Chapter 2

Ethan's brow furrowed.

His eyes filled with an even deeper, more intense disgust than before.

I turned my head away, refusing to explain any further.

The officer sighed:

"Mrs. Vance, how about this? If you return the three thousand dollars right now, we can handle this with leniency."

"I can't return it," I said, staring out the window. "The money has already been paid to the hospital for my son's surgery."

I looked calmly at the officer and then at Ethan:

"I will take full responsibility for what I did."

Ethan's frown deepened.

Scarlett spoke up:

"Chloe, you were the one who committed a crime in the first place, and now you have this attitude. Aren't you just breaking Ethan's heart?"

"I don't care," I replied flatly.

Ethan let out a cold laugh.

"As expected, you haven't changed a bit. Officer, take her away. Three thousand dollars is more than enough to press grand theft charges."

"Mr. Vance, please calm down," a female officer stepped forward, holding baby Leo's critical illness notice.

Her eyes were red.

While the other officers were questioning me, she had been standing to the side, reviewing my baby's medical records, her face filled with unbearable pity.

"I'm a mother too, and I understand your wife's desperation. Your child's critical illness notice is right here. Even if there is a misunderstanding between you two, this was an emergency. It shouldn't be treated as criminal theft."

As she spoke, she urgently tried to hand the notice to Ethan.

But in the next second, Ethan snatched it and tore it into shreds.

I stared at him in utter shock.

I had always known Ethan hated me.

He hated me because I raised the price on our wedding day, making him lose face in front of high society.

But how could he hate our own child...?

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

Ethan sneered at the female officer:

"You don't know her. On our wedding day, she forged her father's critical illness notice just like this, blackmailing me for money."

I stared at him, my mind going completely blank.

The female officer wanted to say more, but Ethan pulled out a notarized document—our prenuptial agreement.

"It is written clearly here. After marriage, our finances are completely separate. There is no marital property. Her taking my money is theft, plain and simple!"

The agreement was thrown carelessly in front of my face.

This agreement was the condition he had set on our wedding day. To prove to him that I wasn't a gold digger, I had signed it without hesitation.

After our marriage, his billions had absolutely nothing to do with me.

And the notary of this agreement was his secretary, Scarlett.

The female officer looked at me:

"Mrs. Vance, is there anything else you want to say?"

I looked at the prenup on the floor and shook my head.

The handcuffs were clicked onto my wrists.

The male officer said, unable to bear the cruelty:

"Mr. Vance, that's your child after all. A theft charge will leave her with a permanent criminal record. It will ruin your wife's reputation and traumatize your child for the rest of his life."

Scarlett immediately countered: "If a mother doesn't set a good example, how can the child grow up to be an honest and upright person?"

She glanced at Ethan, then added quickly, "I'm just speaking my mind, Ethan. This is your family matter, after all. You don't have to listen to me."

Ethan looked at her, then turned to the police:

"Please handle this strictly according to the law."

I kept my head down, refusing to say a word.

As I walked past Ethan, the female officer tried one last time:

"Mr. Vance, it will take some time to process the booking. If you regret this, you can still drop the charges before dawn."

Ethan said nothing. He watched me get into the police car, his expression unreadable.

I sat in the cold cell of the police station all night.

I never received Ethan's notice to drop the charges.

The female officer looked at me and sighed. I smiled bitterly and lowered my head.