A SON IN LAW TURNS BILLIONAIRE AFTER DIVORCE

Chapter 21

Maple Grove had been especially lively these past two days.

Just twenty-four hours ago, the Miller family had been walking up and down the street with their chins in the air, bragging to every neighbor who would listen that Susan was about to collect a sweet two hundred million dollars from Leonard's bank account.

And then, almost overnight, the story took a wild, embarrassing turn.

Word got out that Leonard had purchased those winning lottery tickets after the judge officially signed the divorce papers. That meant every single cent of that four hundred million dollars belonged to him, and him alone. Susan wasn't going to get a single dime.

Judging by the sudden, dead silence coming from the Miller house, the second version of the story was clearly the brutal truth.

Just yesterday, they had been strutting around the neighborhood like royalty, acting like they owned the pavement. Now? Not a single one of them had shown their face all morning. They had completely vanished behind locked doors.

Out on the sidewalk, the neighbors gathered by the mailboxes, whispering and laughing without holding back.

“Hah! Looks like God still has eyes after all!”

“Good! A family of leeches like the Millers doesn’t deserve a penny of that man's money!”

“They’ve really humiliated themselves this time, haven't they? First, the whole neighborhood finds out their daughter cheated on him for nine years and passed off another man’s kid as his. Then they go around telling everyone they’re about to get two hundred million, only to find out they get absolute jack shit!”

“If I were them, I’d be throwing up from regret.”

“Two hundred million? Please! They’ll be crying themselves to sleep for the rest of their lives!”

“It’s even worse than that! If Susan had just stayed loyal and never divorced him, that entire four hundred million dollars would’ve belonged to their family!”

“Serves them right. Absolute trash!”

Meanwhile, inside the Miller house, the atmosphere was as heavy as a graveyard. All four adults sat around the living room looking as if the sky had literally fallen on their heads.

Nobody had the energy to cook, clean, or even pour a glass of water. Every single time the thought of that lost two hundred million dollars crossed their minds, it caused a physical, sickening ache in their chests.

“Grandma, I’m hungry!” eight-year-old Mark suddenly whined, kicking his legs on the carpet. “Make me lunch!”

“Hungry, hungry, hungry! Is eating all your useless mouth ever thinks about?!” Michael snapped, slamming his fist onto the armrest of his chair.

Ever since the truth about Mark’s biological father came out, even looking at the boy made Michael’s blood boil with sheer disgust.

“Whoever his real father is can come pick him up!” Michael spat, glaring at Susan. “Stop dumping another man's bastard on us!”

“Dad! What kind of terrible thing is that to say to a child?!” Susan immediately shouted back, shooting up from the couch.

Michael’s face turned an ugly, mottled purple as he pointed a trembling finger straight at her face.

“If you hadn’t done all that disgusting shit behind his back, Leonard would still be my son-in-law!” Michael roared, his voice cracking with rage. “You two never would’ve gotten divorced, and that four hundred million dollars would be sitting in our family’s bank account right now!”

He slammed his hand on the coffee table again, making the glass rattle. “And look at us now! We didn’t get a single damn dollar because of your stupid, lying mouth!”

Susan stood there, her hands shaking violently. What she hadn’t dared to tell her family yet was that Leonard’s top-tier lawyer had already officially filed a massive countersuit to reopen their past property settlement, demanding full financial compensation over Mark’s fraudulent paternity.

If Michael found out that they were about to be dragged into court and sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars, he would probably have a heart attack and lose his mind completely.

Susan glared at her father, tears of frustration pricking her eyes. “Most of the paycheck money Leonard earned over the last nine years went straight through my hands! And how much of that money did I hand over to Joseph for his failed business ideas and gambling debts over the years?! Have all of you completely forgotten about that?!”

Now that everything had gone to hell, they were dumping all the blame on her? It was ridiculous!

“Dad’s not wrong, Susan,” Joseph cut in smoothly from the armchair, picking his fingernails. “If you hadn’t been so careless and gotten divorced so fast, we’d be sitting on four hundred million dollars right now.”

Susan stared at her brother in disbelief. Now he was calling him 'Leonard' again, like they had always been a loving family!

She almost choked on her own rage. Before all of this, every single one of them had treated Leonard like a dog, screaming at him to clean the house, fetch their shoes, and hand over his cash. Now that he was a multi-millionaire, somehow his departure was entirely her fault!