Chapter 2

I looked at Alva lying on the bed, her eyes closed forever.

“Where’s the million?”

Cheryl let out a soft laugh.

“In your account, of course.”

“Alva only had a fever. Baron trusts me, that’s why he lets me manage Hale Group’s finances. I approved the two hundred thousand dollars for her surgery myself, and the transfer went through successfully. Don’t try to fool him with fake bills.”

I tapped save on the recording.

“Okay. I understand.”

Her voice stayed gentle.

“Baron hates gold diggers more than anything. Stop making a scene in front of him.”

The call ended.

The funeral home staff wheeled in a small stretcher.

When the white sheet covered Alva’s face, I reached out, straightened the collar of her dress, and tucked the hospital bracelet into her palm.

Then I sent Baron one last iMessage with the location attached.

“Three o’clock this afternoon. This funeral home. If you have time, come see Alva off.”

He didn’t reply.

Ten minutes later, I received a notice from Hale Group’s legal department.

Baron had applied to freeze every account under my name, claiming I had maliciously transferred marital assets.

At the same time, Rex’s phone rang.

After he listened, he looked up at me.

“Nora, the owner of that shell company died three years ago.”

On the day Alva was cremated, Baron was celebrating Cheryl’s birthday.

On a Hale Group employee’s Instagram, the top-floor conference room was covered in white roses.

In the photo, Baron was patiently sliding the diamond ring Cheryl had picked onto her finger.

The caption read:

“Boss said I’ve been protecting the company’s financial dealings for him, so I deserve the best reward.”

I turned off my phone and sent Alva into the cremation room.

The staff member asked, “Are we still waiting for the child’s father?”

I said, “No.”

The furnace door slowly closed.

Two hours later, I walked out holding the urn.

Baron’s mother, Mrs. Hale, stood at the entrance.

Clearly, Baron had treated my message asking him to come to the funeral home like a joke and forwarded it to her.

The second she saw me, she frowned.

“Nora, what are you acting out now?”

“Mrs. Hale, this is Alva.”

“You pushed Baron so far he doesn’t even want to come home. You spent more than thirty million dollars and still weren’t satisfied. Now you’re using an urn to scare who?”

“He didn’t tell you I asked him to come to the funeral home yesterday?”

“He was celebrating Cheryl’s birthday. You picked today to put on this show because you’re jealous of Cheryl, aren’t you?”

Mrs. Hale reached out to grab me and knocked the urn lid crooked.

I jerked back.

“Don’t touch her!”

Her face darkened.

“If you hadn’t gotten pregnant back then, I never would’ve let you marry into this family. You can’t even take care of your own daughter, and you still have the nerve to cause trouble?”

Rex stepped forward to block her and handed over the death certificate.

She glanced at it, then immediately pulled out her phone to take a picture.

“Forging a certificate is illegal. I’m sending this to Baron so he can see how insane you’ve become.”

I got into the car with the urn in my arms.

Before the door shut, she was already making a call.

“Nora is holding a fake urn and trying to fool me. Handle her. And make sure it doesn’t affect Cheryl’s mood.”

Back at the apartment, Rex spread the investigation files across the table.

“The owner of RHL used to be a janitor at Hale Group. She died of illness three years ago. Half a month later, a new account appeared under her name, and the registered phone number belongs to Cheryl. Every month, Baron had the family office wire one million dollars. On holidays, and whenever you asked him for money, he added extra. Total over three years: thirty-six million.”

I flipped through where the money had gone.

Sports cars.

A Manhattan apartment.

Jewelry.

And the villa where Cheryl’s parents lived.

Every reimbursement note had my name on it.

Rex said, “It’s still not enough. We need the original payment instructions and the backend system modification records. Otherwise, Cheryl can claim she only processed the transfers.”

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Hale Group’s legal team stood outside with several people.

“Nora, Mr. Hale demands the return of jewelry, vehicles, and real estate gifted during the marriage.”

I laughed because I was too angry not to.

“I never received any of those things. How am I supposed to return them?”

The lawyer handed me the notice.

“Mr. Hale said if you don’t return them before midnight, he’ll formally sue.”