I rarely go back to my hometown, so when I did, my mom was thrilled. She cooked up a storm, and all our relatives and family friends came over for a big dinner. That evening, with two tables full of people eating and chatting loudly, I suddenly got a call from my husband’s executive assistant. I got up and walked to a quieter corner. I answered the phone, but before I could even say "hello," a cold, mocking laugh came through the receiver. "Chloe Carter, your mother is a shameless, pathetic old hag!" Hearing this, my brow furrowed tightly. My voice went ice cold. "Are you out of your mind? What did my mother ever do to you?" As far as I knew, my mother and this assistant had never even met. There was absolutely no reason for them to have any bad blood. "Hmph!" My husband's assistant let out a heavy, disdainful snort. "Mr. Sterling went overseas to bring his mother back home for the holidays. He specifically ordered me to stay at the house and plan a massive welcome party for her. But your mother showed up and started making a massive scene, claiming Mr. Sterling is her son-in-law, and that the new mansion was bought specifically for her." "I've seen shameless people before, but I have never seen anyone as thick-skinned and pathetic as your mother." "I just gave her a very severe lesson." "You better come pick her up right now." "Otherwise, if she dies here, don't blame me!" Before I could process what she was saying, the assistant hung up and immediately sent me a photo. The person in the picture was covered in blood, their face completely unrecognizable. I looked up in confusion at my mother, who was currently sitting at the dining table, laughing and drinking wine with my aunts and uncles. ... The next second. The assistant sent several consecutive voice memos. "Mr. Sterling is flying back with his mother tomorrow." "If you don't want to piss off Mr. Sterling and your mother-in-law..." "I suggest you get your ass over here and take her away immediately." "Oh, by the way, she looks like she might be dying." "If you don't hurry, it’ll be too late." After listening to the voice memos, I typed back a single sentence: "You are actually psychotic." After that, I ignored the crazy woman completely. Ever since she started working for him, Liam Sterling had been finding endless excuses to not come home at night. When I married him, I knew he wouldn't exactly be a saint. After all, he was a spoiled trust-fund kid. Add to that a decent head for business and an incredibly handsome face, and it was guaranteed there would be a swarm of desperate women constantly buzzing around him. As long as he didn't shatter the illusion of our marriage... And as long as he didn't bring those homewreckers into our actual house... I always turned a blind eye. I just treated it as him playing around. As long as he knew where home was when he was done playing, I let it go. But ever since this new assistant appeared... He had been increasingly ignoring the unspoken boundaries of our arrangement. My tolerance for him... Was rapidly approaching its breaking point. "Sweetheart, who was on the phone?" "Was it Liam?" I had just sat back down at the table when my mom put her wine glass down and asked. I didn't want to tell her that the assistant was actively trying to replace me. She had spent half her life worrying about me. I didn't want her to spend her golden years stressing over my marriage. This was a minor issue; I could handle it myself. So, I nodded and said, "Yeah." "He works so hard. He's so busy, and he still has to fly overseas to pick up your mother-in-law." "If you don't have anything going on, don't keep running back here to visit me. Go help him out." "I have your brother here, and all these relatives." "Mom is perfectly fine, okay?" I just hummed in agreement. Right at that moment, my phone pinged with a dozen rapid-fire notifications. I assumed it was that homewrecker harassing me again. But it turned out to be messages from the private investigator I had hired. He sent exactly nine photos. There were three different women in them. But seven of the photos were incredibly explicit shots of Liam and his executive assistant, Mia. One of them was undeniably graphic. The two of them were naked, tangled together in a hotel bed. Just based on these photos alone... I had enough evidence to sue Liam for at-fault divorce and adultery. But I didn't plan on doing that just yet. "Miss Carter, this is all we've found so far." "Based on the leads we're currently pursuing..." "The number of women involved with your husband..." "Is far more than just these three." "Do you want us to keep digging?" I transferred two thousand dollars to his account. "No need." "Understood. Thank you, Miss Carter. Let me know if you need anything else." I saved the photos to a secure folder. Then, I casually went back to eating dinner with my family, acting as if nothing had happened. That night. I called Liam. "Hello? What do you want?" Hearing his intensely impatient tone... I felt a brief moment of disorientation. When we first got together, he was a true gentleman—soft, gentle, and always incredibly patient with me. Once, when I had terrible cramps, he literally dropped a multi-million dollar pitch meeting and rushed home to take care of me. He personally cooked me ginger tea and brown sugar eggs. While he fed me, he made me a promise. "No matter what happens in the future..." "I will always be by your side." Back then, I was so moved I cried hot, grateful tears. I thought I had found my soulmate. But men, it seems, can never escape the allure of something new. Even if he truly loved me once... Once the novelty faded... His mind would inevitably wander to other women. "Speak!" Hearing Liam's sharp voice... My mind snapped back to reality. "You're not back yet?" "My flight is tomorrow night." "Did you pick up your mom?" "I haven't been able to reach her. I already sent people to look for her." My heart skipped a heavy beat. His assistant had called to tell me she had just given my mother a "severe lesson." But my mother was sitting perfectly fine in my childhood home. So the person she beat up... Could it be the mother-in-law who had lived in Europe for years? "Um... my mom was assaulted by Mia. Did you know..." Before I could finish my sentence. Liam