Her voice quivered slightly and her expression turned noticeably uneasy.

Just as the words left her mouth, a man’s voice called out from inside the apartment. "Who is it?"

The next second, a man stepped out of the room.

He was wearing nothing but a white bath towel. Beads of water still streamed down his body.

The moment he saw me, his expression shifted. First he seemed panic, but then he quickly forced into a smile.

"Oh, Mr. Summers, you’re back!" he said awkwardly, tugging the towel a little tighter around his waist.

Watching his flustered reaction, my fury surged to its peak.

I recognized him instantly.

I recognized him too well, in fact.

He was the jerk who had been occupying my parking space.

And now, he was standing here, nearly naked, in my home.

As a man, how could I possibly endure this kind of humiliation?

My fists clenched on instinct. I was about to lunge forward and beat the hell out of him.

But to my shock, my wife stopped me. She did not even look shocked or panicked at all. Instead, she calmly stepped in front of him, shielding him with her body.

"Honey, why didn’t you call before coming home today? I didn’t even have time to prepare dinner for you."

I stared at her coldly, forcing myself to suppress the fire raging inside me.

"Let me ask you one thing. Why is he here… and why is he naked?"

She gently patted the man’s shoulder, gave him a reassuring glance and replied without hesitation.

"Sweetheart, the water pipe burst earlier while you were out. Walter helped me fix it, but his clothes got soaked, so I let him take a shower here. He did us a favor today, after all."

Did she really think I was that stupid?

There was a strange man in my house, half-naked. Even an idiot could figure out what had just happened.

Right after my wife finished speaking, the man, Walter Wade, casually got dressed and strutted over, extending his hand toward me like nothing was wrong.

I stared at him coldly, then pulled my hand back without a word.

Walter did not seem to care. He chuckled and said with mock sincerity, "Yeah, that water pipe really soaked me, so I took a quick shower here. You don’t mind, do you, Mr. Summers?"

Mind? Of course, I mind! I mind it more than anything!

But before I could speak, my wife lightly pinched my arm and leaned closer to whisper, "Say something. Walter is our new neighbor. A close neighbor is better than a distant relative. We might need his help one day."

I stared at her for a long moment. Then I forced a smile and said, "Why would I mind? I should be thanking you for being a good neighbor, Mr. Wade. If it weren’t for you, my home might’ve flooded."

Walter laughed heartily and patted my shoulder. "Mr. Summers, no need to be so polite. We’re neighbors, so of course we should help each other!"

With that, he turned to leave. But right before he stepped out, he glanced back at my wife and said, "I won’t bother you two any longer. Mrs. Summers, if you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to come find me again."

Just as he turned to leave, my eyes caught a faint strawberry-shaped mark on his neck, followed by a smudged lipstick stain on the collar of his shirt.

The shade was unmistakable. It was MAC Cosmetics Ruby Woo. My wife’s favorite shade. The same one that still lingered on her lips.

In an instant, my blood surged to my head and a deafening buzz filled my ears. My mind went blank.

So it was true. Everything Walter bragged about in the car club was not just talk.

The wife he had stolen was mine.

"Damn it…"

My eyes reddened, but I forced myself to hold back, to stop myself from beating him.

At that moment, my wife, Sienna, was still leaning lazily against the door, casually waving at Walter as he walked away. Only after his footsteps faded near the elevator did she slowly close the door.

I stood there, breath caught in my throat, as I really wanted to ask her why she did this to me.

But just as I was about to speak, my phone rang, sharp and urgent.

"Hello? Is this Chloe’s father? I haven’t been able to reach her mother. When are you coming to pick her up from school? Isn’t it irresponsible to leave her alone every time? Honestly, how many times has this happened just this week? Look at the time. Do you know how late it is? All the other children have gone home already."

Hearing my daughter’s name, my heart sank. I instinctively turned to look at Sienna, who stood not far from me.

She was still wearing that light blue nightgown, barely reaching mid-thigh. The neckline dipped low, deliberately showing off her cleavage.

"Why didn’t you go pick up Chloe?"

After hearing what I said, she turned to me slowly, her face void of remorse or even mild concern. Her voice was cold, detached.

