When I pressed the answer button, Bella’s anxious voice spilled through the receiver.

“Dad, what do you mean?”

“Mom already cheated, and you’re not divorcing her? Are you keeping her for the New Year or something?”

Her agitation mounted.

“Don’t be afraid of going to court! My classmate’s mom is a lawyer….”

Before she could finish, I drew in a deep breath and cut her off, my voice cold.

“No divorce means no divorce. This matter ends here.”

I ended the call with a sharp snap.

In my previous life, the fury of netizens had exploded after my father-in-law accused me of cheating, and a woman, claiming to be my mistress, appeared online, sobbing and declaring she was pregnant with my child.

In this life, I had secretly found out which hospital the woman visited for her prenatal checkup. I asked an acquaintance working there to obtain a sample of her amniotic cells, and I immediately took it for a paternity test.

To my shock, the child in her belly truly was mine.

But I had never even met her. How could I possibly have a child with her?

One unanswered question after another pressed down on me, stealing my breath. My instincts screamed that if I didn’t uncover the truth soon, I would once again meet the same tragic end as before.

And that woman’s accusation had been the very reason I was dragged into the abyss in my previous life.

With that thought, I wasted no time; I paid a high price to hire a private detective to investigate certain matters for me.

I needed to uncover how this child had come to be, and how those so-called pieces of evidence proving my affair were nothing but fabrications.

But before I could get any answers, a divorce summons arrived from the court.

The moment I stepped into the courtroom, my father-in-law, Ashton Grant, suddenly stood up, trembling with fury, pointing at me and shouting, “Austin, you heartless bastard! How has my daughter ever wronged you? When you married her, she didn’t demand a bride price or a house, and she risked half her life to bear your children. And what have you done? Kept a mistress behind her back!”

“You’re a cold-hearted scumbag without a shred of decency, and you deserve to be struck by lightning!”

His teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached, and he lunged forward to strike me, but the bailiffs held him back firmly.

Even as he was forced back into his seat, my father-in-law’s fury hadn’t cooled.

“Your Honor, you must deliver justice!” he demanded.

“My daughter is remarkable, divorced or not, she’ll find someone better!”

“This scoundrel should leave empty-handed, not a penny to his name!”

Then my father, Hunter Mitchell, rose.

His face was drained of color, eyes filled with bitter disappointment and shame as they locked onto me.

“Austin, how could you betray us like this? Kinsley treated you so well, and you couldn’t be satisfied, you had to stray.”

“If you go through with this divorce, consider our father-son bond broken. The Mitchell name can’t bear such disgrace.”

He even raised his hand, as if ready, just like before, to strike me.

The disgust in his eyes carved a sharp ache deep in my chest.

I could bear that others doubted me.

But he was my own father, the one who knew me better than anyone in this world.

I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t believe me.

Not once had he tried to hear my side before choosing to stand against me.

But at that moment, I no longer had the energy to argue.

With a blank expression, I faced them all and said sharply, “I didn’t cheat. I won’t walk away with nothing.”

“The so-called evidence is forged; someone set me up.”

The judge’s eyes narrowed as he addressed me.

“Defendant, since you deny the evidence presented, do you have any proof to submit in your defense?”

I choked; the private detective’s investigation results had yet to arrive.

At that moment, I truly had no evidence.

Yet in everyone’s eyes, my silence became proof of guilt.

The defendant’s bench erupted with scorn.

“Oh my god, he looks so refined, but I didn’t expect him to be so shameless!”

“Exactly! His wife treats him so well, and he still fools around outside, disgusting! And he still won’t admit it. He won’t cry until he sees the coffin!”

“No wonder his wife is suing him to leave with nothing, serves him right! A man unfaithful to marriage should be hit by a car the moment he steps outside!”

Someone hurled a drink at me, the cold liquid splashing across my clothes.

I was about to lose my composure when a voice I knew all too well cut through the air from the courtroom doorway.

“I have evidence!”

Bella entered quickly, her school uniform slightly rumpled, her face a mix of urgency and anxiety.

A schoolbag was slung over her back, and in her grip was a brown envelope.

Her gaze swept past her enraged maternal grandfather in the gallery, then her stone-faced paternal grandfather, before fixing on me.

“I am the daughter of the plaintiff, Kinsley, and the defendant, Austin, Bella Mitchell!”

“I accuse my mother, Kinsley, of betraying our family and having an affair with her male assistant at work! If they divorce, she should leave with nothing!”

I let out a long sigh; it had arrived, just as I knew it would.

To an outsider, she might have seemed like she was on my side.

But only I understood the truth behind her appearance.

The courtroom fell into a tense silence before bursting back to life with murmurs and gasps.

“Wow, the daughter is accusing her own mother? Putting justice above family loyalty!”

“My goodness, what a twist! Is she here to clear her father’s name from the cheating scandal? That takes guts!”

“I knew there’d be a reversal, look at the plaintiff’s face; it’s drained of color!”

Sure enough, Kinsley’s expression shifted dramatically. Moments ago, she had been confident of victory, but now she stood, trembling with fury.

“Bella, what lies are you spreading? Get out of here this instant!”

Unshaken, Bella swiftly pulled several photos from her file, the very ones she had shown me before.

“I’m not making this up. I have proof.”

