The robotics competition reached its climax as my daughter Zoe prepared to accept the grand prize. Suddenly, a lavishly dressed woman stood. “This school has a rule,” she declared arrogantly. “A five-million-dollar donation earns ten extra points. This card has five million—the trophy now belongs to my son!” The auditorium fell silent. After a stunned pause, the headmaster nodded. Zoe trembled onstage. “But…I’m the real winner!” Her rival, Caden, sneered. “Try all you want, Zoe Locke. My dad’s loaded. The research lab internship? Mine now.” Tears filled Zoe’s eyes. I took her hand and smiled at the smug duo. “Five million on that card?” I asked pleasantly. “Shall we verify it?” Renee Kauffman nodded proudly. “Of course! My husband has endless money.” My smile deepened. That card? A supplementary on my account—the allowance for my kept husband. 1 Renee shot me a dismissive glance and handed the card to the school’s administrator with a flourish. Someone in the crowd gasped. “Is that… an Obsidian Black Card? You only get one of those with a nine-figure net worth verification!” “Oh my god, Caden’s family must be top-tier elite!” Renee basked in the chorus of awe, her eyes sweeping over the crowd with undisguised superiority. Then, her gaze, a mixture of pity and scorn, landed on Zoe. “Little girl, if you want to blame someone, blame your parents for not being able to cough up five million dollars. No matter how hard you commoners work, you’re just stepping stones for us.” Zoe’s face flushed a deep red. “That’s not fair!” she cried out. “I won first place!” She had loved artificial intelligence her whole life. She’d spent three years preparing for this competition, and the internship was her absolute dream. Murmurs rippled through the parents in the audience. “That’s just cruel to the child,” someone whispered. “But that’s how it works with the super-rich, especially at a private international school like this. Money is power. There’s no such thing as 'fair' when you’re up against that kind of privilege. It’s a lesson she has to learn.” Even the headmaster shook his head at Zoe. “Rules are rules, my dear.” Caden’s grin widened into a triumphant sneer. “See? I told you, Zoe, you could never beat me. So what if you’re talented? All your hard work is worthless in front of my family’s money!” He turned to his mother. “Mom, can I go get my prize now?” Renee shot me a victorious look. “Of course, darling.” Zoe’s face crumpled, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she muttered defiantly, over and over, “I won first place… I won first place…” My heart ached for her, but I also felt a dark amusement. I leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened in shock. “Mom, are you serious?” I gave her a small nod. “Just watch.” Just as Caden was strutting toward the stage, the administrator hurried back, his face pale. “Mrs. Kauffman,” he stammered. “This card… it’s been locked. It’s unusable!” Renee’s brow furrowed. “What? That’s impossible!” she snapped. “You provincials probably don’t know how to use it!” The administrator, looking helpless, simply held the card reader out to her. She swiped it herself. A crisp, mechanical female voice echoed through the silent auditorium: “Your card has been declined.” “How can that be?” Renee stumbled back a step, her face a mask of disbelief. A few parents in the crowd couldn’t hold back their snickers. “Mrs. Kauffman, did you… find that card on the street?” “If you don’t have the five million, why put on the big show? Aren’t you embarrassed?” Renee’s face was a mottled mess of anger and humiliation. She snatched the card and swiped it again. And again. “Your card has been declined!” “Your card has been declined!” The whispers grew into open laughter and jeers. Caden started to panic. “Mom, what’s going on? I want my prize!” I watched Renee’s meltdown for a moment longer before stepping forward. “Well,” I said with a serene smile, “since it appears Mrs. Kauffman can’t produce the five million, I suppose the first-place prize still belongs to my daughter.” The storm clouds on Zoe’s face instantly cleared. She shot me a quick wink and started to walk toward the awards table. “Wait!” Renee’s voice was sharp. “There might be a problem with the card, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get the money. That prize belongs to my son, and that’s final.” Her eyes, now dark and venomous, were fixed on me. She pulled out her phone and made a call. A moment later, I heard the familiar voice of my husband, Lex, on the other end. 2 After she hung up, Renee’s arrogance returned in full force. “Don’t worry, sweetie,” she said, beaming at her son. “No one