Shaun was stunned. "What exactly do you want?"

"Like I said, compensation," I said, taking out the receipts I'd prepared in advance. "I bought this vase last month from an art exhibition. Here's the official receipt. Also, I am seeking reparation for the damage to my reputation caused by your assault and defamation. That will amount to 350,000 dollars."

"What? 350,000 dollars?"

Before Shaun could say anything, Elizabeth jumped up. "Are you out of your mind? That piece of junk is worth 350,000? It's not even worth 35 dollars!"

I smiled. "This is a piece of art; I wouldn't expect you to understand. Besides, I didn't forge the receipt. I even have a certificate of authenticity here. I'm not extorting you.

"Also, you spread rumors that I was fooling around with other men, damaging my reputation. That's also proven. I have the surveillance footage and the witnesses to back me up. I think my lawyer's here. If you've got an issue, talk to him."

"You stabbed me with a knife!" Elizabeth insisted.

I looked at Rory, who said gravely, "If we consider the circumstances, it was self-defense. They will be remanded."

Shaun and Elizabeth immediately panicked at that. I looked around at the rest of their accomplices. "They are just as responsible."

The accomplices were Shaun's relatives. When they heard that, they panicked as well. "No! I've got nothing to do with him. He's the one who brought us here!"

"We were just there to see what was going on! We didn't do anything!"

"Yeah, we don't have any problem with you."

They quickly backed away, trying to distance themselves from Shaun. I scoffed and looked at him. "Why don't you call Cindy and see what she has to say? After all, it would be detrimental to your child's future if their father ends up with a criminal record."

Shaun gritted his teeth. "You're doing this on purpose!"

"How can you say that? I'm the one getting defamed. How am I supposed to hold my head up in public after all you've said about me? I'm just asking you to call your wife. This is perfectly reasonable," I said.

My lawyer, Carmen Caldwell, filled everyone in on the legal implications. With the police on my side, Shaun could only clench his fists and say darkly, "I don't have that much money right now."

"You don't, but your wife does."

"That's nonsense! You owe my wife 300,000 dollars that you haven't paid back, and now you want me to compensate you 350,000? Why don't you return that money first!"

I was waiting for him to bring that up. Crossing my arms, I said, "You say that I borrowed money from your wife. Do you have any proof? Bank transfer records? Chat history? If not, that's just another false accusation!"

"Just you wait!"

Shaun pulled out his phone and called Cindy. Unfortunately for him, she did not answer.

I laughed as he tried repeatedly with no success. Of course she wouldn't pick up—Cindy was probably already in custody.

She had taken money from Shaun under the pretense of lending it to me, saying that I was materialistic and wanted to buy myself some luxury items. In reality, she was funneling it to her brother.

The only luxury bag I owned was a reward I bought for myself after four years of work.

Even that had been used against me.

I raised my eyebrow and glanced outside. It was almost time.

"I'm curious, Shaun," I said. "Why did your wife lie to you? Where did she go, and why did she lie to you and me? Could she be seeing someone else?"

Upon hearing that, Shaun's anger boiled over. "Stop trying to stir things up! She's pregnant. Where can she go?"

I scoffed but said nothing more. After a while, a scuffle sounded outside, with familiar voices weaved amongst the commotion.

Then, Cindy was brought inside the police station. When she saw me, she froze.

Shaun was equally dumbfounded. "Honey, what are you doing here?"

Cindy froze, her face pale as she stared at Shaun. Shaun was equally shocked. He didn't know how things had spiraled into this.

They looked at each other. Neither knew what to say.

Standing to the side, I broke the silence. "Cindy, why are you here? What happened? Why are you handcuffed?"

The police officer who had brought her in handed her over to Rory. "We received reports of illegal transactions between these two."

"Transactions? What transactions?" Shaun blanched, as did Cindy. She began to sob and clutch at her stomach.

"It hurts! Shaun, my stomach hurts! Our baby!"

She collapsed to the ground. Everyone flew into a panic. She was pregnant, after all. If something serious happened to her, it would be a disaster.

The police immediately sent her to the hospital. Meanwhile, I told Carmen to follow up on the matter. I did not want to let this matter go.

Shaun wanted to leave, but I wouldn't let him.

Furious, he glared at me with reddened eyes. "If anything happens to my wife, I'll never forgive you."

"There are police and doctors with her. You'd only add to the chaos if you went. If you're truly concerned, sign this agreement to compensate me for my losses. You can pay in installments," I said.

Left with no choice, Shaun had to sign. I asked the police to keep an eye on him, ensuring he made a public apology video and kept it pinned to his social media for a month.

He agreed reluctantly. Once everything was settled, I finally returned home.

Even so, this wasn't over. I'd reached out to a few content creators on the Internet as well and promised them an interview so that they would spread the story.

I had no qualms about escalating things. In my last life, Cindy had weaponized public opinion against me, and I had been powerless to fight back.

This time, I was going to seize the narrative before she could.

After the interview, Shaun called me. "Rainey! I swear, I won't let this slide!"

"You still owe me 350,000 dollars. Do you really want to cause more trouble?"

He hung up without answering.

The next day, I called up several reporters and went to the hospital. Cindy was lying in a bed in a hospital room, with Shaun sitting beside her, his eyes red with anger.

When he saw me, he immediately charged at me.

"How dare you show your face here!" He raised his hand and tried to hit me, but I caught his wrist.

"Use your brains, Shaun. Why won't I dare to come here? I didn't do anything wrong," I said. "But if you hit me again, I'll make sure you end up in jail!"

Shaun yelled, "You're not welcome here! Get out!"

"I'm not here for you. I'm here to see Cindy." I brushed past him and approached Cindy's bedside. "Where did you go last night, Cindy? Your husband flew off the handle and attacked me in my own home!

"He even made up lies about me, so let's set the record straight today. He said that I borrowed 300,000 dollars from you. I don't remember that. Here, let's check our bank accounts!"

Last time, I went through all my financial records and printed every single transaction from the past few years.

That included a detailed timeline of all the times Cindy had claimed we met up recently.

I wanted everyone to see who was actually lying.

Seeing this, Cindy was stunned. "You…"

"Cindy, your husband came to my house and attacked me last night. I only demanded financial compensation and nothing else for your sake. He owes me 350,000 dollars, and he's saying that I owe you 300,000. I'd like to clear this up.

"Tell me when and where you gave me that money. I don't want this to cause more fights between you two; 300,000 dollars isn't a small amount.

"If I owe you money and refuse to pay you back, please, by all means, sue me. But if I hadn't done anything like that, then this is defamation!"