Chapter 4

"You bastard! You absolute disgrace!"

His mother finally snapped out of her stupor, her shaking hand pointing at Julian.

She gasped for air, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed backward.

"Mom!"

"Somebody help her!"

Chaos erupted instantly. Julian stumbled forward in a panic to catch her, while relatives swarmed around, shouting and dialing 911.

Amid the madness, Julian glared at me with bloodshot eyes, hissing under his breath:

"Are you happy now, Stella?! Did you really have to destroy this family to satisfy yourself?!"

"The one who destroyed this family was you," I replied with chilling serenity, staring straight through him.

Seeing zero remorse in my eyes, fury consumed him. He lunged at me once more to seize the remote control.

Expecting his move, I stepped back and pulled a thick legal dossier from my tote bag, slamming it onto the table in front of him.

"Take a good look. See what this is."

Printed in bold, black lettering was the title: "Petition for Dissolution of Marriage." My signature was already inked at the bottom, sharp and decisive.

Julian’s pupils constricted violently.

I pointed at the chat logs and financial statements still looping on the projector, running through our assets one by one:

"This house was purchased entirely in cash under my name before our marriage. It has nothing to do with you."

"The car parked downstairs was a wedding gift from my father—also pre-marital property."

"As for that BMW 5 Series in your name, the $30,000 down payment came directly off my credit card. I have the receipts."

"Under the law, it may be marital property, but I have full right of reimbursement for my contribution."

"Furthermore, over the last three years, you transferred $137,000 to Chloe Vance."

"You also spent nearly $30,000 on luxury gifts for her. Every cent of that constitutes fraudulent dissipation of marital assets."

"My legal team will formally serve you tomorrow morning to audit every dime we own."

"Julian, you won't walk away with a single extra penny."

My voice wasn't loud, but every word drove into him like an iron nail.

He listened in shock. Then, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke on earth, he let out a bitter sneer.

"Stella, have you lost your mind?" He pointed at me, laughing mockingly.

"You're an unemployed housewife! Who do you think you're threatening? A lawyer? Can you even afford one?"

I reached into my bag, pulled out my firm ID badge, and slapped it hard against the table.

The navy-blue background and embossed gold lettering gleamed brilliantly under the crystal chandelier.

"Senior Partner, Vanguard Legal Partners. Stella Vance."

I enunciated every syllable of my title, watching his smug face petrify into stone.

"I worked remotely while taking care of two children."

"Oh, and I forgot to mention—my annual draw this year alone surpasses your entire combined income for the past three years."

Julian stumbled backward, slamming into the dining chair behind him.

He stared blankly at the gold badge on the table, his mouth parting and closing uselessly without making a sound.

The relatives around the room were equally dumbfounded.

The quiet, submissive housewife they had all assumed was "lucky" to marry into the Hayes family was actually the apex predator in the room.