"That way, the follow-up costs will be covered too."

Naomi might have disgusted me, but at the end of the day, a man's life hung in the balance.

Besides, I was an orphan. From the day I married Naomi, her parents had treated me like their own son.

Margaret hesitated before asking, "But that company—it's everything you've built over all these years. Can you really bear to let it go?"

"It's a lot better than standing by and watching, helpless to do anything."

I went home and started pulling together all the company's documents.

Halfway through, the absurdity of it all hit me.

This company had started with a little over a million dollars in seed money from my father-in-law. From there, I'd clawed my way through project after project, grinding and hustling until Stellar Tech grew into what it was today. No one knew what that had cost me.

Now, to save a life, it had to go—just like that.

The next day, I reached out through a broker and connected with several potential buyers. The process went more smoothly than I'd expected, probably because the company's books were clean and the revenue was steady.

In the end, I settled with a buyer at eighteen million dollars.

It was lower than I'd hoped, but he could pay in full upfront.

I went straight to the hospital to tell Margaret.

"I found a buyer. We're signing the contract tomorrow. The paperwork might take a few more days, but the money will come through soon."

I kept my voice as steady as I could.

Margaret looked at the sealed doors of the ICU, then back at me. Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

"Grant... I'm so sorry... You worked so hard to build that company..."

I cut her off. "Mom, it's fine."

"A company can be rebuilt. A person can't."

"No matter what, let's get Dad better first. We'll figure out the rest later."

She gripped my hand and nodded, gratitude written across her face.

The following afternoon, I scheduled the signing at a law office for the letter of intent.

The buyer's representative and attorney were already there. On my side, I'd brought a friend I trusted to look things over.

The preliminary discussions went smoothly. All the documents were in order.

Just as I was about to put pen to paper, the buyer's attorney took a phone call.

When he hung up, his expression had turned strange.

He stepped aside and exchanged a few hushed words with the buyer.

The buyer's brow furrowed immediately.

My friend sensed something was off too. He leaned in and whispered, "Grant, what's going on?"

The buyer's attorney walked over.

"Mr. Gilbert, I'm sorry, but we may need to suspend the proceedings."

"I just received a call, along with a faxed document."

"The equity in Stellar Tech, registered under your name, underwent an ownership transfer three days ago."

"The current legal representative and sole shareholder is listed as a Robert Matthews."

I froze where I stood.

"I'm the sole shareholder and legal representative of that company. An equity transfer can't go through without my signature and authorization—it's impossible!"

The buyer's attorney showed me the faxed document on his phone.

"The amendment record we received shows exactly that."

"The reason listed for the transfer is a gift. The gifting party—Naomi Fox."

Naomi?

I stared at the document, eyes locked on every word.

There it was, in the legal representative field.

My name had been replaced—by Robert Matthews.

The shareholder information had been changed to Robert Matthews.

Right then, the conference room door swung open.

Naomi strode in on stiletto heels, her posture immaculate, her expression glacial and dripping with contempt.

"Well, well. Quite the little gathering in here."

She let out a soft, mocking laugh and walked to the conference table.

"I was wondering where some of the company files had gone. So this is what it was—trying to sell my company behind my back?"

I didn't lose my temper. I just fixed her with a hard stare.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? That money is your father's lifeline!"

Naomi's voice turned shrill.

"Grant, I really underestimated you."

"Using my parents for money wasn't enough—now you're trying to sell the company behind my back?"

"Thank God Robert had the foresight to see this coming. He figured you'd pull something desperate, so I transferred the company to him for safekeeping."

"I trust him to hold it for me."

"At least that's better than leaving it in the hands of someone who only wants to drain my family dry!"

Robert stood right beside her, eyes brimming with satisfaction.

Then he let out a heavy, theatrical sigh.

"Mr. Gilbert, I don't mean to lecture you."

"You and Naomi are husband and wife, after all. If you're in trouble, you could've just talked it out."

"But to engineer all of this—just so Naomi would walk away with nothing, none the wiser?"

"That level of scheming... it's honestly chilling."

