Jean froze where she stood, her eyes darting back and forth between my ashen face and the property title in Michael's hand.

"Michael... wasn't that apartment supposed to be the one Dad saved for my university studies?"

Her voice was small, her body instinctively shrinking backward.

"And Dad bought it himself..."

"Shut up!"

Michael suddenly exploded, jabbing a finger straight at her face.

"You little b*stard nobody wanted! You and your dead mother are nothing but parasites!

"This apartment is mine. I'll give it to whoever I want. Since when does an outsider like you get to speak here?"

"Michael!" I barked. "Watch your mouth!"

"Oh, so what if I said it? She eats my food, spends my money, and now she wants a share of my apartment too? Dream on!"

Natalie sat beside him, not only making no attempt to stop him, but shooting Jean a look full of disgust.

"You damn girl, why are you interrupting adults talking? Go back to your room! Honestly, no sense at all. Can't you see your brother's in a good mood? What a curse."

I looked at Natalie's expressionless, ugly face, and for the first time, I felt nothing at all.

No anger. No disappointment. Nothing left.

"I'm not going back."

But this time, Jean was unusually stubborn. She walked over to my side and clutched tightly at my sleeve. Tears swirled in her eyes, her whole body trembling.

"Dad, that's your money. Why should he get it? He's a grown man already. Why is he taking my tuition money?

"I want to go to university..."

"University? My ass!" Michael snapped instantly.

He shot to his feet and grabbed the steaming bowl of chicken soup that had just been placed on the table.

"Oh, so you want an education? Fine. Let me help clear out that brain of yours!"

Before anyone could react, he hurled the entire bowl straight at her.

"Watch out!"

I did not even have time to think. I spun around and pulled Jean tightly into my arms, using my back to shield her from the scalding soup.

Crash!

Boiling broth and oil splashed across my back, running down my neck and soaking through my clothes. The skin instantly blistered from the heat.

A muffled groan escaped my throat as searing pain tore through my back.

"Ah!"

Jean had not been burned, but the sudden violence terrified her so badly that she let out a scream before freezing completely in shock.

Ignoring the pain behind me, I slowly turned to look at Michael.

For the first time in my life, I genuinely wanted to kill him.

Natalie rushed over immediately, but not to check whether I was hurt.

Instead, she grabbed Michael anxiously and looked him over from head to toe, hurriedly wiping oil stains from his sleeve with tissues.

"Michael, are you okay? Did you burn your hand?"

"Oh no, if oil stains this new jacket, it'll be impossible to clean! This thing cost over two thousand!"

Only after confirming her precious son was fine did she turn around and point at me furiously.

"Gerald! Look at the daughter you raised!

"She actually dared talk back to her brother!

"She pushed Michael this far. If my son had gotten burned, I'd never let this go!"

At that moment, the burns on my back no longer hurt.

Once your heart dies, physical pain means nothing.

I gently pushed aside the speechless, trembling Jean, slowly took off the jacket still dripping with greasy broth, and tossed it onto the floor.

"Natalie, that bowl of soup... you threw it well."

Something in my expression startled her. She instinctively stepped back, guilt flashing across her face for just a second before she straightened herself again.

"Stop pretending to be pitiful!

"I'm telling you, this isn't over!

"Since everything's already out in the open, Michael still needs two hundred thousand for the wedding expenses. And the renovation costs too. You can cover all of it while you're at it."

Michael smirked from the side and chimed in smugly.

"Oh, and the car too. Hazel's got her eye on a car. The down payment alone is at least one hundred fifty thousand.

"As long as the money's there, I'll let today's little incident slide."

"Let it slide? He threw boiling soup at my daughter and scared her half to death, and now he's saying he's willing to let it slide?"

"And what if I refuse?"

Michael's expression darkened. He pulled out his phone, switched on the camera, and pointed it straight at me.

"Refuse? Sure, go ahead.

"Gerald, it wasn't easy climbing your way up to a management position at your company, was it?

"What do you think will happen if I show up at your workplace with banners saying you abused your stepson, stole his property, and tried to leave him with nowhere to live?"

He shoved the camera closer to my face.

"You know how terrifying online outrage is these days. One headline about an 'evil stepfather' and your whole reputation is finished. Hell, you might not even get your pension.

"By then, forget about this little brat going to college. You and your daughter will be out begging on the streets, and nobody will spare you a second glance."

It was a vicious move.

I looked at the smug certainty on Michael's face, then at Natalie's expression, like all of this was perfectly justified.

Behind me, Jean was trembling so badly she did not even dare cry out loud.

Suddenly, I laughed.

"Fine." I nodded slowly. "Since this is what you want, then you can have it."

Natalie's eyes lit up. "You agreed? I knew you were the reasonable one, Gerald."

"Divorce."

Her smile froze.

"What did you say?"

"I said divorce."

I pointed toward the front door. "I'm done with this marriage. You want the house? You want the money? Fine. Sign the divorce papers and I'll leave with nothing."

The moment Natalie heard the words 'leave with nothing,' her eyes practically gleamed.

She did not even bother pretending to stop me. Instead, she immediately pulled a set of documents out of her bag, already printed and prepared.