"You knew Walter was here to fix the pipes. Besides, Chloe is big enough. What’s wrong with waiting a little longer at kindergarten? Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Her tone was sharp and impatient as if Chloe was not her daughter but just a nuisance she had to occasionally tolerate.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to rein in the boiling anger in my chest. Then I spoke softly into the phone, "I’m so sorry. We’ll come pick her up immediately. Please stay with her a little longer."

As I hung up, my hands trembled from rage.

I could not believe this. Sienna had gone too far.

She had chosen her affair over her own daughter.

And judging by the teacher’s frustration, this was clearly not the first time.

That thought alone made my head buzz with fury.

Back then, to ensure she could stay home and take care of our child without worry, I handed over my entire salary every month without fail. She was in charge of all the household finances and I never questioned it.

Yet in the end, while I was out working tirelessly to support our family, she was betraying me at home.

It would have been bad enough to be cheated on, but what I could not accept was that she did not even care about her own daughter.

The thought made my blood boil and I slammed my fist against the steering wheel in frustration.

Worried about Chloe, I quickly backed the car out of the parking space and sped off toward the school.

On the way, I called a lawyer friend and asked him to prepare a divorce agreement.

As for Sienna Fallon, I was completely done with her.

She was selfish, irresponsible and utterly unfit to be a wife or a mother. After picking up my daughter, I would go home and confront her face-to-face.

Before long, I arrived at the kindergarten. The place was nearly empty.

Aside from a few teachers lingering around, only Chloe remained, sitting quietly by the front door, gazing out as if hoping I would appear.

She had clearly been waiting for me.

Seeing her like that broke my heart even more. I rushed forward and scooped her into my arms.

"Chloe, I’m so sorry. Daddy’s late."

She looked up at me with wide eyes and a hint of disappointment. "Dad, did I do something wrong? Why is Mommy always the last one to pick me up? Today… all the other kids went home and I was the only one left again."

Her words felt like a dagger to my chest.

Sienna Fallon… she deserved death for this!

"Chloe, dear, you didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe Mommy was just busy with something, but it’s okay now. From today on, Daddy will come pick you up. How does that sound?"

Chloe wrapped her little arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek.

"Okay, Daddy. I love you the most!"

Then she rested her head on my chest, her small face filled with grievance. "Mom has been bringing a bad uncle home lately to play games and that bad uncle… he kisses me. I hate him!"

My heart skipped a beat. I tried to steady my voice as I asked, "What did Mommy say about that?"

She thought for a moment, then replied, "Mom said that the bad uncle kissed me because he liked me."

Her childish voice was innocent, but every word she said made my scalp tingle and my blood run cold.

Chloe was only four. What did she even understand about this? And that bastard, how dare he!

And Sienna… how could she allow something like this to happen under her own roof? That was her own daughter! Was she still worthy of being called a mother?

While I was still frozen in shock, Chloe went on, "Every time that bad uncle comes over, he takes my toys. If I don’t give them to him, he hits me."

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing bruises scattered across her delicate little arm.

Gosh, she was just a child. A child. And that monster dared to lay a hand on her?

"And he’s so mean. He said he wanted to sell me. I was really scared."

Her words jolted me back to reality. I looked down at her and saw the fear etched all over her tiny face.

It felt like someone had grabbed my heart in a vice and it hurt so much I could barely breathe.

After a long pause, I finally asked, "Chloe, does Mommy have any other secrets you know about?"

She hesitated, falling silent for a while. Then, with clear disappointment in her eyes, she slowly climbed down from my arms, lowered her head and avoided my gaze.

The look on her face made my heart lurch. Something was definitely wrong.

"Chloe, tell Daddy. What’s been going on with Mommy?"

The moment I asked, Chloe’s eyes turned red, tears welling up.

"Mommy locked me in the room so she could play games with the bad uncle. Even when it was dinnertime, she didn't let me out. I was so hungry."

The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt. Finally, she could not hold it in anymore, so she threw herself into my arms and broke down in tears.

Seeing her like this shattered my heart. The pain was unbearable that I wanted to tear Sienna and that scumbag apart right then and there.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. Then I gently asked, "Then how about Daddy take Chloe to have a yummy kids' meal today?"

Cradling her in my arms, I walked quickly toward the parking lot, a decision forming in my mind.