"Something's come up over here. Have my brother bring some bodyguards and get over here to help."

My brother was a fanatic when it came to protecting me, and he'd taken home a gold medal in boxing.

The second the three of them heard he was coming, every one of them went white.

Brenda stamped her foot in a panic.

"We're all family here. What are you making such an ugly scene for?"

I almost laughed from sheer anger. "So refusing to roll over and get fleeced counts as making a scene?"

Rhys couldn't keep the look off his face. "What are you talking about? My brother just passed away. His wife only wants to cash it in because she's strapped for money. Fleeced? Don't make it sound so ugly."

Then he let out a sudden sigh. "But you're right. That car was part of your dowry. We've got no right to handle it."

Rhys turned and pointed at Tracey. "Honestly, Tracey, even if you're in a hurry, you should've talked it over with us. A car worth over eight million, and you just list it for sale like that? That's no respect for my wife at all!"

Rhys's sudden change of attitude caught me off guard.

Tracey stared at him, shocked, tears spilling instantly as she played for sympathy with Brenda.

"It's not like my husband is even your biological son. It's only natural you don't treat me as family."

Brenda fussed over Tracey, trying to comfort her, her eyes full of blame as they cut toward Rhys.

I looked at him too, deeply suspicious.

The next second, Rhys apologized to me, all sincerity.

"I lost my head for a moment there. Give me one more chance. We just got married. If your brother comes over and your parents find out, won't it just blow up into something huge?"

Hearing that, I finally understood.

No wonder Rhys suddenly backed down. So it turned out he was scared.

I sneered inwardly, but on my face I faked being moved. "Since you put it that way, husband, of course I won't hold it against anyone. As long as Tracey doesn't lose her mind again."

"I'll tell my brother to stand down in a bit."

With that, I went back to my room to rest, my expression worn out, while in fact I was texting my brother.

"Come. Now."

Outside the door, Brenda scolded Rhys for siding against his own.

"What's even the point of a wife like that? Better off just divorcing her!"

She pitched her voice loud, all but begging me to hear it.

I acted like I hadn't.

I explained to my brother what had happened today, and even through the phone he was livid.

"Sis, hang tight! I'm coming to bring you home right now."

"And don't worry about the car. What matters most is who put up the money, and besides, you two have only been married a short while."

My brother ran a law firm, and hearing him say that settled my nerves a little.

Rhys knocked and came in, carrying the little cake I loved most.

"Babe, today really was our fault."

He kept his eyes lowered and meek, gentle, just like the countless times he'd coaxed me before we married.

But I felt none of the old sweetness now, only exhaustion filling my chest.

Thinking of all our years together, I gave him one last warning.

"Your mom swears up and down that you're the real son, yet the moment your brother's involved, whether it's a shot at college or a job, you always have to give it up to him. Do you really not see it?"

"Holding on to your money, fine. But now your brother's dead, and your mom values that lump of flesh in your sister-in-law's belly more than she values you. She can't wait for us to fight our way to a divorce. Is that really wishing you well?"

I spoke with all the weight I had. "Even if we divorce, I don't want you getting cheated over and over. Sometimes you really have to wonder if you're the one who was brought home as somebody else's child."

Rhys said nothing. I thought he was taking it to heart. I ate a bite of the cake, and then my eyelids turned unbearably heavy.

My consciousness blurred as Tracey pushed the door open and walked straight in.

"I told you this drug was strong. One bite and she's bound to pass out. Hurry, get her thumbprint on the voluntary gift agreement!"

Rhys still hesitated. "What if she wakes up..."

His mother walked in too and smacked him hard on the back.

"Sell the car, and you'll have millions in hand. Like you'd struggle to find a wife after that? We could get you an eighteen-year-old, no problem!"

"Besides, she fell out with her own parents for your sake. You apologize, play the poor pitiful one, and she'll forgive you on the spot. A girl who throws herself at you and even foots the bills, and you're scared she'll slip away?"

"And if she really does divorce you over eight million, that just proves she's a money-grubbing woman who never cared about you for a second."

He thought back to all the years we'd dated, when I never took a cent from him and was always slipping him money instead.

Rhys's eyes hardened.

"Right. There's no way she'd divorce me over a measly eight million."

Cold spread through my whole body, but I couldn't lift my hand with even a shred of strength.

Tracey couldn't pry my fingers open, so she gritted her teeth and just forced it.

A sharp crack. The finger snapped clean.

The pain drove cold sweat out of me, and I couldn't even manage a scream.

"Your own fault for clenching your hand so tight. It's just an ordinary sprain."

Brenda dabbed some muscle rub on it carelessly. "Don't go saying we mistreated you."

I have a respiratory condition, and the sharp sting of the muscle rub hit my nose. In an instant my breathing went shallow, and I could barely get air.

Rhys panicked. "Mom! What's wrong with my wife? Call 911, get her to a hospital!"

He'd just pulled out his phone when his mother snatched it away.

"What are you calling 911 for? An ambulance rolls out and that's eighty bucks gone. She's just asleep and can't cough it up. I'll pat her back and she'll be fine."

With that, Brenda shoved me over roughly and slapped my back a dozen times, hard.

The pain sent me into shock, and I blacked out, while she spread her hands.

"See? She's out cold, isn't she, not coughing anymore. Hurry up, let's go, the buyer's waiting."

The three of them turned and left, never once noticing how white my face had gone.

When I came to again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

Mom, Dad, and my brother all stood watch beside me, their eyes full of pain for me.

My brother's hands clenched into fists. "I will never let those animals off!"

Mom and Dad were still shaken. "If you hadn't sent your brother your location ahead of time, we might never have seen you again."

Mom kept wiping at her tears. It broke my heart, and I wanted to wipe them away for her, but I couldn't even lift my arm.

I could only force the words out. "I'm sorry, Mom, Dad. I was wrong. I should have listened to you."

My father reached out and laid his hand on my head with tenderness. "Good girl, it's all right. Now that you're awake, leave it to us to handle. All right?"

I thought of all the people my father had cornered into despair when he set a trap, and I slowly nodded.

"Okay."

Hurt this badly, even the deepest feelings get worn down to nothing.

I'm not a masochist.

Once I'd answered, my parents pulled out a tablet.

"The truth is, we had everything arranged a long time ago. We just didn't want to upset you."

On the screen, Rhys, his mother, and Tracey had met the buyer at a café.

The moment I saw the buyer sitting across from them, my eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Isn't that my brother's good buddy?"

Brenda poured him tea, eager to please. "Then it's settled, full price, eight million. My son's car is a limited edition. You couldn't get one even paying over asking."

When the man agreed without hesitation, Tracey suddenly raised the price. "I can see you rich boys just want a bargain. I just looked it up, an eight-million limited model like this could be marked up to at least ten million!"

She really had the nerve to ask.

I drew in a deep breath and waited for the cops to storm in and break up this illegal deal.

But even after the contract was signed, with Rhys and Tracey Fox cheering and throwing their arms around each other, even as Brenda counted the zeros at the end of her bank balance in a giddy daze, nothing happened.

Yet watching my brother fight a losing battle against the corners of his mouth, I knew they were finished.

The next second, Brenda screamed: "The money! My money's been frozen!"

Before Rhys could even look, the police walked in, an arrest warrant in hand.

"You're suspected of assault and the misappropriation of someone else's substantial assets. Come with us, now."