Chapter 03 Encounter with an Enemy
Ernest's Living Room
It was bustling at the moment.
The heir of the Smith Group, Sam, had come to visit them!
"Uncle, Aunt, please accept this small token of appreciation!" Sam sat confidently on the couch.
In front of him on the coffee table, there were two bottles of 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild wine and a box of high-end Korean imported cosmetics.
"1982 Lafite! Each bottle must be worth over 100,000 dollars! So precious!" Ernest thought of taking a photo immediately to brag about it on his social media, showing off to his old friends.
Karen sighed in admiration. "Sam truly deserves credit. Studying abroad has made him so polite. He’s way better than that trash in my family! Just thinking about him annoys me!"
"Aunt, you flatter me." Sam smiled proudly and took out a delicately packaged box from his pocket. "A gift for Sarah."
He opened the box.
Inside lay a diamond necklace, with diamond grains the size of rice, sparkling and translucent.
Karen widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Such a large diamond! It must be very expensive!"
A sly look flashed in Sam's eyes as he pretended to be generous. "One million dollars! Just pocket change!"
He handed the diamond necklace to Sarah, looking into her eyes with an unmistakable greed.
In fact, he was Sarah's senior during university. He had pursued her multiple times, but he was rejected.
After graduation, he went abroad for further studies, only to find out that Sarah had gotten married. When he learned that her husband was poor, it infuriated him.
Last month, Sam returned to his home country and got to know from a friend that Sarah and Ryder were going through a divorce.
Sam clearly understood the implications. The next day, he came to visit with a gift!
At this moment, Sarah felt frustrated. She resented Ryder for being mediocre, lacking ambition.
If she hadn't married him, she would have lived a happier life. But still, she preferred Ryder to Sam.
Ryder might lack ability, but he was honest and earnest. And Sam? He relied on his wealth during university and played around with countless girls, surrounded by continuous scandals.
She didn't want to have anything to do with such a rotten person.
So she refused his gift without a trace of kindness. "I don't want it. Give it to someone else!"
Sam looked embarrassed, seeking help from Karen with his eyes.
Karen quickly mediated, "This is a heartfelt gift from Sam. Accept it quickly. Have you even thought what that useless husband of yours gave you in three years of marriage?"
"Huh? He’ll never be able to buy even one-tenth of this necklace!"
Speaking this, she took the necklace box from Sam's hand and forcefully handed it to Sarah.
She then held Sam's hand and said with great seriousness, "After a few days, when Sarah gets divorced, I will trouble you to accompany her to take her mind off things. Maldives would be great. Spend a few days there. You know, auntie is getting older, and she wants a grandchild. Sam, do you understand what I mean?"
Sam swallowed his saliva and nodded repeatedly, "I understand! I understand!"
Sarah casually threw the necklace box onto the sofa and frowned, "Mom, I haven't said that I want to divorce Ryder!"
Karen glared at her. "But why? What's the point of staying married to that loser?"
Sarah muttered with her head down, "It's my own marital affair, and I have the final say!"
This made Karen explode. "Three years ago, you stubbornly let him marry into our family, and he even brought along his useless sister. Look at what he has turned our family into! Other people's good sons-in-law buy houses and cars, but he's just a useless piece of mud!"
Ernest pushed his glasses and advised, "Your mom has a point. A happy marriage is built on an economic foundation, and Ryder can't make any money!"
Sam nodded and agreed, "Sarah, I've been hearing about your marriage with that scoundrel for a long time. He's just trash from the bottom of the society, and he's not worthy of you at all! Let me tell you, he married you for a reason! He's capable of doing anything for money without any limits!"
Sam acted as if he had great worldly experience and added, "I've seen plenty of guys like him!"
Sarah listened and fell into deep thought.
"Is Ryder really that heartless?" she thought to herself.
Just then, the door was pushed open. It was Ryder coming back.
Seeing this, Karen looked disgusted, tilted her mouth, and sarcastically said, "You haven't come back for a whole night. Who knows where you've been fooling around! But you came back just in time. You must divorce Sarah!"
Ryder didn't pay attention to Karen.
Because since he entered the room, his gaze was fixed on one person.
Sam! The car downstairs was indeed his!
Sam felt it was time to show off. He stood up and spoke with a contemptuous tone, "You must be Sarah's useless husband, right? Let me tell you something, go and get divorced from Sarah. As long as you agree, I will arrange a security job for you with a monthly salary of $6,000. You won't be able to earn that much in your entire life, right?"
He believed that Ryder would be grateful and then agree to divorce Sarah.
Ryder ignored him and took a step forward, looking directly into Sam's eyes, "Are you Sam?"
"Do you feel the fear when you hear my name?"
Ryder shouted angrily, "You're the scum who hit my sister and fled the scene, right?"
In an instant, a hint of panic flashed in Sam's eyes. "What... What are you saying? I don't understand!"
Ryder narrowed his eyes slightly, his anger surging. "You dare to do it, but you can’t admit it!"
Before Sam could answer, Karen rushed forward and confronted Ryder.
She questioned Ryder with a sneer, "Are you crazy? How could our friend Sam be the hit-and-run driver? You must be out of your mind!"
Ernest's face had also turned grim. "Ryder! Apologize to Sam right now!"
Even Sarah frowned and questioned, "Are you mistaken?"
"Mistaken?" Ryder took out his phone and played a video. "What do you see here?"
The video showed surveillance footage.
It was at the school gate. After evening self-study, Ava was walking normally on the sidewalk when a black Mercedes-Benz S600 rushed out and hit her. The car didn't stop even for a second and quickly disappeared into the night.
The video ended.
Sam, who was initially nervous, relaxed and defended himself cunningly, "Is this your evidence? We have many black Mercedes-Benz S600s in Houston. Hundreds if not dozens. Why accuse me of being the driver? Do you want me to sue you for defamation?"
Karen chimed in, "I think this troublemaker is just desperate. He is trying to extort money from you! No way! Sam, auntie supports you to sue him in court!"
Sarah looked at Ryder and sighed disappointingly. She never expected him to be that kind of person. "How could he stoop to such lows for money, even resorting to extortion?" Sarah thought.
"Going to court? Sue me?" Ryder coldly sneered. He took out a few enlarged photos from his pocket and threw them on the table. "Let's go right now! Do you dare?"
Sam's eyes widened, and his face turned pale.
The photos were clear and showed a close-up of the hit-and-run black Mercedes-Benz S600. It revealed the driver unmistakably.
It was Sam himself!