"You all heard him!" she said loudly, slapping the papers onto the table as if afraid I might change my mind.

"I only prepared these to scare you a little at first, but since you brought it up yourself, let's sign them now."

I glanced down at the agreement.

Both apartments and all the savings would go to her.

Jean would stay with me.

She would not pay a single cent in child support.

"Gerald, don't blame me for being harsh."

Natalie handed me a pen as she spoke.

"Michael still hasn't established himself yet. As the adult in his life, it's only right for you to help him out a little more.

"I'm not worried about Jean staying with you anyway. You make good money, you can afford to raise her. Besides, you're a grown man. Surely you're not going to fight a widowed mother and her son for survival?"

"Mom, stop wasting time talking to him. Just get him to sign already!" Michael urged from the side, his eyes greedily fixed on the terms of the agreement.

"Once he signs, tell him to get the hell out. This house will be mine tonight. Just looking at this old b*stard makes me sick."

The relatives around us had stopped eating sunflower seeds. One by one, they craned their necks forward, eager for the drama.

Second Uncle even put on a fake show of mediating.

"Gerald, you're being a little impulsive here. But if it's for the sake of the children, I suppose that makes you a real man.

"Besides, giving the house to Michael keeps it within the family anyway."

I ignored the buzzing noise of all those flies.

Picking up the pen, I signed the wildly unfair agreement with firm strokes:

Gerald Hensley.

The moment I finished writing, an unexpected sense of relief washed over me.

"Jean, go pack your things."

I set the pen down and turned toward my daughter.

Only then did Jean finally snap out of her shock. Tears silently streamed down her face, her body still twitching slightly from the earlier fright.

"Dad... are we really leaving? This is our home."

"This stopped being a home a long time ago."

I crouched down and gently wiped away her tears.

"Be good. Go grab your schoolbag and textbooks. Leave everything else behind.

"Once something's filthy, taking it with you only makes you sick."

Jean did not understand why I sounded so resolute, but she had always been an obedient child. Wiping her tears, she quietly returned to her room.

I went into the bedroom and only took my documents and a few changes of clothes.

I did not even glance at the safe.

Ten minutes later, Jean and I were standing by the front door.

Natalie was clutching the divorce agreement while huddling together with Michael, the two of them studying it excitedly.

"This is perfect, Michael. Tomorrow we can transfer both apartments into your name!"

"Of course. Hazel's gonna be thrilled."

Michael turned and shouted at me, "Hey, old b*stard, leave the keys behind!"

"And don't let me catch you hanging around here again. Bad luck. If you dare come back and cause trouble, I'll break your legs!"

I pulled the keys from my pocket and casually tossed them onto the floor. The metallic clang rang sharply through the room.

"Natalie. Michael."

I looked at the mother and son and called their names one last time.

"I hope neither of you regrets this someday."

"Regret?" Michael wrapped an arm around Hazel and laughed so hard he nearly bent over.

"The biggest regret of my life was living with you for ten years. Get lost, you broke loser. And if you end up begging on the streets someday, don't come begging outside my house!"

I grabbed Jean's hand and walked out the door without looking back.

The moment the elevator doors closed, I called the bank's customer service hotline.

For the past ten years, Natalie and Michael had used my money as their own.

"Hello, this is Gerald Hensley. I want to report all my credit cards lost.

"Yes. All of them.

"Including the supplementary cards. Freeze everything immediately."

By the time I finished, the elevator had reached the first floor.

The snowstorm outside had grown even heavier, but my heart had never felt warmer.

The streets on New Year's Eve were nearly empty as snowflakes crashed down from the sky.

Jean shrank into herself, clutching my hand tightly, her little face pale from the cold.

"Dad... where are we staying tonight?"

Her voice trembled as she asked carefully, "Are we going to sleep by the road? I'm not scared of hardship. As long as I'm with you, I'll be okay."

I took off my coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, then gently tightened her scarf.

"Silly girl. How could Dad ever let you sleep by the road? I'm taking you somewhere nice."

Right then, my phone screen lit up.

A WhatsApp message popped up from Michael.

[Old b*stard, what the hell did you do? Why won't my card work anymore? Hurry up and unlock it. Hazel's waiting for me to buy her a game skin!]

I glanced at it, swiped the notification away, and blocked him immediately.

Less than thirty seconds later, my phone started ringing.

Michael again.

I declined the call without hesitation.

Then Natalie called.

I looked at the word 'Wifey' flashing across the screen and let out a cold laugh before dragging the number straight into the blocklist too.

The world stayed peaceful for about ten seconds.

Then a third-floor window in the building behind us slammed open.

Michael's furious roar tore through the snowstorm.

"F*ck! Gerald! You old b*stard, you blocked me? Did you shut off the supplementary card?"

Natalie's shrill voice followed right after.

"Gerald! How can you be this shameless? Since you left with nothing, the money on those cards should belong to us!

"This is fraud! Turn them back on right now or I'm calling the police!"

At that moment, two bright beams of light swept across Michael's twisted face, forcing him to squint.

A Maybach glided silently to the curb and stopped right in front of me.