Fighting Wits with the Scumbag Brother-in-law

"What are you talking about, Yvonne?" Janet's voice was full of concern. "York works hard all day, so it's understandable if he's a bit irritable. If he said something hurtful, I'll apologize on his behalf." She then grabbed York's sleeve. "York, you know she's my only sister. She's young and doesn't know any better. Don't hold it against her. If you're angry, take it out on me. But it's not fair to let a girl move out on her own..." "She doesn't know any better? I think she's grown quite defiant, completely disregarding me. And you, Janet, since when do you call the shots in this house? Did I agree to let your sister live here?" York's rant was escalating, so Janet quickly pulled him into their room. From behind the closed door, I could hear their heated argument, with words like "infertile," "disgrace," and "waste" being thrown around. I took a deep breath and started packing my things. I could never understand how things got this bad. York had once begged my parents to let Janet marry him, promising to treat her well for the rest of his life. The second year after their marriage, his parents were in a car accident, and Janet quit her job to take care of them. She looked after them well, but York changed completely. Over the years, he constantly belittled and mocked her for not having children. Meanwhile, his career flourished. He led thousands of employees, drove one luxury car after another, and recently even got himself a chauffeur... But he never moved houses. This house was a wedding gift from our parents to Janet, as York had married into our family... That was right. York had married into our family. But since our parents passed away, no one ever brought it up again. In recent years, York's parents had even taken to openly and secretly blaming Janet for not having children, calling her a curse that would end their family line... My thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout from the other room. "You eat my food, use my money, and I even support your sister. What right do you have to argue with me?" Then came the sound of a door slamming heavily. 3 York had left. I breathed a sigh of relief, went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, and pushed open the door to Janet's room. She sat alone on the floor, her head buried in her knees, her frail shoulders shaking slightly. The room was a mess, with wet clothes, broken glass, and some white pills scattered around... "Janet, are you okay?" I handed her the glass of water. Janet looked up, her eyes red. When she saw me, she quickly turned away, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Yvonne, I'm sorry we disturbed you." I had suggested divorce to her before. Over the years, Janet had endured so much pain and humiliation because of the issue of having children. I saw it all. But every time I mentioned divorce, tears welled up in her eyes. After all, it had been almost ten years. During their toughest times, York had once held her and cried, promising that he would make her life better someday. Life had gotten better, but York had completely changed. Still, Janet persisted, always believing that if she just tried a little harder, things would get better, especially if they had a child. I didn't say anything. I just bent down to pick up the clothes and the pills from the floor. The white pills had gray letters on them, the same ones I had seen at my friend's house that morning.

"Yvonne, you should get some rest. You have that business trip tomorrow, right? Go to bed early; I'll handle this myself," Janet said, nudging me. "What's this medicine?" I stared at the pills for a while before finally asking. "It's for preconception. York brought it back from abroad. He said the many people use this for preconception," Janet explained, taking out a bottle and carefully packing the pills inside. I glanced at the bottle, and indeed, the words on the packaging were related to preconception. But this medicine was exactly the same as the one I saw at Queena's place this morning. Queena had just gotten married last month. The newlyweds wanted to enjoy some time alone together before having children, so they planned to wait a couple of years before starting a family. The medicine was something Queena had brought back from abroad, claiming it was a contraceptive. 