Amelia shot to her feet, furious, and jabbed a finger at my face.
"Get that money back, right now!"
"You're a middle-school dropout who can't even handle a normal investment—and you think you can play the futures market?"
Humiliation rose in me like never before.
Her whole family had always used my schooling and my background to grind me down, gaslighting me into half a lifetime of feeling worthless.
Still, I obediently took out my phone and called the futures firm.
Over the speaker, all I got was the broker's apologetic voice.
"Mr. Fox, it's seven in the evening. We've closed for the day."
"First thing tomorrow morning, I'll process it for you."
I pretended to give in, reluctant.
Inside, I was laughing coldly.
I'd deliberately stalled until the firm closed before coming home, precisely so they couldn't stop me on the spot.
My mother-in-law let out a cold snort.
"Useless waste. Once you get that money out tomorrow, you hand it straight to Millie to manage!"
I smiled to myself.
By tomorrow, that money couldn't be pulled out at all.
Early the next morning, Amelia's shriek startled everyone awake.
"It's over. The U.S. and Landore have reached a settlement, and the Hormell Strait is open."
"Oil crashed thirty percent!"
I put a look of shock on my face.
"What? How could this happen?"
My in-laws swarmed in at once, cursing me, while Percival stood off to the side sighing about how I never listened.
I made my whole body tremble and snatched up my phone in a panic.
"I'll pull out of the futures right now. I don't want to invest anymore!"
But Percival's face darkened.
He reached out and stopped me.
"Mr. Fox, you can't pull out now."
"If you exit now, you won't get your principal back, and you'll still owe the firm eight hundred million."
"Add the two hundred million from your loan, and you're carrying one billion in debt total!"
"One billion!"
My mother-in-law crumpled with a groan, eyes rolling back.
She slid limply to the floor.
My father-in-law went white with fright, his legs shaking like a sieve.
Amelia dropped the act entirely and grabbed Percival's arm.
"Percival, what do we do now?"
"This billion is marital debt. I'm not carrying that much!"
I laughed coldly inside.
So the mask was off already?
Something vicious flickered in Percival's eyes.
"There's only one way. You two divorce, and Neal shoulders all the debt himself."
Amelia's eyes lit up instantly.
She traded a quick glance with Percival.
My in-laws chimed in one after another.
"Yes, divorce him fast."
"We can't let this waste drag us down!"
Something in me went cold all the way through.
When I had money, it was "family" out of every mouth.
The moment I took on debt, they wanted me kicked out.
I put on a face full of reluctance.
I even squeezed out a few tears.
"I won't divorce."
"Millie, I love you. I never want to be apart from you for the rest of my life."
"Besides, you're my wife. Surely you'll face the hard times with me."
The disgust in her eyes was practically spilling over.
Even so, Amelia kept her patience and coaxed me in a soft voice.
"Neal, we still have two children. When the creditors come knocking, it'll terrify them."
"You don't want to hurt them, do you?"
I bowed my head and thought about it for a long while.
At last I reluctantly agreed.
But rage was burning sky-high inside me.
My children, my ass.
In my last life, after I was beaten to death, those two kids turned around and called Percival "Daddy," and cursed me as a waste.
Only then did I learn that both of them were Amelia and Percival's bastards.
Once we'd signed the divorce papers, Amelia caught my arm, her eyes darting.
"Neal, there's not a cent left in this house now."
"To leave a little something for the kids, I've lined up a few underground fights for you in Thailand. Win them, and you'll walk away with thirty million."
