1 Confrontation

Victor Damone barged into his father-in-law's house, searching for his wife. "Where are you, Carol?"

Rushing into the living room, he saw her seated between her middle-aged parents, Ronald and Martha. Both in-laws made sour faces as soon as they saw him.

Carol looked gorgeous as always, with her chocolate-colored hair and dark-brown eyes. Her brother, Josh, a chubby guy in a sports jacket, relaxed on a couch sporting a smug expression.

The setup looked as if they were prepared to confront him. But he had had enough of their antics. This time they had crossed a line.

"Where is my money, Carol?" Victor asked, glaring at his wife.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ronald barked, getting to his feet. "How dare you come into my house without my permission?"

Ronald Atelier used to be a billionaire, heir to his father, Reginald's company. But he lost most of his inheritance through bad investments and mismanagement. Moreover, making his spendthrift son the CEO was the final nail in the coffin. Josh made fresh holes in the sinking boat.

The Atelier family was gradually fading into oblivion. Ronald had been desperately trying to squeeze money out of people and refinance his company. He had even tried to marry his beautiful daughter to billionaires in exchange for monetary help, but Reginald had insisted that she marry Victor.

"Have you lost your mind, tramp?" Josh raged at his brother-in-law. "Just because you are married to my sister doesn't mean you can stroll into our house as if it is a public park! You can't come and go as you please!"

Victor's fists clenched and unclenched, but he digested his in-laws' insults without lashing out. He was already acquainted with their hostile behavior after three months of marriage. They always had visceral reactions toward him, no matter how much he tried to make them happy.

The truth was that the Ateliers were facing financial trouble, having splurged most of their family fortune. They wished Carol were married to a billionaire who'd rescue them and bring back the family into the wealthy fold. Victor, who was middle-class and could barely give his wife any luxury, had disappointed them. Therefore, they nurtured this grudge and never shied away from publicly humiliating him.

Carol hung her head in silence and did not come to her husband's aid.

"I'm asking you again," Victor grimly said to his wife. "Tell me the truth. I had eight hundred thousand dollars in my account yesterday. They were savings accumulated over five years of hard work in my grandfather's company. However, when I checked the balance today, only two thousand were left!"

"Are you accusing my daughter of stealing, Victor?" Ronald spat back. "How dare you?"

Victor ignored him and pushed his wife further. "Where is the rest? What have you done with it?"

Carol bit her lip and spoke in a low voice. "I'm sorry, Victor, but I was left with no other choice. My brother needed the funds urgently to finance his new startup. Since you made me a joint account holder in your savings account, I took the liberty to withdraw and loan him the money. But I swear he'll pay you back."

Victor furrowed his brows. "Carol, did you forget grandfather Edgar's surgery is due tomorrow morning? I needed six hundred thousand to pay for the surgery. What am I going to do now?"

Ronald butted in. "Why are you bitching about the paltry amount of eight hundred thousand, Victor? I'm sure Josh will pay you back. Why don't you believe Carol? Didn't she just explain it was an urgent need?"

Victor eyed his father-in-law with suspicion. Most likely, it was Ronald who manipulated his daughter and withdrew the money. Both husband and wife were greedy hyenas, while their useless son was a spoiled jerk. Together they made Carol dance like a puppet.

Victor shut his eyes and massaged his temples, trying to think of a solution. "It's fine, Carol. I'll manage to pay my grandfather's surgery fee. I'll go to the bank right away and mortgage our new house. The bank can definitely give me a loan."

Carol raised her eyes to her husband for the first time. She was a natural beauty with beady brown eyes and high cheekbones. In fact, she had won several beauty contests growing up. However, right now, guilt was written across her face.

"I've mortgaged our house already, dear," she said solemnly. "The balance in your account was not enough to finance Josh's startup. I needed another five hundred thousand. And you're right—the bank was more than willing to finance us."

Victor took a step back in shock. He felt his head would explode. Half his savings had gone into purchasing a house in Carol's name the previous month. He had done it out of marital duty and to show his in-laws that he could provide for her.

However, the gesture had proved pointless. Carol had backstabbed him by taking his money and mortgaging the only precious asset born out of their marriage. The same house they lived in! And all that for her spoiled brother who never cared for her!

