The next day, Brittney was woken up abruptly by a flurry of phone calls.
It turned out she was being cyberbullied.
A video of her slapping Leanna at home had been edited and posted online.
Leanna also posted a photo on Instagram showing her face badly swollen and her eyes puffy from crying. She looked so pitiful that anyone would feel heartbroken.
She posted this alongside a letter diagnosing her with depression.
Bryce had commented beneath it, [Don't worry, I'm here. I'll always be by your side.]
Instantly, all the public outrage descended upon Brittney.
Netizens even tracked down her former home, scrawling “Murderer” on her door.
Even her parents' graves were dug up, with comments below stating, “If they can produce a daughter as vicious as Brittney, they can't be a good people.”
“Exactly. Let's all go dig up her parents' graves.”
These people even started live-streaming, smashing Brittney's parents' tombstones piece by piece before digging up the graves.
Brittney immediately called Bryce, but the man only replied casually, “You slapped Leanna twice. Her retaliation is only fair.”
“Or issue a public apology to Leanna—a national apology. Then I'll handle your parents' situation.”
His attitude was worlds apart from before. Brittney's heart ached so fiercely until she could barely breathe.
After a long pause, she forced back her tears and said, “Bryce, you're ruthless. If she dared be a mistress, she deserves to be nailed to the wall of shame.”
With that, Brittney hung up the phone.
On the other end, Bryce was visibly stunned. He hadn't expected Brittney to confront him head-on like this.
But he dismissed it. She was just a woman without power or influence—what kind of trouble could she possibly cause?
Meanwhile, after ending the call, Brittney immediately reported the incident to the police.
Soon, the police tracked down and arrested the group through the livestream.
But the next morning, Bryce stormed home, yanking Brittney out of bed.
He unleashed a torrent of abuse, roared, “Brittney, are you satisfied now? How dare you call the cops and have Leanna's been taken to the station.”
“You better pray Leanna is fine, or I won't let you off the hook!”
“If you still want our wedding to proceed as scheduled in six days, go write that letter of forgiveness immediately.”
With that, he placed a pre-printed letter of forgiveness in front of Brittney, waiting for her signature.
After Bryce finished speaking, Brittney stared at him calmly and sneered, “Bryce, are you blind or just heartless?”
“Leanna was the one who knew she was the third wheel yet played the part. She was the one who cyberbullied me, leaving my parents restless even in death.”
“I only made her face the consequences she deserved. There's no way I'm signing this letter of forgiveness.”
“And tell her this, if she's going to fake depression, she should at least make it convincing. That piece of paper doesn't even have a hospital stamp. Who does she think she's fooling?”
Brittney's defiance enraged Bryce completely. He pulled out his phone and held it before her.
“Brittney, my patience is running thin. If you keep this up, my men will scatter your parents' ashes.”
On the video feed, Bryce's men stood on a cruise ship overlooking the endless ocean. With a single release, the urns would plummet into the depths.
The unyielding Brittney instantly broke down in tears and begged, “Bryce, have you forgotten how you once knelt before them, calling them father and mother, promising to protect me forever? What are you doing now?!”
Bryce remained aloof. “Brittney, I kept my promise by giving you the position of Mrs. Joseph. But I fell uncontrollably in love with Leanna. I must protect her.”
Brittney was on the verge of emotional collapse.
Bryce knew full well what the Golden Family had done to her.
Back then, when Leanna tried to seduce him, he had publicly humiliated her in front of the entire school, “Leanna, I have a girlfriend. Stop these cheap tricks. They disgust me.”
Only a few years had passed, yet his heart had changed so swiftly.
He pressed relentlessly, “Brittney, my patience is running thin.”
Just as the urn was about to fall, Brittney finally relented, “Fine, I'll sign.”
Bryce, holding the signed statement of forgiveness, beamed like a child. He tossed his phone aside and hurried off to the police station.
Brittney grabbed the phone, urging them to stop. But suddenly, a figure appeared on the video call—Leanna’s father.