“My mother, Kinsley, has been involved in an improper relationship with her male assistant for a long time. This is evidence of her betraying my father.”

Her voice steady, she turned to me with eyes full of fierce determination.

“Dad, a woman like Mom, who betrays her marriage, isn’t worth your loyalty. I stand with you, divorce her and make her leave with nothing!”

“She doesn’t deserve a single cent of this family’s wealth!”

The courtroom erupted into chaos, the tide of hostility turning sharply against Kinsley, whose face drained of color.

“What a loyal daughter! Standing for her father, choosing justice over blood, that’s truly Daddy’s little shield!”

“Exactly, a mother like that doesn’t deserve a second chance, support the daughter!”

“Cheaters should walk away empty-handed!”

Kinsley shook with rage, pointing at Bella and me, her curses raw and fierce.

“Nonsense! You two must have plotted to frame me!”

“Austin, you despicable man, did you twist our daughter’s mind against me?”

“I’ll make you both pay!”

Her eyes were bloodshot as she suddenly lunged across the table, closing the distance to the defendant’s bench in a few hurried steps, her hand rising to strike my face.

The bailiffs reacted instantly, rushing forward to hold her back.

In that chaotic moment, someone shoved me hard, too hard, and my briefcase slipped from my grasp.

The paternity test report I had tucked away carelessly slipped out, landing squarely before everyone’s eyes.

I cursed silently and scrambled to retrieve it, but the damage was done.

The courtroom erupted into an uproar.

“Whoa! What’s this? He has an illegitimate child?”

“No wonder he refuses to divorce. The house and car belong to the wife; if they split, he’s left with nothing. How else would he support his mistress and the bastard she’s carrying?”

“Exactly. A live-in son-in-law still demanding family property? The daughter only accused the mother of cheating, but it turns out the father’s betrayal is real too! Neither parent is worth a damn, poor kid.”

From the gallery, my father-in-law lost all control, pointing a trembling finger at me and snarling, “Austin, you scoundrel! You’ve got a child out of wedlock and still won’t leave empty-handed!”

“I knew you were up to no good! Trying to use the Grant family fortune to raise a bastard? Not a chance!”

My father, Hunter, looked deathly pale, his body shaking.

The disgust and despair burning in his eyes were impossible to ignore.

Bella looked down at the prenatal checkup sheet, a trace of shock flashing in her eyes. Still, she quickly regained composure and stood firmly beside me.

“Dad, I get it now why you’re so opposed to the divorce, it’s because you fear you won’t be able to support my little brother once it’s over, right?”

“Children are innocent. After you and Mom separate, I’ll work hard to earn enough for a house and car for my little brother.”

“As his older sister, I’ll take care of him; you don’t need to worry at all.”

I only gave a bitter laugh and looked away.

The gallery, however, was moved by Bella’s supposed sense of righteousness.

“This poor child, her dad’s a cheater, yet she’s already planning to support her little brother. She’s so kind!”

“Right. Both parents should leave with nothing! Give all the family assets to the daughter!”

A flicker of pride flashed across Bella’s face as the murmurs swirled around her.

At that moment, Kinsley finally snapped back to reality, her eyes blazing with fury the instant she heard the words “leave with nothing.” Pointing fiercely at the paternity test, she shouted, “Bullshit! Why should I walk away empty-handed?”

“Your Honor, every penny spent on that mistress came from our joint assets. I have every right to claim it back!”

“Unless Austin gets rid of that bastard child from the mistress, he’s the one to blame for this marriage. He should leave with nothing! Not a single cent for him!”

Ashton slammed his hand on the table, his voice booming in agreement, “Exactly! A son-in-law who lives off us and keeps a mistress under our roof? He deserves a lesson he’ll never forget!”

The curses from my father-in-law, my wife’s fury, my father’s cold disdain, and the relentless barrage of insults from the gallery nearly swallowed me whole.

But I ignored it all, fixing my gaze steadily on Bella.

“Bella, are you sure you want to go through with this?” I asked calmly.

Bella blinked, innocence flashing in her eyes.

“Dad, I don’t understand what you mean.”

“The college entrance exam is just around the corner, and with you and Mom both cheating, it’s bound to affect my scores. But don’t worry, I won’t blame you.”

“As long as you’re happy, I can bear anything.”

Just then, the judge slammed the gavel, breaking the tension, and repeated the crucial question I’d heard before: if the divorce went through, who would Bella choose to live with?

Unable to hide the excitement sparkling in Bella’s eyes, she was just about to answer when my phone suddenly vibrated violently.

A message from the private detective.

It seemed he had uncovered the true mastermind behind it all.

I had guessed countless possibilities, but the moment I opened the message, I froze.

I never expected it to be her.

And the reason she did it stunned me utterly.

But this time, I would not soften my heart.

Before Bella could speak, I raised my phone and shouted, “I agree to the divorce, and I agree to leave with nothing.”

“But before that, I have to show everyone something.”

Kinsley hadn’t expected me to shift so suddenly and froze in shock.

Bella, seeing my sudden relent, couldn’t hide the triumph sparkling in her eyes.

I glanced at the crowd, hungry for scandal, and cleared my throat.

Then, I loudly read aloud the secret I’d just uncovered on my phone.

The moment I spoke that one sentence, Bella’s expression twisted, and she lunged forward and clamped her hand over my mouth.