4. I secretly pocketed some pills while Janet wasn't looking. Early the next morning, I headed over to Queena's place. In the meantime, Jimmy Leacock called, asking where I was since we had agreed to go on a business trip together today. I suddenly remembered that Jimmy had asked me to accompany him to meet a client in the city yesterday. After saying goodbye to Queena, I took a cab straight to the office, where Jimmy was waiting and immediately began scolding me. "Yvonne, you're getting bolder! You're late even for a business trip with the boss." I rolled my eyes at him. "If you keep nagging, we'll really be late." Jimmy and I had known each other since we were young. After graduating high school, he went abroad and only recently returned to take over his family business. When I graduated from college, he came to our school for recruitment and lured me in under the pretense of an internship, but I needed to do all kinds of labor. We arrived at the client's location, and with Jimmy there, the negotiations went smoothly. Afterward, I took out the pills from my bag and showed them to him. "Jimmy, you know a lot of people. Can you help me find out what's in these pills?" Although Queena insisted they were contraceptives and showed me the purchase receipt, I couldn't bring myself to believe it. This was something York bought, and Janet had been using it for years. "What is this, a magical elixir? Yvonne, when did you develop an interest in immortality?" Jimmy teased. "Stop joking! This is what York bought for my sister, supposedly for preconception, but it doesn't look like it." Jimmy knew Janet well and was familiar with our family's matters, so I wasn't trying to hide anything from him. Fortunately, Jimmy didn't ask further and carefully put the pills away. I turned my head toward the window, and suddenly, a familiar figure caught my eye. Was that York? He was dressed casually, with a beautiful woman with curly hair in his arms. They were chatting and laughing as they passed by our car, looking very intimate. I was startled, thinking I must be mistaken. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but they had already entered a nearby restaurant. Without thinking too much, I opened the car door and chased after them. 4 But it was too late. Pushing open the restaurant door, York was nowhere to be seen. "This restaurant is just the entrance; the mall is huge," Jimmy caught up and reminded me. "Did you see them?" I asked. "My eyesight is better than yours." I refused to give up and dragged Jimmy around the mall, but we still didn't find any sign of York. "Scumbag!"

I punched the glass door of the mall and cursed. Passersby looked at us with curiosity. Jimmy, looking somewhat innocent, pulled me away. Back home, I took out the luggage I had packed the night before, piece by piece. I tentatively chatted with Janet about examples of cheating and mistresses... Janet listened attentively, and at the end, she asked with concern, "Yvonne, is Jimmy giving you a hard time? If he dares to bully you, tell me, and I'll deal with him." See? That was my sister—her own life may be a mess, but she still worried that I was mistreated. "Not at all! Wait, he's my boss now, so there's no such thing as bullying." Jimmy was only a few years older than me, and our families had always liked to tease us. Since I saw his mother dressing him up in a skirt, I couldn't see him as a potential romantic interest. What should have been a heartwarming tale of childhood friends turned into something quite different in my mind. Janet looked at me with a smile but didn't say anything. I went to my room, opened my computer, and checked on the recent performance of the hotel, but I found an updated post from that day. It was a photo. The poster claimed that his sister-in-law had refused him, but his secretary was obedient and convenient for a casual fling. The picture was of a woman in an office outfit, her wavy hair particularly striking. The back of the woman seemed familiar, but I couldn't immediately place her. I instinctively checked the poster's profile. The poster had shared many posts before, showing off houses, cars, and family photos. When I saw the little girl with pigtails, I shook my head. People would really make up anything for attention these days. His kid was at the age of kindergarten. I was about to close the window when something caught my eye—the car he had posted was identical to the one York drove. 5 My palms started to sweat. I looked back at the photos of his wife and kid. The wife was just a vague outline, making it hard to identify her. But the little girl, with her lovely features, bore no resemblance to York. I scrolled through the poster's other posts, mostly mundane daily matters, with no apparent anomalies. It must be a coincidence, I told myself. I returned to the previous page and saw the secretary's back again. It suddenly struck me. This was the same woman York had been holding in the street during the day! Was this account York's? Had he been cheating and had a child? The thought made me immediately get up. I wanted to tell Janet. But I stopped halfway to the door. No. These few photos alone couldn't prove anything. If I told Janet now, she would surely confront York immediately. By then, he could deny everything and cover up the obvious clues, making it difficult to uncover his faults. If he could make such disgusting remarks about Janet's inability to have children while already having a child himself, his intentions were truly malevolent. He was such a beast! I seethed with anger, returned to the computer, saved the photos from the post, and then called a friend in the tech department to help me investigate the poster's information.

