When my sister-in-law, Mia, racked up fifty million dollars in illegal offshore gambling debts, she skipped the country. But before she vanished, she left the loan sharks with my personal contact information. By the time the compounding interest ballooned the debt to a staggering one hundred million dollars, a crew of vicious, heavily tattooed debt collectors finally cornered me at my front door. I spent an agonizing half-hour desperately trying to reason with them, finally convincing them to give me a few days to figure things out before they left. Only then did my husband and mother-in-law nervously creep out of their hiding spot in the back bedroom. My husband, Liam, was deathly pale. "Let's get a divorce. I’ll walk away with absolutely nothing if I have to. You incurred this debt, you carry it yourself. Don't even think about dragging me down with you." No matter how many times I frantically explained that it was his sister who owed the money, he absolutely refused to believe a word I said. My mother-in-law marched right up to me and delivered a brutal, stinging slap across my face. "You lying bitch! You're trying to bankrupt my son to pay off your own filthy debts, and now you have the audacity to frame my daughter?! Divorce! You are getting a divorce right this second!" "And you know what? I'll tell you the truth right now. Liam already has someone else on the side! It's your best friend! So give up your pathetic delusions and sign the papers!" Wait a second. I actually have a hundred million dollars in liquid assets. I originally just wanted to ask if they needed me to dip into my accounts for an emergency bailout. How did this suddenly escalate into a divorce demand and a voluntary confession of infidelity? Well, if that’s how they want to play it, they can pay off his sister’s catastrophic debt themselves. My throat felt like sandpaper as I forced the words out: "You... you have someone else? It's Sarah? Since when?" Liam turned his head, looking at me with pure, unadulterated disgust. "Chloe, so what if it is? Is it any of your business?" "Don't even try to beg me to stay! I absolutely refuse to be married to a worthless, debt-ridden loser who doesn't even have the guts to own up to her own mistakes." I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, completely incapable of forming a single sentence. Seeing me paralyzed, my mother-in-law, Martha, stepped forward and kicked me hard in the shin. "Did you hear him?! Tomorrow morning, we're going straight to the courthouse! Divorce!" Having delivered her verdict, she turned to Liam with a wicked, conspiratorial smirk. "Thank God you made sure to slip her those pills every time you slept with this useless trash." "Otherwise, she'd definitely try to use a pregnancy to trap you into paying off her debts!" I honestly couldn't believe my own ears. "You... you've been secretly feeding me birth control?" No wonder my stomach had remained completely flat throughout three years of marriage. Martha had publicly humiliated me in front of relatives and friends on countless occasions, calling me a "barren, defective woman," and even aggressively forcing me to undergo invasive fertility testing at the hospital. The medical results came back perfectly normal, and the issue was eventually swept under the rug. It turned out that Liam had been secretly crushing pills into my food and drinks the entire time. He had been intentionally rendering me infertile, all while plotting to let his mistress have his children. Liam let out a cold, arrogant scoff. "Why don't you think about how your family treated me? The way they handled the dowry and the wedding expenses... I was disgusted from day one!" Martha spat on the floor. "Exactly! The pathetic dowry your parents put together... they dragged it out for months, humming and hawing before finally handing it over. It was so incredibly cheap and embarrassing. I didn't even want my son to marry you that day." My mind flashed back to our wedding three years ago. Originally, we had agreed on a symbolic dowry of $99,999, just for the auspicious numbers. But on the morning of the wedding, Martha literally blocked the door of the bridal limousine. She refused to let me get in unless my parents handed over an additional "door-opening fee" of $100,000 in cash. I was furious and felt it was entirely out of line, but Liam sat in the limo, playing the victim, whispering that his mother "had a really hard life" and begging me to be understanding. I gritted my teeth and had the money transferred. Later, when the limo pulled up to their house, Martha pulled another stunt. She demanded a "family acceptance fee" of another $100,000 before she would let me cross the threshold. At that point, I explicitly told my parents not to pay. It was blatant, shameless extortion. But my dad stepped in, playing the peacemaker. He said a wedding was supposed to be a joyous occasion, and we shouldn't let money ruin the mood. He wrote the check. Thank God my dad had the sharp intuition to see through their greedy, bottom-feeding nature. He had deliberately hidden the fact that our family’s corporate empire was worth tens of billions of dollars. My dad even intentionally arranged for the pre-wedding activities to take place at the modest, middle-class house we lived in before his company exploded in value. In the end, they managed