"Wayne, I know you're home!"

"If you don’t open this door, I’ll have them break the lock!"

True to her word, Jordyn did what she said.

But I was already planning to confront her about the filthy rumors she had spread, so I switched on the monitor, got up, and walked to the door.

As soon as I cracked it open, Jordyn shoved her way inside with so much force that I stumbled backward and hit the ground.

I pushed myself up, ignoring the pain in my palm, and stared at her coldly as she barged in like some kind of thug.

“Finally done hiding?” she sneered, her gaze sweeping over the jade ornaments and authentic paintings adorning my living room. The more she saw, the darker her expression became.

“No wonder you never let me upstairs. You were hiding all this filth the whole time.”

I crossed my arms, silent.

She strode over to the desk, picked up the blue-and-white porcelain vase I hadn’t yet had time to put away, and scoffed.

"Looks like a decent replica—but a fake’s still a fake."

Then she pointed at the ink-wash landscape on the wall.

"And that? Probably five dollars at a street market."

I clapped slowly, amused.

“Excellent eye, Miss Ortiz.”

That painting was, in fact, the only fake in the house—a copy I had done in middle school of a master’s work. My mother insisted on treating it like a treasure and hung it right between two genuine pieces.

Jordyn clearly thought I was mocking her. Her expression turned venomous as she snatched a document from her assistant and slapped it onto the coffee table.

“Sign this. I’ll pay you one hundred thousand dollars a month.”

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at the contract. It was packed with clauses.

One of them clearly stated I would “willingly serve her and her future husband,” with no right to personal freedom.

What was this?

A slave contract?

Without hesitation, I tore it in half.

But she was unfazed, almost as if she’d expected it. Calmly, she handed over another copy.

“Rip all you want. I’ve got plenty more.” She shrugged. “But I hope you understand one thing—your going rate online is 99.9 dollars a night. Not even a full hundred.”

"I can’t imagine how many clients you’d need to serve just to make ten grand a month."

"Right now, your reputation is in the gutter. If it weren’t for our past, do you really think anyone else would’ve bothered with you?"

When I didn’t immediately rip the second contract, she stepped closer, pinched my chin between her fingers, and said with a smirk, “You love money, don’t you? If you sign this, I’ll buy you the real versions of all these little counterfeits.”

She gestured around the room, clearly confident in her delusion.

I burst out laughing.

I might not know everything about the Ortiz family’s assets, but I knew enough. Even one piece in my house could spark a bidding war.

And she had the audacity to claim she could “buy me the real ones.”

Just as I was about to speak, one of her bodyguards suddenly murmured behind her.

“Miss Ortiz, this porcelain vase looks familiar... isn’t it the centerpiece from that recent Sotheby’s auction?”

Jordyn froze, then picked the blue-and-white porcelain back up, inspecting it more closely.

That vase was a birthday gift from my mother just half a month ago—acquired at Sotheby’s for one hundred twenty million.

I watched as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Clearly, she was beginning to suspect the truth.

“No way... It can’t be. It has to be a high-end knockoff!”

But then, as if remembering the fact that everything I’d ever gifted her was authentic, her expression faltered. She forced a laugh and said awkwardly,

“Where did you steal this from, Wayne? Or did you sweet-talk some naive rich woman into giving it to you?”

She narrowed her eyes and added sharply, “If I remember correctly, the person who bought this piece was old enough to be your mother...”

I met her scornful gaze with indifference and said flatly, “You guessed right. She is my mother. She gave it to me to use as a vase.”

“If you know what’s good for you,” I said coldly, “take down everything you posted online—before my mother finds out. Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle the consequences.”

Jordyn burst out laughing, doubled over as if I’d just told the funniest joke in the world.

“Wayne, do you even hear yourself?” she sneered. “Look at your pathetic self. I was the only one who didn’t mind slumming it with you, and now you’re dreaming of having a woman like that as your mother? Please. Even if you stripped naked and offered yourself to her, she wouldn’t spare you a glance.”

“And if I remember right, that woman is the most elusive billionaire in the capital—more myth than reality.”

At that point, I saw no reason to keep hiding it.

“You remembered correctly,” I said. “She is my mother.”

Her smile froze on her face.

One of her bodyguards gasped and whispered, “Miss Ortiz, maybe... Maybe this is all a misunderstanding. That porcelain piece... it really does look authentic.”

Jordyn’s face turned ashen. Still trying to keep control, she whipped out her phone and started recording a video of the porcelain vase before sending it to Garrett.

“Garrett, doesn’t your brother work at Sotheby’s? Ask him if this blue-and-white vase is the centerpiece item from that auction—the one that made headlines.”

“Oh, and bring the top lawyer I hired. We’re at Wayne’s house. I don’t care what it takes—today, I’ll make him admit he leeched off me. I refuse to believe I can’t break this lapdog!”

If she was begging to be humiliated, I was more than happy to oblige.

Ten minutes later, Garrett arrived with the lawyer in tow.

“Jordyn,” he said with forced solemnity, “my brother looked into it. That vase was really bought at the Sotheby’s auction—by the richest woman in the capital. Apparently, it was a birthday gift for her son. She said he could just… use it as a flower vase.”

