“Go clean the bathroom” — my son ordered me, for the third time during family dinner. I looked at him, stayed silent, then went back to my room….(4/4)

You need to get out of our house and stay far, far away from us.”

But Susan and the rest refused to leave and kept shouting, “Robert is your son. One day you’ll regret losing him.”

She really thought too highly of herself.

I had my wonderful daughter and more money than I could ever spend.

I would live a much better life than any of them. If anything, Susan should worry about herself. In the end, I had to call the police to finally have them kicked out of my house.

But even after that, Daniel’s family refused to leave us alone.

They kept showing up, sometimes trying to guilt us, sometimes throwing insults when we didn’t respond. We were more than fed up with it.

Fortunately, summer vacation arrived, so I took my family to France for a long, luxurious vacation. I was lounging on a beach chair, enjoying the sun.

A handsome young man was massaging my back with essential oil when I suddenly received a call from Daniel.

His voice was filled with rage. “Mary, how cruel you are. We had a deal.

You weren’t supposed to reveal what happened between Melanie and me.

And now, thanks to you, both Melanie and I have lost our jobs. You broke the agreement.

The $50,000 I gave you as compensation—you have to give it back.”

I was completely confused. What the heck did I do?

I was on vacation, far away from them.

With stunning views, delicious food, and handsome men all around me, I couldn’t care less about their pathetic problems. Daniel didn’t reply. Instead, he sent me a video.

I clicked on it.

Someone had secretly recorded the entire confrontation we had at the real estate center where they mocked me for not being able to buy a house, only to be spectacularly silenced. In the video, my family’s faces were considerably blurred, but Daniel’s and Melanie’s were completely visible.

Whoever uploaded it even gave it a dramatic title: “Man leaves his wife, then discovers she’s a multi-millionaire. Now he regrets everything.” The comments were brutal.

Some jokingly asked if I needed a rich woman’s companion.

Others outright called Daniel a scumbag who deserved this downfall. And of course, some had already dug up Daniel’s and Melanie’s identities. As a result, they both lost their jobs.

I rolled my eyes.

“And what does that have to do with me? I wasn’t the one who recorded the video, nor was I the one who uploaded it.

I honestly couldn’t care less about the two of you. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves.”

My voice turned cold.

“You were the ones acting like fools in public, so don’t be surprised that someone recorded it.”

Daniel fell silent.

Just when I was about to hang up, his tone suddenly changed, becoming sickeningly sweet. “Mary, I still have feelings for you. I was a little confused when I got involved with Melanie, but now that I’m with her, I finally realized that the person I truly love is you.

Let’s do it.

I’ll divorce Melanie tomorrow. Can we get back together?

Okay? You have my word.

From now on, I’ll only love you and will never do anything to upset you again.”

I almost choked.

Where did he get the confidence to think I would ever take him back? I would have to be crazy to go back to an unfaithful man who had ruined so many of my opportunities. The man massaging me—George—was a romantic Frenchman.

Noticing my frown, he asked in a concerned voice, “Am I pressing too hard?

Does it hurt?”

I smiled at him. “No, it’s perfect.

I feel wonderful.”

Daniel, on the other end of the line, heard our conversation and instantly lost his mind. “Mary, what the heck are you doing?” His tone was accusatory, as if I were the one who had cheated.

How ridiculous.

He had betrayed our marriage. We were divorced, and yet he still had the audacity to act as if I owed him loyalty. I chuckled.

“Obviously, I’m doing things that make me happy.

Now, stop bothering me. Let’s be real.

You’re a middle-aged, balding, sloppy, unhygienic, and snoring cheater. I wouldn’t get back together with you even if you were the last man on Earth.”

With that, I hung up before he could call again—which he did, numerous times.

I turned to George, who was still massaging me.

Looking at a handsome man really improves the mood. We spent two months abroad, but that didn’t mean we were completely disconnected from what was happening back home. My mother had made quite a few friends in our neighborhood and was in a group chat dedicated to discussing the latest gossip.

Daniel’s family had become internet-famous, and naturally the neighborhood was buzzing with discussions about them.

After losing their jobs, Susan began to blame Melanie, calling her a walking disaster. She ranted about how ever since Melanie married into the family, they hadn’t had a single day of peace.

First, she made Daniel lose his rich ex-wife. Then, she was responsible for Robert ending up in the emergency room.

And finally she brought Daniel down with her, costing him his job.

Furthermore, Melanie didn’t lift a finger at home and was utterly useless. As Susan continued, she began to reminisce about how much better things had been when I was around. Melanie, of course, wasn’t one to suffer in silence.

She fought back, and soon the two were constantly butting heads.

At first, Daniel tried to mediate, but after a while, he gave up and resorted to drinking himself into a stupor. As for Robert, his grades had never been great, and with all the chaos at home, they only dropped further.

Eventually, their drama faded from the neighborhood conversations. Daniel had no job and couldn’t afford the expensive mortgage, so he defaulted on payments and was forced to move out.