Just then, Jimmy's call came in. He said the results were back, and it was indeed birth control pills. I hung up, staring at the address sent by my friend from the tech department, my mind in turmoil. It was a villa district in the suburbs. On Sunday, I took Janet to the hospital, lying that a friend of mine knew an international expert who specialized in infertility, but we needed some information from her. I also told her not to mention it to York, and she agreed. Even though I had seen many of her past medical reports, and Janet always believed her infertility was her own fault, I couldn't buy it. Those reports were always taken by York after Janet's hospital visits and brought back with the doctor's comments. If York could tamper with her fertility medication, who was to say he wouldn't do the same with the reports? The hospital results weren't out yet, but York had returned. 6 He still carried that air of disdain, his hair impeccably groomed. Seeing me at home, he gave a habitual snort and then went into the bedroom to argue with Janet. The usual ending followed—he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. This time, I was prepared. The moment he left, I put on a hat and mask and followed him. Just outside the complex, I saw him drive off in his car. I pulled out my phone to hail a ride, but fearing he'd get away before the car arrived, I hurriedly grabbed a bike parked at the entrance and set off after him. But how could two wheels catch up with four? Soon enough, his car was out of sight. Just as I was feeling desperate, a small car stopped in front of me. The window rolled down to reveal Jimmy's face. "Get in." Without asking why he was there, I abandoned the bike and got into his car. But even with this brief delay, York's car was lost in the traffic. I then remembered the address from the tech department and directed Jimmy to head there. Sure enough, we spotted York's car at the entrance of a high-end villa district. Visitors had to register and get confirmation from a resident to enter. We were stopped at the gate. "I'll handle this," Jimmy said, heading to the security office. After a while, a chubby security chief escorted him out with a smile, opened the gate for us, and even provided York's house number. Parking the car, we hid in the greenery next to York's house, using an apple tree for cover. Our eyes fixed on the tightly shut villa door. "How did you convince the security chief?" I asked Jimmy, trying to ease my nerves. "Take a guess." He handed me a bottle of water. I waved it off, indicating I didn't want any. He opened it and drank himself. Looking at his handsome face, I couldn't help but joke. "Did you use your looks to seduce the security chief?" Jimmy spat water all over me. "Yvonne, what on earth is going on in that head of yours?" "So, what was the reason?" I asked, now feeling sorry for Jimmy, picturing the rotund security chief. Did he make too big a sacrifice? "I have a friend living in this community. I called him, and he called the security office to let us in," Jimmy replied, annoyed.

"You sure have a lot of friends!" I laughed dryly. The next second, I swung my hand and slapped Jimmy across the face. 7 Jimmy was stunned. I held up the dead mosquito in my hand and awkwardly explained, "There... there was a mosquito." There were indeed a lot of mosquitoes. The crisp autumn weather brought out mosquitoes in the greenbelt who greeted us like long-lost relatives, overly enthusiastic. Jimmy and I were squatting outside, feeding the mosquitoes, while York was sleeping soundly in his villa. This made me feel very unfair. When I had been bitten by mosquitoes one hundred and one times, I couldn't take it anymore. I picked up half a discarded brick from the ground and stormed toward the villa. "What... what are you doing? Don't be impulsive," Jimmy grabbed me. I glared at the window, about to speak. Jimmy snatched the brick from my hand, saying, "I have a way to expose him." I thought Jimmy had some clever idea, but he just lit a cigarette and ran to trigger the fire alarm in the villa district, scaring everyone out of their homes. I quickly ducked back into the bushes, watching as more and more people gathered outside, even alerting the patrol car. After a while, Jimmy finally returned. "What kind of stupid method is that? Mine is better!" I fumed. "Your method is to bash someone's head in with a brick and get us both locked up?" Jimmy still wouldn't admit his foolishness. "I wasn't going to hit someone with the brick!" I was confused. "Breaking the door won't work either. If York denies everything, we have no evidence. How will you seek justice for Janet then?" "I... I was going to break the window!" I was speechless. That night ended with Jimmy being taken away by the police for disturbing the peace. The next day, I angrily went to bail him out. "You're good for nothing but causing trouble." "How am I good for nothing? Didn't I scare York out? He was holding a child and calling him 'Daddy' several times," Jimmy said, raising his phone. "Really? How come I didn't see that?" I tried to grab his phone. He wouldn't give it to me. "I'm good for nothing?" "No, you can accomplish great things!" "I'm always causing trouble?" "No, you never fail." "Call me 'dear Jimmy' then." "Screw you!" I kicked him, and Jimmy handed over the phone. On the phone was indeed a video of York running out of the villa, holding a child. The child was the same little girl I had seen online. Following him was a short-haired woman, not the secretary I had seen before. "Scumbag!" He had swapped fertility pills for contraceptives and tricked Janet into taking them, then used her inability to conceive as an excuse to manipulate her. Meanwhile, he had already started a family outside and even had a child. Just thinking about how Janet ate those medicines every day without a frown just to have his child made me furious. "Have you decided how to handle this?" Jimmy suddenly asked. "Of course, divorce! He bullied Janet like this. Kicking him out with nothing is too lenient. I want him to lose everything, to ruin his reputation. He deserves to suffer!" I gritted my teeth, wishing I could tear him to pieces.

