Brenda nearly lost her mind.
The moment she heard my voice, she and Richard erupted into furious screams on the other end of the line.
“What have you done to my grandson, you vicious woman? If anything happens to Leo, we’ll make you pay!”
I couldn’t be bothered to listen to another word. I hung up and turned to Leo, sticking out my tongue and pulling a ridiculous face.
“Neener, neener! Your mommy and daddy don’t want you anymore!”
“WAHHHH!”
Leo burst into heartbroken sobs, his cries filling the empty auditorium.
Satisfied with the result, I picked up my purse and walked out with my head held high.
The incident spread like wildfire throughout Mia’s school. Before long, several parents had posted about it online, and the story exploded across social media.
Everyone had an opinion. Some people believed my side of the story, while others accused me, the so-called ex-wife, of being an arrogant, vindictive woman who had made a scene for no reason.
Renee soon took to her own social media account to post a cryptic message.
[The truth will always speak for itself.]
I couldn’t help laughing. I liked her post, then promptly uploaded a photo of my marriage certificate with Ethan in the comments.
That was all it took for public opinion to turn against them.
[OMG! So they were never even divorced?]
[That cheating scumbag! How could he have the nerve to call her his ex-wife?]
[I’m seriously tempted to slap that homewrecker across the face! And that cheating bastard deserves a dozen punches for good measure!]
The backlash quickly became too much for Renee to handle. Unable to withstand the flood of criticism, she deactivated her account that very day.
I was thoroughly pleased with the outcome. For good measure, I also forwarded screenshots of the online comments to Ethan’s family group chat.
The group went quiet for a moment before a few self-righteous relatives stepped in to defend him.
[Well, Ethan was definitely wrong for not telling you about this beforehand. But making such a scene in public was going too far. How are Ethan and Renee supposed to show their faces around town after what you did?]
[Exactly! Ethan didn’t cheat on you. He’s simply taking responsibility for his own flesh and blood. What’s so wrong with that?]
[Vivian, you should trust your husband and stand by his side instead of making things worse.]
I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck.
These so-called voices of reason were absolutely disgusting.
I quickly typed out a lengthy reply.
[Oh, I understand. After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My father-in-law, for instance, has always had a serious problem keeping his pants zipped.]
Since everyone was already busy making a mess of things, I figured I might as well make it a little worse.
The group chat fell silent again. Brenda was the first to fire back.
[What the hell are you talking about? Who’s cheating on whom?]
I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I quietly uploaded a video I’d accidentally recorded some time ago.
In the footage, Richard was sitting in a café with another woman, his arms wrapped tightly around her.
They flirted shamelessly, laughing and whispering to each other over their coffee. When they finished their drinks, Richard clearly wasn’t ready for the evening to end. He took the woman by the hand and led her straight to a hotel.
The family group chat went completely dead.
It was Ethan’s nephew who finally broke the silence.
[Holy crap! You adults really know how to keep things interesting!]
Ethan didn’t call me until that evening.
By then, I was supervising a crew as they replaced the locks on my front door. I’d also hired a moving company to pack up and remove every last one of Ethan’s belongings.
I answered the phone.
“Vivian, have you completely lost your mind? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Ethan was absolutely livid.
“Oh, I know exactly what I’ve done,” I replied with a smile. “I’m just helping your mother see your father’s true colors.”
That only made him angrier.
Through the phone, I could clearly hear Brenda sobbing hysterically, along with the sound of things being smashed and thrown around.
Surprisingly, Richard, the so-called head of the family, remained perfectly calm even in the middle of all that chaos.
“Maybe if you actually bothered to dress up and make yourself attractive for once, I wouldn’t have to look elsewhere for a little excitement,” I heard him tell Brenda coldly. “If I went looking for another woman, it’s because you failed to keep me interested. This is your fault, not mine.”
Brenda’s sobs grew even louder.
Ethan gritted his teeth. “Vivian, you’ve destroyed my family. Are you happy now?”
“Not even close.”
I gazed out through the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the view beyond them.
“Ethan, this isn’t nearly enough.”
Over the past few days, I’d been digging into Ethan’s bank statements for the last six months.
And what I’d uncovered was far worse than I’d ever imagined.
Ethan had been transferring money to Renee in multiple installments, all from a secret bank account he’d opened without my knowledge.
He’d also bought Renee a luxury penthouse in the heart of the city, paying for it in full.
But the worst part was yet to come.
He’d even siphoned money from the company’s startup capital, all so he could buy a plot of land in the suburbs for Leo.
And he thought he could get away with every last penny of it.