They Came Back To No Home Chapter 07

They Came Back To No Home Chapter 07

In the family group chat, Cathleen piled on:

[What a disgrace–landing a wife like that. She’s ruined my son.]

[She kicked my son out of the house and won’t even let me see my granddaughter!]

[My son is such a good man, and she got him fired!]

The group exploded.

Someone tagged me: [Melody, is what Cathleen said true?]

I didn’t reply.

Cathleen wasn’t done yet and made a scene directly at my parents‘ house.

When my mother opened the door, Cathleen sat straight down on the floor and wailed at the top of her lungs.

“Your daughter ruined my son’s job and even sold the apartment! How could she be so heartless!”

“Your daughter is a curse–she’s ruined my son, ruined our family!”

Neighbors peeked out, drawn by the commotion.

My mother trembled with anger, blocking the doorway.

“Shut your mouth! It was your son taking another woman abroad that lost him his job!”

Cathleen threw a full–blown tantrum, throwing herself onto the ground, slapping her thighs, and howling.

“I don’t care! I’m taking Tanya. She’s my granddaughter!”

She grew more hysterical, even reaching out to snatch Tanya from my mother’s arms.

My mother shielded her desperately, and Tanya cried hysterically from the fright.

I called the police.

When the officers arrived, Cathleen finally scrambled up from the ground, still talking tough.

“What’s wrong with taking my own granddaughter?”

“Snatching a child is against the Jaw.” I stared at her, my voice cold as ice. “If you make a scene again, I will

sue you too and throw away whatever pride the Robles family has left.”

She froze, slinking away in embarrassment.

That very evening, I dropped Rylie’s bikini photos, her photo dump thanking Peyton, the joint credit card

transactions, screenshots of Peyton’s fraudulent paternity leave, and the location tag from that day straight

into the family group chat all at once.

I texted: [See for yourselves who’s really at fault here.]

The chat fell dead silent for a while.

Then, it exploded.

[My god, is that woman a mistress?]

[Cathleen, your son took his mistress to Europe, and you had the nerve to blame Melody?]

[Melody has been through so much.]

[His ‘devotion to family‘–using his wife’s money to spoil his mistress and her parents?]

The tide turned instantly.

Rylie deleted all her posts overnight and quit the family group chat.

Cathleen never said another word in the group again.

I looked at the sea of criticism on the screen and flipped my phone face down.

Tanya slept soundly in my arms, small tear tracks still on her cheeks.

Outside the window, the wind picked up, rustling the tree leaves.

Peyton actually filed the lawsuit.

The day the summons was delivered to my hands, he sent a text:

[Either we settle out of court and split half the money from the apartment, or I’ll see you in court. I’ll give you

three days to think about it.]

I didn’t reply.

But worse came after.

He filed for an asset freeze, locking up my bank accounts for several days.

During those days, I couldn’t even swipe my card to buy formula for Tanya.

I couldn’t ship goods out, and I couldn’t receive incoming payments.

For the first time since the divorce started, I felt truly cornered.

Yet Paige told me, “Let him freeze it. The more he freezes, the worse he makes himself look.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because every cent he freezes will end up coming out of his own pocket–with interest on top.”

I let out a breath and said no more.

On the day of the hearing, Peyton showed up with a lawyer, looking across the table with a smirk of certainty.

His lawyer adjusted his glasses and opened with a polished argument.

“Your Honor, the property was acquired during the marriage, making it joint marital property, to which my

client is entitled to a share.”

“Although the title is registered solely in Ms. Walsh’s name, during the marriage the two parties cohabitated and operated jointly, which should be considered a mutual contribution.”

Paige was unruffled. She calmly presented a stack of evidence.

“First, the property deed lists only my client, Ms. Walsh, as the sole owner.”

“Second, full payment bank statements show that all funds used to purchase the apartment came from my

client’s pre–marital business income.”

“Third, we have an audio recording here. We request Your Honor and opposing counsel to listen.”

She clicked play.

Peyton’s voice, slurred with alcohol, streamed out of the speakers.

“So what if she bought the apartment in full? Once I get a divorce, the court will rule half of it to be mine

anyway.”

The courtroom fell so quiet that you could hear everyone’s breathing.

Peyton’s face instantly drained of color.