"Take care of me when I'm old?" I let out a chuckle. "You don't even have a job. You're living off us every month. What exactly are you going to support me with?"

Maxwell's face twisted with rage. "Lawrence Zimmerman! Don't push your luck!"

Without missing a beat, he grabbed the wine glass beside him and smashed it against the floor.

"If you don't sign the agreement today, I'll make sure Aunt Evelyn divorces you! You'll walk away with nothing, and you'll be thrown out of this house!"

I looked at Evelyn. But she kept her head down, eating and saying nothing.

My heart sank.

"Evelyn Larson!" I snapped. "You're going to divorce me just because I won't give up Tiffany's wedding fund? She's your daughter! Have you no soul?"

Lucy slammed her hand on the table. "What nonsense are you talking about? Lawrence, my daughter's been married to you for decades. She gave you a child and took good care of you.

"Now, we're just asking you to help out her nephew, and you keep making excuses? You call yourself a man?"

Maxwell seized the moment to pile on. "Exactly! Aunt Evelyn, why keep a man like him? Divorce him! Do it tomorrow, then kick him out!"

Just then, the door to the dining room swung open. My daughter, Tiffany Zimmerman, walked in carrying a plate of fruit.

When she saw the shards of glass scattered across the floor, she froze.

"Dad, Mom, what's going on?"

The moment Maxwell saw Tiffany, he fixed her with a sharp glare.

"Your parents are about to get divorced! From now on, you're just a burden no one wants!" he spat.

Shocked, Tiffany flinched and nearly dropped the plate.

"Maxwell Larson! Watch your mouth!" I bellowed as I pulled Tiffany to my side.

She clutched my arm, saying, "Dad, everything was fine. Why would you get divorced? He's just talking nonsense, right?"

"I'm not," Maxwell shot back with a sneer. "Your dad's planning to give me your wedding fund as well. When you get married, your parents won't fork out a dime. You'll be walking into that marriage with nothing to your name!"

The color drained from Tiffany's face at once. "Dad… Didn't you promise me 300 thousand dollars for my wedding? If I show up with nothing, what will my fiance's family think of me?"

"They can think whatever they want!" Maxwell cut in, his tone dripping with contempt. "You're just marrying into their family to have kids anyway. Why should we pay anything? You're just a burden!"

"Shut up!" I roared.

My body shook with fury as I continued, "Maxwell, I raised you for 12 years. I gave you food, clothes, everything. What more did you want?

"During your four years in university, when you kept failing classes, I was the one who went to your professors and begged them to give you a chance. When you got fired from your first job, I pulled strings to get you another.

"And when you bought your place, I paid every cent of the down payment. Now that you're getting married, you expect me to pay for it. On top of that, you want me to hand over my daughter's wedding fund? On what grounds?"

Maxwell shot back, "Because you're my uncle! Because you married my aunt! Your money belongs to the Larson family!"

"I'm a Zimmerman, and you're a Larson. When did my money become yours?"

"Lawrence Zimmerman! What do you mean by that?" Lucy yelled. "You married my daughter. Doesn't that make your money hers? And if it's hers, what's wrong with her nephew using it?"

What kind of twisted logic was that?

Evelyn, too, furrowed her brow. She shot me a disapproving look and said, "Lawrence, we're family. Why make such a fuss over money?"

"Fine. Family, huh?"

I nodded, then picked up the agreement.

A victorious smile spread across Maxwell's face. But in the next instant, I tore the document in half in front of him.

"I won't pay a single cent for this wedding!"

Maxwell's smile faltered.

"Lawrence Zimmerman! You've got a death wish!" he roared.

Almost immediately, he raised his fist and lunged at me.

"Dad! Watch out!"

Without a second thought, Tiffany threw herself in front of me.

The punch slammed into Tiffany's shoulder.

"Tiffany!"

My heart seemed to stop, and I dropped beside her. "Where does it hurt? Are you okay?"

My chest tightened at the sight of her. I looked up and glared at Maxwell, fury blazing in my eyes.

Across the room, Evelyn rushed over, but not to check on Tiffany. Instead, she grabbed Maxwell's hand, turning it over anxiously.

"Max! Does your hand hurt? You could've broken something! What were you thinking?"

Only after making sure he was fine did Evelyn turn to me. She jabbed a finger in my face and yelled, "Lawrence Zimmerman! Are you really going to tear this family apart over a little money?

"She's your daughter. Once she gets married, she'll belong to someone else's family anyway! What are you giving her all that money for? Why are you wasting money on a worthless woman like her?"

Tiffany couldn't take it anymore. Her voice choked with sobs as she shouted, "Mom! I'm your daughter as well! How can you say that?"

Evelyn froze for a second at the outburst, then her anger flared.

"Why can't I say that? Am I wrong?" she retorted. "You'll get married eventually, and your brother's the one who'll carry on the family name!"

Tiffany screamed, "He's not my brother! His last name is Larson! Mine's Zimmerman! He's just an outsider!"

Without missing a beat, Evelyn slapped her hard. The sharp crack echoed through the room, and everyone froze.

Tiffany clutched her cheek, staring at her mother in disbelief as tears streamed down her face.

I pulled her behind me, trembling all over. "Evelyn, you hit her?"

Evelyn faltered, but she didn't back down. "S-So what if I did? I'm her mother. Can't I discipline my own daughter?"

