Chapter 3

I stumbled against the sharp corner of the cabinet, my vision spinning.

The man who had once sworn to love me forever had just raised his hand against me for another woman.

While pretending to stop the fight, Clara wailed to the onlookers gathering at the door:

"It’s all my fault... Mrs. Vance, please stop hitting Mr. Vance, he just had surgery..."

The whispers from the crowd started pouring in.

"Wow, the wife is so abusive..."

"Look at how she's treating the poor caretaker..."

I watched Ethan tenderly checking if Clara had been "hurt" in the scuffle. I was entirely done.

I wiped the blood from my forehead, pulled out my phone, and opened Instagram. I went straight to IG Live.

I pointed the camera directly at this absurd circus.

"Everyone, I need you to witness this today."

My voice was so calm it terrified me.

"Take a look at my husband of five years. While lying in his hospital bed, he and this 'poor, innocent' caretaker are forcing me to give up our marital home and my husband."

Clara's face instantly stiffened.

Ethan roared in anger, "Olivia! Are you crazy? Turn that off! You're washing our dirty laundry in public!"

I smiled.

"The moment you chose her, this family ceased to exist."

The live stream camera was like a cold scalpel, slicing open all the carefully crafted lies in that hospital room.

Ethan kept shouting, "Olivia! Stop this madness! Turn it off! Our private life is none of their business!"

The "decency" he was defending was no longer ours—he had already drawn a line between him and me.

Clara, reacting faster, covered half her face with Ethan's hospital gown sleeve, weeping on cue. "Mr. Vance... don't do this for me... Mrs. Vance, I beg you, it’s all my fault. My worthless life isn't worth this. I’ll leave this city tonight, I won't get in your way anymore..."

She knew exactly how to play the victim.

However, the comment section on the live stream was already moving at lightning speed, digging up the truth:

【Give this woman an Oscar! That fake crying is gold!】

【Wait! Is that Clara Higgins?! Didn’t she work at Mercy Hospital last year? She took care of a retired city official, and that old guy ended up trying to divorce his wife to marry her! His kids almost called the cops!】

【Oh my god, yes! I remember that! Didn’t she run off with a bunch of his money in the end?】

【Check her record! She’s a professional scammer! She targets vulnerable, sick, older men!】

Looking at the scrolling comments, I found my opening.

I spoke clearly into the microphone. "Leave? Clara, before you run off with the 'gifts' my husband secretly gave you and my family heirloom, I'm afraid you can't just walk away. Furthermore, you just claimed you wanted to stop me from hitting Ethan, but you intentionally shoved me, causing me to split my forehead open. The hallway security cameras have captured everything. That is assault, and the evidence is solid."

I paused, turning my gaze to Ethan, whose face was completely pale. "Ethan, you were out of it from the surgery, which I can partially excuse. But you gave away our marital property—my priceless vintage emerald necklace—without my consent. We are going to settle that account. My lawyer is already downstairs, and I can call the police right now."

"You're lying! That was my..."

Ethan tried to argue, but the words caught in his throat.

He clearly remembered how, under Clara's "accidental" tears and "selfless" confession, he had stupidly unclasped the emerald necklace she "so admired" and placed it around her neck to "comfort" her.

At the time, he felt like a white knight. Now, under the glare of the live stream and my cold eyes, it just looked pathetic and idiotic.

Clara's crying stopped instantly. Her face turned genuinely pale. She glanced toward the door, her eyes filled with real terror.

I didn't give them another second to perform. Turning to the security guards and the head nurse who had rushed in, I said, "Please keep things in order. This woman is suspected of theft and assault. Do not let her leave before the police arrive. Also, please assign a male caretaker for my husband. I will cover the costs separately."

Without looking at Ethan’s face—which was a chaotic mix of shock, shame, anger, and lingering worry—I pressed a hand to my forehead and walked out of the room, keeping my spine perfectly straight under the gaze of dozens of onlookers.

I ended the live stream the moment I walked out, leaving the internet with a clean, decisive view of my back.