"Mom, let it go."Elise held the phone, her voice weak."He is my husband, after all. His words were harsh, but hitting him... that's not right."On the other end, Rena Reed was silent for a few seconds."Fine. We'll do it your way. We'll let him off the hook this time."Rena's tone suddenly softened."Just focus on healing. Don't think about those unhappy things."Click.The call ended.The warmth vanished from Rena's face instantly. Only a mean, thin-lipped sneer remained.Spare him?Keep dreaming.She didn't hesitate. Her fingers slid quickly across the screen. She dialed her son, Luke."Luke.""Mom? What's up? Need money again?"Loud heavy metal music blasted from the other end."Ryan, that piece of trash, is getting out of the hospital soon."Rena's voice was low and venomous."Find a chance. Keep it clean.""Beat him within an inch of his life.""Really?"Luke's voice spiked with excitement. He killed the music."I've wanted to smash his face in for a long time. Don't worry, Mom

The slap echoed through the showroom.Luke was completely stunned. His face burned with a stinging heat.He clutched his cheek, staring in disbelief at the beauty in front of him.Growing up, aside from his mother Rena, no one had dared to touch a hair on his head.Let alone slap him in public."You bitch!"Luke's eyes went bloodshot instantly. Reason evaporated."You dare hit me?!"He roared like a mad dog, raising his hand to strike Olivia.However, his hand stopped in mid-air.It was clamped by a hand as strong as an iron vise.Ryan stood in front of Olivia."Thanks."Ryan didn't look back. His voice was soft."No problem. My hand stings a little."Olivia rubbed her palm, shaking her hand with a look of disgust."Fuck! Ryan, you leech! Let go!"Luke struggled desperately. With his free hand, he swung a fist at Ryan's head.Ryan didn't dodge.He simply lifted his leg and drove his knee violently into Luke's gut.THUD!No fancy moves. Just raw, kinetic power.Luke's eyes bulged. His

Inside the bedroom, the heavy blackout curtains were drawn tight.Elise curled up on the sofa, clutching a cup of coffee that had long gone cold.Her head was splitting.Ryan had been missing for a full week.For this entire week, the man who used to obey her every command seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth.No calls answered. No texts returned.This feeling of being completely ignored was a fate worse than death.Buzz—The phone by her hand vibrated suddenly, making a jarring sound against the glass coffee table.Elise glanced at the screen. It was her mother, Rena.She rubbed her throbbing temples and pressed answer, her tone impatient."Mom, what is it now? I'm really not in the mood...""Stop moping! Something big happened!"Rena's shrill voice stabbed into her eardrum like an ice pick."Your loser ex-husband has found himself a sugar mama!""Luke just called crying. He got fired from the dealership, and the reason was Ryan!"Elise froze. Her brows knit tighter.

The atmosphere in the conference room thickened.Ryan's finger didn't touch the screen. He simply hovered it over an inconspicuous inflection point on the right side of the candlestick chart.Sterling wore a mocking smile."You ignored the liquidity trap."Ryan's voice was calm. He was stating a simple, undeniable fact."Last Tuesday, the Federal Reserve tightened credit policy. This hidden clause caused the cost of capital for shadow banking to rise by three percent."Ryan turned his head. He looked at Sterling."Your model is built on the foundation of loose monetary policy.""So, your so-called bottom-fishing is actually catching a falling knife.""Once we buy in, our liquidity will dry up within forty-eight hours. This is a dead end."The smile on Sterling's face froze instantly.As a Wall Street veteran, he was extremely sensitive to numbers.He knew about the policy Ryan mentioned. But he had arbitrarily decided the impact would be minimal. To make the model look pretty, he deli

Inside the luxury villa in south Hayden City, the air was stagnant.The crystal chandelier emitted a pale, sickly light.Elise stood barefoot on the cold marble floor, her hair a mess.The massive dining table was covered with expensive takeout from Michelin-starred restaurants.Top-tier Wagyu. Black truffle pasta. Foie gras. All untouched. A cold, greasy film had congealed on their surfaces.Elise felt waves of cramping pain in her stomach.In the past, at this time, no matter how late she came home, there had always been a glass of honey water waiting on the table. Heated to exactly forty degrees Celsius.In the kitchen, a pot of porridge cooked by Ryan himself had always been kept warm on the stove.Now, there was nothing.In a fit of irritation, she swept the takeout boxes off the table with a single swipe of her arm."A driver for that woman... maybe even a gigolo!"Her mother Rena's piercing voice echoed in her head on a loop.Intense jealousy and indignation burned her eyes red