A Trillion-Dollar Inheritance After Her Rise

I hired a private detective to dig into Charles’s life and what I uncovered didn’t surprise me, but it disgusted me all the same. Not only was he having an affair with Sharon, but he also had a wealthy girlfriend several years older than him. One man, two women—plus a full-time job. Charles really was a master of time management.

From what my colleagues said, Charles flaunted his privilege at work. His computer desktop was a family photo with the chairman, as if anyone needed reminding of his connections.

Armed with the pictures of Sharon's underwear and the hotel invoice I had collected, I headed to the hotel where Sharon had stayed during her so-called business trips. With a little digging and by matching the camera angles in the photos, I found a hidden camera in her hotel room.

I confronted the hotel manager with the evidence. At first, he denied everything, but when I threatened to call the police, he cracked. Turns out Sharon and Charles had used that hotel for their secret meetings multiple times. And to think, I had pitied her for all those "work trips," even handwashing her underwear like a fool.

The manager asked how much compensation I wanted. Compensation? I didn’t want their money. I had other plans.

I told him I had one condition: if Sharon and Charles ever came back to the hotel for another private rendezvous, I wanted to know immediately. And not only that, I demanded access to the surveillance system whenever I needed it. The manager, clearly unnerved by the situation, agreed without much resistance.

A perfect setup for the grand finale. Soon, I would catch them red-handed.

***

Not long after I got home, I was surprised to hear a knock at the door. It was Sharon’s parents, looking anxious and out of sorts. Her mother, Rosie, burst into tears as soon as she sat down on the sofa.

“Harvey, you have to save Louis,” she sobbed, her voice cracking under the weight of whatever new disaster had unfolded.

My heart sank. What now?

The last time Sharon's parents had reached out to me was during Louis’s loan shark fiasco and that was only because I bailed him out. Aside from that, they had never been particularly kind to me. I had a sinking feeling that this was going to be a repeat of the same old story.

Rosie’s fragmented explanation only confirmed my worst fears. After I had paid off Louis’s debt from his last gambling binge, he’d been on good behavior for a while. But recently, he’d fallen back into his old habits. While his family wasn’t paying attention, he took all the money he had saved and gambled it away, losing everything and racking up yet another mountain of debt.

Now, with nowhere else to turn, Sharon’s parents had come to me, hoping I’d step in once again and save Louis from his mess.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly inside. Just a few months ago, these people were quick to dismiss me as a loser, not good enough for their daughter. Yet here they were, knocking on my door again when they needed something.

What a joke.

Sharon had justified her betrayal and the Gomez Family treated me like an endless source of money. It made me a fool, a doormat and a complainer. Inside, I sneered at how ridiculous it all was, but outwardly, I kept my face concerned and comforting.

"Auntie," I began, pretending to sound genuinely troubled, "I was actually planning to propose to Sharon in a few days. Once we’re married, her family will become my responsibility too and her brother’s problems will be mine."

The message was clear—until marriage, we weren’t really family.

Rosie, her eyes brimming with fresh tears, clutched my hand. "Harvey, I know you’re a good child. Our Louis is in your hands this time."

I put on a difficult expression. "But I don’t have that kind of money right now." I paused, as if calculating. "But don't worry, I just closed a big deal. The bonus and commission will come out to nearly a million, which should be more than enough to cover Louis’s debt."

Rosie’s face lit up for a moment, but just as quickly, worry returned. "But Louis can’t wait that long. They said if we don’t come up with the money in three days, they’ll break his legs!"

Break them, for all I care. A gambler like him didn’t need legs. That’s what I thought, but of course, I couldn’t say it out loud.

"How about this?" I offered, as though I'd just come up with the perfect solution. "You can mortgage your house and get a loan to pay off Louis’s gambling debts. When my bonus comes in, I’ll transfer the money right away. There’ll even be a few hundred thousand left and I can use that as a gift for my engagement to Sharon."

Rosie stopped crying instantly at the mention of my engagement and turned to Mark, Sharon’s father, for advice. He frowned, but eventually nodded in agreement.

"It seems like that’s the only option."

I told them not to mention any of this to Sharon. I didn't want her to feel burdened by it.

Rosie, ever the manipulator, squeezed my hand and praised me for being "so sensible."

And there I was, exhausted from keeping that fake smile plastered on my face the entire time.