"She hasn't worked or socialized for years. Her whole life revolves around York. To her, York is everything. If you suddenly tell her that everything she knows is a lie, do you think she can handle it?" "So, what should I do? Just sit back and watch him destroy her?" I retorted. "That's not what I mean, Yvonne. You need to think this through carefully. York is so bold because he knows there's no one to challenge him. "Your parents are gone, and you don't have any brothers. You just graduated and have no interest in hotel management. The hotel is entirely in his hands. He's confident you won't confront him, which is why he's so reckless." I fell silent, knowing Jimmy had a point. Over the years, Janet had stayed home, feeling guilty about not being able to have children. She accommodated York in every way and never got involved with the hotel. I never got along with York and didn't want to make things difficult for Janet, so I hadn't planned to work at the hotel either. But that didn't justify him bullying us without consequence! "I'm going back to work at the hotel," I declared, my resolve firm. 9 When Janet heard about my decision, she was thrilled. She cooked a big meal to celebrate and even invited York home. Janet was a fantastic cook, and the hotel had originally been her restaurant. But she had chosen to focus on family, preparing for pregnancy and caring for our parents, rarely involving herself in hotel matters. Now, almost everyone believed that the hotel belonged to the Kingsleys, and Janet was just a childless trophy wife. When York heard about my plan, he frowned so deeply it looked like his face might crack. He used every excuse he could think of to dissuade me, claiming I didn't have the right background and couldn't handle the work. I knew what he was worried about, so I swallowed my disgust and poured him a glass of wine. I said to him that I had been immature and didn't appreciate his hard work. After my internship at the new company, I realized how difficult making money was. I hoped he could forgive my past mistakes and give me a chance to help at the hotel. With Janet also pleading with him and the fact that I had shares in the company, York reluctantly agreed. On my first day at the hotel, I saw the woman York had been with, his secretary. She strutted over in her black high heels, looking down at me. "Hey, your office is over there. Find your way." York hadn't announced my identity. He said that since I was new and had much to learn, it was better to keep a low profile. So, apart from a few senior executives, no one knew who I was. The secretary clearly didn't like me because my office was right next to York's, and he often dropped by. This made things inconvenient for her. A week into my job, I discovered that York's office had a private room where he frequently held "meetings" with his secretary. For convenience, he even kept various stimulants in the drawer for their "meetings". Of course, York also tampered with the shares. My dividends had been entirely swallowed by him. His secretary was constantly watching me, tattling that I wasn't working properly, that I wandered around the hotel, and made personal calls during office hours. She even berated me in front of York. This made it difficult for me to investigate, and the things I found were limited. York never stopped her. He seemed to enjoy watching me struggle, waiting for me to either quit or come begging to him. I chose the latter. I shared my plan with Jimmy, hoping for his help. To my surprise, he reacted with shock, calling me crazy and refusing to assist. How dare he refuse? I got him drunk and sent him back to his countryside home overnight. If he wouldn't help me and tried to stop me from getting revenge, he could stay there and farm! The day of my plan arrived quickly.