I rushed to get her out the door.

Only after she left did I sit down and turn to my son. "What does she need that kind of money for?"

Jude was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke. "Her brother's getting married. The down payment on the house and the wedding gift aren't enough. She wants us to chip in."

I frowned.

Melissa came from a rural family. How could a house and wedding gift possibly cost three million dollars?

Besides, this wasn't the first time.

Before, she'd asked for eight hundred thousand, claiming her parents needed medical treatment.

Then fifty thousand for renovating the family home back in her hometown.

Thirty thousand for her brother's new car.

All told, it added up to nearly two million.

Every time I hesitated, Melissa would say the same thing:

"Mom, we're family. Why be so stingy? Worst case, think of it as a loan. My brother will pay it back later."

But she never mentioned repayment again.

I sighed.

"Amber was right. There have to be limits, or her appetite will only grow."

"But this is between you and your wife. It's not my place to interfere too much. Handle it however you see fit."

Jude nodded.

After two weeks of back and forth, we settled on one million.

When Melissa came back with Noah, her face was longer than a mule's.

The moment she saw me, she looked at me like I owed her eight million dollars, nostrils flared, eyes full of contempt.

I heard she'd originally refused to budge from three million. But after two weeks at her parents' house, with her brother and his fiancée giving her the cold shoulder every single day, she couldn't take it anymore and had no choice but to come home.

After she returned, though, Jude's mood only got worse.

He used to come home from work right on time every day. Now it was late nights and business dinners, one after another. On the rare occasion he came home early, he reeked of alcohol and went straight to the guest room.

He wouldn't even spare a glance at his own son.

Melissa, for her part, acted like she couldn't care less.

I found it strange.

Melissa had gotten pregnant before the wedding, and Jude had been the one who'd insisted on marrying her, no matter what anyone said. The two of them had been inseparable, sweet as honey. How had they grown this cold after barely a year of marriage?

It didn't add up.

But it was their business, and it wasn't my place to pry.

Then, a few days later, everything went sideways again.

I was in the middle of a meeting at the office when my phone started buzzing nonstop. I glanced at the screen. It was Annabel Lambert, our housekeeper.

My stomach dropped. I answered immediately.

"Mrs. Gilbert, something terrible happened! Amber's been attacked. You need to get to the hospital, now!"

My mind went blank.

I abandoned a roomful of people and ran.

When I reached the emergency room and saw my daughter, my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Stitches lined her forehead. Her clothes were soaked in blood. A nurse was still wrapping bandages, and the tray beside her was piled high with bloodied gauze.

Melissa stood in the corner, guilt written all over her face.

The moment Amber saw me, tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

The nurse explained that the shock had been too severe. She'd temporarily lost her voice. A few days of rest and it would come back.

I was trembling with rage. "Who did this?"

No one said a word.

I turned to Annabel. "You. Talk."

Annabel glanced at Melissa, clenched her jaw, and spoke.

"Ma'am, here's what happened. Amber's apartment was finished with renovations. She was planning to move in today. But when she opened the door, someone was already living there."

"Melissa hired a locksmith, changed the locks, and gave the place to her brother as a wedding gift. The bed was already made and everything."

"Amber was furious and tried to reason with her. Melissa said that everything belonging to the Gilbert family would eventually go to her son, so she had every right to decide what happened to it."

"And that's not all. A few days ago, someone filed a complaint about Amber, claiming she'd had inappropriate relationships with men during college. They said her civil service appointment might need to be re-examined. Amber had someone look into it and found out Melissa was the one who'd paid people to spread those lies."

"When Amber confronted her about it, she wouldn't admit to anything. Amber was furious and said she was going to call the police. That's when Melissa panicked and shoved her. Amber's head hit the corner of the wall, and there was blood everywhere..."

Annabel's eyes rimmed red as she spoke.

"Thank God the ambulance got there in time, or else..."