to extort $300,000 from us before finally acting satisfied. Martha, of course, hadn't contributed a single penny toward the wedding or the traditional groom's gifts, claiming their family was "poor and struggling." I only found out later that she had taken the entire $300,000 my parents gave us and handed it directly to her daughter, Mia, who blew through it in months. Back then, my dad had specifically warned me to keep our family's true net worth a secret, telling me, "Time reveals a person's true character." Looking at them now, his advice was incredibly, frighteningly accurate. I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and looked at Martha. "Fine. I agree to the divorce. But I am absolutely not taking the fall for Mia's gambling debts. I'm calling her right now to get this straight." I dialed Mia's number five times in a row. It went straight to voicemail every single time. Liam aggressively slapped the phone out of my hand. It clattered onto the hardwood floor. He roared at me: "You knew damn well my sister is vacationing in Europe and can't answer international calls! That's exactly why you chose to frame her today!" Martha stepped up and kicked my phone across the living room. "You incurred this massive debt, and now you have the delusional audacity to try and make us pay for it?! If you don't take responsibility, who will?!" Right at that exact second, the heavy front door was violently thrown open with a deafening BANG. Sarah stormed into the living room, her face twisted in absolute fury. "Chloe, you are a complete and utter monster! A hundred million dollars in debt?!" Liam instantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her protectively against his chest. "Sarah, she actually tried to blame the debt on my sister." Sarah reached up and planted a kiss on Liam's cheek. "Baby, why don't you just pack your things and move into my place tonight? You can spend some time with our baby." Seeing my face freeze in absolute shock, Sarah let out a condescending sneer. "What? Are you really that surprised? Where did you think Liam was going every time you went on a 'business trip'?" "He was at my house! He's slept in my bed more times than he's ever slept in yours!" After throwing one last insult at me, calling me a piece of trash, she grabbed Liam's hand, and the three of them—Liam, Sarah, and Martha—marched out of my house without looking back once. I wasn't just shocked by Liam's betrayal. I was completely blindsided by Sarah. Sarah and I had been best friends since college. A few years ago, when she lost her job and was facing eviction, she asked me for a loan. I wired her ten thousand dollars without a second thought. Later, when she still couldn't find a job, I pulled some strings and recommended her for a position at a major corporation. She slowly climbed the ladder until she became a senior executive, pulling in half a million dollars a year. But I never told her that the corporation she worked for was actually owned by my father. I never, in my wildest nightmares, imagined that this ungrateful, backstabbing snake would sleep with my husband. Just as I was processing this betrayal, my phone rang. It was one of my direct subordinates at the corporate office. "Ms. Vance, you need to get down to the office immediately! It's an emergency!" I had no idea what was going on, but I grabbed my keys and sped to the corporate headquarters. When I walked onto the executive floor, I saw Liam, Sarah, and Martha in the middle of the open-plan office, screaming and causing an absolute scene. Liam was standing aggressively at the legal department's desk, demanding paperwork. "Effective immediately, I am relinquishing my shares in this pathetic, sinking ship of a company! I want out!" Sarah snatched a stack of divestment contracts from the desk. "Exactly! Cash out his shares immediately and finalize the divorce! That hundred million dollar debt has absolutely nothing to do with us!" Martha had literally marched into the client reception area and was screaming at a group of our VIP clients: "The CEO of this company is a corrupt, debt-ridden criminal! I highly advise you to take your business elsewhere! Run while you still can!" The VIP clients, looking bewildered and concerned, immediately stood up, gathered their briefcases, and began walking toward the elevators. But Martha wasn't finished. She paraded through the employee cubicles, shouting at the top of her lungs: "Everyone, keep an eye on your personal belongings!" "Your scumbag boss owes the mob a hundred million dollars! She could clean out the company accounts and skip the country at any second! You aren't getting your next paycheck!" When the employees saw me walk in, a wave of panic swept through the room. People hastily started packing their laptops and valuables into their bags, whispering frantically to each other. "Oh my god, the CEO really owes a hundred million dollars?! If she doesn't even care about bankrupting her own husband, she's definitely going to steal the company funds and run!" "I never would have guessed she was that kind of degenerate! Now her husband and mother-in-law are literally here exposing her. What is she going to do?!" "Even her own best friend is turning her in. It has to be true. We need to start sending out resumes tonight." I sprinted into the middle of the bullpen. "On what