The first thing my foster brother Joey did after getting his driver's license was ask to borrow my sports car to pick up girls. I said no, so on my wedding day, he drove off with my wedding car. Amidst the roar of the engine, he sent me a voice message, sounding carefree. "William, I'll take your bride to the wedding venue first. You can just grab an Uber." The scene fell silent. I turned to look at Mia's father, Carter, standing at the back of the crowd. He avoided my gaze and simply said, "William, don't misunderstand. Joey and Mia already know each other well. It's just a car ride, nothing serious. Let's not delay the wedding." I nodded, then spoke directly to my assistant. "Call the police. Someone just stole a car in broad daylight and is suspected of kidnapping." "Also, notify the bank. I'm withdrawing my guarantee on that two hundred million dollar loan for the Carter family." The moment I finished speaking, Carter's expression changed instantly. He rushed over to stop me, his tone full of negotiation. "William, let's talk this through. It's our wedding day—let's not make a spectacle for outsiders." I replied with a cold laugh. "So you do know it's a wedding. The bride just ran off with some other guy, leaving the groom to Uber to his own wedding. You're not worried about being a laughingstock?" The smile on Carter's face completely collapsed. "This is indeed Mia crossing the line. I'll call her right now and tell her to come back!" But after three consecutive calls, Mia didn't pick up. Just as Carter was sweating bullets, Joey sent me a message. In the video, he had Mia, disheveled, pinned against the passenger seat. "William, look—Mia's so excited she's hyperventilating. I'm just giving her mouth-to-mouth." I held my phone right up to Carter's face. "Is this what you call 'nothing serious'?" "Since she has Joey, I'll make it easy for both of you." As soon as I finished speaking, police cars surrounded the Rolls-Royce in the distance. Mia hurriedly got out of the car, her face still flushed. "William, what's the meaning of this?" "Joey was just joking with you. We're all family here. You really want to send your own brother to jail?" Joey stood beside her looking utterly wronged. "Don't blame William. It's all my fault for not knowing my boundaries. Don't fight because of me." Hearing this, Mia got even angrier. "See how understanding Joey is? Besides, I gave him the car keys. I was the one who asked him to take me for a ride. If you've got the guts, have the police arrest me too." Since she was defending Joey so adamantly, I'd grant her wish. I yanked out the dashcam and handed it to the police. "Officer, you just heard them. One's the principal offender, the other's an accomplice. Not only did they steal the car, they were speeding and parked on a non-motor vehicle road." "Please handle this according to the law." Seeing I was serious, Mia completely panicked. Her voice carried a barely detectable tremor. "William, I'm your wife. Are you really going to send me to jail?" I waved my phone at her. "The wedding's been canceled. Didn't you know?" Carter stood beside her, frantically gesturing for her to apologize. Mia froze for a moment, her face instantly losing all color. After a pause, she came before me and took my arm proactively. "William, are you jealous?" I didn't respond. She pressed the car keys into my hand. "What happened just now was my fault. I promise you, I'll never do something so thoughtless again. Please don't be angry, okay?" "The wedding's about to start. Let's hurry to the venue." I pushed her away roughly. Staring at her ingratiating smile, my voice was ice-cold. "If you want me to drop this, it's not impossible." "The police are right here. Tell them what really happened just now. You know what I want to hear." Mia frowned deeply, trembling all over. Under everyone's gaze, she slowly spoke. "Just now, Joey stole the car keys. I was tricked into getting in the car with him." Since she stepped forward to identify him, the police wasted no time and took Joey away directly. The police car drove off with its sirens blaring. Carter also cautiously approached me. "William, are you satisfied with this resolution? Then about our two families' wedding..."
