Chapter 2 - The Twelve Years of Insults
Standing right beside Ethan was his mother, Margaret.
Margaret was an older woman wearing an elegant, incredibly expensive emerald-green evening dress. For exactly twelve years, she had made it her absolute life’s mission to make Claire feel completely worthless.
Margaret’s jaw literally dropped. She covered her mouth with a manicured hand in pure, unadulterated horror, her eyes bulging at the sight of the heavy gold rank insignia resting on Claire’s dark blue shoulders.
For over a decade, Ethan and Margaret had treated Claire like a pathetic, freeloading housewife.
Because Claire’s career was highly classified, she had been legally forbidden from discussing her work. She simply told her husband's wealthy family that she worked a "remote government desk job."
Margaret had relentlessly humiliated her for it.
"You contribute absolutely nothing to this family," Margaret had sneered just yesterday, sipping her tea in the kitchen. "My son built a multi-million-dollar tech empire. You just sit at home, spending his hard-earned money and embarrassing us with your lack of ambition. You are a glorified maid."
Ethan had never once defended his wife. In fact, he had actively encouraged his mother's cruel abuse, using it to break Claire's confidence and keep her entirely dependent on his supposed wealth.
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But as Margaret stared at the terrifying, lethal authority radiating from the woman she had abused for a decade, the elegant mother-in-law began to violently tremble.
👉 Margaret backed away in fear, but the true reason Claire put on her uniform today was far more devastating than revenge.