grounds are you spreading these defamatory lies?! I will hold you legally and financially liable for every single cent of revenue this company loses today!" Sarah stepped in front of Liam, puffing out her chest, pretending to be a paragon of justice. "You owe the mob a hundred million dollars! That is an undisputed fact!" The murmurs and anxious chatter among the employees grew noticeably louder. Everyone was judging me. Right at that moment, my mother walked through the glass doors of the office. She looked utterly bewildered. "How is that possible? Chloe, didn't you just gift me a diamond necklace from the Sotheby's auction two days ago?" I suddenly remembered—I had planned to take her out to a nice dinner after work today. Liam let out a harsh, barking laugh. "Sotheby's auction?! She bought that necklace with money she borrowed from the mob!" "You can smile now, old lady, but just wait until the loan sharks come to break your legs!" "Thank God I already have a child with Sarah, otherwise my bloodline would be cursed by association!" "WHAT?!" My mother's face contorted in absolute shock. She lunged forward and grabbed Liam's arm as he tried to walk past her. "What did you just say?!" Liam violently shoved her hand away, his face twisted in disgust. "Are you deaf, you old bat?! I said Sarah and I are having a baby!" My mother already suffered from severe hypertension. The violent shove from Liam caused her to stumble backward, losing her balance. She clutched her chest, her face turning gray, and collapsed onto the polished office floor. I sprinted forward, sliding onto my knees to catch her. "Mom! Mom, what's wrong?!" Liam spat on the floor near us. "This broke old hag is just faking it! She's probably trying to stage a medical emergency to extort us for a settlement! Let's get the hell out of here, this is disgusting!" Without another word, he frantically grabbed Martha and Sarah and practically ran toward the elevators. My mother's face was deathly pale. She couldn't form a single word before her eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness. I didn't have time to worry about anything else. I scooped my mother up and ran to my car, speeding directly to the nearest emergency room. Inside the ER, the doctors immediately stabilized her. "Her blood pressure spiked to catastrophic levels due to extreme emotional distress. We have to admit her for observation to prevent a stroke." I walked out of the hospital room into the quiet hallway and dialed my father, who was currently on a business trip in Europe. "Hello? Chloe?" my dad's steady voice came through the speaker. I took a shaky breath and quickly recounted the entire insane, chaotic sequence of events. The line was dead silent for several seconds. Then, my dad spoke. "I am booking the next flight back to the States. They are going to pay for this." "You just focus on taking care of your mother. I will handle everything else." He paused, his voice dropping an octave into something terrifyingly cold. "I will also be dealing with Sarah and the Sterling family personally." I hung up the phone. I sat in a plastic chair outside my mother's room, opened my banking app, and instantly revoked authorization on the platinum credit card I had given Liam. That was the card I gave him for his daily expenses. I had told him it had a strict $10,000 monthly limit. He only knew that I paid the balance off every month. He had absolutely no idea that it was an ultra-exclusive black card with a true credit limit of one hundred million dollars. My phone suddenly started vibrating aggressively. It was a barrage of text messages from Sarah. First, she sent several highly explicit, intimate photos of her and Liam in bed together. Then, a series of voice memos: "Hey bestie, I'm so, so sorry. Your debt is just way too massive, I couldn't possibly help you out." "But I do have a suggestion! You could always pick up a side hustle in the red-light district to pay it off!" "It's great exercise! Besides, Liam told me you're an absolute dead fish in bed. That's exactly why he came looking for me." Instead of getting angry, I actually laughed out loud. "I've treated you incredibly well over the years. And this is how you repay me?" Sarah replied with a laughing emoji. "Honestly, back in college, I only became friends with you because I thought you were actually a rich heiress!" "If I had known you were just a pathetic, broke loser funding your lifestyle with mob loans, I wouldn't have given you the time of day." I didn't bother replying. I just permanently blocked her number. The next morning, I drove back to the house to grab some clothes and toiletries so I could stay at the hospital with my mom. The second I unlocked the front door, I saw Liam, Martha, and Sarah standing aggressively in the middle of my living room again. Liam marched forward and delivered a brutal slap across my face. "You actually have the nerve to show your face?! Weren't we supposed to meet at the courthouse this morning?! How dare you stand me up!" Martha stepped forward and kicked my leg. "I knew it! I knew she was going to drag this out! She refuses to divorce because she wants to trap us into paying off her hundred million dollar debt!" I violently shoved both of them backward, my eyes burning with rage. "My mother is lying in a hospital bed because of you psychopaths, and