A Counterfeit Gift Card, a Real Divorce

When I receive the call from the emergency department at City Hospital, I'm in the middle of a company meeting. "Are you a family member of Bryan Lambert? He's at the hospital right now. You need to come right away!" When I arrive at the hospital, my dad, Bryan Lambert, forces a sheepish smile at me. "It's nothing, really," he says, trying to reassure me. "The doctor said it's just acute gastritis. Once I'm done with this IV drip, the pain will go away." The nurse changing his IV can't bear to listen any longer. She thrusts the bill into my hands with a cold glare. "What kind of daughter are you?" she scolds sharply. "I can't believe you actually let someone his age work in a restaurant washing dishes. His boss said he skipped lunch just to rush home to make dinner for you. If he keeps going hungry like this, of course his stomach won't be able to take it." "Washing dishes?" I ask in a trembling voice, staring at Dad's calloused hands. "Dad, didn't I have Cedric give you a supermarket gift card worth 20 thousand dollars? Why on earth were you washing dishes at a restaurant?" I ask incredulously. He carefully pulls a card from his pocket and hands it to me. "M-maybe I'm just too stupid to use it," he stammers softly. "Every time I tried to pay with it, the cashier said it wouldn't work. So I paid out of my own pocket. But then my savings ran out, and I didn't dare ask you for money. I was afraid you and Cedric would fight over money." He looks down, wringing his hands. "I figured… I could wash some dishes to earn a little money for groceries." I take the so-called gift card from him, and a cold wave of shock hits me. It isn't a gift card at all. It's a souvenir card from a popular escape room. Chapter 1 Once the IV drip ran out, I helped Dad into a cab and took him home. The moment I opened the front door, I heard my husband, Cedric Zimmer, laughing in the living room. He was on the phone with his sister, Janet Zimmer. "Ever since I tricked that old man with that escape room card, he's been paying out of his own pocket to buy me expensive food." Janet's gloating voice came through the phone. "Cedric, you're awful. Aren't you basically draining his life savings?" With his back to the door, Cedric casually twirled his custom lighter between his fingers. "He's the one who refuses to ask Susan for money. He chooses to suffer in silence, so who's to blame?" Cedric scoffed. "Besides, he reeks of poverty. Just looking at him irritates me! If he weren't such a decent cook, I wouldn't even let him through the door." "I heard he even went to that crappy restaurant around the corner to wash dishes. He doesn't even have time to eat, so at least he doesn't have the energy to nag me," Cedric added with a cold laugh. Standing at the doorway, my whole body went cold. I slammed the door open. The loud bang startled Cedric. He quickly hung up the phone, his eyes darting around nervously. "H-honey," he stammered. "Why are you home so early?" The moment he saw Dad, he covered his nose instinctively. "Bryan, what's that foul smell coming off you? Did you go somewhere filthy?" he asked sarcastically. "Go take a shower. Don't bring germs into our home." I helped Dad onto the couch, then turned around and slammed the useless card on the coffee table. "Why did you give my dad a fake gift card?" I snapped. Cedric's eyes flickered, but he still lifted his chin defiantly and argued, "What do you mean? I gave him a real one! He must have lost it himself, or…" His eyes darted to the side as he tried to shift the blame onto Dad. "Or maybe he got greedy and sold the card for cash, then went to work at that restaurant to play the victim in front of you! "Susan, your dad is so calculating. He hasn't even been here long, and he's already trying to drive a wedge between us." "Drive a wedge between us?" I laughed out loud, trembling with rage. "We heard everything you said to Janet on the phone just now!" I shouted at him. "You complain about how my dad smells, yet you expect him to drain his savings just to support you. Do you have no shame at all?" Cedric's face darkened as he raised his voice angrily. "You eavesdropped on my call? Susan Lambert, where are your manners? "Besides, your dad really does reek of poverty. Did I say anything wrong?" He crossed his arms and sneered. "All I did was have him do a little more work. Do you really need to make such a big deal out of it?" His words made my blood boil. I raised my voice right back at him. "My dad skipped his own meals to cook for you! He starved himself sick! And you're saying I'm making a big deal out of it?" As our argument escalated, Dad clutched my hand, letting out a worried sigh. "Susie, stop arguing! It's all my fault. I got it wrong," he pleaded. "The card wasn't fake. I was just too dumb to use it. Please, don't fight because of me." Watching him swallow his pride just to keep the peace broke my heart. Cedric simply scoffed. "See? He admitted it himself. You're just a daddy's girl. I can't live like this anymore!" With that, he grabbed his car keys from the coffee table and stormed out. Dad stomped his feet in panic. "Susie, go after him. Couples shouldn't hold grudges over little things." I held his hand firmly and whispered, "Dad, I'm not going after him. I don't want him anymore." Chapter 2 I had just calmed Dad down and gotten him to sleep when my phone suddenly vibrated. It was a bank transaction alert. "Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 3,200 dollars." A moment later, my phone started vibrating nonstop. "Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 8,600 dollars." "Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 15,000 dollars." "Your savings account ending in 6789 was charged 45,000 dollars." In just ten minutes, more than 70 thousand dollars had been swiped from my account. Cedric was trying to get back at me. He actually thought I'd call him like I used to, begging him to forgive me and coaxing him back. Instead, I called the bank's customer service line. "Hello, I've lost