Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Mom, thanks for all your hard work. Weiwei is pregnant, so I can’t leave her side. I’ll have to trouble you to take extra care of things on that end.”

“That worthless woman can’t even produce a son, yet she thinks she’s so special. Don’t worry, Mom knows what to do. I won’t let her ruin our family’s big plans.”

“Good. Once the baby is born safely, I’ll lay my cards on the table with her. I’ve already had an acquaintance check-it’s a boy. You can rest easy now. Remember to delete this after reading.”

Above that, the screen was blank.

I leaned against the wall, barely able to keep my footing.

The mother and son had clearly planned this long ago, wiping away every trace of their schemes.

It was only because of my mother-in-law’s sudden accident that she hadn’t had time to deal with this final piece of evidence.

I quickly used her phone to search for any clues related to Weiwei.

Soon, a contact saved as “Vivian” popped up.

Fortunately, the chat history between the two of them was still there.

I immediately turned on the video recording function on my own phone and aimed it at the screen.

Vivian had sent a string of messages:

“Mom, I made a special trip to the temple today.”

Attached were several photos of her kneeling piously before a Buddha statue.

“I’m willing to give up ten years of my life in exchange for Mom’s health and a long life.”

My mother-in-law’s reply followed immediately:

“Silly child, don’t say such things. Your body is the most precious thing right now. How could I bear to take years off your life? If someone really has to pay the price… let it be Jiang Yao. Her life is cheap anyway.”

Unexpected tears rolled down my cheeks, splashing onto the floor tiles.

Jiang Yao.

That was me.

I had given up everything, serving this entire family day and night just so my husband, who was always away for work, wouldn’t have any worries at home.

But in the end, my life was nothing more than a prop in their little game.

I sent the recorded video to my best friend.

She had clearly been up all night:

“This recording counts as evidence from a third party’s device. Its legal weight and admissibility in court will be significantly diminished. What do you plan to do next?”

“Divorce.”

I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

“Of course you have to divorce him. But before that, we must get a clear picture of your marital assets. The fact that Zhou Chen is being this blatant means he’s already finished isolating his assets. In other words, he’s not afraid of you finding out anymore.”

My heart sank.

She had hit the nail on the head.

For the past two years, Zhou Chen always had excuses-the economy was bad, the company’s cash flow was tight.

Our fixed monthly household allowance plummeted from twenty thousand to five thousand.

The once-substantial company dividends had turned into a measly few thousand in pocket money.

I had believed his carefully woven lies implicitly, even feeling sorry for the pressure he was under.

It wasn’t until today that I suddenly woke up.

This wasn’t a business slump; it was a premeditated transfer of assets.

“A businessman’s betrayal is a high-level strike against a wife. You can’t play on his chessboard; you have to step outside his rules.”

My friend’s words cleared the fog from memories I had buried for years.

Before I got married, I was a top-tier player too.

Even though I had poured all my heart and soul into my family and child over the last decade, it didn’t mean I had lost my edge.

There are only two ways a man transfers assets:

First, funneling them to a third party.

This is the most direct form of malicious transfer. As long as I can find solid proof of even one transaction, I can recover the full amount.

He wouldn’t be that stupid.

That left the second path: funneling it to his parents.

This is the trickiest route.

In the name of filial piety, he buys property for his parents and pays for exorbitant medical and retirement expenses. Every cent seems perfectly justified.

And that was exactly the opening I needed to tear through.