Throughout my five years of marriage with Natalia Lane, never once have I stepped through the front door of my in-laws' residence.

Natalia tells me that her parents prefer quiet environments and that they prefer to be distanced from us. I believe her excuses.

On the first of every month, the bank transfers three thousand dollars on time to Natalia's parents. The transaction is always labeled as "living expenses for Mom and Dad".

This is my only way of caring for my in-laws.

During the holidays this year, I show up outside my in-laws' residence with some holiday gifts in my arms, ready to give them a surprise.

But as soon as I reach the doorway, I hear my father-in-law, Arthur Lane's gentle voice coming from within.

"Come, my dear son-in-law! Let's have a nice drink together!"

I remain rooted to the spot in the corridor. Suddenly, the weight of the gifts in my arms feels extremely heavy.

Natalia is the only child in her family.

Well then, who's the "son-in-law" that's drinking with Arthur right now?

I reached out and knocked on the door. A young man answered. He wore an apron around his waist and carried himself like the man of the house.

A long-buried memory suddenly surfaced in my mind. I had seen him in a photo before.

Last Christmas, Natalia Lane had sent me a family photo. Besides my in-laws and her, there was this same man in it.

Natalia had told me that he was her distant cousin, Vincent Hale. She said his parents lived out of town, and since he had no one to spend Christmas with, he had come to her family's place to celebrate. I had even asked Natalia to take good care of him and get him a generous gift.

His tone was sharp, and he was openly dismissive of me. "What are you doing at our door?"

I was about to say something when the voice of my father-in-law, Arthur Lane, came from inside. "Vincent, who is it? Come inside and eat when you're done."

Vincent turned his head with a smile. "Alright, Dad. I'll be right there."

I opened my mouth but said nothing. Arthur's affectionate words to Vincent kept ringing in my ears.

Vincent shifted sideways to block the doorway, making it clear that he had no intention of letting me in.

I steadied myself, my voice coming out rough. "I'm Marcus Ellington. I'm here to see Natalia."

Vincent looked me up and down, and a flicker of panic crossed his face. "Oh, Marcus. Natalia isn't home."

Before I could respond, my mother-in-law, Liliana Carrington, called out cheerfully from inside, "Vincent, who are you talking to? Hurry in! The food is getting cold."

"Coming, Mom!" Vincent called back loudly.

Then he lowered his voice and warned, "Natalia isn't home. Come back another time."

After he finished speaking, he started closing the door.

I reached out to stop it from closing. "I'm Natalia's husband. Her legal husband."

Just then, a soft, indistinct child's voice came from inside. "Dad."

A little girl who looked about four years old ran out and wrapped her arms around Vincent's legs.

I looked at her, and my heart skipped a beat. Her face was a near match to Natalia's, from her nose and the corners of her mouth to her almond-shaped eyes, which looked the most like Natalia's.

My gaze shifted from the child's face to Vincent's face. His lips were pressed tight, and his expression held both a warning and a hint of panic.

"Whose child is this?" I asked.

He didn't answer and simply pushed the door closed with more force. I gripped the door frame tightly, my knuckles turning white.

Natalia and I had been married for five years. She had once told me that since we were both only children, we needed to stay close to our own parents. I had even felt guilty for not visiting my in-laws.

After taking my parents' advice, I rushed over here, hoping to surprise her. Yet what greeted me was this scene instead, a "home" that felt completely foreign to me.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the staircase.

"Marcus? Why are you here?" Natalia asked.

I slowly turned my head and saw Natalia standing at the bend of the staircase. She was holding grocery bags, looking like she had just come back from the supermarket.

Shock flashed across her face, followed by a brief flicker of panic. She looked at me, then at Vincent and the child inside the house, and the color slowly drained from her face.

I opened my mouth, but my throat tightened, and no sound came out. All I could do was stare at Natalia, the woman who had been my wife for five years.

The child inside the house shouted, "Mom, you're back!"

Her voice was bright and clear, but her words froze me in place. Vincent quickly picked her up and stepped farther into the house.

My hand on the door frame was shaking. "Natalia, what did that child just call you?"

Natalia's face turned as white as a sheet. Her lips moved, but she made no sound.

At that moment, Arthur and Liliana came to the doorway, with several relatives peering over their shoulders.

Liliana frowned and looked me over with disgust, as if I were something filthy. "Who is this? It's Christmas. Natalia, is he your friend? What's all the shouting about? The relatives inside can hear everything. Take it outside if there's something you need to discuss. Don't cause a scene in the house."

I suddenly laughed, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "Do you two not even recognize your own son-in-law anymore? Were all the money and gifts I sent during the holidays for nothing?"

Liliana's expression changed drastically, her voice turning shrill. "What nonsense are you talking about? We don't know you at all!"

The house was filled with what appeared to be visiting relatives. They were whispering among themselves, but every word reached my ears clearly.

"Son-in-law? Hasn't it always been Vincent?"

"Exactly. Vincent is such a good man. He has spent all these years at home, taking care of Natalia's parents and raising their daughter. He's truly amazing."

"Who is this guy? I've never seen him."

The murmurs remained hushed, but every sentence sounded painfully clear.

Liliana raised her voice. "Did you hear that? Natalia married Vincent. They had a proper wedding. Everyone here attended it!"

The words "proper wedding" crashed down on me like a hammer blow.

I looked at Natalia. My voice was so calm that it even scared me. "Natalia, say something."

She looked up, avoiding my gaze. "Marcus… Just leave for now. We can talk about this another time."