let out a cold snort, his tone dripping with extreme annoyance. "I knew you were calling me about this." "You already know?" I paused, stunned. "Yeah, Mia just told me everything." "And... what do you think?" "What am I supposed to think? The only person to blame is your mother for lacking basic social awareness. That was the welcome party I ordered Mia to set up for my mother." "Why the hell did your mom go there to cause trouble?" "Your mother deserved to get hit!" Hearing Liam's response... I was so shocked I couldn't speak. He genuinely thought it was my mother. But I desperately wanted to tell him... The person that homewrecker had practically beaten to death... Was likely his mother! But before I could even open my mouth. Liam continued, "It’s perfectly normal for Mia to teach your mother a lesson. It’ll stop her from forgetting her place." Hearing those words, the rage in my chest instantly ignited into a blazing inferno. "Liam Sterling, what exactly do you mean by that?" "What do you mean my mother needs to 'remember her place'?" "We are legally married." "Isn't my mother supposed to be your mother too?" Liam completely ignored my fury. He replied in a deadly serious tone, "I distinctly remember telling you when we got married: your mother is your mother, and my mother is my mother. Do not confuse the two." "Didn't I specifically tell you that your mother is just some uneducated country bumpkin, and she shouldn't come into the city unless it's absolutely necessary?" "And she definitely shouldn't come to our house looking for you! If my social circle finds out my wife's mother is a dirt-poor farmer..." "Where am I supposed to put my face?!" I couldn't believe my ears. I couldn't believe those words were actually coming out of his mouth. "Before we even got married, you knew perfectly well that my family was from a rural farm town." "If you were so disgusted by it, why did you insist on marrying me?!" Faced with my furious interrogation... Liam replied with chilling indifference: "Just assume I suffered a momentary lapse in judgment and made the biggest, most regrettable mistake of my entire life." "You..." I was shaking violently with rage. His phrase, 'most regrettable mistake'... Completely shattered the very last sliver of hope I held for him. I used to think that once he got bored of playing with Mia... He would kick that homewrecker to the curb. And come crawling back to me like a good husband. It turns out, that was nothing more than my own pathetic, delusional wishful thinking. He hadn't loved me for a very long time. All he had left for me was exhaustion, disgust, and profound impatience! "Alright, I'm incredibly busy over here." "If you have something else to complain about, wait until I get back." "Also, we are flying back tomorrow night." "You better prepare everything perfectly in advance. Do not disappoint my mother." I opened my mouth to speak. But he didn't give me the chance. Listening to the dead dial tone echoing in my ear... My eyes grew colder and colder. My constant retreating, my refusal to fight back... Didn't earn his guilt or make him cherish me. It only made him push my boundaries further, fueling his deep-seated disgust. Fine then. In that case... I am going to keep my eyes wide open and eagerly anticipate the look on his face when he returns to the States and discovers that his own mother was beaten half to death by Mia. The next day. After saying goodbye to my family, I drove myself back to the massive new estate Liam had recently purchased. As soon as I walked through the gates, I saw the entire property decorated like it was a wedding venue. There were balloon arches and extravagant floral arrangements everywhere. A maid, who was busy trimming the hedges, saw me. She immediately dropped her shears and sprinted over. "Mrs. Sterling! You're finally back." "Something... something terrible happened at the house." "You need to come see this right now." Seeing how panicked the maid was... I already had a very good idea of what had happened. "Take me to it." "Okay." The maid led me through the expansive front courtyard, making a beeline straight for the backyard pool area. Along the way. The maid whispered the details to me. She said that when "my mother" arrived at the estate yesterday... Mia had immediately adopted the arrogant posture of the lady of the house. Not only did she forcefully try to kick "my mother" out... She actually got physically violent with her. I raised an eyebrow: "Is it serious?" "Mrs. Sterling, it is extremely serious!" "She... she might not make it." When the maid said this, she stole a quick, nervous glance at me. Seeing that I looked slightly curious, but not completely devastated or shocked... She muttered to herself in confusion. Soon enough. We arrived at the pool area. I saw Mia, wearing a skintight, high-slit silk dress that perfectly accentuated her figure, barking orders at the maids, perfecting the final details of the welcome party. There were high-end commercial grills, private chefs, and absurdly expensive ingredients everywhere. When Mia saw me... She immediately swaggered over. "Chloe Carter, you finally decided to show your face?" Seeing the smug, triumphant smirk on Mia's lips... I was laughing hysterically on the inside. "As a daughter, you are truly a disgrace." "I called you yesterday to warn you." "I told you to hurry up and take your pathetic mother away." "But you insisted on dragging your feet until now." "Whatever the consequences are, you will bear them yourself." I frowned slightly and asked, "Where is she?" "Over there." Mia pointed toward a long, heavy black plastic bag lying near the edge of the pool. I froze. When I first walked back here, I had seen it from a distance. But I assumed it was just a heavy-duty trash bag from the landscaping crew. But looking at it now, the shape was far too distinct. "What is that?" "A body bag." "What?!" I stared at her in genuine shock. "A... a body bag?" "She's dead?" Mia gave a completely indifferent shrug and let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I called you yesterday to warn you. It's your own fault you didn't rush back in time." "Besides, how was I supposed to know your mother was so frail and pathetic?"
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