I could hear the mother and son’s conversation clearly through the door.

“Mom, did Zhou Hui agree?”

“No! That damned woman actually refused!”

“What do we do now?”

“Son, stick to the plan.”

Qi Zhaoxing hesitated for a moment.

Liu Guifen pressed him firmly. “You and Xiaoying have already crossed the line—what’s done is done. Once she has the baby, Zhou Hui will have to accept it, whether she likes it or not.”

“I understand, Mom. You’re truly brilliant.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t squeeze a penny out of that bitch Zhou Hui.”

Qi Zhaoxing sighed softly. “We’ll just have to ask Xiaoying to endure it for a little while longer.”

Liu Guifen patted his arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way sooner or later. She inherited so much money from her parents—now she’s all alone, with no one to turn to. Once she married into this family, she should’ve known that money would never leave our hands. We’ll get it out of her eventually, mark my words.”

Mother and son exchanged a look, smirking in silent agreement.

How ridiculous! The family I’d loved and cared for with all my heart had only ever wanted to bleed me dry of every last penny.

In their conversation, I heard a name I knew all too well—Xiaoying. The Xiaoying they were talking about was Liao Ying. She was the very woman I’d paid a fortune to be my husband’s surrogate in my past life.

She was supposed to take the money, give birth, and disappear forever. But instead, after having the baby, Qi Zhaoxing had hidden her away in a love nest, letting her squander my money while living the high life. I’d only found out the truth when I’d caught them red-handed.

So Qi Zhaoxing and Liao Ying had been having an affair all along. And my mother-in-law had known about the two of them from the very start—she’d been covering for them this entire time.

Not only had the mother-son duo colluded to hide the truth from me, but they’d also had their greedy eyes on the money my parents had left me long ago, money I’d relied on to survive.

A searing, white-hot hatred for the two heartless monsters surged within me, reaching a boiling point. But now was not the time to tear off the mask and confront them head-on.

I stared at their shadows through the door, listening as they whispered and plotted in hushed tones. My hands were clenched into tight fists, so tight that my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood—but I didn’t feel a thing. I needed time to sort through the wreckage of my failed life, to plan my next move carefully.