A SON IN LAW TURNS BILLIONAIRE AFTER DIVORCE

Chapter 20

Ten minutes later, loud, chaotic cheers of pure triumph erupted from inside the Miller apartment.

And within half an hour, the juicy, explosive news had spread through the entire Maple Grove neighborhood like wildfire.

Leonard Buck—the quiet, abused ex-son-in-law—had won five hundred million dollars in the state lottery. Even after brutal taxes, he was sitting on roughly four hundred million in cold cash.

But according to the neighborhood chatter, the money supposedly counted as marital property. Even if Leonard claimed the prize after walking out the courthouse doors, he would still be forced by the court to hand over half to Susan if those tickets were purchased while they were still wearing wedding rings.

Five hundred million. Four hundred million net. To ordinary people working paycheck to paycheck, either number was pure fantasy.

The Miller family was going to be filthy rich. Some neighbors standing by the mailboxes could only spit on the ground and curse how wildly unfair and unpredictable life was.

While Susan sat in her living room, happily daydreaming about which European country she and Jonathan should move to, her phone suddenly rang on the coffee table.

It was Joe Dexter.

Great. He must have successfully frozen Leonard’s bank accounts already.

Susan snatched the phone up with a triumphant smirk, swiping the answer button.

“Mr. Dexter! Tell me you got the freeze order approved!” she chirped brightly.

On the other end of the line, Joe Dexter didn't share her enthusiasm. He sounded thoroughly defeated.

“Ms. Miller... I strongly suggest you try to reach an out-of-court settlement with your ex-husband immediately,” Dexter said flatly.

Susan’s triumphant smile vanished instantly. Her chest went cold.

“Why?” she blurted out, her voice pitching upward in panic. “W-What do you mean settle?! Weren’t you supposed to be freezing his assets?!”

“Because your ex-husband bought those lottery tickets after your divorce was officially finalized,” Dexter sighed heavily, the sound of rustling papers coming through the speaker.

There was no point sugarcoating it or fighting a ghost anymore. The digital evidence was simply too clean, too airtight to contest.

“Impossible!” Susan screamed, leaping to her feet so fast her chair tipped over backward. “You must have made a terrible mistake, Mr. Dexter! Check it again!”

“I didn't make a mistake, Ms. Miller,” Dexter replied, his voice chillingly professional. “I am just as disappointed as you are.”

He continued, reading the legal notes from his desk. “You and Leonard were officially declared divorced by the judge at 11:30 a.m. sharp. Security cameras at the corner store, combined with the exact timestamp printed on the lottery tickets, confirm he purchased them at 2:11 p.m. that same afternoon.”

Susan stood frozen in the center of the living room, her breath hitching in her throat.

“And that’s not all,” Dexter added grimly. “Now your ex-husband’s attorney has filed a formal countersuit against you for hiding the truth about Mark’s biological paternity and intentionally causing him severe emotional distress.”

Dexter offered his final, brutal piece of professional advice. “My professional counsel is to settle with Mr. Buck right now if you can possibly find a way. Otherwise, your mathematical chances of winning a single cent in this courtroom are absolute zero.”

He was phrasing it politely. In reality, she was walking straight into a legal execution.

Susan stood there in a numb, deafening daze, her mind completely blank, staring blindly at the wall.

Two hundred million dollars.

Gone.

No.

Her hands began to shake uncontrollably as hot tears of rage pricked her eyes.

That was my money.

My money!