When my parents heard about it, their only comment was, “They deserve it.” Then they added, “Mary, we need to be careful.

Daniel’s family has no shame. Now that they know we’re rich, they’ll surely try to seize our money.”

I had to admit, my parents were incredibly insightful. It wasn’t long before Daniel’s family made their move.

What I didn’t expect was how pathetic and ridiculous their plan would be—so ridiculous I wasn’t sure if they were insulting my intelligence or their own.

That day I was sightseeing when my mother received a frantic call from Susan. “Oh my God.

Robert has been kidnapped. The kidnappers are demanding a $30 million ransom in three days.

If we don’t pay, they said they’ll kill him.” Her voice trembled with fake sobs.

“We don’t have that kind of money. Where are we going to get $30 million?”

Hearing it was a life-or-death situation, my mother panicked. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.”

“Okay, but whatever you do, don’t call the police.

The kidnappers said if we involve the police, they’ll kill Robert,” Susan emphasized.

“Okay, we won’t call the police.”

After hanging up, my mom turned to me, flustered. “Mary, I know you’re still angry at Robert, but it’s a life at stake.

We can’t just stand by.”

My dad chimed in. “She’s right.

We’ll help him this one time, and then we won’t deal with him anymore.”

I ran my fingers over my phone, deep in thought.

Then I looked up and said, “Mom, Dad, don’t you think this supposed kidnapping is a little suspicious?”

“What do you mean?”

“Daniel and Melanie lost their jobs. They couldn’t even afford the mortgage and had to move into a rental apartment. They’re completely broke.

What kind of kidnappers would target Robert of all people?” I paused and let the thought sink in.

“Robert? The kidnappers are clearly targeting us.”

My mom’s eyes widened as she put the pieces together.

“Are you saying this kidnapping was staged by Daniel’s family?”

“It’s highly possible. And who else would be so desperate as to try and extort us?”

My father hesitated.

“But what if it’s real?

What if Robert really is kidnapped? We can’t risk anyone’s life.”

I remained calm. “We’ll pay the ransom, but when Robert returns, we’ll call the police and let them thoroughly investigate Daniel’s family.”

My dad nodded.

“Okay, we’ll do it your way.”

We transferred the ransom money to the account designated by the kidnappers.

About three hours later, Daniel called me and said Robert had returned safe and sound. He made sure to emphasize, “Mary, don’t call the police.

The kidnappers said if we involve the police, they’ll come for our entire family.”

At that moment, my family and I had just landed from our flight home. Hearing Daniel’s warning only solidified my suspicion that the whole thing was a setup.

From the beginning, Daniel’s family obsessively repeated one thing: Don’t call the police.

Their tone practically screamed that they were more worried about the kidnappers getting caught than about Robert’s safety. So the moment we landed, I went straight to the police station and reported the incident along with my suspicions. The police worked quickly.

In less than three days, they uncovered the truth.

Robert’s kidnapping had been entirely staged by Daniel’s family. It was all a ploy to scam me out of money.

They apparently wasted no time spending the ransom. Melanie and Susan used $5 million to repurchase their previous home in full.

Then they spent another million on jewelry.

Daniel, now plunged into despair over his life failures, had acquired a gambling addiction and lost $3 million at the tables. As for Robert, he had fallen in with the wrong crowd and splurged tens of thousands of dollars on parties. When the authorities stepped in, they could only recover a portion of the stolen money.

In the end, Robert, being a minor, was sentenced to three years in prison.

The rest received ten years in prison for fraud. Before the sentencing, I went to see them one last time.

They pleaded for mercy, crying that they had simply lost their way, and begged me to forgive them. I refused.

These people had no moral grounding.

If they were capable of faking Robert’s kidnapping just to extort me, what would stop them from kidnapping Olivia in the future to force my hand? For my family’s safety, the best place for them was behind bars. On the day of the sentencing, Robert was in the courtroom and looked at Olivia, who was standing next to me.

She was radiant, confident, happy, and full of life.

Seeing this, he finally broke down. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably.

“Mom, I was wrong. Mom, I was truly wrong.”

I felt nothing.

I will never forget the cold, detached way he once looked at me.

Did Robert truly realize his mistakes? No, he was only regretful because he had made the wrong choice—because he hadn’t chosen me. If he had, he would be living the luxurious life he had always dreamed of.

But deep down, he was still the same selfish person he had always been.

A year later, Olivia achieved her dream of getting into one of the top design schools overseas. I personally drove her to the airport to see her off.

As we watched her leave, my parents sighed. “Olivia has grown up,” my dad said.

“She’s leaving on her own now.”

My mom looked at me and added, “Mary, you should consider getting married again.

It would be nice to have someone by your side so you don’t feel lonely.”

I laughed. “Why would I bring unnecessary trouble into my life? I feel happier than ever.

I have wealth, freedom, and a family that truly loves me.

And if I ever feel a little lonely, well, I have the always capable young pool boys to keep me entertained. Not to mention, I could always meet new friends and travel the world.

Honestly, life couldn’t get any better.”