My Husband’s Ex Stole My Life-Saving Money, So My Brother Made Them Pay

A sharp sting tore across my neck. I covered the wound with one hand as warm liquid trickled between my fingers. “Ah! Blood!” “Mommy, I’m scared!” Five-year-old Mia Harding screamed and ran toward me. Then she kicked me hard in the knee. Pain shot through my leg. I stumbled backward and nearly fell, but Julian caught me as he rushed inside. My lips trembled. I had just opened my mouth when his furious voice cut me off. “Elena, didn’t I tell you Mia has hemophobia?” “The last time you deliberately exposed her to blood, I let it go.” “But this time, you’ve gone too far.” His cold accusation left me stunned. Before I could react, Mia shoved herself between us and threw her arms around Julian. “Daddy, you’re finally home!” “I was almost scared to death!” She pushed me aside so violently that I fell to the floor. The cold marble beneath me seemed to seep straight into my chest. I looked down at my phone. An hour had already passed. I was about to speak when Julian rubbed his temples and sighed wearily. “Elena, don’t you think you’re being ridiculously petty about the money?” “Vanessa only charged a little money to your card, and you tried to have her arrested?” “You’re Julian Harding’s wife. How can you behave like some cheap, money-grubbing nobody?” My ears rang. I stared at him, unable to believe those words had come from his mouth. After Julian and I started dating, we had eaten ten-dollar skewers from roadside stands. We had bought matching thirty-dollar T-shirts. We had squeezed into photo booths that charged ten dollars for three pictures. Dressed in his perfectly tailored suits, Julian had followed me through crowded streets and tiny shops without showing the slightest trace of embarrassment. But now Vanessa had stolen the $600,000 my brother gave me. All I wanted was for her to face the consequences. And somehow, that made me cheap and greedy in Julian’s eyes? My throat tightened until it hurt. I clenched my hands and forced out the question. “Julian, Vanessa used my card without permission. What she did was wrong.” “Why shouldn’t I report her?” “Do you even know that money came from my brother through the Valenti Family trust?” “My brother is—” “I don’t care who your brother is!” Julian cut me off before I could finish. He rubbed his temples again, his voice growing harsher. “I’ve already had your police report blocked.” “I’ll let your behavior slide this time.” “But tomorrow is the anniversary of your parents’ deaths. You won’t be attending the memorial.” “Stay home and reflect on what you did until you understand why you were wrong.” I stared at him in disbelief. A violent pain suddenly twisted through my abdomen. I doubled over, clutching my stomach. By the time I managed to look up again, Julian had already left. I stood alone in the living room, the wound on my neck still burning. Then my phone rang. “Elena, we’ve completed our investigation. The Valenti Family’s No. 001 beneficiary account was indeed compromised.” “The Family’s legal team has notified its local representative. A security team will arrive at the residence within one hour to handle the matter.” After the call ended, I supported my stomach with one hand and lowered myself onto the living room sofa. The moment my back touched the cushions, something sharp drove deep into my flesh. It felt as though it had pierced straight through my skin. My vision went black for a second. I struggled to stand and braced both hands against the table. But my palms stuck fast to the surface. A servant’s voice drifted over from behind me. “Mrs. Harding, I forgot to warn you.” “Mia has recently become obsessed with short-form dramas about punishing evil women.” “She set up all these traps herself.” “She said only an evil woman would fall for them.”

“Who would’ve thought Mrs. Harding was such a vicious woman...” Every mocking word reached my ears. I sucked in a sharp breath against the pain and opened my mouth to call for Julian. Before I could make a sound, Vanessa appeared at the top of the stairs. Wearing a revealing silk slip, she descended slowly. “Martha Dawson, are the condoms still where we always keep them?” Vanessa spoke to Martha as naturally as if she were the mistress of the house. Then she turned and saw me trapped beside the table. A mocking smile curved her lips. “Elena, you look like a bloated toad with that belly.” “I honestly don’t understand what Julian ever saw in you.” Jealousy flashed in her eyes as she walked toward me. She bent down and studied my miserable condition for a moment. Then, without warning, she ripped the silver pendant from my neck. “Elena, I’m only trying to help you.” “You married Julian, yet you’re still wearing this cheap silver necklace?” “I’ll do you a favor and throw it away.” With a contemptuous laugh, she hurled the pendant into the villa’s swimming pool. My eyes trembled as I watched the emergency necklace my brother had given me disappear beneath the water. His warning suddenly echoed in my mind. “Elena, this pendant contains the Valenti Family’s highest-level security system.” “If it’s ever damaged, it will trigger the Family’s most urgent emergency alert. Protect it carefully.” A brief alarm sounded from the pool. Then the pendant went completely silent. My hands were still glued to the table. The wounds across my back had gone from burning pain to a swollen, terrifying numbness. “Vanessa, do you have any idea what that pendant was?” “My brother gave it to me—” “I don’t care what it was!” “Stay here and think about what you’ve done.” “I’m going upstairs to sleep with Mia.” Her smile turned suggestive. “After all, she keeps begging for Mommy and Daddy to sleep with her...” Right in front of me, Vanessa dropped a red pill into the glass Julian always used for water. Then she turned and walked upstairs. My back finally gave out. My knees buckled, forcing me to the floor while my glued hands remained stretched against the table. My phone tumbled from my bag. I lowered my head and checked the time. Twenty minutes had passed since the last call. I struggled to stay conscious, but my condition was worsening by the second. Weakly, I tried to activate my phone’s voice assistant and call 911. Martha rushed over and kicked the phone out of reach. “Oh!” She covered her mouth with false surprise. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Harding. I didn’t see it.” My vision dimmed. It took several seconds before I could focus again. Staring toward the bedroom upstairs, I shouted with all the strength I had left. “Julian!” “Julian...!” I called his name again and again. No one answered. I forced myself to remain upright. Then intimate sounds drifted down from upstairs. My entire body went rigid. A short distance away, Martha stood holding her phone. She turned the volume all the way up, forcing me to hear the sounds of Julian and Vanessa together in the bedroom. Nausea surged through me. I bent forward and vomited bitter acid. The sounds continued playing from Martha’s phone. Their breathless moans repeated in my ears. I didn’t know how long she forced me to listen. When I finally heard something else, it was the upstairs bedroom door opening. Julian rushed downstairs in his pajamas with Mia in his arms. “Elena, how could you secretly put something Mia is allergic to in the bedroom?” “You know an allergic reaction could send her into anaphylactic shock. She could die!” “She’s only five years old. How could you do something so cruel?” Every furious accusation struck my ears. I stared at the chest Julian was trying to cover. His skin was covered in hickeys and scratches. A violent pain stabbed through my abdomen. I swallowed the bitter acid still burning in my mouth.

