Chapter 1The Thirty-Dollar Inheritance

For thirty years, my live-in husband has been cheating on me.

Even his mistress’s son returned from an Ivy League university abroad and was given an executive position in my family's company.

Everyone was waiting for me to make a fool of myself.

Instead, I spent my days eating at Michelin-star restaurants, shopping, playing mahjong, and posting photos of afternoon tea on Instagram.

I looked like a woman living a perfectly peaceful, oblivious life.

Behind my back, they called me an idiot.

Until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

On his deathbed, he attempted to leave the multi-billion dollar corporation and all his liquid assets entirely to his illegitimate son.

The hospital room fell completely silent.

Everyone expected me to have a hysterical breakdown.

Cell phones were already raised, waiting to record my most humiliating moment and post it online.

But I just offered a faint smile.

"Honey, did you forget? When you married into my family, you signed a prenuptial agreement. Your annual salary was legally set at exactly one dollar. What assets could you possibly leave him?"

All the color instantly drained from his face.

...

* * *

During a board meeting,

Richard Sterling suddenly collapsed.

He was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

After reviewing the scans, the specialists confirmed it was late-stage. Treatment options were virtually non-existent.

This morning, he summoned his personal attorney, the company's major shareholders, and his side of the family to his hospital room.

I sat on the sofa,

methodically peeling an apple.

Richard was propped up in his hospital bed. His face was deathly pale, with dark, heavy bags under his eyes.

The lawyer was still adjusting a camera on a tripod, explaining that the entire process needed to be recorded to ensure the will's legal validity.

Soon, the recording began.

Richard coughed weakly into his fist.

"I want to thank all of you for your support over the years. I couldn't have built this without you."

"Now, I've been diagnosed with cancer, and my time is running out."

"Today, with all of you as witnesses, I am formally executing my last will and testament."

As he said this,

Richard instinctively glanced at me,

but quickly looked away.

It was the exact same guilty, evasive look he always had whenever he came home the morning after spending the night elsewhere.

Based on thirty years of experience,

his next move was going to be an ultimate betrayal.

Sure enough,

when he spoke again,

he immediately dropped a bomb.

"I, Richard Sterling, declare that the sole heir to the corporation is..."

"Alexander Sterling."

A collective gasp rippled through the room.

Alexander.

Richard and Evelyn's illegitimate son.

Twenty-seven years old.

He attended elite private schools his whole life, went on to an Ivy League university, and completed his Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD back-to-back.

After returning to the States, within just two years, he was elevated to a C-suite position in the company.

Several shareholders were extremely pleased with his performance.

Hearing this announcement, a few shareholders shot me sideways glances, their faces barely concealing their schadenfreude.

My mother-in-law stood with her arms crossed, looking at me with smug satisfaction.

My sister-in-law didn't even try to hide it; she covered her mouth and let out a mocking snort.

My expression didn't change. I just kept slowly peeling my apple.

Richard apparently felt that wasn't enough.

He looked directly into the camera and spoke rapidly:

"All liquid assets in my name, including stock options, equity, and the estate in the Hamptons... I leave entirely to Alexander."

"The two luxury penthouses downtown will go to my mother and my sister."

"As for Clara Vance, since she has not been involved in the company's operations for years, she is not entitled to any portion of my assets."

"She will retain the Vance family's original estate. That is more than enough to honor our time as husband and wife."

He fired off the entire speech in one breath,

without a single pause.

It was as if he had rehearsed these exact words in his head a thousand times, which is why they flowed so smoothly now.

The lawyer kept his head down,

typing frantically on his laptop.

He didn't dare look me in the eye.

Uncle Dave, a senior shareholder who had watched me grow up, couldn't take it anymore.

He took a step forward to intervene.

"Richard, you can't be serious..."

But before he could finish,

Richard shot him a lethal glare.

Uncle Dave instantly lowered his head and backed down.

After my father passed away,

due to my chronic health issues, I was frequently bedridden.

The company's operations had long since fallen entirely under Richard's control.

Vance Enterprises existed in name only; it had effectively become the Sterling family's empire.

But even so, as the last remaining Vance, watching Richard—a man who married into my family's wealth—blatantly commit adultery and now attempt to strip the Vance empire bare to give to his bastard son... everyone was watching me to see how I would react.

Would I go crazy?

Would I break down crying?

Or would I physically attack him to fight for the last scraps of my inheritance?

The people who loved drama had already subtly raised their phones, ready to broadcast my ultimate humiliation to the world.

But I kept my head down, slowly peeling the very last strip of skin from the apple.

When the bright red peel finally dropped to the floor,

I looked at the perfectly peeled, flawless fruit in my hand and smiled softly.

I looked up, meeting Richard's gaze.

"Richard, did you forget something?"

He stared at me,

a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"When you married into my family, you signed a prenuptial agreement."

"The term was thirty years."

"Would you like me to refresh your memory on the specific clauses?"

Richard seemed to suddenly remember something.

The last remaining color in his face instantly vanished, leaving him looking like a ghost.

I acted as if I didn't notice.

I slowly stood up, walked over to his bed,

and, under his terrified gaze,

gently pressed the flat edge of the fruit knife against his neck.

"Why are you panicking?"

"The show is just getting started."