My husband’s young secretary ran a red light, sped, and killed my father-in-law, yet the verdict claimed he was a scammer staging an accident.

I filed six lawsuits and lost all six.

Just when I got key evidence and was ready for the seventh appeal, I found my father-in-law’s body had been stolen.

I was about to call the police when my husband, Diego Vaughan, who was praised as the most righteous star lawyer, came to me and threw thirty thousand dollars at my feet.

“You should know, I, Diego Vaughan, have never lost a case. No matter how much evidence you bring, his case will never win.”

“I said he was scamming, so he can only be a scammer. You keep appealing just to squeeze more money.”

“About his body, I already sold it to the black market. Thirty thousand in total, counted as making use of him. Stop bothering Jessie Ellison. She’s already kind not to make you pay for her car repairs.”

Finally, I understood why Diego always defended the guilty because, in his eyes, the one who died had always been my father.

I pushed the money back at him. “Keep it. I don’t deserve to take it.”

——

Diego thought I was refusing, and his voice suddenly rose. “Thirty thousand, and you still think that’s not enough?”

“Aurora Ventura, face it, your father was just an unemployed old man. Alive, he was nothing but a burden. To earn thirty thousand after his death, that’s already a blessing from your ancestors! Don’t get greedy!”

I shook my head. “You’ve got it wrong. What I mean is, this money came from your family. Only you can take it.”

Diego’s brows pulled tight, his face twisting with disgust. “This money came from selling your father’s body. What’s it got to do with me? Do you really think I’m like you, needing this kind of dirty money?”

Diego grew up with a single parent. His father died young, and my father-in-law raised him alone, through every hardship.

To help him become a lawyer, my father-in-law worked several jobs a day, wearing down his health bit by bit.

Diego had seen it all. He knew the unfairness, the struggles, and the sacrifices my father-in-law made to raise him.

So the day he got his lawyer’s license, he knelt before my father-in-law and swore he would be a good lawyer, one who punished evil and stood for justice.

At first, I couldn’t understand why, after my father-in-law’s death, Diego never went home and instead put all his effort into defending Jessie, the one who caused it.

I never expected it was because he thought the person who died was my father.

I looked at Diego and said calmly, “Diego, I’m telling you to return the thirty thousand dollars and bring Dad’s body back. He raised you with great hardship.”

I thought my words were clear, but Diego still didn’t get it. He snapped in anger, “Are you crazy?”

“When did your father ever raise me? And do you think the black market works like a shop? Once something’s sold, you think you can just buy it back? By now, your father’s body has already been cut apart. How could it be recovered? Just take the money and stop causing trouble!”

Though not my biological father, a good man was killed without reason, branded as a scammer, and even had his remains sold by his own son to the black market to be dismembered.

Thinking of his tragic fate, my eyes reddened.

“Diego, since you know how bodies are treated in the black market, how could you bear to sell Dad’s corpse there? Are you a beast?”

Diego curled his lips.

“It was your father, not mine. Why would I care? Besides, the dead feel no pain. Selling him to the black market for money was a way to give your father value.”

“Who told him not to watch where he was walking? If he got himself killed, then that’s on him, but he even made Jessie have nightmares for days!”

Hearing Diego speak so self-righteously, I truly couldn’t imagine how he would react if he knew the one who died was his own father.

When I stayed silent, Diego continued, “To be honest, I always thought your father’s face looked unlucky. Even if he hadn’t been hit, he wouldn’t have lived long. Now that you’ve gotten thirty thousand, you should be content! Take the money, buy something tomorrow, and go apologize to Jessie at the office. Let this matter end here.”

With that, Diego left the money behind and turned to leave.

Watching his back as he walked away, I suddenly realized that the lawyer who once swore to fight for justice was already rotten to the core, and this marriage of ours had also reached its end.

The next day, I drafted the divorce papers and went straight to his law firm.

As soon as I walked into the office, I saw the germaphobic Diego kneeling on one knee, gently massaging Jessie’s foot. In his eyes, I saw a softness I had never seen before.

The moment she spotted me, Jessie quickly put on a flustered look. “Aurora, don’t get the wrong idea, I….I twisted my ankle. Diego was just helping me rub it.”

As she spoke, she pulled her foot back and clung to Diego’s sleeve, her voice full of worry.

“Diego, explain quickly! I don’t want to lose my job…”

Diego patted her back with care and spoke to her softly. “Don’t be afraid. She came to apologize to you.”

Then his eyes turned to me, full of disgust, and he said coldly, “Didn’t I tell you to bring something? Why did you come empty-handed? At your age, you still don’t even know how to apologize properly?”

Too tired to argue, I took the divorce papers from my bag and placed them in front of him. My voice was cold. “Sign it. Divorce.”

Diego froze, staring at the papers in shock.

