After Rebirth, I Refused to Be Their Scapegoat Chapter 08
Yet over the next hour, after aggressively having the store manager pull out top–of–the–line ready–to–wear pieces, limited–edition handbags, and fine jewelry, he swiped his card for everything and stuffed the mountain of bags into the trunk of his car.
“Take them,” Ethan said, leaning against the car door with a smile. “Congratulations on finally shaking off that piece of trash. Consider this a victory gift.”
Over the following weeks, Nathan vanished completely from my life. I finally found genuine peace.
However, the legal process of recovering my inheritance ran into a roadblock.
Vivian refused to comply with the court order. Greg played the innocent card, claiming all the assets were in his wife’s name and his hands were tied. In reality, the greedy couple simply didn’t want to cough up the money.
Meanwhile, Chloe sold the Porsche, but the funds
were nowhere near enough to cover the massive hole in the trust fund, Desperate to help their daughter dodge heavy felony charges, Vivian and Greg lost their minds. They liquidated their last remaining savings, scraping together a huge pile of cash to try and bribe the judge and the police.
Unfortunately for them, they crossed paths with professional con artists. The cash vanished into thin air the moment it changed hands. By the time they realized they’d been played and called the cops, the scammers were long gone.
Crushing despair turned the couple against each other. Their endless blame game escalated into a physical brawl at home; Vivian ended up in the hospital with cracked ribs.
But none of it changed the outcome. At the final hearing, given the astronomical amount of money involved, Chloe was sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison.
On the day of the verdict, Chloe wailed in sheer terror in the courtroom. Having lost the strength to walk, she was forcibly dragged away by the bailiffs. Greg slumped lifelessly in his chair, while Vivian passed out cold on the floor.
The day after the sentencing, Ethan and I showed up at their doorstep with the sheriff’s deputies.
“Time’s up. Hand over the keys,” I said, standing calmly at the bottom of the steps.
Vivian looked incredibly haggard. The moment she saw me, blind rage took over. “You cold–blooded monster! You sent Chloe to prison and ruined her life!
And now you’re coming for our house and our money? What kind of sick, heartless beast are you?!”
She lunged at me in a fury. In the past, Nathan would have held me back and forced me to compromise.
But Ethan was the one standing beside me now. He shoved Vivian back firmly, issuing a harsh warning.”
Stop lying to yourselves. Chloe is going to prison because she’s a thief. As for this house, it belonged to Audrey’s parents to begin with. You’ve lived here rent–free for years–not demanding back rent is a mercy. Now, get the hell out.”
Seeing this, Greg immediately switched to a pleading tone. “Audrey, we raised you. Do you really have the heart to drive us to a dead end?”
I looked him dead in the eye. “I’m just taking back what’s mine. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Since they refused to cooperate, the deputies executed the forced eviction on the spot.
But I wasn’t finished. I compiled a comprehensive dossier containing detailed evidence of them embezzling my parents‘ estate, abusing me, and attempting to bribe judicial officers. I emailed the files directly to their respective employers.
The resulting scandal was massive, and they were both swiftly fired from their jobs.
Soon after, the court legally transferred the deed of the house back into my name. Another property under their names was forcefully auctioned off, and a smooth one million dollars was wired into my bank account.
After this staggering series of blows, even basic survival became a struggle for the disgraced couple. As for Nathan, after losing a brutal corporate power struggle within his family and being rejected by several high–society heiresses, he actually had the audacity to crawl back, begging to reconcile.
1 showed no mercy. I forwarded the entire chain of evidence detailing his tax evasion and secret embezzlement of core company assets straight to the IRS and to his father.
That tipped Nathan over the edge. The day before he was placed under formal investigation, he cornered me to demand answers in despair.
“Why?” he shouted, his eyes wide with disbelief. “I loved you so much, why would you destroy me so cruelly?”
I maintained a steady, tranquil gaze. “Because you’ve been rotten to the core from the very beginning.”
Iruthlessly blocked every single point of contact with him. Plunged deep into corruption probes and vicious family feuds, Nathan was utterly discarded as a pawn. He never had the bandwidth to disgust me again.
With all the toxic baggage finally cleared, Ethan and naturally came together,
Over the next three years, our relationship was a steady, immovable rock. Ultimately, we decided to get married.
Minutes before the wedding, the financial news app on my phone flashed a breaking headline: Nathan’s family empire had officially declared bankruptcy, their capital chain snapping under the weight of a severe credibility crisis and massive tax penalties.
on the vacreen in my bridal suite, the once incredibly arrogant Nathan was being swarmed and hounded by a mob of relentless reporters, stripped of every last shred of his former glory.
Ethan picked up the remote, turned off the TV, and pulled me gently into his arms. He held my hand tightly, his gaze tender yet unshakeably firm.
“The ceremony is about to start. Are you ready to walk toward me, my beautiful bride?” He leaned
down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, his voice brimming with absolute devotion.
“I’ve been ready for a long, time,” I smiled, squeezing his hand back.
As the heavy double doors swung open to the cheers of our family and friends, we walked down the aisle together. We exchanged rings and shared a deep, lingering kiss as the room erupted in applause.
The terrified coward who had been slandered and
abused but didn’t dare fight back was gone forever. Wrapped in Ethan’s wholehearted love, I had finally reclaimed my life.
END