Chapter 4

I stood outside my own front door and took a deep breath.

From inside, I could hear the loud clatter of cards and the screeching laughter of women.

I turned the key and pushed the door open.

The living room looked like a landfill.

Greasy takeout boxes were piled high on the coffee table, with stains splattered everywhere.

Sunflower seed shells and cigarette butts covered the floor.

My expensive designer silk sofa cushions were crumpled into a ball and tossed into a dirty corner.

The air was thick with the stench of smoke and cheap perfume, enough to make anyone dizzy.

Brenda and her three friends were in the middle of a heated poker game.

When they suddenly saw me, they all froze.

Brenda, reacting quickly, stood up and tried to take the upper hand.

"Oh! Chloe! You're back? You didn't even give us a heads-up!"

She pointed at the absolute mess around her and tried to flip the blame. "Look at this! While you were gone, Austin brought some shady friends over! I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. It's disgraceful!"

Her friends immediately backed her up.

"Exactly! He doesn't act like a proper husband at all!"

"Who does he think our Brenda is?"

"You two couples should fight on your own time. Don't blame the hired help!"

I ignored them entirely and walked straight to the nursery.

Leo was asleep in his crib, completely still. He was sleeping far too deeply.

On the nightstand next to him lay that familiar small bottle of strong cough syrup, its cap not even screwed on properly.

I picked up the bottle, turned around, and stared at Brenda. "What is this?"

Brenda’s expression shifted, but she quickly began to throw a tantrum.

"What do you mean? The baby had a cough, so I gave him some medicine. Are you accusing me of something?"

"I asked you, what is this?"

I held the bottle high, my voice as cold as ice.

Infuriated by my tone, she suddenly grabbed a glass mug from the table and smashed it violently onto the floor.

With a loud shatter, shards of glass flew everywhere.

"Chloe! Don't you dare look down on me!"

She pointed her finger right at my nose, her spit flying into my face.

"You've always looked down on us working-class people! You think we're dirty! You think we're cheap! Well, guess what? The cameras are off! What can you possibly do to me?!"

She took a step closer, her face twitching with malice.

"Let me tell you something! My daughter is an influencer! She has hundreds of thousands of followers! I'll have her ruin your name online! You won't be able to show your face in this city ever again! Just you wait!"

Her friends closed in around her, looking menacing.

Austin stood near the doorway, his face pale, wanting to speak but too terrified to open his mouth.

I looked at Brenda's distorted, angry face, and then at the gang of accomplices surrounding her.

The fire in my chest burned to its absolute peak, but strangely, I felt incredibly calm.

I slowly pulled my phone out of my pocket. The screen was bright.

It wasn't a call screen. It was a TikTok live stream interface.

The viewer count had already surged past 100,000.

The comments were flying by so fast they were a blur.

I turned the camera directly onto Brenda's face.

"To everyone watching the stream, did you all see and hear that clearly? This is the highly recommended, expensive nanny I hired—Ms. Brenda."

The smug sneer on Brenda's face instantly froze.

Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at my phone screen.

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