you think I give a damn about your divorce schedule?!" Liam let out a cold, arrogant scoff. "It's your mother in the hospital, not mine. Why the hell should I care?" Sarah smugly tossed a thick legal document onto the coffee table. "I already had my lawyers draft the divorce settlement. Sign it." Liam picked up a pen from the desk and threw it at my chest. "I already consulted with top-tier attorneys. As long as I legally declare that I am walking away with zero marital assets, I am completely absolved from absorbing a single cent of your debt!" "Sign it right now! Don't you dare delay my wedding to Sarah!" I found the entire situation incredibly amusing. I picked up the pen and signed my name on the dotted line without a second thought. To escape a debt he didn't even owe, he was voluntarily signing away his legal right to half of my family's multi-billion dollar corporate empire. The second I signed, Sarah lunged forward, grabbing my arm to drag me toward the door. "Let's go! To the courthouse! We are finalizing this divorce right now! Nothing is more important than this!" I violently ripped my arm out of her grasp. "My mother is going into surgery today. I don't have time for this." Martha kicked me again. "Cut the bullshit! Even if your mother dropped dead right now, you are coming with us to finalize this divorce!" They physically dragged me out the door and forced me into their car, hauling me all the way to the county courthouse. During the entire drive, and even while standing in line, Martha was loudly, obnoxiously gossiping to anyone who would listen, loudly proclaiming that I owed a hundred million dollars to the mob. The people in the waiting area started whispering and pointing at me. "Did you hear? That woman owes loan sharks millions. No wonder her husband is dumping her." "I heard she even tried to frame her own sister-in-law for the debt! She tried to dodge the cartel!" "Wow, what a piece of trash. I don't blame the husband and the mother-in-law at all. I'd kick her to the curb too." The county clerk adjusted his glasses and looked at the paperwork. "Are both parties in complete agreement regarding the terms of the settlement?" Liam nodded eagerly, shoving the papers across the desk. "We are in complete agreement. I am walking away with zero assets." I had no objections. We finalized the paperwork in minutes. Stepping out of the courthouse doors, a massive, victorious smile broke across Liam's face. "I'm finally free! I love you, Sarah!" "As soon as the mandatory waiting period is over, we're getting married!" He pulled Sarah into his arms and kissed her passionately right there on the courthouse steps. "Thank God I found you and get a fresh start. Otherwise, my entire life would have been destroyed by this worthless loser." Martha was even more arrogant. She shoved my shoulder hard. "Get lost, you broke bitch! Sarah is carrying my precious grandson now." "From now on, we'll be living a life of luxury, and we'll never have to look at your pathetic, poverty-stricken face again!" I couldn't be bothered to engage with their delusions. I turned around and started walking toward the parking lot. Sarah playfully pinched Liam's waist, then pulled out her phone and made a loud, performative phone call. "The Ritz-Carlton? Yes, I need a VIP table for tonight at 7:00 PM for a celebration dinner." "I want your absolute highest-tier tasting menu. And reserve two bottles of your 1982 Lafite Rothschild." She intentionally projected her voice so I would hear every single word. After hanging up, Sarah smiled a sickly sweet smile at me. "Chloe, we're going out to celebrate tonight. Do you want to come?" I took a deep breath, turned my head, and looked at her with eyes like ice. "Fuck off." Liam laughed mockingly. "Sarah, stop teasing the idiot. She owes the mob a hundred million dollars. She wouldn't dare show her face at a high-end restaurant." "Honestly, the cartel might show up to collect at any minute. She'll probably be dead in a ditch by tomorrow morning." Martha spat on the pavement. "Serves her right! It's called karma!" Right at that exact moment, a massive crowd of people suddenly surged toward us from the parking lot. Leading the pack was a hulking, bald man covered in gang tattoos, followed by seven or eight heavily muscled, intimidating enforcers. The bald man ripped off his jacket, revealing a massive chest tattoo, and roared: "A debt is a debt! Pay up or pay in blood!" Liam and Sarah jumped in terror, startled by the aggressive roar. Martha, assuming they were the loan sharks coming for me, hastily pulled out her freshly stamped divorce decree and waved it frantically. "She's officially divorced from my son! You can kill her, you can chop her into pieces, we don't care! She has absolutely nothing to do with us anymore!" The bald enforcer looked at her in total confusion. He gestured to his men. "Bring her up. You point them out yourself. Which ones are your family members?" Mia was violently dragged to the front of the pack. Her face was battered, covered in dark purple bruises and swollen cuts. She wailed like a slaughtered pig: "Mom! Liam! Chloe! Save me!" "I owe them a hundred million dollars! If I can't pay them today, they're going to traffic me!"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "401620", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel