“Mom, why?! That’s rightfully ours. Why are you giving it to those awful people?” Mia heard what I said and wrapped her arms around my neck, quietly sobbing.

Xena narrowed her eyes and shot Mia a sharp glare, then hugged Charlie and said with feigned sympathy, “Such a lovely girl but it’s a shame her mother’s bad influence has made her so ill-mannered!”

But when I mentioned giving up the inheritance, I noticed her eyes light up noticeably.

Sally covered her mouth, her eyebrows arching with barely concealed joy.

She didn’t look at all like someone who had just lost her son.

Mia wanted to defend me, but I held her close, whispering a few words in her ear.

She looked at me in surprise several times, then turned and hugged me tightly, her back facing my in-laws.

“Talk is cheap. Hurry up and sign the papers!” Sally urged impatiently.

Just moments ago, she was spitting curses at me and now she was pushing me to sign quickly.

At this point, Steven chimed in, playing the good guy again. “You are so understanding. We didn’t care for you all these years for nothing.”

“Care for me?”

When I was pregnant, they forced me to do housework, making me survive on plain noodles. After I gave birth, they dismissed the nanny I had hired, then shut themselves in their room to sleep, leaving me exhausted and overwhelmed.

When my maternity leave ended, they went behind my back to my company and quit on my behalf, just so they could continue living in my house.

They trapped me at home, using the excuse of taking care of Mia to continue freeloading.

My parents couldn’t stand it and brought me nourishing soup, which my in-laws consumed greedily.

I was left hungry, becoming pale and thin, yet Sally scolded me daily.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I reached for the pen. Slowly, I began listing everything they had done to me, one by one, as I took my time.

Sally’s face turned livid, and Steven looked as if he had swallowed something unpleasant.

“Stop pretending to be the victim! You have no conscience at all, daring to slander us with baseless lies!” Sally snapped.

With that, she raised her hand to slap me.

This time, I stepped forward and grabbed her wrist mid-air. “I’m already giving you everything you wanted. What else do you want from me?”

“Giving us? What a joke! It’s ours to begin with!” she snapped, pulling her hand free with a fiery glare. “Hand over the keys to your house!”

When I didn’t move, she tried to snatch them directly.

“We’ve served you for so many years, and now you’ve driven my son to his death. You won’t even leave us a roof over our heads? You’re nothing but pure evil! Why couldn’t it have been you who died instead of him?” she spat venomously.

She went on, accusing me of being extravagant and claiming that James wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t gone abroad to buy me jewelry.

Hearing this, the crowd began to condemn me as a gold digger.

Sally, seeing public opinion shift in her favor, burst into louder sobs, hurling even more accusations.

“Her parents always looked down on my son. We humbled ourselves to act as their servants, all so she might treat him kindly! And now she’s plotting to throw us out on the streets? This has been her plan all along!”

Xena dropped to her knees, weeping theatrically. “James told me he was driven to desperation by his wife’s cruelty. That’s why he turned to me. He was the one who suffered the most.”

A few self-righteous individuals, unable to bear what they were hearing, began live-streaming and recording the scene.

In no time, videos flooded the internet, painting me as a gold-digger who ruined her husband, disrespected her in-laws, and left them homeless.

The backlash was swift and overwhelming.

“Sure, her husband cheated, but can you blame him? She’s vain, selfish, and heartless! What man could tolerate a woman like that?”

“She disrespected the elderly, abused a child, and caused her husband’s death. Why doesn’t she just drop dead already?”

I watched it all with cold indifference, holding Mia tightly in my arms. She was the only warmth in my life.

Xena strutted toward me with her arrogance on full display. James’s company, properties, and savings were now entirely hers and Charlie’s.

My in-laws, desperate to keep their grandson, had left themselves with nothing.

The more carefree Xena’s smile was, the more sarcastic my thoughts became.

“You think you’ve won, don’t you? Don’t rush to celebrate. There’s a long road ahead, and we’ll take it slow,” I silently remarked.

In the end, I called the police and left the funeral amidst a torrent of curses and condemnation.

Back home, I packed up mine and Mia’s belongings.

My brother overseas, Wilfred Ford, called me. “Everything is ready. I’ve booked the tickets. I’ll pick you up when you arrive.”

“Okay,” I replied.

After hanging up, Mia grasped my hand tightly. “Mom, I’ll always stand by your side. You’re not a bad person, you’re the best.”

I playfully tapped her nose, feeling warmth bloom in my heart.

Meanwhile, the online hatred against me grew fiercer by the day.

I had poured everything I had into helping James’s company go public. Now that he was gone, my in-laws showed their true colors. Not only had they hidden his affair from me, but they also paraded his illegitimate child at his funeral just to humiliate me.

They even forced me to sign away my rights to the inheritance.

From that moment on, I severed all ties with James and his family. Yet they continued to exploit my name, using me as a tool for attention and clout.

Xena went so far as to create a livestream account, spewing baseless accusations that I abused my in-laws, insulted my husband, and squandered money.

She quickly gained a huge following, and before long, she started livestreaming product sales, making a fortune.

It seemed like the whole family was thriving, leeching off me and living the high life.

But there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

After Mia and I settled abroad, the uproar back home could no longer reach us.

In fact, I needed the noise.

The more viciously they slandered me, the more attention I gained. And in time, Xena and my in-laws would pay the ultimate price for their greed.

Meanwhile, Mia seemed more motivated in her studies than ever, perhaps to prove herself.

I lounged by the beach, sipping red wine, with my new villa behind me.

The overseas company I had set up was initially managed by Wilfred. Once it was on solid footing, I smoothly took over, and now I smiled at the monthly profits in the seven figures.

As I was about to finish my wine, a call came in. It was a call that I had been expecting.

“You wretched woman! I’ll kill you!!!”

The enraged man on the other end screamed like he was on the verge of a complete breakdown. His fury felt so palpable it was as if he wanted to leap through the phone and tear me apart.

But I just smiled calmly and replied, “Well, isn’t this my dear husband, who’s already been buried? How are you managing to call me from the grave?”

The line went silent.

Then, in the background, I heard a woman’s furious screams, sobs, and the chaotic sounds of a physical fight.