Just then, Maybelle stormed downstairs, slamming the door behind her.

“So what if you gave birth to a son? Does that mean you can do whatever you want? I’m spending my mom’s money—what does it have to do with you?”

“And you keep threatening to go back to your parents’ house—then go! Stop barking and start biting for once!”

“If you don’t walk out that door today, I, Maybelle Wright, won’t even bother acknowledging your existence!”

Rochelle was stunned, her mouth slightly open. So was I.

Maybelle had always been well-behaved and mild-tempered, never one to lash out. She must be truly furious this time.

Still, as the elder, I couldn’t just take sides without understanding the full story. I softened my tone and tried to ease the situation.

“Rochelle, this is my first time being a mother-in-law—I don’t have much experience. If I’ve done anything wrong and made you feel mistreated, we can talk it through calmly. There’s no need to let a small matter create a rift in the family.”

“Besides, Jaysen isn’t even home yet. If you go back to your parents now, how am I supposed to explain it to him?”

“How about this? Do me a favor—wait until Jaysen gets back. We’ll all sit down and talk it out.”

Seeing that I had extended an olive branch, Rochelle wiped her tears and looked like she was about to agree.

But Maybelle rolled her eyes and snapped back before she could say a word.

“Some people just don’t know how good they have it. Tens of thousands in allowance every month, a nanny at home, a chauffeur outside—what more does she want?”

“Now she’s pushing her luck. Just because she gave birth to a boy, she thinks she’s the lady of the house? Even trying to dictate how my mom spends her own money? I’ve never seen anyone so shameless!”

I noticed Rochelle’s face turned dark, and I quickly tried to cut Maybelle off—but it was too late.

Rochelle completely lost it.

She clutched her baby and collapsed onto the floor, wailing.

She sobbed about how pitiful her life was, how her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had ganged up on her the moment her husband left town.

No matter how I tried to coax her, she refused to get up.

Watching her roll around like that, I started losing patience.

In the business world, I could handle all sorts of treachery and mind games with ease. But the kind of domestic drama that defies all logic? That’s what truly gets on my nerves.

She showed no sign of stopping, and the baby was now crying hysterically too.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up the phone and called the driver.

“Robert, since Rochelle insists on going back to her family, please drive her there.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Rochelle, who had been crying like her world had ended, suddenly froze.

She stared at me in disbelief, as if trying to confirm whether I was serious.

Once she saw I wasn’t bluffing, she huffed, scooped up the baby, slammed the door, and got into the car.

—

The next day, my son, Jaysen, had just returned from a business trip when he received a phone call.

Even through the receiver, I could tell it was Rochelle on the other end, wailing like a banshee.

He frowned and listened for a long while before finally hanging up.

Maybelle, slightly uneasy, cautiously asked, “Bro... what did she say?”

Jaysen sighed, rubbing his temples.

“She said she’ll come back—but only if we give her three million. Not a cent less.”

“Otherwise, she’s staying at her parents’ place with Yvan for good.”

Maybelle exploded.

“She’s out of her mind! Three million—over this petty nonsense? Why doesn’t she just rob a bank?”

I quickly shot her a warning look, signaling her to cool it.

She made an "OK" gesture at me but still muttered under her breath, “Bro, you better think this through. Sure, we’re not short on money, but even a mountain of gold can be emptied at this rate.”

“If every argument costs three million, we’ll be bankrupt before the year’s out.”

I hurried to find an excuse to send her away before she said something else that would add fuel to the fire.

Matters within a marriage aren’t so easily explained.

Maybelle was still young—she didn't understand these things and only ended up stirring the pot.

Once she left, I finally turned to my son with a frown and asked, "Why does Rochelle need that much money?"

My son paused for a moment before replying, "She said her younger brother is getting married, but they don’t have enough for the house, car, and dowry. She wants me, as her brother's brother-in-law, to chip in."

But I remembered clearly—Rochelle came from a small county town. Buying a house and a car there wouldn't cost anywhere near that much.

And this wasn’t the first time she’d asked for money.

It was always something—renovating the family home, her parents’ medical expenses—adding up to several million dollars over time.

Any time we hesitated, Rochelle would trot out the same line.

"Come on, we’re family. Don’t be so stingy. Worst case, my brother will pay you back someday."

But of course, that day never came.

I sighed deeply and said with sincere gravity, "Maybelle is not wrong. It’s true that money isn’t an issue for us, but everything must have limits. If we keep giving in, she’ll only become more greedy."

"But this is your household matter. As your mother, I won’t interfere too much. You’ll have to make your own judgment."

My son nodded.

After a week of back-and-forth, he finally settled with Rochelle for one million dollars.

When Rochelle returned home with my grandson, her face remained cold, as if I owed her money.

I heard she was unhappy with the amount, but life at her parents’ place wasn’t comfortable—her brother constantly gave her the cold shoulder—so she had no choice but to come back.

Yet upon her return, my son didn’t treat her kindly either.

He worked overtime almost every day, and when he did come home, he reeked of alcohol and slept in the guest room. He didn’t even bother to look at Rochelle or the child.

Oddly enough, Rochelle acted like this was all perfectly normal.

I couldn’t help but feel something was off.

Back then, when she got pregnant before marriage, it was my son who insisted on marrying her. Their relationship used to be so loving.

How had it turned so cold in less than a year?

It was all too strange.

Still, it was their marriage—I couldn’t interfere too much.

But then, something unexpected happened again, just a few days later.