Then he frowned in anger and said, “What nonsense are you talking about again? You know very well my dad only ever recognized you as his daughter-in-law. He would never agree to our divorce. You’re just making a fuss to get him to scold me, aren’t you?”

So he still thought of his father.

I forced a bitter smile and said coldly, “Your dad will never scold you again.”

Diego’s expression shifted slightly. “What do you mean?”

I looked at him seriously. “Go home and see for yourself.”

Diego glared at me impatiently. “Stop playing games with me. Didn’t your dad just die? Why are you still making such a big deal about it? Hurry up and get out. Don’t embarrass me in my firm. I will never divorce you!”

At that moment, Jessie, who had been watching from the side, suddenly dabbed at fake tears and began to sob. “Aurora, even though I bought my driver’s license and my driving isn’t good, it really wasn’t my fault that day!”

“You’re asking for a divorce now just to threaten Diego, to force him to send me to prison, aren’t you?!”

Jessie spoke in a pitiful voice, trembling as if she were the one who had been wronged. Tears welled in her eyes, and the sight made Diego’s heart ache.

He pulled her into his arms and said, “Jessie, don’t cry. As long as I’m here, you’ll never set foot in prison.”

Then his eyes turned to me, filled with anger. “Aurora, Jessie is still a child. Do you really have to target her like this?”

“You think waving divorce papers will make me stop defending Jessie? Keep dreaming! I’m telling you, your father’s death can only be ruled as an accident. Don’t even think about getting compensation, and don’t you dare touch Jessie!”

Watching Diego stand against me, all to protect the one who killed his own father, I felt another wave of sorrow for my father-in-law.

Forget it. Since even his own son had chosen this path, what more could I, an outsider, say?

I took a deep breath and said each word clearly, “This marriage, I will divorce no matter what.”

Diego’s anger exploded. He ripped the divorce papers into pieces and threw them into the air, gritting his teeth.

“So you’re this eager to leave me? Fine! I’ll give you what you want! But remember, even if we divorce, it will be on my terms. I’ll make sure you’re ruined, left with nothing!”

“I’ll also make my father see clearly that the daughter-in-law he cherished is nothing but a cruel woman, using her own father’s death to squeeze money through lawsuits!”

Through the falling scraps of paper, I caught the vicious, unbending look in Diego’s eyes, and the faint, almost hidden smile at the corner of Jessie’s lips.

In the end, I said nothing. I turned and walked out of the law firm.

When I returned home, I quietly began packing my luggage. Dragging my suitcase downstairs to the entrance of the residential complex, I was suddenly surrounded by a large crowd.

Each one held up a camera or phone, frantically recording me.

“Look, it’s her! She incited her elderly father to fake an accident!”

“After her father was struck and killed while scamming, she tried to use his death to extort money. When extortion failed, she went to court to cheat for compensation! She even forced a young girl fresh out of college into depression, nearly driving her to suicide several times!”

“Luckily, her husband is a righteous lawyer, helping reason, not kin, always standing for justice, protecting the innocent. Otherwise, who knows what that poor girl would have suffered under her hands!”

“And now, because her husband refuses to collude with her, she threatens him with divorce, even packed her bags to leave!”

The sharp accusations echoed without end. Through the crowd, I caught sight of Jessie and Diego’s gloating faces.

So this livestream was the method Diego chose to ruin me?

The effect was instant. Reporters at the scene shouted accusations, while insults flooded through major livestream rooms.

“Damn, this woman’s real trash, selling her own father’s life for money!”

“With a daughter like her, no wonder the old man didn’t live long.”

“Her dad wasn’t good either, why else would he scam? Serves him right to die!”

Public opinion spread like fire. In no time, my photo shot to the top of trending searches across the internet.

“Beast daughter,” “plague,” “scammer dog”, all kinds of labels stuck to me, becoming the name people knew me by.

With the livestream hosts stirring things up, the crowd on the street turned restless, throwing eggs and rotten vegetables at me.

Stepping over the trash at my feet, I pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of Diego.

“Diego, must you really push things this far?”

His brows drew together, but before he could speak, Jessie, her eyes full of tears, spoke first.

“Aurora, even though your father has passed, these days haven’t been easy for me either! I beg you, please let me go, stop holding on to me!”

A trace of pity flashed in Diego’s eyes, but when he looked at me, his voice turned cold.

“Aurora, all of this, you brought it on yourself. Your father died in that car accident because he was scamming. You shouldn’t keep suing and making life hard for Jessie.”

“Jessie’s new car was wrecked by your father. She’s already kind enough not to demand you pay for the repairs, yet you keep pressing on without end. With such a cruel daughter, no wonder your father died early!”

The moment Diego’s words fell, my father suddenly stepped out from the crowd and looked straight at him.

“Who died?”