my card. Please cancel it and freeze all accounts under my name." After hanging up, I stared at the empty living room and made a decision. The house was in my name and Cedric's, but Dad had scraped together his entire life savings for the down payment. I was the one working overtime endlessly to pay off the mortgage, while Cedric hadn't contributed a single cent from the start. Since he looked down on people from the countryside so much, he could forget about ever setting foot in this house again. I pulled out my phone and typed a message to Cedric. "I'll have my lawyer send you the divorce papers tomorrow. From now on, you can go live your life wrapped in your precious pride. "As for the 70 thousand dollars you spent today, it counts as dissipation of marital assets. I'll reclaim every cent during the divorce settlement." The next morning, after making sure Dad was resting comfortably, I went to work as usual. The moment I stepped into the office, I could tell something was very wrong. "That's her, right? She looks decent enough. Who would've thought she was such a horrible person behind closed doors?" "I know, right? I heard she didn't just abuse her husband; she also kicked him out of the house in the middle of the night and froze all his bank cards!" Hearing the hushed gossip, I frowned and walked straight into my office. My assistant, Leon Wright, came rushing in behind me, looking panicked. He held out his phone with trembling hands. "Ms. Lambert, y-you need to see this," he stammered nervously. "It's gone completely viral online." On the screen, a video was playing. Cedric sat on a corner of the street in the dead of night, wearing only a thin shirt. His face was dark with resentment as he told his story. The caption read, "Marriage is a nightmare. My father-in-law faked an illness to frame me. My wife kicked me out of the house in the middle of the night. She even froze all my bank cards. Guys, learn from my mistakes!" The video had already racked up over a million likes, and the comments section was filled with vicious insults. "How could she treat such a good husband like that? She must be cheating on him." "You need to check your bank statements right now. Your wife is obviously a gold digger. She's probably transferring your assets behind your back!" "Guys, I found her personal information. This is going to be huge. Two bucks for the full scoop." My personal information, photos, and even my company's name had been exposed online. Just then, the intercom on my desk suddenly buzzed. It was the CEO, Ethan Caldwell. "Susan, come to my office right now." I pushed open the door to his office. His face was grim. He slammed his tablet onto the desk with a heavy thud. "We're in the middle of preparing for the company's IPO! Do you have any idea how badly this kind of negative publicity can hurt us?" he roared. "I don't care what the truth is. You have three days to fix it. If you fail, clear out your desk and step down as a senior executive." When I stepped out of his office, my back was soaked with cold sweat. I had poured five whole years of my life into this company. I had worked my way up from an intern to a senior executive, pulling endless all-nighters and drinking at business dinners until I threw up. Now, that malicious man, Cedric, was about to ruin it all. I called him immediately, but it went straight to voicemail. Without wasting any time, I drove to Janet's place. "Well, well, well, Susan. What's the matter? You saw the video online and got scared? Are you here to beg Cedric to come home?" Janet stood in the doorway with a mocking smirk. She had no intention of letting me in. "Where's your brother? Tell him to come out," I said coldly. "He's not here," Janet replied, blowing a cloud of smoke in my face. Her eyes were filled with disdain. I glanced inside. Sure enough, I didn't see Cedric's shoes by the entrance. "Fine, then I'll wait for him inside." I tried to step past Janet, but she thrust out an arm to block me. That all-too-familiar smug grin was plastered across her face. "Whoa, slow down, Susan. Since you're here, there's something I want to talk to you about." She paused for a moment before continuing, "My boyfriend and I are getting married soon, but we're still short about 30 thousand dollars to buy a nice car to show off… "Money's a little tight for me right now. As my sister-in-law, how about you help me out?" Chapter 3 I sneered bitterly to myself. Over the past few years, I had pulled strings to get Janet the job she had now. I had even paid for the car she drove, which had cost well over ten thousand dollars. Even her monthly allowance had come straight from my paycheck, which Cedric secretly gave her. Just as I was about to refuse, my phone vibrated in my pocket. The caller ID displayed Cedric's name. I picked up, and his arrogant voice came through the line. "Susan, you saw the video online, didn't you? How do you feel now? Scared, huh? If you are, write me a 30-thousand-word apology letter and post it online for everyone to see!" Then, he added threateningly, "Unfreeze all my cards and buy Janet a car. Otherwise, this isn't over!" Hearing the arrogance in his voice, strangely enough, my anger began to settle. "Cedric, keep dreaming," I said coldly. "Find yourself a good lawyer. I'm going to file for divorce and make sure you walk away with nothing!" Before he could respond, I hung up. Janet's expression shifted the moment she heard my words. "Susan, what's with that attitude? Are you really calling it quits?" she asked with a smirk. "Well, whatever. My brother is so handsome. There are plenty of women chasing after him. He doesn't need you anyway." She looked at me with a teasing smile, clearly implying something more. Instead of blowing up, I instantly put on a helpless, heartbroken expression and let out a heavy sigh. "Janet, I've always treated you like my own sister. Of course I'd love to buy you a car for your wedding. But you saw what happened. All my money is in Cedric's hands. He even maxed out my card yesterday," I said softly, my voice