A SON IN LAW TURNS BILLIONAIRE AFTER DIVORCE

Chapter 16

But as she read deeper into the post, a long, shaky breath escaped her lips. A tiny sigh of relief washed over her panic.

While the core accusation—the affair with Jonathan and Mark’s real father—was completely true, most of the juicy, explosive details in the post were blatantly fabricated! The anonymous poster even claimed that she and Jonathan had hooked up in a dusty record storage room at City Hall during working hours!

Ridiculous, Susan thought, her chest rising and falling as her fear turned into sharp irritation. We were never that stupid. Jonathan was always so careful.

What Susan had no way of knowing was that Thomas Stone’s elite legal team had intentionally planted the exaggerated story online. The goal wasn't just to leak the truth—it was to destroy her credibility, stir up massive public outrage, and completely ruin her standing in the community before the legal battle over the assets even stepped foot into a courtroom.

Instead, Susan’s fiery suspicion immediately fell on one person.

Her head snapped up, her eyes locking straight onto Leonard, who was calmly sipping his iced water three tables away.

Of course it's him, she thought, pure, venomous resentment twisting her stomach into knots.

After nine years of marriage, she was finally seeing what kind of heartless monster he truly was! First, the bastard had secretly hidden millions in marital assets from her. Now, he was airing her private personal life online just to drag her name through the mud like a cheap dog!

In her mind, her anger completely swallowed any logical sense of guilt. So what if I slept with another man?! So what if I had Jonathan's baby?! Mark still called Leonard 'Dad' for eight whole years while calling his real biological father 'Uncle Jonathan'! Doesn't Leonard understand how agonizing and painful that was for Jonathan to watch from afar?! Leonard got to live under my roof! He got a family because of me!

Her resentment grew hotter and hotter until it scorched her throat.

Fine! she thought bitterly. Worst-case scenario, I’ll just resign from the hospital! Once the judge forces Leonard to hand over his hidden millions, I won't ever have to work another day in my life anyway!

Unable to contain the boiling fury in her chest for another second, Susan shot to her feet, kicking her chair back with a loud screech that drew looks from neighboring tables. She marched straight across the dining carpet and slammed both her hands onto Leonard’s table.

"Leonard, I never realized what a truly disgusting, pathetic bastard you were!" she hissed, leaning down, her voice dripping with sheer venom. "You think spreading fake, dirty rumors on the internet is going to break me?! You think that's going to stop me from taking what's mine?! Forget it! The marital assets will be divided according to the law, whether you like it or not!"

Leonard slowly set his glass down on the table. He looked up at her flushed, angry face, a faint, almost pitying smile touching his lips.

"You're absolutely right, Susan," Leonard said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Marital assets should be divided according to the law. Just make sure you keep that exact same energy when we're both standing in front of the judge."

He picked up a white napkin and dabbed his mouth casually. "But... although I already know you don't give a damn about your own reputation or your job... what about Mr. Brad?"

Susan’s smug expression instantly froze. The blood drained from her cheeks for a second time.

Leonard continued, his tone conversational and light, as if discussing the afternoon weather. "I hear Jonathan is currently in line for a major executive promotion at City Hall. A massive, high-profile scandal involving marital fraud, illegitimate children, and public corruption becoming front-page news... well, I imagine that won't do wonders for his political career, will it?"

That sentence hit her right where it hurt the most.

Susan could afford to quit her nursing job and hide at home. Jonathan couldn't! He was a rising government official at the absolute most critical turning point of his professional life!

She had cared about Jonathan so deeply that she had willingly carried his secret baby, endured a fake marriage with a man she looked down on, and protected his reputation for nine years. The sudden, horrifying image of Leonard completely destroying Jonathan's bright future sent a wave of icy panic straight through her veins.

"You despicable, evil bastard!" Susan spat through gritted teeth, her body trembling with rage. "When the court orders you to hand over every single penny you owe me, I will make sure you regret every single breath you took today!"

She spun around on her heel and stalked back to her family's table, her heels clicking loudly against the floor.

Leonard merely shook his head, watching her retreat.

It was almost funny. People like Susan never, under any circumstances, blamed themselves for the fires they started. She had cheated on him before their wedding, tricked him into raising another man's child for eight years, allowed her toxic family to treat him like a slave, and drained nearly every dollar he earned. None of that ever registered in her mind as wrong.

But the moment her own dark secrets were brought into the light, suddenly she was the helpless, tragic victim.

Fine, Leonard thought, a cold, dark warmth settling in his chest. He hadn't expected an ounce of remorse from any of the Millers anyway. For the next eighty-nine days, he was going to ensure that every breath they took was a living nightmare.

A few minutes later, a heavy silence hung over the restaurant floor—until the double doors at the top of the stairs swung open.

A breathtakingly stunning woman stepped into the dining area.

Her entrance was so striking that it immediately drew the eyes of half the patrons in the room. She was tall, effortlessly elegant, with long, flowing dark hair and a gorgeous, hourglass figure wrapped in a high-end designer suit that practically screamed wealth and power.

"Damn..." Joseph muttered from the Miller table, staring openly with his mouth half-open. "Now that is a real woman. Holy shit. Once I get my hands on Leonard's millions, I'm getting myself a girlfriend exactly like that."

But as he watched her walk across the floor, Joseph’s eyes suddenly widened into dinner plates. His jaw dropped so hard it nearly hit his water glass.

"Wait... what the fuck?!" Joseph choked out.

The stunning woman wasn't looking for a seat. She was walking with confident, graceful steps directly toward Leonard’s table.

Joseph's eyes instantly turned blood-red with pure, toxic jealousy. A woman that breathtaking—classy, gorgeous, rich, looking like she had stepped straight out of a luxury magazine—was voluntarily sitting down across from Leonard?!

In Joseph's mind, Leonard was nothing more than the Miller family’s pathetic, obedient dog. How could a dog like him be sitting across from a goddess like her, while Joseph—a real man—had been lonely and broke for years?! It wasn't fair!

Susan followed her brother's stunned gaze across the room.

The very second her eyes landed on the gorgeous woman sliding gracefully into the booth across from her ex-husband, Susan's face turned into a block of solid ice.

Her mind began racing at a million miles an hour. They had been officially divorced for barely twenty-four hours! One single day! And he already had a woman like that dining with him at a luxury restaurant?!

Impossible! Susan thought, her chest heaving as a hot, toxic wave of humiliation and jealousy flared up inside her. There is no way he met a woman like her in one day! There's only one explanation!

Leonard must have been sleeping with her long before the divorce papers were signed!

A wave of righteous fury washed over Susan's mind. So after all his loud, self-righteous whining about her affair with Jonathan... he had been cheating on her behind her back the whole time too! What a lying, hypocritical bastard!

BAM!

Susan slammed her open palm violently against her dining table, making the wine glasses rattle.

"Susan, what are you—" Michael started, but she didn't hear him.

Without a second thought, Susan stood up, her face twisted with fury, and marched straight toward Leonard’s table.

Is there anything specific you would like to happen in the next chapter as Susan approaches Leonard and Sophia?