Did she even care about their marriage? What sort of self-serving family had he married into?

All he wanted was to live a simple life. But his circumstances had gotten worse with time.

"Isn't your grandfather over ninety years old already?" Martha muttered. She had been silent all along but decided to voice her opinion, now that she saw her son-in-law lose his bearings.

"Let that old man kick the bucket. There's no point in patching him up at his age. Josh is young and can make better use of the money."

Victor shot his mother-in-law a murderous glance, but she stared back at him defiantly. How could the hag say something so terrible? His mind raced, and he suspected something was definitely wrong. His in-laws appeared more aggressive than usual.

He turned to his wife again. "Why did you do this to me, Carol? I understand your parents have nothing to do with my grandfather, Edgar. But isn't his health of any value to you? He was the reason we got hitched in the first place."

Edgar Damone and Reginald Atelier had been best friends. They had decided to get their grandchildren married. Carol, who was very fond of her late grandpa, gave in to his wishes and married Victor.

At the moment, she hung her head again but did not appear ashamed of her actions. "I understand that… But my brother…" she mumbled stubbornly.

Victor addressed his brother-in-law. "Josh, give me back the money now. A life is at stake here!"

The brat stood to his full height and scoffed. "No way, bro. I've already purchased a luxurious couples’ holiday package and a local pub with the money. There's nothing left to give back to you. Maybe I can return the money in five years, provided my new pub does well. No promises, though."

Anger flashed in Victor's eyes. "What? Your new startup is a pub? And you purchased a holiday package with it? Are you insane?"

"Hey, don't get your panties in a bunch, bro," Josh fired back. "It's not a huge sum of money. I need the holiday package and some spending money to retain my girlfriend, Jenna. Besides, I didn't object when you married my sister, did I? You owe me big time for that!"

"That's right!" Martha said. "Carol had a dozen proposals from billionaires across the state. But she turned all of them down to respect her grandfather's wishes. As a result, we were stuck with a middle-class son-in-law. Such grievous fortune! What sins did we commit to deserve this? And now you've shown your petty colors, being stingy about a small sum of money. Shame on you!"

"Yep. It's just a few hundred thousand dollars, bro," Josh said with a condescending tone. "Take a chill pill."

Victor's eyes were red with fury. "A few hundred thousand, you son of a-"

He rushed towards Josh, grabbed his collars, and shook him violently. "You little brat! You've thrown away the hard-earned money that I accumulated over two years! Money that was supposed to pay for my grandfather's treatment!"

Ronald came in to rescue his son. "Leave him alone, you good-for-nothing man! Have you lost your damn mind?! How dare you touch my son?!"

"Let go of Josh, or I'll call the police on you!" Martha warned, her voice climbing to a high pitch.

His in-laws' raucous protests did not sway Victor. His anger had jumped by leaps and bounds. He could strangle Josh right there.

However, Carol let out a gasp when Victor assaulted her brother. Her expression changed from guilty to rigid. She got to her feet and approached her husband. Carol was a tall, elegant twenty-three-year-old with curves at the right places. She put a firm hand on his arm.

"Let him go, Victor," she said sternly. "You haven't given me anything except a crappy home in these three months of married life. Don't I deserve better? We haven't even consummated our marriage because I was waiting for you to become successful. I have reached the end of my patience."

"No matter how much you try, I don't think you'll get any further in life. And now, you have crossed a line. Just because I gave some money to my brother, you want to beat him up? What kind of husband are you?"

The words shook Victor to the core. He was aghast that Carol was taking Josh's side and repeating her parents' sentiments. Just a few months back, they had a good understanding. She had promised to be patient until his hard work paid off at Edgar's company.

"All you have is your good looks and fitness," Ronald jibed with a sarcastic laugh. "Why don't you become a school gym teacher, huh? That'll pay better than slaving in your failing family business."

Victor gritted his teeth. He was enraged by Ronald's nerve to say take potshots at Edgar's business when his own company was bleeding. First, they stole his money and were now piling humiliation on him? Villains!

Just then, they heard vehicles screech to a halt outside the house.

Josh hurried to see who it was. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, looking through the living room window. "Two latest-model Ferraris just parked outside. It seems a really wealthy person has come to visit us, dad!"