12 Preparing to move abroad

At a little past ten o'clock, Dorothy sent a message, but it was just a simple "good night."

Back when he was pursuing Claire, he would usually send ten messages before Claire replied with just one, and that would be after at least half an hour. Now, the situation was completely reversed.

Why?

"Money truly is a bastard, damn it!"

Faced with a nearly 400 million fortune, what was someone like Dorothy, a goddess, to him? Just a simple "good night."

Eugene chuckled and replied ten minutes later, "Good night."

He would never be a lapdog again in his life.

Instead, he was going to be the reaper of goddesses!

One night passed.

Claire couldn't sleep at all. Her mind was filled with thoughts of 120 million, Eugene's arrogant demeanor in front of her, and the intimate scenes between Dorothy and Eugene. It was tough to make it past 9 o'clock, and she immediately called Gyles, urging him to hurry to the bank to check Eugene's account.

An hour later, Gyles called.

"Did you check?" Claire asked eagerly.

"I did."

"How much?"

"You better brace yourself."

"How much, Gyles?" Claire was both shocked and excited. If Gyles was asking her to brace herself, then the number must be astonishing.

20 million?

Even... 50 million?

"Your ex-husband's transactions for the past six months, well, to put it bluntly, in just these two days, they amounted to nearly 4 billion!" Gyles said, and even he gasped for air after saying it.

4 billion, 4 billion!

Thunk. Then he heard the sound of something falling on the other end of the phone. He quickly asked, "Ms. Claire? Ms. Claire?"

Claire got up from the ground. Although it hurt where she fell, she was too excited to care about that. She shouted into the phone, "Are you sure it's 4 billion, not 40 million?"

It was a difference of one zero!

"4 billion, I'm sure," Gyles said. To be honest, he had to double-check three times himself. "However, this money was deposited into his account after his divorce from you, and the source is... the national lottery's prize claim account."

"What!" Claire jumped up. "Are you saying he won the lottery after the divorce?"

Wasn't this still considered marital property?

Although she hadn't studied law, she knew this definitely didn't count.

"From the timeline, your ex-husband must have bought the lottery ticket either on the day of your divorce or two days before," Gyles analyzed. "If it was two days before, then undoubtedly this is marital property. But if it was on the day of the divorce, then it depends on whether it was before or after the divorce."

Claire thought for a moment and said decisively, "It must have been before the divorce. How could he possibly have rushed for a divorce if he didn't want to keep all this for himself?"

That seemed reasonable. Actually, how could Eugene have known he would win the lottery before the draw?

Thinking back, she now believed that Eugene had known he'd won, ignoring the most basic logic.

Gyles chuckled, "Then allow me to congratulate Ms. Claire in advance. You're about to receive nearly 2 billion in a windfall!"

Claire beamed and said to Gyles, "Please also help Mr. Han to apply to the court to freeze my ex-husband's bank account."

"No problem," Gyles agreed readily.

If he won this case involving 4 billion in divorce settlements, he would surely rise to fame in the legal circles of Mystic Hills!

After hanging up the phone, Claire immediately called Bruce.

"Bruce."

But before she could say much, Bruce interrupted, "Do you know how many people are gossiping about us now, and you're calling me? Have you gone mad?"

"No, listen to me!" Claire took a deep breath. "Eugene is suddenly rich because he won the lottery."

On the other end, Bruce was momentarily stunned. In his analysis, he had completely ruled out this factor - who with a normal IQ would buy a lottery ticket? But somehow, Eugene had indeed become rich because he won the lottery.

"Guess how much he won?" Claire didn't beat around the bush, took a deep breath, and said, "4 billion!"

Thunk. The sound of something falling on the other end.

Clearly, Bruce had also stumbled upon hearing this news. 4 billion, who wouldn't feel dizzy hearing that?

The key was, this 4 billion was related to them!

Bruce, ignoring the fact that his analysis had just been debunked, hurriedly asked, "When did he buy the lottery ticket?"

This was the most crucial detail.

"Gyles the lawyer checked, it should have been two days before or the day of my divorce from Eugene. Only those three days. The night of the divorce, they drew 100 first prizes totaling 500 million, which should all have been won by Eugene alone," Claire said, wincing in pain.

A billion in taxes, it was too much.

In her view, at least part of this billion belonged to her.

Bruce nodded, "So, all we have to do is prove that Eugene bought the ticket before the divorce. If he claimed the prize after the divorce, then it still counts as marital property."

"Yes," Claire agreed, "The divorce proceedings with Eugene were completed around noon. If we exclude the time in the afternoon, then he could only have bought the ticket before the divorce. Moreover, Eugene came straight to me saying he wanted a clean break. If he didn't already know he had won, why would he rush to do that?"

That logic was sound, actually. Eugene did indeed know he had won, hence wanting a clean break to keep the prize entirely for himself.

Bruce found himself caught up in her reasoning and nodded involuntarily.

But what was most important?

A prize of 500 million, the impact was enormous. He was still dazed from it all, how could he think straight?

"Claire, we're going to be rich!" Claire exclaimed excitedly, "You quit your job too, we're emigrating, moving abroad!"

Bruce thought for a moment and nodded, "That's a good idea. Right now, as soon as I step out, there are too many people gossiping about me. My wife found out too, from last night till this morning, I don't know how many times she threatened divorce or talked about suicide. It's giving me a headache."

It wasn't that he particularly loved this wife, but her father held a significant position in the healthcare system. If he wanted to advance, he had to hold onto the father-in-law's coattails tightly.

But now... he didn't want to endure this anymore.

Even if they split half the money, that would still be two billion!

Which country wouldn't they move to?

Which luxurious mansion couldn't they buy?

"Alright, you keep an eye on things, let's get our hands on the money as soon as possible," he said, trying to sound composed, but his voice couldn't stop trembling.