"This is where I stand. You want money? Not happening."

I had no desire to deal with this family anymore, so I grabbed my car keys and drove back to my own apartment.

Outside the window, fireworks exploded across the sky, and I spent New Year's Eve alone.

That's how it stayed until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when my husband and his sister finally showed up.

The moment Tanya walked in carrying armfuls of shopping bags, I blocked the doorway.

"Sorry, this house doesn't take in nannies."

Her face turned green.

I pulled out my phone and opened the calculator. "Perfect timing. Let's settle up. You lived in my house for an entire year—how much rent do you owe me?"

Tanya looked ready to explode. She threw her luggage on the ground and jabbed a finger at my face.

"I'd advise you not to push your luck. I'm being generous by not holding a grudge and continuing to live here—you should be grateful!"

"And you have the nerve to ask me for rent? What nanny doesn't get room and board?"

"Besides, don't forget—this is my brother's house too. What right do you have to kick me out!"

I glanced at Austin, who hadn't said a word since they arrived. His eyes were darting everywhere except at me.

I let a cold smile curl my lips. "But don't forget—this house is my personal premarital property. The Austin family didn't contribute a single dollar."

Tanya's mouth worked silently. She couldn't find a single comeback.

So she did what she did best—dropped to the floor and started wailing.

"The Austin family should never have let a cheap woman like you through the door!"

"All you do is bully honest people! Keep this up and I'll make my brother divorce you!"

I almost laughed out loud. Anyone listening would think we'd time-traveled back to the Qing dynasty.

The louder she screamed, the more neighbors came to watch. That only fired her up more. She started dabbing at her eyes and playing the victim.

"Everyone, look at this—who treats a sister-in-law like this?"

"I worked as a nanny for her family for a whole year. She didn't pay me a cent, and now she wants me to pay rent!"

"Someone tell me—is this fair? I slaved away for a year, and I'm the one who has to pay? How is anyone supposed to live?"

The neighbors started whispering behind their hands, shooting me looks of suspicion and disgust.

"How can a young woman be so heartless? If she treats her own sister-in-law like this, imagine how she treats everyone else."

"Right? She looks so sweet and gentle—who knew she was this vicious underneath. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

"Being a sister-in-law is just hard. You bend over backwards to please them, and you still end up losing money. So sad."

Watching her act so self-righteous, I was shaking with rage.

I turned around, walked into the room she'd occupied for a year, and threw every piece of luggage she'd left behind out the door.

"Both of you—get out. I never want to see you again."

The door slammed shut behind me. The frame rattled from the impact, and something in my chest sank right along with it.

Married for five years, and everything I'd given had been thrown to the dogs.

The bank card my mother-in-law used for her "medicine." Tanya's food, clothes, housing, transportation for this entire year. I paid for all of it.

Every connection Austin had at work, even the project proposals—I was the one who handled them.

That pathetic salary of his? He handed every cent over to his mother. Every single household expense came out of my pocket.

Five years of sacrifice, and this was my reward—accusations from a family of parasites.

My phone kept buzzing with message notifications.

【Wenwen, Tanya's still a kid. Can't you just let it go?】

【It's only $70,000. Why not just give it to her?】

【I already withdrew the money. I'm doing this for the good of the family too.】

Right after that came the debit notification.

Austin had actually transferred $70,000 directly out of the linked account.

Blood rushed to my head. I felt dizzy.

I'd only set that account up for him because he handed his entire paycheck to his mother and never had a cent to his name.

Really. Just great.

I checked the time—my mother-in-law's seventieth birthday was almost here.

Since you're treating me like this, don't blame me for being ruthless.

This family can look forward to my big gift.

Austin quickly discovered the spending limit had dropped to zero. He bombarded me with messages.

【You actually changed the limit to zero? You know I gave all my money to Mom. I don't have a single cent. What am I supposed to do?】

【If you're upset about that $70,000, I'll pay you back later, okay?】

I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly got stuck.

Empty promises. Always empty promises.

Since we got married, Austin hadn't kept a single one.

I didn't bother replying. I blocked him everywhere, and finally got some peace.

I used the time to tally up exactly how much this family had siphoned off me over the years.

Soon enough, the day of my mother-in-law's birthday banquet arrived.

I drove back to the small town.

The moment I stepped through the door, the relatives started whispering behind their hands.

Not loud—but loud enough.

"Isn't that the Austin family's daughter-in-law? She's really something, treating the family like this. Whoever ends up with a daughter-in-law like her is just unlucky."

"Right? Just because she has a little money, she thinks she can bully her husband's family. I've never seen anyone so vicious."