Honestly? My tolerance for stupidity hit its limit.

Looking at the woman in front of me, so smugly convinced of her own brilliance, I felt genuine disgust for the first time.

"Scheming? Using people?"

I repeated those words, my voice dropping low.

Then I stood abruptly, seized Naomi's wrist, and started pulling her toward the door.

"What are you doing?!"

"Let go of me!!"

Naomi screamed and thrashed against my grip.

I shot back, "You don't believe me, right?"

"Then let's go to the hospital. Right now. Go see the ICU with your own eyes!"

"See whether your father is faking it!"

"See whether the five million you handed over—and your precious company—are worth more than your own father's life!"

Robert rushed forward, shoving hard against my shoulder.

I blocked him with a backhand and spoke through gritted teeth, one word at a time.

"This is between me and my wife. Back off."

Security burst through the door. It took everything they had to pry us apart.

Robert was shielded by the guards. All he got was a small split on the corner of his lip.

Me—he'd stuck his foot out deliberately. I tripped, and the small of my back slammed into the sharp edge of the desk.

The pain whited out my vision. I couldn't even stand.

Then Naomi grabbed the ashtray off the desk and hurled it at me.

It struck my head. Blood poured down instantly.

But Naomi threw herself at Robert's side, her face crumpled with worry.

"Robert, does it hurt? Are you injured anywhere else?"

Her voice was frantic and tender all at once.

Nothing like the half-hearted check-ins I remembered from every time I'd been sick.

Robert shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just... Mr. Gilbert, he—"

He glanced at me, then trailed off, as if the words were too painful to say.

Only then did Naomi look my way. Whatever softness had been in her eyes vanished, replaced instantly by fury.

"Grant, are you done losing your mind?!"

"Attacking someone in front of everyone—look at yourself! What have you become?"

"You're no different from some thug off the street!"

"This is assault. Apologize to Robert. Now!"

Blood from my forehead traced a line down my brow and pooled against my eyelid. I wiped it away with the back of my hand, and my vision cleared.

I tugged at the corner of my mouth. A bitter, self-mocking smile.

In over thirty years of living, had anything ever been more absurd than this?

"Apologize? To who? To him?"

I looked at Robert and caught the smirk he wasn't even trying to hide.

"Yes! Right now! This instant!"

Naomi wouldn't let it go, as if demanding my apology was the most natural thing in the world.

I stopped acknowledging her. I bent down and gathered the scattered documents from the floor.

"Mr. Wang, I'll need you to handle the rest."

Then I limped toward the door.

"We're not done here—you think you can just walk away?!"

"Grant, don't you dare take another step!"

Naomi tried to block my path.

I didn't stop. Didn't look back.

Clear things up?

What else was there to say?

My father-in-law was still in the ICU, waiting on money that could save his life.

The company route was dead. I had to find another way.

I took a deep breath and shoved every emotion down.

I called a few old friends—people I'd been tight with for years, people who owed me favors.

Over the phone, I didn't go into detail.

Scraping together what I could from every direction, I managed to borrow just over a million dollars.

The plan was to get the surgery done first. The imported specialty drugs and follow-up costs could be figured out later.

I grabbed the money and headed straight for the hospital.

My phone rang on the way.

It was Margaret. I picked up immediately.

"Mom, I've pulled together some money. I'm on my way right now."

"He's gone..."

Margaret's voice was calm—unnervingly calm.

"Your father... he's gone."

"What? Mom, what do you mean? What happened to Dad?"

"This morning the doctors said his condition had stabilized—"

Margaret's composure finally shattered. Her sobs were raw, drenched in despair.

"He pulled out his own tubes... the monitors went off..."

"By the time they found him... it was already... already..."

My mind went blank. I never imagined my father-in-law would take his own life.

The next few days were consumed with funeral arrangements.

At one point I asked Margaret if she wanted to let Naomi know—have her come back.

She shook her head. Her expression was ice.

"As far as I'm concerned, I never had a daughter. I don't want anything to do with her ever again."