to eat out.Normally, Daisy bought groceries during the day, then waited for Ray to come home in the evening to cook. The whole family would sit around waiting for dinner. At lunch the next day, Josh and his wife would eat the leftovers, refusing to cook for themselves even though it would have made more sense to cook at noon and eat fresh food at night.Lazy, that's what they were. As long as Ray was there to be ordered around, why bother lifting a finger?Now that their cook was gone, Daisy refused to step into the kitchen. And since they were about to come into money, they decided to be generous — they'd treat themselves to a restaurant meal.They picked Lunaria, a restaurant right outside Mallory Avenue. The average cost per person was not exactly cheap.Ray followed them from a distance. Over the past few days, he had struck blow after blow at the Gan

Lauren looked down at Ray, her tone dripping with mockery."Ray, where did you get the nerve to judge me? Who's she—your new lover?""Ms. Gantt, is it?" Lucy's voice turned crisp, professional. "Just for saying that, I could sue you for defamation. But I won't stoop to your level. Still, if you ever make another baseless accusation like that, I won't let it go so easily."Ray chuckled. "This is Lucy Fraser, my legal representative."Lauren froze.Wait—wasn't his lawyer supposed to be Chuck? The famous one, not this soft-spoken, beautiful woman. And her body—God, that chest couldn't be real, could it? And that curve—too perfect. Must be surgery, Lauren thought bitterly.Still, there was no denying Lucy carried herself with sharp confidence, the air of someone used to being in control. A real lawyer, then. Probably from Chuck's firm. It made sense—Chuck was the top divorce lawyer in Senna City, so assigning a junior associate to handle follow-ups was normal.Lauren cursed hers

Lauren scrambled up from the floor. The fall had hurt, but excitement drowned out the pain. She cried into the phone, "Are you sure it's 40 million, not 4 million? One digit makes a huge difference!""40 million. I checked three times." Henry's voice was steady. "And the funds were credited to Ray's account only after your divorce. The source is…the lottery's prize account.""What?" She sprang up. "You mean he only claimed the prize after the divorce?"Would that still count as marital property? She didn't have a law degree, but she knew enough to suspect that timing mattered.Henry walked her through it. "If he bought the tickets before the divorce—say, one or two days earlier—then it's clearly marital property. If he bought it the same day, we need to know whether the purchase was before or after the divorce was finalized."Lauren thought fast and then decided. "He must have bought it before the divorce. Otherwise, why would he insist on walking away with nothing? He rushed th

The last two days, Mallory Avenue had been unbearable with gossip.First, the Gantts rushed out, boasting they might be able to get 20 million from Ray. Then word flipped: the 40 million was apparently post-divorce money; Ray had no obligation to split the money at all.And the Gantts, who had been strutting like kings through the neighborhood, had all retreated into their shells. No one had come forward to contradict the new story. People assumed the latest rumor must be true."Heh, looks like heaven's got its eye on things after all.""Right—no money going to the Gantts!""Serves them right. First, Lauren's scandal, now thinking they'll get 20 million for nothing. What a joke.""If I were them, I'd be having nightmares for months.""Ten years, at least.""Ten years? 20 million? That's a lifetime shadow.""Good. They deserve it."Meanwhile, the Gantts themselves were a picture of defeat—four people hunched in their rooms, each sunk deep in sullen misery, as if the sky itself

Ray got home, showered, and was ready to sleep.Before turning in, he checked the stock market—his portfolio was up six percent today, about two million in floating profit. Not bad.He stretched, climbed into bed, and drifted off.By the time he woke naturally the next morning, sunlight was spilling across the room. After breakfast, he adjusted a few of his stock positions—minor changes, but these would be his main focus over the next couple of months.At ten, Lucy called. She'd already filed the lawsuit, officially requesting a redistribution of marital assets between him and Lauren, and a declaration that Michael wasn't his biological son. She was also claiming mental distress compensation on his behalf.In the past couple of days, Chuck had his people look into Lauren's income. Combined with the account records Ray provided, they tallied up both sides' total earnings. After deducting necessary expenses, the compensation amount came to 250 thousand.To Ray, that was pocket chan