I said, "Another time? Clear this up right now in front of everyone. Tell them who your husband is."

Frightened by the scene, the child burst into tears and reached out her hands. "Mom, hold me."

Natalia glanced at the child, then back at me, her lips trembling. A moment later, she finally spoke. Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard every word. "Marcus, we broke up a long time ago. Why do you keep bothering me? Today is a day for my family to be together. Please leave."

Liliana chimed in immediately. "Did you hear her? Leave now! If you don't, I'm calling the police!"

Arthur started shoving me. "You're causing trouble on Christmas. Get lost!"

I didn't move, keeping my eyes on Natalia. We had been married for five years, more than 1800 days and nights.

We had chosen a house, picked out furniture, and raised a cat together. She had said she would save up to take me on a trip abroad and that I was the only one she would ever love for the rest of her life. It turned out that all of it was a lie.

I said, "Last Wednesday was your birthday. I bought you a watch, and you said you'd keep wearing it forever. Last month, when your mom got sick, I sent you five thousand dollars and told you to use it to buy supplements for her.

"Do I need to keep reading these out loud for everyone? On the first of every month, I had three thousand dollars automatically transferred to you with the memo, 'Living expenses for Mom and Dad.'"

Vincent's face turned pale, and the relatives started murmuring again.

Arthur rushed forward to grab my phone. I took a step back and slipped the phone into my pocket. "No need to try taking it. I've made plenty of backups," I said.

Natalia finally spoke, her voice hoarse. "Marcus… Let's talk in private—"

"Talk about what?" I asked. "About how you lied to me for five years? About how you used my money to provide for another family?"

I looked at the child.

The child looked about four years old. That meant Natalia had given birth to this child in the first year of our marriage.

My stomach churned violently.

Vincent suddenly stepped out. "Natalia! How could Daphne… She's too young to hear any of this."

Daphne seemed frightened and started crying.

Liliana immediately pulled Daphne and Vincent to her side. She said to Daphne, "Don't cry. I'm right here. I'll drive this bad guy away right now!"

The moment Liliana finished speaking, she rushed over and shoved me. I lost my footing and stumbled backward as the gift bag slipped from my hand and hit the ground. The fine wine, gourmet chocolates, and skincare products inside were scattered all over the floor.

A relative peeked out. "Well, he really brought quite a lot of things."

Liliana kicked the gift bag aside. "Who'd want his stuff? It's filthy!"

Liliana kept shoving me while Natalia just stood there, letting her parents humiliate me. They treated me like a complete outsider.

With one final push, I was shoved out of the house. The door slammed shut in my face.

I sat there for a long time before a door on the floor above opened. An old man who appeared to be in his 60s came downstairs carrying a trash bag. When he noticed me, he crouched down and pretended to tie his shoelace.

He kept his voice low and spoke quickly. "A few years ago, another man showed up and caused a scene, claiming to be Natalia's boyfriend. Her parents called him crazy. I don't know how it was settled afterward."

He stood up and headed downstairs with his trash bag. When he reached the corner, he turned back and added, "Young man, this family is not as simple as they seem."

I stood outside the door, thinking about everything that had happened for a long time. I wanted to see for myself just how complicated Natalia really was.

I pulled out my phone and opened my banking app to check the transfer records. On the first day of every month, three thousand dollars was automatically transferred to an account listed under Arthur's name.

I opened the transaction details, where the memo read, "Living expenses for Mom and Dad."

When I looked closer at the account information, I saw that Vincent was the actual recipient of the money.

It turned out that they had been using my money to raise their child. Over five years, a total of 60 months, I had transferred them 180 thousand dollars. That didn't even include Christmas gifts and everything else I'd sent over the years.

All those gifts had gone to this household, and I had been completely unaware of it. I had even felt guilty before, thinking I was letting them down.

My stomach twisted again. I hurried downstairs and doubled over, retching beside the flower bed.

After wiping my mouth, I returned to my car. Then I called my friend, Levi Emerson. He was a lawyer.

"Marcus? It's late. What's going on?" he asked.

I gave him a brief rundown of what had happened.

Levi went silent for a moment, then let out a curse. "Marcus, don't do anything reckless," he said. "I'll catch the earliest flight tomorrow. Right now, you need to stay calm and gather evidence. Don't tip them off."

"Got it," I replied.

After hanging up, I drove to find a hotel. The town wasn't big, and there were only two chain hotels. I chose the one farther away from Natalia's house.

I sat on the bed and began sorting through the evidence. After a while, I called Levi again. "Levi, I need your help."

"You… That child is around four years old, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"So, that means, in the first year of your marriage, she already… Maybe the reason she always went back for Christmas was that…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but we both understood what he meant.

After ending the call, I did exactly what Levi had said. I took screenshots of the evidence as a backup and emailed them to him.

By the time I finished, it was already 1:00 am. Natalia never contacted me. She didn't even send me a single message.

I stared at the screen for a long time before closing my inbox and opening a new document. I started drafting a list of our marriage certificate, financial records, proof of her bigamy, and anyone else she might have deceived.

By the time I finished writing, it was nearly dawn.

Just then, my phone buzzed. Levi sent me a message. "I contacted the man who had previously shown up at the Lane residence. His name is Theodore Bennett. I shared your Snapchat with him. You can judge for yourself."

"Okay," I replied.

A few minutes later, a voice message popped up. The profile picture showed an ordinary-looking young man, and the username was Theo.