The Luck Thieves

Tristan didn't come home that night.

He used to make excuses, but now, knowing I had only a month to live, he couldn't even be bothered to pretend.

The next morning, Sophia brought me a bowl of stew. "Sandra, you should eat. Your stomach was so upset yesterday. You need to rest."

I didn't take them. Instead, I guided her to sit on the sofa beside me.

"Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about.

"You know I grew up in the orphanage. Yesterday, the director called me. She's getting on in years, and she fell and broke her leg. She's spent her whole life caring for other people's children, and with no family of her own, she's completely alone. I feel I should go and take care of her for a while."

A flicker of irritation crossed Sophia's face. "Sandra, you're my daughter-in-law. Tristan is out working all day—your place is here, taking care of this household."

I took her hand, my expression open and sincere. "Mom, let me be honest with you. The director told me she has no heirs. I'm the only one who's visited and looked after her all these years. Now… she wants to sign her two apartments over to me.

"You and Dad have always treated me like your own, and Tristan has been so good to me. Once the properties are in my name, I plan to transfer them to Tristan."

Her eyes lit up. She clutched my hands, excitement spilling over. "Sandra, I always knew you were a good, filial girl! Don't you worry about a thing—go today. I'll handle Tristan!"

I smiled and nodded.

That very evening, she summoned Tristan home.

I had hired an actor to play the part of a lawyer, complete with stacks of forged documents. Drunk on greed, Tristan signed every page without reading a single one—never noticing the divorce papers cleverly mixed into the stack.

The moment his pen hit the final page, I felt invisible chains shatter inside me. A surge of power, warm and potent, flooded my veins, strengthening my body and sharpening my mind.

The barrage erupted in a wild celebration across my vision.

[She did it! She's free of the Gaffor family! Their connection is broken—they can't siphon her luck anymore!]

[She's no longer a Gaffor. Since the ritual wasn't completed, the backlash is coming for them. I can't wait to watch!]

The "lawyer" excused himself to "process the property transfer," and the Gaffor family practically shoved him out the door, their faces split with greedy grins.

Immediately, Tristan started planning the spoils with his parents. "We'll sell one apartment, and Kylie and Nathan can move into the other."

In his glee, he accidentally revealed the truth about his mistress and illegitimate son.

Sophia quickly tried to hush him, but Tristan shot me a dismissive look. "You just focus on taking care of the orphanage director. Don't bother coming back here."

He practically hurled my luggage out himself.

I walked away, the divorce decree clutched tightly in my hand, tears of relief and liberation streaming down my face.

Ten years. Finally, my life was my own again.

And I was going to enjoy watching their family crumble, paying in ruin and blood for the decade they had stolen from me and the child they had taken.

The orphanage director had, in fact, broken her leg. I told her a simplified version of the truth—that Tristan had been unfaithful. She understood completely and welcomed me to stay. It was the perfect cover to care for her and to lay my plans.

That night, as I was settling in, my phone rang. It was Tristan.

I answered, and his panicked voice screeched through the receiver, "Sandra! Get down to the Corealis Grand Hotel, now!"

Before I could even form a response, the barrage provided the context.

[Tristan was trying to meet his side piece, but he walked into the wrong suite and stumbled right into the lover of a privileged heir in Holleas City!]