is taking this prize from you today. It’s yours!” She shot me a look of pure defiance. I let out a cold, quiet laugh. Just now, Renee and Lex had put on a sickeningly sweet display of affection over the phone, their lovey-dovey talk loud enough for everyone to hear. A moment later, my own phone rang. It was Lex. He didn’t even say hello, just barked orders at me. “Nina, what the hell is wrong with the card I gave you? Call the bank and unlock it right now. And while you’re at it, raise the limit to fifty million!” My voice, in contrast, was perfectly calm. “What do you need that much money for?” “For business, for entertaining clients! Stop asking stupid questions and just do it!” I lowered my gaze, hiding the icy storm gathering in my eyes. I have been the silent, unseen power behind the Stellar Group for over a decade. Anyone who truly knows me knows that my current calm is a signal—a sign that someone was about to face utter ruin. How utterly pathetic. A kept husband, a man living off my family’s name, daring to keep a mistress under my nose and order me around. It seemed my kindness had allowed him to forget who was master and who was the pet. When I didn’t respond immediately, Lex sent a few angry voice messages and then went silent. It was Renee who made the next move. She held up her phone, displaying her banking app for all to see. The balance: a perfect $5,000,000.00. She wore a prim, polite smile, but her eyes were blazing with smug triumph. “There, Headmaster. Satisfied? As I said, five million is nothing to a family like ours. Fifty million would be just a drop in the bucket. Not like those people who live off a fixed salary, who have to pinch pennies just to scrape together a few thousand.” She threw a pointed look in my direction, then turned to Zoe with a look of feigned sympathy. “Little girl, better luck in the next life. Maybe you’ll be born into the right family, and you won’t have to watch someone snatch away everything you’ve worked so hard for.” Zoe just smiled sweetly at Renee. “Auntie, what’s mine, no one can take away!” I stepped forward, my own smile unwavering. “That’s right. What belongs to my daughter, no one can take.” “It’s only five million, after all.” The well-meaning headmaster hurried over to me. “Mrs. Locke, please,” he whispered urgently. “Five million is no small sum. To them, it’s the price of a handbag, but for a normal family, it’s a fortune. This internship is a great opportunity, but don’t bankrupt yourself and your husband over it.” Other parents chimed in, urging me not to act on pride. The sycophants, however, took the opportunity to sneer. “How much could she possibly make in a year? Trying to play big shot like the truly wealthy. She’s going to lose her house over this!” “Some people just have to put on a show, even when they’re completely out of their league!” It was my own fault, I suppose. I’d always taught Zoe the importance of being low-key. As far as anyone here knew, we were a typical working-class family who had gotten into this elite school on the back of Zoe’s academic merit alone. I glanced around at the jeering sycophants, a mental Rolodex of their employers and business connections instantly forming in my mind. Oh yes, I had plans for them. I turned back to the headmaster with a polite smile. “I’ll do as Mrs. Kauffman did. I’ll wire the money directly to the school’s account.” Ding! A notification sound echoed from the headmaster’s phone. “Five million dollars has been received!” The area fell silent for a beat, and then someone shouted, “Holy hell! Zoe’s mom actually did it! She sent five million dollars!” Renee’s face darkened. She furiously tapped at her own phone. A second later, another mechanical voice rang out. Ding! “Ten million dollars has been received!” The crowd erupted. Jaws dropped. “Ten million?! Is she insane?” “You don’t get it! This is what real power looks like! Mrs. Kauffman is the real deal, you have to respect that!” After three massive donations in as many minutes, the headmaster was visibly sweating. Caden puffed out his chest. “My mom’s the best!” Renee preened under the renewed wave of praise, stroking her son’s hair. “Don’t you worry, my love. Your father said that whatever you want, he’ll support you, no matter the cost. What’s ten million dollars to us?!” Indeed, what was ten million dollars? A kept husband using my money to prop up his mistress and bully my daughter. The sheer, unadulterated nerve. I was suddenly curious. Just how far would Lex go for this woman and her child? And how much money had he managed to siphon off behind my back? Under Renee’s triumphant gaze, I spoke, my voice calm and even. “Twenty million.” 