CHAPTER 2 — The Cost of Cruelty
The mother-in-law staggered backward.
“No… no, you can’t do this. Do you know who we are?!”
The Chairman’s gaze didn’t even shift toward her.
“I do,” he said. “That’s why it’s so easy.”
Her husband tried to intervene, stepping forward with forced authority.
“This is a misunderstanding. We can negotiate—”
“Negotiation ended,” the Chairman interrupted. “The moment she touched my daughter.”
Silence.
Not polite silence.
Fearful silence.
The kind that spreads when people realize power has just changed hands—and they chose the wrong side.
The daughter—still pale, still shaken—finally spoke.
“Dad… please…”
Her voice cracked.
Not to stop him.
But because she didn’t recognize this version of the world anymore.
He turned to her, softer now.
“You endured this alone,” he said.
“I won’t let you endure the aftermath.”
Behind them, the mother-in-law’s phone slipped from her hand.
May you like
The screen displayed one word:
BANKRUPT.