trembling with fake sorrow. "If he's willing to hand over the money to buy you a new car, I won't go through with the divorce. But unfortunately, he's spent all that money. I have no choice but to get divorced and cut my losses before it's too late." Janet's forehead creased in anger the moment she heard that. "All gone? Impossible!" she blurted out. "Just last month, I saw over 500 thousand dollars in his account with my own eyes. He promised me he'd set aside that money for my wedding and my new car!" I kept my expression neutral and casually added more fuel to the fire. "Is that so? How strange," I said softly, tilting my head in confusion. "Yesterday, he told me he was broke. Besides, I checked the transaction records. He'd spent all the money on women's luxury goods—designer handbags, limited-edition fragrances, and the like. I assumed they were for you." "Bullshit! He definitely bought those for that vixen!" My heart sank, but I put on a look of disbelief. "What vixen? Don't make things up. He isn't that kind of man." "How is he not?" Janet shot back defiantly. She was starting to get anxious. To prove she wasn't lying, she pulled out her phone and shoved a photo in my face. "Look! I took this six months ago! He said he was on a business trip, but he was actually off doing an escape room with this woman." Six months ago, I had been on a business trip abroad. To secure a multi-million-dollar contract, I had worked myself to the bone, writhing on the floor from severe stomach cramps. And all that time, Cedric had been out there flirting with another woman! Even that so-called gift card that had nearly starved Dad and driven him to the hospital had been a token of Cedric's love for his mistress! Chapter 4 After leaving Janet's place, I drove straight to the popular escape room from the photo. As it happened, one of my closest college friends, Daniel Sterling, was a partner in the business. With his help, pulling up the surveillance footage from that day six months ago was a breeze. On the monitor, Cedric had one arm around the waist of a flashily dressed young woman. The two of them were clearly intimate. After they finished the game, they kissed without a care in the world in front of the machine that printed custom souvenir cards. The woman handed him a card printed with cartoon portraits of the two of them. Watching their sickening faces on the screen, I smiled, thinking, "Cedric Zimmer, since you have no shame, I'll play this game with you until the very end." I had Daniel save an HD copy of the video onto my flash drive. The next day, I went to work as usual. The moment I stepped into the lobby, I heard a commotion. A crowd had gathered near the entrance. Standing right at the center of it all were my father-in-law, John Zimmer, and Cedric. John slammed his fist on the reception desk and shouted at the top of his lungs, "This is outrageous! Everyone, come take a look! This wicked woman got rich and now she wants to dump her husband who stood by her when she had nothing!" He wiped away fake tears and gestured wildly at Cedric. "My son married her even though her family was poor. He treated her like a queen and catered to her every need!" "And what happened?" he roared. "The moment her father showed up, he pretended to be sick and forced his daughter to turn against her own husband! Now she wants a divorce and plans to leave my son with nothing. She's trying to destroy him! Everyone, be the judge of this!" Cedric stood nearby, holding up his phone and livestreaming everything. He didn't say a word. He simply stood there with a stony expression, acting as though he held the moral high ground. My colleagues were pointing and whispering, while several passersby stopped to film with their phones. The security guards tried to step in, but John's relatives shoved them back. The lobby descended into total chaos. The viewer count on the livestream exploded, and the comments section was flooded with vile, hateful comments attacking me. "Get this terrible woman out of the company! Boycott the company's products!" "A scumbag like her can become a senior executive? There's no way her hands are clean. Someone needs to audit her right now!" "She looks decent enough, but she's so scheming. Poor guy." Just then, Ethan stepped out of the elevator with several senior executives, all of them wearing grim expressions. When he saw the chaos unfolding, he was so furious that his hands trembled. He pointed at me and roared, "Susan! Is this what you call fixing the problem? You're officially fired! Get the hell out of my company!" The moment Cedric and John heard those words, they fell silent. They exchanged a quick glance, a flicker of panic crossing their eyes. The whole scene they had caused today was nothing more than an attempt to use public pressure to force me to give in once again. After all, the old me had always been obedient and easy to squeeze money out of. If I really lost my job as a senior executive and my income dried up, how were they supposed to milk me for cash ever again? Cedric stammered, trying to say something to salvage the situation, but I broke the silence first. "Mr. Caldwell, please give me another five minutes. If I can't resolve this by then, I'll leave immediately. I won't drag the company down with me." "What else could you possibly have to say? The evidence is all over the internet!" Ethan barked impatiently. I turned to Leon, who had always gotten along well with me. "Leon, plug in my flash drive and project it onto the LED screen in the lobby." Leon quickly worked at the computer and did as I said. The screen, which had been playing the company's promotional video, flickered. Everyone's attention was drawn to it. Cedric seemed to sense what was coming, and his expression changed. He lunged forward to stop Leon, but it was too late. I grabbed the megaphone from the security guard standing next to me. My voice echoed throughout the lobby. "Everyone, take a look at this video. Once you've watched it, you can decide if you still want to defend this lying father-son duo."