"Discipline?" I let out a bitter laugh. "When have you ever cared for her in all these years? When she was sick in the hospital, where were you?

"Where were you when her school held the parent-teacher meetings? All you've ever cared about is your precious nephew! And now, for his sake, you hit my daughter?"

From the side, Maxwell fanned the flames. "Serves her right! A useless burden like her needs to be put in her place!"

Lucy hurried over to break it up. "Alright. That's enough. It's Christmas. Let's not fight.

"Lawrence, Evelyn just lost her temper."

"Lost her temper?"

I looked around at everyone in the room and nodded. "Fine."

Then, I took Tiffany's hand. "Let's go."

"Where do you think you're going?" Maxwell moved to block the doorway. "If you don't sign the agreement today, don't even think about leaving."

Having said that, he pulled out his phone and started recording. "Lawrence, you're a manager at your company, aren't you?"

He continued, "What do you think your bosses will say if I post this online with the caption 'A manager abuses the nephew he raised for 12 years and refuses to pay a dime for his wedding'?

"With how fast things spread online these days, I could ruin you overnight!"

I stared at his phone screen and felt my heart sink.

"What exactly do you want?" I demanded.

Maxwell set his phone aside before pulling out the agreement again. "Sign it and wire the 700 thousand dollars to my account within three days.

"Then, buy me a car. Violet's got her eye on a car. The down payment is only tens of thousand dollars.

"Oh, and you'll cover the renovations for my place, too. That will be about 200 thousand dollars."

He counted on his fingers, then added, "All in all, it's about a million dollars. That's pocket change for you."

Pocket change? I was making 12 thousand dollars a month, with a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus at the end of the year.

Even if I didn't spend a cent, it would still take me five years to save that much.

"And if I don't?"

A cruel smile spread across Maxwell's face as he said, "If you don't? Then, I'll air your dirty laundry for everyone to see."

Maxwell leaned in, lowering his voice as he said, "You really think I didn't know? When you helped your boss cook the books last year, how much did you take in kickbacks? And that project bid the year before…"

My eyes widened. How did he know any of that?

Back then, I had let my guard down and let my boss use me, unknowingly helping him funnel money. I had pulled back the moment I realized, but by then, he had something on me.

Beside me, Evelyn tugged at my sleeve. "Just agree to it. If that gets out, you'll lose your job!"

I looked at her, and suddenly, everything clicked. She was the one who told Maxwell.

Over the years, I had occasionally talked about work at home. Whatever Evelyn heard, she passed on to her family.

I had treated her as the person closest to me, yet she had treated my weakness like a bargaining chip.

Tiffany clutched my sleeve, sobbing as she said, "Dad… Just give him my wedding fund. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"No! That's your money. No one touches it."

Maxwell snickered. "What a touching father-daughter moment. Too bad. You're handing over that money today, whether you like it or not."

"I've already saved the video and backed it up to the cloud," he added, waving his phone. "If you don't agree, I'll upload it right now.

"I've even got the caption ready. 'A manager, Lawrence Zimmerman, embezzled for years and abused his nephew. He's a monster.'

"By then, you won't just lose your job. People will be gossiping about your daughter everywhere she goes."

Then, he turned to Tiffany, his gaze full of malice. "Isn't that right, my dear cousin?"

Tiffany shrank back behind me, trembling.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, my decision was made. "Fine. I'll sign it."

Maxwell's face lit up with delight instantly. He lifted his chin smugly and said, "See? It would've been so much easier if you had done this from the start. Why drag this out and make everyone miserable?"

With that, he slid the contract and a pen toward me. "Sign it."

But I didn't take the pen.

"Not this. I meant… the divorce papers."

All at once, Evelyn froze. "What did you just say?"

"I said, I want a divorce."

"You said it yourself!"

Her eyes lit up as she pulled out a few sheets of paper from the drawer. "Since you brought it up, I'll be clear. The house and savings are mine, while Tiffany stays with you.

"From now on, she's none of my concern. And don't even think about asking for her wedding fund."

I stared at the divorce papers Evelyn pushed toward me. It clearly stated that I'd walk away with nothing.

I frowned. "What gives you the right to—"

"You're not going to deny it, are you?" Evelyn cut me off.

She pulled out her phone and played a recording. In the next instant, my voice filled the room.

"Evelyn… I truly love you. If we ever can't make it, I won't take a thing. I'll give you everything."

I remembered that. Six months ago, on her birthday, I'd had too much to drink and held her, rambling out all kinds of foolish promises.

I never imagined she had recorded it.

"I've already had this notarized. You can't talk your way out of it. Even if this goes to court, I've got a strong case."

Evelyn pointed at the agreement as she continued, "I was willing to keep things from getting ugly if you'd just handed over the money. But since you brought up divorce, go ahead. Sign it."

At that moment, Tiffany rushed forward, tears streaming down her face. "Mom! You can't do this!"

"Shut up! You don't get a say here!" Evelyn snapped. "You're just a burden who'll get married and leave anyway. Stop stirring things up!"

Maxwell, on the other hand, eagerly shoved the pen into my hand. "Come on, Uncle Lawrence. Sign it! Hurry up! Once you do, this will all be over."

"Lawrence, you're a grown man. You should keep your word," Lucy said from the side. "You made that promise to Evelyn, so there's no backing out now."