“Oh, and my brother also said her son has his own private museum. It’s full of priceless antiques and rare treasures.”

Jordyn’s face twisted into a cold smile, as if she’d just caught me in a lie.

Turning to me with a mocking sneer, she said, “Don’t tell me this place is supposed to be that private museum.”

I nodded seriously.

Every single artifact in the display cases around us was fitted with a state-of-the-art security system my mother had personally installed.

Well—except for the vase on the table.

Before I could explain, Garrett suddenly picked up the porcelain vase and started examining it with exaggerated care.

A wave of unease washed over me.

I rushed forward to stop him—but he fumbled it on purpose.

Crash!

The sharp, brittle sound echoed through the room as the one hundred twenty million dollar vase shattered into dozens of glittering shards across the floor.

My pupils dilated. My chest tightened like a fist was crushing my heart.

That vase was a once-in-a-lifetime artifact—something my mother had won at auction just to celebrate my birthday.

The only one of its kind in the world.

“Are you hurt, Garrett?!”

Jordyn didn’t care about the priceless vase.

She rushed straight to him, eyes filled with concern, because a sliver of ceramic had grazed his leg, leaving a paper-thin scratch.

Garrett’s eyes turned red with tears as he played the victim.

“I’m okay, Jordyn... I just couldn’t stand him lying like this. Pretending to be the billionaire’s son—he’s still trying to trick you.”

Jordyn hugged him and glared at me.

“Apologize to Garrett! Your cheap knockoff injured him. If you don’t, I’ll report you for intentional assault!”

Rage erupted in my chest.

I raised my hand and slapped Garrett across the face—hard.

“You smashed my property and dared to slander me? You want to see what a real assault looks like?”

Jordyn lost it.

She kicked me hard, knocking me to the ground.

Shards of porcelain tore open my palm, but I didn’t even flinch.

She glanced at Garrett’s swollen cheek, still furious, and turned to start destroying the rest of my collection.

But the moment she touched one of the genuine antiques, the security system activated.

A surge of electricity crackled through her body—zapping her so hard she collapsed to the floor in spasms.

She stared at me, wide-eyed and breathless.

“Wayne... Are you insane?! Using a high-end security system... on a bunch of fake junk?!”

I forced down the burning rage in my chest and said coldly:

"Jordyn, if you had even a shred of common sense, you’d realize everything here is real."

"You care so much about your precious childhood sweetheart—so if he smashed my antique, does that mean you’re going to pay for it?"

"Pay?" Jordyn laughed like she’d just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. “You expect me to pay for a fake? Honestly, you should thank Garrett for smashing it—saved you the embarrassment of showing off more counterfeit junk.”

As she spoke, she raised her foot and made a move to stomp on the shattered remains of the vase.

"Miss Ortiz, wait!"

The gold-medal lawyer, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stepped forward and carefully picked up a shard.

She adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.

"Miss Ortiz... This is real. Look—this hidden mark right here, it’s Sotheby’s unique security imprint. It’s impossible to fake."

Jordyn waved her off irritably. “Attorney Dominguez, you’re here to help me collect debts, not to appraise antiques.”

But Attorney Dominguez held out the shard with a grave expression. "Please, take a closer look. I swear, there’s no mistake."

Seeing the situation spiral, Garrett jumped in, his voice sharp with panic. "That's nonsense! My brother works at that auction house. The real vase is in the billionaire’s private museum! He told me himself!"

I glanced up at the security monitor.

The cameras were turning—my mother must have been alerted by now.

Whatever happened next... Even if I begged on their behalf, it would be too late.

Just then, the package I'd asked the courier station to help locate was delivered—everything neatly packed up and dropped off at my door.

I casually flipped through a few video files, then gave Garrett a cold, knowing look.

So it was him stirring things up behind the scenes.

Well, in that case—he shouldn’t blame me for what was coming.

Seeing how stubborn the two were, Attorney Dominguez turned to leave.

But I admired her sharpness—and her courage—so I called out to her.

"Attorney Dominguez, since you’re already here, why not help Miss Ortiz settle a few accounts?"

"Her people destroyed my porcelain vase, slandered me all over the internet, and stole over half a million dollars worth of goods from me. Tell me—what would that kind of case look like in court?"

"If you handle this properly, I promise your legal career will soar from here on."

She hesitated—until I handed her my phone.

She looked at it for barely a second before her eyes lit up. She nodded firmly.

“Okay!”

With lightning-fast precision, she started flipping through her tablet, legal codes rolling off her tongue.

“Deliberate destruction of valuable cultural artifacts—minimum three years in prison. This blue-and-white porcelain vase was valued at one hundred twenty million dollars, which classifies it as a ‘particularly severe’ case under criminal law...”

Jordyn’s face turned as black as coal. She slammed her hand on the table and screamed, "Wayne! You really are scum down to the bone. Are you seriously trying to seduce the lawyer I hired—right in front of me?"

In the chaos, Garrett lunged at the lawyer to grab the tablet.

“A fake like that can’t get me jailed!”

I watched their pathetic desperation with a cold gaze and slowly unlocked my phone.

“No rush,” I said calmly. “The best part is still coming.”