Chapter 2

Unlike before, I didn't stand still and take the abuse. I quickly dodged to the side.

The diaper flew past the bag of lobster and shrimp, and baby feces dropped inside.

My mother-in-law hadn't expected me to dodge. She froze for a moment, then became furious, her face contorted with rage. Like a madwoman, she rushed over, raising her arm high to viciously slap me.

Looking at the old woman resembling a vicious wolf, I dodged again.

Images of the beatings I'd endured over the past five years flashed rapidly through my mind.

She had first laid hands on me the day Sebastian faked his death.

That day, she beat me until I nearly vomited blood. Back then, consumed by guilt, I wanted nothing more than to die alongside Sebastian. How could I have fought back?

Later, she signed the settlement agreement, sparing me from prison. I felt even more indebted to her.

But she seemed to have found an outlet for venting, beating me more viciously and cursing me more filthily.

Before, I couldn't understand why---despite my servility and meticulous care for her---she never showed the slightest mercy when striking me.

Now I finally understood.

She tormented me not because I had killed her son, but because cruelty flowed through her very bones.

A natural-born monster.

I wanted nothing more than to strangle the old woman right then and there, but if she died so easily, how would that repay my five years of suffering?

These scumbags had to pay ten times, a hundred times over.

My fists clenched so hard they broke the skin of my palms. Gritting my teeth, I endured it:

"Lauren wanted lobster and shrimp soup, so she asked me to buy lobster and shrimp to make it."

My mother-in-law snorted coldly, her harsh exterior masking her inner cowardice:

"Then what are you still standing here for? Hurry up and make the soup. If my precious grandson's mother goes hungry and it affects her nursing, I'll skin you alive!"

After speaking, she vindictively pinched the soft flesh at my waist, muttering curses as she went next door to Lauren's place.

Ignoring the bone-piercing pain in my waist, I quickly installed miniature cameras in various corners of the room.

After setting up the surveillance, I rushed to put the doctored lobster and shrimp in a pot to make soup.

When my mother-in-law returned and saw the soup wasn't ready yet, she launched into another tirade of abuse before huffily returning to her bedroom.

In the kitchen, I opened my phone and connected to the surveillance equipment.

In the video, my mother-in-law was on the phone with someone.

"Sebastian, your idea about having Claire bring the baby back to raise is quite good. I support you."

"Claire may be a bit stupid, but she's conscientious and meticulous. When it comes to childcare, she's definitely more reliable than Lauren."

"What? You're worried Claire won't agree? She wouldn't dare!"

My mother-in-law's voice suddenly rose, then dropped again: "If she dares say no, I'll beat her mouth to a pulp!"

Though I already knew Sebastian was scum, his despicable shamelessness broke through my lowest expectations once again.

He deceived me with a fake death for five years, subjected me to both mental and physical torture, and now he wanted me to raise his child with his mistress.

He wouldn't rest until he had extracted every last drop of value from me, crushing me to the bone!

I watched the mother and son chatting enthusiastically in the video, my gaze drifting to the steaming lobster and shrimp soup on the gas stove. My eyes turned ice-cold.

After the soup finished cooking, I served the first bowl to my "poor" mother-in-law who had "lost her son," then delivered the rest to Lauren to satisfy her cravings.

When I returned, my mother-in-law had just finished her soup and set down the bowl. She couldn't wait to speak:

"Lauren is young and had a child out of wedlock---she's unreliable. My precious grandson is the apple of my eye. I can't bear to see him suffer even slightly."

"Didn't you say you wanted to stay by my side to atone? Now I'm giving you that chance."

"As long as you bring him back and raise him well, I'll forgive you for the heinous crime of killing my son."

I nearly laughed from anger. If I didn't know Sebastian was alive, I would almost be moved to gratitude for her magnanimous generosity.