"A woman like that? Get rid of her. Keeping her around is just asking for trouble."

No need to guess—Tanya's handiwork.

I ignored them and sat down at the table.

Tanya spotted me, snorted, and shot me a sidelong glare.

"You've been married into this family for years. How much we've helped you—don't you know? You won't even spare a measly $70,000. The nerve."

"Since you're so petty, let's settle accounts right here in front of everyone."

"Whatever you took from this family, you pay back! If you don't settle up, don't bother coming through this door again!"

I hadn't expected her to bring up settling accounts before I even opened my mouth.

Seeing I didn't object, she pulled out her phone and started counting.

"Last time Mom gave you a red envelope—$2,000. The shopping card I gave you, the bag my brother bought you—return them all!"

I laughed—two sharp, scornful notes.

Then I pulled out the bill I'd prepared and slammed it on the table.

"Fine. Let's settle it."

I laid out all the evidence I'd compiled.

"Over these five years, Austin's entire salary went to my mother-in-law. Logically, household expenses should be split evenly—so your family owes me $200,000."

"Since I married in, all of my mother-in-law's medicine and checkups came out of my pocket. That's $30,000."

"And during the year you stayed at my place? The out-of-print ornament you broke has a market value of $10,000. The new phone I gave you, the skincare products—another $10,000."

As I kept going, their faces grew paler and paler.

Finally, my mother-in-law couldn't take it anymore. She cut me off, glaring through clenched teeth.

"Enough. Is this how you act as a daughter-in-law? Isn't it only right that you skip your physical? Besides, did I force you to pay?"

Austin, who'd been silent until now, couldn't help chiming in.

"I gave it to my mom for both our sakes. It's not like you'll never see that money again. Do you really have to nitpick like this?"

Seeing this, Tanya put her hands on her hips and pointed right at my nose.

"What decoration costs $10,000? I think you're just making up numbers to scam me. And that phone and skincare? You insisted on giving those to me—how is that my problem?"

She sneered. "You know what? Fine. I'll tell you. That bracelet of yours? I smashed it. And I hid it too. This whole time you thought you just forgot where you put it, right?"

Her voice turned vicious. "You deserved it. People like you need to be dealt with like this."

In an instant, it felt like all the blood in my body started flowing backward.

That was the only keepsake my grandma left me before she passed away. I hadn't slept well for a full month trying to find it. I was on the verge of a breakdown.

Seeing my expression shift, Austin quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, it's just a bracelet. Broken is broken. We're all family—why make such a big deal out of it? Today is Mom's big day. Don't ruin it. Eat, eat."

Only then did the other relatives seem to snap out of it, nodding along in hasty agreement.

I clenched my fists, nails digging deep into my palms.

Don't think you can dodge this by changing the subject. Everything your family has done—I'm going to make you pay it back double.

After the meal, Austin and Tanya shamelessly followed me back home.

The moment we walked in, Austin held out his hand.

"Alex, where's that proposal I told you to help me with? It's time to hand it over, right? And the gift I asked you to prepare for Mr. Lambert—did you buy it?"

His tone was completely self-righteous. Like he was giving me an order.

I nodded. "I'll send you the proposal in a bit. The gift's by the door. Take it."

Only then did a smile appear on his face. "That's more like it. How great is it when a family gets along peacefully?"

I sneered and said nothing.

Sensing the shift in my demeanor, Tanya sidled up to me.

"Sis-in-law, I want to see a movie tomorrow. Give me some money?"

I nodded and agreed to that too.

I glanced at the date—tomorrow also happened to be the day my mother-in-law was supposed to pick up her medication. I pulled up my banking app and verified the balance.

The next day, Austin carried the gift out the door for work. Tanya took the money I gave her and left for the movies. My mother-in-law went to the hospital on time for her checkup.

I sat on the couch at home, quietly waiting.

My mother-in-law's call came in first.

The show was finally about to start.

The moment I picked up, her aggressive voice blasted through the speaker.

"What's going on? I just picked up my prescription and went to pay—there's no money in this card!"

At the same time, Austin was bombarding me with messages.

[Alex Finch, what kind of garbage proposal did you give me? The boss chewed me out and said he's going to fire me!]

[Also, Mr. Lambert HATES getting gifts, and you told me to give him one? What exactly are you trying to pull!]

Right after that, Tanya's call squeezed through.

"Why did you delete my access card? I can't get through the neighborhood gate!"

"Did you tell security to block me? The guard says I need your approval to enter! You bitch—get down here!"

I lounged on the couch, phone in hand.

I could picture it perfectly: Austin's useless face, twisted with impotent rage.

I laughed out loud.

This game had only just begun.