That man shoved the urn into the boundless sea, grinning lecherously, “Last time you hit me with a stick. This time I push your parents' ashes into the ocean. That’s only fair enough, understand?!”
Brittney watched helplessly as her parents' ashes sank into the sea.
Overwhelmed, she screamed, “Ludwig, I will never let you off the hook!”
Agony tore Brittney apart, yet the vast villa stood empty, no one came to her aid.
That night, she knelt by the sea for the entire night. She vowed to her parents she would avenge them.
As dawn broke, Brittney called her uncle in the distant capital. “Uncle, I would like to reclaim the plot of land that I previously asked you to give to Bryce for use as the Joseph Family's burial ground.”
Her uncle's voice grew solemn, “Brittney, are you certain? I heard the Joseph Family has already begun relocating the graves. Isn't it rather awkward to suddenly reclaim it now?”
But Brittney was unusually resolute, “It's not awkward at all. I’m going to reclaim it now.”
Unaware of the events unfolding in Warrington, yet deeply devoted to Brittney, her uncle replied, “Very well, as you wish. I only gave him that land in the first place because of you.”
Though the Joseph Family was impoverished, they were swarmed by arrogant, destitute relatives.
Now that Bryce had amassed wealth, every member of the Joseph clan fawned over him, elevating him to the position of family patriarch.
They even aspired to emulate the wealthy by relocating graves, intending to move all the rural tombs of their deceased forebears into the city.
The Joseph Family, with their eyes fixed on the highest, set their sights on the finest cemetery plot in Warrington.
Bryce’s status alone wouldn’t have secured it, but Brittney, sparing his face, gifted it in her uncle’s name.
Now, after Bryce had angered her by throwing her parents' urns and leaving them in peace, the Joseph Family's graves would find no rest either.
Coincidentally, the day the Joseph Family relocated their graves was the same day as their wedding.
Having arranged all this, Brittney had just returned home when she saw Leanna wearing her clothes in the living room.
She deliberately taunted, “I told you before, Bryce is mine. You shouldn't have fought me for him.”
'And look what happened — you made your parents suffer even after their death.'
Suddenly, Brittney's blood ran cold. So, Leanna had orchestrated all of this.
“Leanna, you're asking for death!”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Bryce emerged from behind her, unleashing a torrent of scolding without asking for explanations, “Brittney, you dare bully Leanna again, huh?!”
Leanna immediately burrowed into the man's embrace, her eyes brimming with tears. “Bryce, I'm so scared.”
“If Britt dares treat me like this when you are home, what would happen to me when you weren't here?”
The man shielded her, promising, “Rest assured. With me here, no one can hurt you. If anyone causes you even a fraction of pain, I'll make them suffer tenfold.”
Bryce was issuing a warning to Brittney, backing Leanna.
Brittney no longer felt heartache over this—it simply wasn't worth it.
After issuing his threat, Bryce added, “The grave relocation is in five days. Contact them again to ensure everything goes smoothly.”
“Brittney, this is a minor matter. Don't mess it up and disappoint me.”
A wave of bitter sorrow washed over Brittney.
Even he himself couldn't accomplish what she had done, yet in this man's mouth, it was merely a ‘minor matter.’
Before, Brittney always felt she hadn't done enough. But now she understood. She had done too much, causing Bryce to lose all sense of right and wrong.
After giving his instructions, the man turned to leave. Brittney couldn't hold back any longer and asked, “Bryce, aren't you even curious about what happened to my parents' ashes?”
Did nothing concern Brittney matter to him?
Did he only care about matters involving Leanna?
Bryce frowned in displeasure, “I already returned the ashes to you. What else do you want to argue about?”
Before Brittney could speak, Leanna cooed, “Let’s go upstairs, Bryce. You're only getting stressed and angry by being here.”
Watching Bryce be coaxed away, Brittney sneered in her heart, ‘Even such a clumsy act as Leanna's could fool him—just how deeply in love with her was he?’
‘Bryce, if one day you discover her true colors, will you regret it?’
