Vivienne ended the call."Damn it!" The words were out before she could stop them. Her eyes burned, her grip on the phone nearly white-knuckling the case."Norman... you have seriously crossed the line! You ungrateful bastard—"Then came the sound of quick footsteps from outside.Grace appeared in the doorway, her face somewhere between panic and curiosity. "What happened? What's going on?"Vivienne threw her phone onto the mattress."He went to his parents' house." Every word came out like it was being pushed out one at a time. "Without saying a word to me. Without asking. Just walked out like—like I don't even exist."Grace looked at her.And behind the expression that looked like a mother's solidarity, something else was moving in her head. Something far more pragmatic than defending her daughter's dignity.This... this is not good at all.Grace had spent too long exploiting Norman's weaknesses not to know his patterns very well.The normal Norman—the real Norman—should have been a

The silence on the other end lasted two full seconds.Then Grace exploded.The intention she'd had moments ago—to dial it back a little, to try to fix the situation in a more strategic way—vanished instantly, swallowed by an anger that was no longer willing to pretend it was under control."Useless?!" Her voice shot up to a pitch that should have rattled the walls."You want to talk about useless?! Do you have any idea what would have happened if you hadn't spent all that time chasing Vivienne around like a dog that lost its bone?!"Norman didn't answer.Grace didn't care."Vivienne could have married anyone! Anyone far wealthier and more powerful than you! With her brains, with her looks—she could have been the wife of the richest man in the world! She could have been a First Lady! She could have had everything!"Her breathing went ragged, her words flooding out like water that had been held back too long."But you kept chasing her! You were the one begging! You were the one on your

Ever since Vivienne got married and started sending money regularly, Felix had been living like someone who'd won the lottery without ever buying a ticket. Driving Norman's car whenever he needed to look wealthy in front of people he wanted to impress. Wearing Norman's suits to certain events. Taking women to hotels with money he claimed was his but came from an account he had never once contributed to himself.He often brought two women, sometimes three at a time, with stories that changed depending on who was listening. Sometimes a young entrepreneur, sometimes an investor, sometimes a property heir. All lies. But all of it worked as long as Norman's money kept flowing.In Felix's eyes, Norman wasn't a brother-in-law. Norman was an ATM his sister had found—a machine that kept dispensing cash as long as the right buttons were pressed.And even with everything Norman had given him, not a single day had passed where Felix felt anything close to grateful.Felix walked in and immediately

Vivienne didn't pay much attention to her mother's explanation about mutual funds or stocks.The numbers didn't interest her. What interested her was the last part of what Grace had said—that the Calloway family's wealth would eventually pass to Norman, which meant it would pass to her too.That logic was enough to make the rest of her questions evaporate."Fine." Vivienne nodded and zipped up her bag. "Once this is all over, Norman will buy Felix that car. Three million dollars, not a cent less."Felix straightened up further."Three million?""Three million." Vivienne repeated it without any particular expression, like someone reading off a grocery price. "You can pick the model yourself."Meanwhile, inside her head, Vivienne's thoughts had already moved to a place she had kept tucked away for a long time.The Calloway family.Their wealth was enormous. Decades of accumulation, assets deeply rooted in Corholt and the surrounding cities, shares in companies whose names appeared in th

The man looked up.Norman looked at him with an expression that couldn't be fully read, but somewhere inside it was something that felt like recognition. Like someone seeing a past version of himself who had just managed to put his heaviest problem to rest."Check out now."The man completed the purchase with steadier hands than before.Norman gave a satisfied nod."From now on, the money you earn is yours." His voice wasn't a lecture. Just a fact that shouldn't have needed to be said—but apparently did. "Not to be drained by a woman who goes to bars, sleeps with other men, then stands in front of a courthouse and spits at your feet."Norman paused for a beat."You work hard for that money. You have every right to enjoy it for yourself."The man stared at the envelope in his hand.Something moved across his face. Not dramatic—no tears falling, no wide smile. Just a small shift in his jaw, in the way he held the envelope, in the way his shoulders that had been caved in slowly straighte