Chapter 2

I was about to explain my father-in-law's identity when Marcus sneered and kicked him hard in the chest.

"Stop pretending! You haven't finished mopping the floor!"

The kick was brutal.

My father-in-law grunted, clutching his chest. His face instantly turned from white to purple.

His throat made wheezing sounds like a broken bellows as he curled into a ball in agony, unable to form a complete sentence.

"Victor!"

I threw myself forward and grabbed hold of my father-in-law.

His heart couldn't handle this kind of shock. His whole body was convulsing violently.

I frantically searched his pockets for his emergency heart pills.

But Marcus grabbed my hair and yanked me backward:

"Stop putting on this sob story for me! You country people love drama. Trying to scam us, are you?"

He pulled out his phone and started recording me and my father-in-law:

"Hey everyone, you won't believe what I'm dealing with today. This is the poor husband who married up to Miss Sterling. Not only is he covered in germs, but now he's learned to fake illness to extort money."

When Isabelle married me years ago, a penniless country boy, her whole family objected.

After the wedding, my status in this mansion was lower than a servant's. Even the butler dared to lord over me.

I endured the tearing pain in my scalp and slapped Marcus hard across the face.

"Smack!"

The crisp sound echoed through the living room. "Shut up! If something happens to him, even Isabelle can't save you!"

Marcus held his rapidly swelling cheek, his eyes turning venomous:

"How dare you, you worthless freeloader! Guards! Throw these two beggars out!"

Two burly bodyguards immediately rushed in from outside.

These were men Isabelle had specifically assigned to Marcus, supposedly to protect her lifesaver.

Isabelle trusted this butler to her core, even giving him authority over the household security.

"Let go of me! Are you blind! Look carefully at who he is!"

I struggled desperately, but the bodyguards pinned me to the ground on both sides.

The head bodyguard sneered without even glancing at my father-in-law:

"Mr. Mitchell, Miss Sterling instructed us that all household rules follow Mr. Snow's orders."

They roughly hauled up my ailing father-in-law. His head lolled limply, his lips already turning dark blue.

"You'll regret this! When Isabelle comes back and sees how you treated him, she'll make you wish you were dead!"

I screamed in despair.

Marcus walked up to me and ground the pointed toe of his leather shoe into the back of my hand.

The piercing pain made me gasp.

" Mitchell, do you really think you're some kind of wealthy son-in-law? Isabelle already told me---you're just a useless waste taking up space. Once I fully gain Isabelle's trust, you and your poor old man will both be sent back to the countryside to farm."

He kicked my hand away contemptuously and waved at the bodyguards:

"Drag this old bastard to the outdoor pool! Today I'll teach you both a lesson on behalf of Miss Sterling!"