chapter 4

I could tell he was hesitating a bit.

"We're not getting married," I said firmly.

The hatred between me and that pair of scumbags ran far too deep.

Leon looked slightly surprised, then relaxed.

"There are plenty of fish in the sea," he said casually.

"Eh?

"Are you… comforting me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Leon cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed, and quickly changed the subject.

"Yesterday I saw Allan's parents shopping on the street. They seemed pretty close," he said.

"Allan's father ran off and abandoned his wife and kid years ago," I replied casually.

"Really? That guy actually looks a lot like Allan," Leon said.

I froze. He caught on fast too.

"I'll look into it," he said proactively.

I nodded.

Two days later, Leon came back with news.

The man wasn't Allan's father; he was Ava's lover.

The man was a heavy gambler with terrible luck, losing frequently. Whenever he lost, he'd beg Ava for money. Ava never complained. She had been giving him money.

Lately, he'd practically been living in an underground casino.

Looking at the photos of his face, almost identical to Allan's, I asked Leon to dig deeper. I also had him spread a rumor that Allan was dating a rich woman to Ava's lover.

When my people found out that Ava's lover owed 500 grand in gambling debts, I wasn't surprised.

People like him only got more reckless once they found a backer.

Suddenly, the old landline at my home, which had never rung before, went off.

We didn't use this landline much; Ava was the one who used it most often.

I picked up the line. Before I could speak, an urgent male voice blurted out.

"Ava, send me 500 grand! I'm stuck in the casino!

"If you don't transfer the money, they'll chop off my fingers!"

I stayed silent. Then he continued.

"I swear I'll never gamble again. Ava, help me!

"Didn't Allan hook up with a rich woman? Get him to send me money!"

"Who is this?" I asked, cutting him off.

He paused, clearly startled. After a long moment, he spoke again.

"Oh… you're Vivian, right?"

"I-I'm Ava's younger brother. Also… your uncle."

I laughed out loud.

"Uncle?" I said, mockingly.

"Yes, yes. I'm Allan's uncle, so naturally I'm your uncle too," he said, awkwardly.

"Vivian, can you send me some money? I'm in real trouble," he pleaded.

"Of course I can't ignore you, Uncle," I said lazily.

He was overjoyed, finally exhaling in relief.

"It's just… I don't have spare cash right now," I added quickly.

He took a sharp breath.

"Vivian, we're family. You can't just stand by and watch me suffer," he said.

"Ava asked me to buy her a car a few days ago. I didn't.

"After all, we just bought the two of them a city apartment a few days ago, full payment, ten million dollars.

"All from company funds. We've been experiencing cash flow issues lately.

"All the cash in my personal accounts went to buying things for Allan and Ava. You know how much Ava loves her gold jewelry.

"And I have a friend whose kid is starting kindergarten. I spent tens of thousands of dollars on him.

"My friend Sadie got tricked by a scumbag. Single mother. I can't ignore her either," I said, deliberately mentioning Sadie to see if he knew her.

Sure enough, he hesitated.

"I… I guess I should just go to Ava," he said, panicking, and hung up.

It was exactly what I wanted. Let him go cause a scene with Ava.

…

Allan kept pestering me about the company's debts.

I knew why he was so desperate: Ava had mortgaged the apartment I bought, borrowing tens of thousands of dollars to pay off her lover's gambling debts.

Just as I got home, Sadie called, launching into a full-on verbal assault.

"Unbelievable, Vivian! Last time you skipped out on the payment and left me with a huge bill, fine.

"But now you went and told Allan's gambling uncle that Allan had a house?

"Now the house is mortgaged. That gambler will never pay it back, and I'm left with nothing! I'm even tens of thousands of dollars in debt now!

"How the hell are you so good at stirring up trouble?" she yelled.

I guessed Sadie had her eyes on Allan's house too.

After all, she was vain. How could she stand life without a car or a house? And since that was Allan's son, of course, she felt entitled to a share.