My throat was painfully dry. “Julian, my stomach...” Before I could finish, Vanessa stepped between us, blocking me from his view. “Julian, I remember there’s allergy medicine somewhere in the house. We need to give it to Mia right away...” Her voice broke into sobs. “If anything happens to her, I don’t want to live anymore!” Crying softly, Vanessa pulled Julian toward the kitchen. My vision went black. The room spun violently around me, and my head pitched toward the table covered in industrial-strength adhesive. Just before my face touched it, a burst of panic dragged me back to consciousness. I desperately pulled my body away. Rip— My palms tore partially free from the glue. Blinding pain reached my brain before I even saw the blood. A cry escaped my mouth. Then a violent pounding erupted against the villa’s front doors. “Open the door!” “Valenti Family security!” Julian stopped searching for the allergy medicine and lowered Mia to the floor. He frowned toward the entrance. As he passed me, his expression darkened. “Elena, did you call more people here?” “Is this minor disagreement really worth dragging out again and again?” Irritation flashed in his eyes. Instead of opening the door, Julian took out his phone and made a call. “I thought I told you this matter had already been handled.” “Why are they still at my house?” “You have ten minutes to make them leave.” He delivered the order in an icy voice. When he turned back, his brows were tightly drawn. He stared at my face for several seconds, then slowly approached me. “Elena, why is your face so—” Before he could finish, Vanessa’s excited voice came from the kitchen. “Julian, Mia’s awake!” “Come here quickly!” Julian didn’t hesitate for even a second. He turned and rushed into the kitchen. My vision blurred. Through the haze, I heard Mia’s childish voice. “Daddy, I almost never got to see you again...” “Please divorce that evil Elena and marry Mommy again.” “Then our family will never have to be separated!” Julian didn’t answer. Mia’s sobs grew louder. Several seconds later, Julian’s defeated voice finally came from the kitchen. “All right...” A bitter smile touched my lips. The stabbing pain in my abdomen suddenly intensified. My entire body convulsed for several seconds. Then blood began pooling beneath me. “Brother...” The word slipped from my lips in a broken whisper. Through the fog clouding my mind, I thought I heard my brother shouting frantically. But he was overseas at the Valenti Family’s headquarters. How could he possibly be here in Harbor City? I fought to keep my head from collapsing onto the adhesive-covered table. The pounding outside grew more violent. “Open the door!” “If you refuse to open it, we’re coming in!” The Valenti security team’s voices grew increasingly impatient. Julian walked out of the kitchen again. He frowned toward the entrance, annoyance flickering in his eyes. He had just taken out his phone to call his assistant when it rang sharply. The moment he answered, a terrified voice burst from the speaker. “Julian, something’s wrong!” “The unauthorized transaction on your wife’s account isn’t as simple as we thought!” “With your position—no, even with the entire Harding Group behind you—we can’t stop them!” Every panicked word from Liam Parker reached Julian’s ears. Shock filled his face. “How is that possible?” But the line had already gone dead. Clutching his phone, Julian looked frightened for the first time. He turned and rushed toward the entrance. Before he could reach it, the villa’s reinforced front doors crashed inward beneath a single powerful kick. “Don’t move!” “Stay where you are!” Valenti security operatives stormed inside with their weapons raised. Vanessa and Mia emerged from the kitchen and froze in terror. “What are you doing?” “This is breaking and entering!” “I’m Julian Harding, head of the Harding Group—” Julian stepped in front of them. Before he could finish, the deafening roar of aircraft thundered outside. Seven helicopters surrounded the villa, their searchlights flooding the property with blinding white light. The largest helicopter descended. More than a dozen highly trained men stepped out. At their head was a young man with a severe expression and fury burning in his eyes. “Julian Harding, I’ll only ask once.” “Where is my sister?”