Melissa immediately jumped to her own defense.

"I was just messing around with Amber! How was I supposed to know she was that fragile?"

"Besides, Mom, the house you bought her? That was Gilbert family money! Every cent the Gilberts have is going to my son eventually. What's the big deal if I borrow the house for a bit?"

Something inside me snapped.

My daughter had been the center of my world since the day she was born. She had never been treated like this. Not once.

And the false misconduct report to torpedo her career? That was the kind of thing that could destroy a person's entire future.

Melissa hadn't gotten the three million she'd demanded, so she'd set her sights on the house instead—and fabricated filthy rumors on top of it.

A cold smile cut across my face.

"Amber was right. This absolutely should go to the police."

"Breaking and entering. Defamation. That's enough for a few years behind bars."

I pulled out my phone and called Jude. "Get to the hospital. You're divorcing your wife."

Before the words had even settled, Melissa threw herself at me.

"Mom, have you lost your mind?! You'd make Jude divorce me over that little money pit?!"

"I gave the Gilbert family a son! Are you throwing me out AND abandoning Noah?!"

I held my daughter closer and stared Melissa down, my voice like ice.

"Your mother might see you as a burden, but my daughter is not one."

"And stop using that child as a bargaining chip. I'm Amber's mother first and Noah's grandmother second."

"You laid a hand on my daughter right under my nose. That's a slap to my face. I don't care if you bring your son, the Pope, or God Almighty into this—it won't save you."

Annabel shielded Amber too. "That's right! Amber is the light of Mrs. Gilbert's life. She is nobody's burden!"

Melissa whipped around and slapped Annabel across the face.

"You're the help! What gives you the right to talk about your betters?!"

Annabel clutched her cheek, too stunned to speak.

I raised my hand and slapped Melissa right back.

"Annabel has been with this family for twenty years. She watched Amber grow up. She's family—not 'the help.'"

"Melissa, you'd better watch yourself. Push me any further, and I will make your life a living hell."

Melissa pressed her palm to her cheek, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Mom, you hit me? Over a servant?!"

She yanked out her phone and made a call.

Jude hadn't even arrived yet when Melissa's parents and brother came storming in first.

Her mother marched into the emergency room, dropped herself onto the floor, slapped her thighs, and started wailing at the top of her lungs.

"My poor baby girl! How did she end up married into such a heartless family?!"

"They knocked her up before the wedding, and now that she's given them a son, they want to throw her out on the street! Is there no justice in this world?!"

Melissa played along on cue, sobbing and shoving her swollen red cheek in front of her mother for inspection.

Her brother stood off to the side, jabbing a finger in our direction.

"You Gilberts have gone too far! My sister gave you people a son, and this is how you repay her?!"

A crowd of patients and visitors had already gathered in a ring around us, whispering and pointing.

"That mother-in-law is awful. She looks so put-together, too. You'd never guess."

"Right? The girl just had a baby and they're already kicking her out. What kind of people are these?"

"I feel so bad for her! Someone should do something!"

I smiled coldly.

I'd lived long enough to know a cheap circus act when I saw one. Did they really think this kind of gutter-level theatrics would rattle me?

They wanted to paint me as the villain? Fine. I'd own the role. No point in holding back when the mud was already flying.

I walked over, grabbed Melissa by the collar, and yanked her close.

Crack. Crack. Two slaps, one from each side.

Melissa tried to fight back. Every time she did, I pinned her down again.

I hit the gym three times a week. Did they really think this old body was an easy target?

Just then, Jude arrived.

Melissa's entire demeanor shifted in an instant. The cold indifference vanished, replaced by the look of a drowning woman spotting a lifeboat. She rushed over and latched onto his arm, sobbing like her world was ending.

"Jude! You're finally here!"

"You're not going to listen to your mother and divorce me, right?!"

"If you dare go through with the divorce, I'll tell everyone our little secret! I'll drag you straight to hell with me!"