3 Every eye in the room swiveled to me, wide with disbelief. “Has Zoe Locke’s mom lost her mind? Where would she get twenty million dollars?!” Renee gritted her teeth. “Talk is cheap…” Before she could finish her sentence, the now-familiar sound cut through the air. Ding! “Twenty million dollars has been received!” My smile widened. “I don’t mind contributing to a worthy educational cause. Do you want to keep going? I can do this all day.” “Oh my god, the Locke family is not what they seem! Who knew!” The headmaster wiped his brow again, a look of ecstatic glee breaking through his professional demeanor. He turned to Renee. “Mrs. Kauffman, do you wish to raise your donation?” The light in Renee’s eyes faded, replaced by a cold, calculating darkness. She whipped out her phone and called Lex again. A few moments later, the triumphant smirk was back. She deliberately unfolded her high-end foldable phone, making sure everyone got a good look at her lock screen. Someone with sharp eyes shouted, “That man on her screen… that’s Lex Astor! The CEO of the Stellar Group! My God, he’s Caden’s father!” “Look, it’s a family picture of the three of them! I can’t believe it! The man famous for being a brilliant, ruthless businessman can look so sweet and happy.” “Well, that’s it for Zoe Locke. No matter how much money her mom has, no one in this city is more powerful than the Stellar Group!” One of the kinder parents pulled me aside again, her voice urgent. “Mrs. Locke, stop. Please, just let it go. Everyone in this city knows you don’t cross the Stellar Group. If you make an enemy of them, you’ll be ruined. You’ll lose everything!” Renee strode towards me, her chin held high. “I was trying to be discreet,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension. “But some people are just blind. Now you see, don’t you? You might have a few dirty dollars, but to a truly elite family like ours, you are nothing.” I raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re saying your husband is Lex Astor, the CEO of the Stellar Group?” “Mom, but that’s…” Zoe started to blurt out, but I gently squeezed her hand and gave her a subtle wink. She understood immediately and fell silent. Renee, too absorbed in the fawning admiration of the crowd, didn't notice our exchange. She nodded at me haughtily. “Now you’re scared. As you should be.” She then gave me a malicious smile. “You’ve offended me today. But I’m a magnanimous person. If you and your daughter get on your knees right now, in front of everyone, and bow to me and my son three times, I’ll tell my husband to let this go.” “Otherwise,” she purred, “my husband will bankrupt your family.” “And you, little girl,” she said, turning to Zoe, “you can forget about robotics competitions. You won’t even be able to afford to go to school!” “You are the most shameless person I’ve ever met!” Zoe snapped, and then she spat right in Renee’s face. Caden, seeing this, lunged at Zoe. “You little bitch! I’ll kill you for spitting on my mom!” My expression turned to ice. In a flash, I moved between them and shoved Caden hard. He tumbled to the ground with a shriek. “Mom! My knee! It’s bleeding, it hurts so bad!” Renee shot me a look of pure hatred. Seeing the bloody gash on Caden’s knee, her eyes became terrifying. “This isn’t over,” she snarled. “My husband is on his way. The Stellar Group’s legal team is no joke. You and your daughter will spend the rest of your lives in prison!” I raised an eyebrow. Well, that saved me the trouble of getting Lex here myself. My executive assistant and my top legal counsel were already en route with divorce papers and Lex’s termination letter. Today was the day this cheating scum would meet his end. The sycophants, hearing that Lex himself was coming, rushed to Caden’s side, fussing over him and shooting me venomous looks. Their taunts grew viler by the second. “Peasants never learn. You can’t handle the wrath of a man like Mr. Astor! Get ready to lose everything!” “You can quit school now, Zoe. Go join your mother picking through trash cans!” “Trash cans? Don’t be silly. Spreading her legs for men is a much faster way to make money! Hahaha!” Just then, a black Porsche Cayenne sped to a halt at the school gate. “That’s a Stellar Group executive car!” someone yelled. “Mr. Astor is such a good husband and father! He got here so fast! The Locke woman and her daughter are finished!” The crowd’s hostility was a palpable thing, their eyes like vultures circling. Renee’s face was twisted in a mask of manic, victorious glee. “You bitch!” she hissed at me. “My husband is here! Your time is up!”
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