I was in a meeting at the company when I suddenly received a call from our housekeeper.

“Ma’am, it’s bad—Miss Maybelle has been attacked! Please come to the hospital right away!”

My heart dropped.

I immediately dropped everything and drove to the hospital.

The moment I stepped into the emergency room, I saw a nurse bandaging Maybelle’s wound.

The gash was so deep that she needed seven or eight stitches.

Blood-soaked gauze filled the tray beside her—it was a horrifying sight.

Rochelle was there too, looking visibly uneasy.

As soon as Maybelle saw me, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

I was shaking with rage.

“Maybelle, who did this to you?!”

Her lips moved, but her face was pale and she couldn’t utter a word.

The nurse explained that she was too traumatized and had injured her throat—her voice would return after a few days of rest.

That only made my anger surge further.

“Mona, tell me what happened!” I barked at the housekeeper.

She stammered for a while before finally speaking.

“Ma’am, here’s what happened. While Miss Maybelle was out, Miss Rochelle sneaked into her room and took the new earrings you just gave her. Miss Maybelle caught her red-handed, and the two of them got into an argument. When Miss Maybelle demanded an apology and threatened to call the police, Miss Rochelle panicked—she slapped her and then shoved her. Miss Maybelle lost her balance and fell down the stairs. Her head hit the glass hard, and there was a lot of bleeding...”

Before she could finish, Rochelle anxiously cut in to defend herself.

“I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to try them on...” Rochelle anxiously explained.

That was the last straw.

Maybelle had always been my precious treasure. Yes, she was pampered, but she had a strong sense of right and wrong. I had just bought her a new pair of earrings that she cherished dearly—so much so that she’d only worn them a few times. If Rochelle had simply asked to try them on, Maybelle wouldn’t have refused her.

But those earrings had been hidden in the deepest corner of her drawer—how did Rochelle even know they were there? Clearly, she had been eyeing them for a while and took advantage of Maybelle’s absence to sneak in and take them.

How was that not stealing?

With a cold snort, I said sharply, “Maybelle was absolutely right to call the police.”

“Any theft over 2,000 dollars is grounds for prosecution—and these earrings are worth millions!”

Without hesitation, I pulled out my phone and dialed my son.

“Bring the divorce papers to the hospital. You’re divorcing your wife.”

“She dared to hit Maybelle and steal from her? Our Wright family will not tolerate a leech like this!”

The words had barely left my mouth when Rochelle lunged at me like a madwoman, snatching the phone from my hand.

“Are you insane, Mom? You’re really choosing that useless money-sucking brat Maybelle over me?”

“I’m Yvan’s biological mother! Even if you don’t want me, are you saying you don’t want your own grandson either?!”

I stared at her coldly.

“Maybe you were a ‘useless girl’ in your mother’s eyes, but mine is not.”

“And stop using the child to threaten me. I was a mother to Maybelle before I was a grandmother to your son. If you dare bully her under my roof, it’s a slap to my face. And I’ll tell you now—forget just the grandson, even my own son won’t change my mind!”

The housekeeper, Mona, muttered from the side, “That’s right. Maybelle is the treasured heiress of the Wright family—definitely not some worthless girl!”

Before she finished, Rochelle turned and slapped her.

“You’re just a servant! What right do you have to speak about your masters?”

The slap came out of nowhere, and Mona stumbled to the ground, not daring to fight back.

But I wasn’t about to let it slide.

Without a word, I slapped Rochelle across the face.

“You don’t get to lay hands on anyone in the Wright family! Rochelle, I strongly suggest you check yourself, or you’ll be the one to suffer the consequences!”

Rochelle clutched her face in disbelief.

“You... You hit me? Over a servant?!”

Without replying, she took out her phone and made a call.

My son was still on his way to the hospital, but Rochelle’s parents and younger brother arrived first.

The moment they stepped into the emergency room, her mother collapsed to the ground, wailing at the top of her lungs.

“Oh, my poor daughter! What kind of in-laws are these, so heartless! Got her pregnant before marriage, and now that she’s given birth to a son, they’re kicking her out? What happened to justice in this world?!”

Rochelle theatrically showed off her red, swollen cheek and sobbed into her mother’s arms, crying as though she’d been gravely wronged.

Even while crying, she made sure to loudly accuse me in front of everyone around.

Soon, patients, doctors, and nurses were all gossiping and pointing at me.

“What an evil mother-in-law! She looks decent, but you really can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Exactly. Kicking out the mother and keeping the son? It’s 2025, not the 1800s!”

"That woman is really pitiful!"

“She deserves to have no children or grandchildren in the afterlife for treating her daughter-in-law like this!”

I gave a cold laugh.

Did Rochelle really think she could shame me into submission with such cheap tricks?

If she wanted to play dirty, fine—I’d take the blame and give her something real to cry about.

Without hesitation, I grabbed her by the collar and slapped her hard across the face—twice. Loud, crisp slaps.

“You want to act like the poor victim? Great. Let me give you a few more reasons to cry!”

As I spoke, I kicked her twice more with force.

Rochelle tried to fight back, but I overpowered her every time. After years of boxing and regular workouts, did she really think the women of the Wright family were easy targets?

At that moment, Jaysen finally arrived.

Rochelle acted like she'd just seen her savior. She scrambled to her feet and clung to his arm.

"Jaysen, you’re finally here!"

"You’re not really going to listen to your mother and divorce me, right?"

"If you dare divorce me, I’ll spill all our secrets!"