I straightened my cuffs and glanced indifferently at Mia, who looked like she'd lost her soul. "The wedding will be postponed. As for the two hundred million guarantee, I'll communicate with the bank." With that, I turned and got in my car to leave. After this fiasco, Mia settled down considerably. For the first time ever, she made a lunch box herself and brought it to my office. I knew she was trying to make me happy, to keep a tight grip on this cash cow. But I didn't care. After all, Mia and I had been together for seven years. Back when my grandmother was critically ill, Mia stayed by her bedside to care for her. The night before Grandma passed, I held her hand and swore I would treat her well for the rest of my life. As long as she didn't court death, I could let bygones be bygones. But then I saw Joey's new social media post. That's when I realized how laughable my previous thinking had been! In the photo, Joey—who should've been in detention—was standing in the garage of the wedding house I'd bought. Behind him, my limited-edition Rolls-Royce was covered in green paint. The dozen or so sports cars in the garage, each worth millions, hadn't been spared either. Joey had even added a cheeky caption. "Now this is living!" Rage instantly flooded my brain. I called Mia directly. "Why is Joey at my house?" She was silent for a moment. "William, Joey is your brother. After something this serious happened, he didn't dare go home. He's just staying at our place for one night. Don't be so petty." I was petty? I laughed in disbelief. I sent her the photo from Joey's social media directly. "Since you're so generous, your family can cover all the damages." Mia's displeased voice came through. "William, you're so rich. Why do you care about such small matters?" "I know you've always looked down on Joey, but you've really gone too far this time." I couldn't be bothered arguing with her and simply hung up. It seemed I'd given Mia too much kindness lately, so much that she'd forgotten her place. Now she was bringing an outsider into my home and actually expecting me to pretend I didn't notice? As if! After I hung up, Mia didn't send messages to soften up like before. I knew she was using this method to resist me. But I didn't care. I called the police directly. "911? Someone broke into my private residence and deliberately damaged my personal property. Initial estimates show my personal losses exceed one hundred million dollars!" Soon, I followed the police back home. Only then did I discover it wasn't just the garage. Joey was standing in front of my wine cabinet with his delinquent friends playing drinking games. Those precious wines I'd collected from around the world—they'd taken a few sips, then smashed the bottles all over the floor. I pulled out my phone and started recording them. I also notified my assistant to bring people over for appraisal. Joey looked at the living room full of police and waved dismissively with a smile. "It's all a misunderstanding. This is my brother's house. We're brothers—we can settle this ourselves." I let out a cold laugh and called him by name directly. "Joey, you're just a driver's son. You've been riding on the fact that your dad once saved my dad's life. Our family raised you all these years—that debt was paid off long ago!"
I pointed at the two empty rows on the wine cabinet. "You guys really know how to pick. These bottles were ones I bought at a European auction for eighty million dollars. If you can't pay up today, I'm sending you all to prison!" Seeing this, Joey's drunk friends instantly sobered up. They waved their hands frantically, trying to distance themselves. "This has nothing to do with me! Joey said to treat this place like our own home and invited us to hang out!" "We didn't touch those cars either. I have video proof. Joey did it all by himself. He lied and told us he was the heir to the Jones family fortune, and said the Jones family wouldn't care about this small amount of money!" Before he could finish, Joey punched him. "You bastards, you're selling me out?" Several of them got into a brawl until a police officer shouted them to a stop. Perhaps realizing things couldn't be salvaged, Joey knelt before me with a black eye. "William, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong." "Could you please, for my dad's sake, let me off just this once?" I said nothing. Since childhood, Joey had always competed with me. Competing over grades, over the number of awards. Later in college, it became about stealing everything from me. Stealing gifts, stealing recommendation spots—I didn't care about any of that. Even on my wedding day, when he drove off with my luxury car and my bride, I didn't really do anything to him. But now, all the resentment accumulated over the years finally erupted. This time, I absolutely wouldn't let him off! "Can't pay? Then I'll contact my lawyer to file a lawsuit." "The sports cars and wines are worth over a hundred million. Looks like you'll be spending the next twenty years in prison." I patted his shoulder, my tone light and airy. Watching his face turn deathly pale, I felt immensely satisfied. At the same time, Mia had already rushed to the villa. When she saw Joey's black eyes, she pushed me hard without asking any questions. "William, you actually hit someone in broad daylight? Do you have any respect for the law?" "The law? This is my house. He broke in, smashed my cars and wine, and now in front of the police, who's the one without legal awareness?" Mia was stunned. At this moment, Joey grabbed her clothes like a drowning man clutching at straws. "Mia, I really didn't mean it. I just wanted to show my friends around, but William not only wants to sue me, he wants me to go to prison for twenty years. Please save me!" Hearing this, Mia looked at me again, her tone no longer as harsh as before. "Joey's just a bit playful. These material possessions—we can just buy more. Why make such a big deal out of it?" "Fine. You compensate for all the damages at market value, and I'll let him go." Meeting my gaze, Mia hesitated for only a second before gritting her teeth and agreeing. "I'll pay." With her commitment, the police left after having both parties sign documents, citing private mediation. I instructed my assistant, who'd arrived late. "Renovate the entire villa from top to bottom. As for the compensation, once the lawyer determines the total amount, transfer it directly from Carter Group's accounts. If that's not enough, liquidate company shares until it's covered."
After all, three years ago, Carter Group was on the verge of bankruptcy due to failed financing. That's when Carter came to me for help. I agreed to support Carter Group. But the condition was that I had to be the largest controlling shareholder of Carter Group. Over three years, I invested a lot of money into Carter Group. Including recently when they wanted to buy land in the east district to enter real estate development—I was the one who guaranteed their bank mortgage loan. Now, Mia wanted to swallow such a huge compensation payment for another man. I could make her go bankrupt! Behind me came Mia's disdainful laugh. "William, whether you have the ability to touch my family's company accounts remains to be seen!" She pulled out a document from her bag and threw it in my face. "Open your eyes and look clearly—who exactly is the controlling shareholder of Carter Group now!" The sharp edge of the paper cut a bloody mark across my cheek. The contract actually stated that Mia had transferred all my shares to Joey's name a week ago. Not only that, she'd also transferred over a dozen of my subsidiary companies to Joey. The seal on the signature was my grandmother's private seal. I suddenly remembered—before Grandma died, she'd given her private seal to Mia. Back then, she treated Mia as family, so she entrusted her with the seal that could influence major company decisions, hoping Mia would work with me to grow the Jones Group. I never expected she'd exploit this loophole and turn it into leverage against me! "I endured your foul temper all this time because the paperwork hadn't been finalized. But now everything's settled. William, you're nothing but a penniless bum now!" Mia surveyed the mess in the room, speaking lightly. "As for the compensation, we'll just process it through those subsidiaries of yours. You've made quite a bit of money over the years, but in the end, it's all been a wedding dress for us!" "Consider this your apology gift to Joey." Joey, looking like a petty villain who'd just won, came before me. "William, the wheel of fortune turns. You've been the heir for so many years—it's time for a change. But given our relationship, I won't let you sleep on the streets. Carter Group happens to need a security guard. You can start right away." I stared at the two of them without speaking. Mia waved her hand, and several bodyguards entered from outside. "I can give you one chance now. As long as you kneel here and repent for three hours, our wedding can proceed as scheduled." The floor was covered with broken glass from wine bottles. Kneeling for three hours would probably cripple both legs. Mia was deliberately trying to humiliate me. Seeing I didn't move, she smiled disdainfully. "Don't worry. Even if you become disabled, I can support you for life." Joey pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel. He even pulled out his phone and started a livestream, pointing the camera at my face. "William, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and kneel!" I couldn't hold back anymore and punched him in the nose. Mia screamed, about to stop me. But the bodyguards who'd been standing around suddenly surrounded her instead. In her bewildered gaze, I shook my slightly numb right hand and said coldly: "Mia, you've misunderstood something." "Grandma's private seal can indeed authorize shareholder transfers, but only if we're officially married. But you're an outsider who hasn't even entered the Jones family. Your actions constitute commercial theft, and I have the right to pursue all your illegal activities." "As for Carter Group, the moment it lost me as its backer, it was already being carved up. I didn't even need to lift a finger." As I finished speaking, her phone vibrated frantically.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "402153", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster