My Mother-in-Law Set Rules to Control Me, So I Bankrupted Her Family

01

My mother-in-law-to-be wanted to lay down the rules and put me in my place.

So at the engagement banquet, she slapped my sister across the face in front of everyone.

Angela Henson, a shameless slut who got herself pregnant out of wedlock, and you dare show up at an engagement banquet? Trying to drag the Gilbert name through the mud, is that it?

My sister's head snapped to the side from the blow, but she still forced a small, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I only came to drop something off for Sophie. I'll go right now."

Once the slap had landed, she turned to me with a look of open provocation. "No offense, Sophie. That's just how things work in the Gilbert family. You'll have to bear with it."

Watching her preen like that, I couldn't help but laugh.

She must have forgotten exactly who kept the Gilbert family perched at the very top all these years.

I threw my bouquet to the floor, pulled out my phone, and dialed the patent office.

"Hello, this is Sophie Henson, the independent inventor of the Aurora chip. I want to revoke Gilbert Group's patent license and donate the patent to the government, free of charge."

The staffer on the other end didn't seem to catch it. There was a stunned pause of several seconds before they repeated it back to confirm.

"Miss Henson, did you just say you want to revoke Gilbert Group's patent license, and donate it to the government at no cost? Are you certain?"

"I'm certain." I gripped the phone, my gaze cold as I fixed it on the mother and son frozen white-faced near the entrance of the banquet hall.

"All licenses are terminated. I'll have my lawyer deliver the paperwork first thing tomorrow morning. And from today on, every right to use this patent belongs to the government. If Gilbert Group so much as touches it again, treat it as infringement, plain and simple."

I hung up, and the noisy hall fell dead silent.

"So... Sophie Henson? Have you lost your mind?"

Corey Gilbert came back to himself and charged over in his custom leather shoes.

His eyes were red enough to devour someone. "My mother slaps your sister once, and you'd destroy the entire Gilbert Group over it?"

Watching Corey come apart like that, all I felt was how absurd it was.

Back when Gilbert Group was on the brink of collapse, I was the one who handed over the Aurora chip technology, the one who helped them land a national new-energy project and vaulted them to the top of the elite families.

I never imagined it would earn me a show of force like this.

Fine. If sincerity buys nothing but this, then I'll just flip your whole Gilbert table.

"That's right. Anyone who hurts my sister, I'll finish them." I stepped back, out of reach of the hand he'd thrown toward me.

"And since your mother looks down on us Hensons, then this engagement can go ahead and not happen at all."

"Then it's off. That's fine by me." When I said it like that, Mrs. Gilbert, who had already been near bursting with rage, finally lost all control.

She jabbed a finger at my face and spat, "It's just some cheap little chip. Do you actually think you matter?"

The moment the words left her mouth, the banquet hall erupted.

People leaned in to whisper, some quietly pulled out phones to send messages, and a few of the business owners with ties to Gilbert had already gone pale.

Everyone knew the Aurora chip was the core of Gilbert Group's earnings now.

Pulling the license was the same as cutting the Gilbert family off at the root.

Mrs. Gilbert didn't handle operations. She had no idea what my decision meant.

But her not understanding didn't mean these old hands in the business world didn't.

Almost at once they moved to sever ties with Gilbert.

After all, no one wants to go down with a ship that's already sinking.

Watching his partners pull out their phones one after another, Corey ground his back teeth until they nearly cracked.

He shoved his mother's pointing hand aside and roared, "Mom, shut up!"

"Shut up? Why should I?" Mrs. Gilbert still hadn't grasped the disaster bearing down on her. She stood there with her hands on her hips, still throwing her tantrum.

"Not one person in the Henson family is worth anything. The sister's a slut, the little one's an ingrate. I'll say it right here and now: if you dare marry Sophie Henson, don't ever call me your mother again!"

Her words landed in the hall like a thunderclap.

It left the whole room stunned.

One after another, they looked at Mrs. Gilbert like she was an idiot.

Seeing this, my sister quickly tugged at my sleeve, trying to stop me. "Sophie, let it go... one slap doesn't matter... don't do anything rash, we can talk this out..."

"Sis, I'm not being rash. I mean it."

Looking at her face, already swollen and going purple, I felt like a needle had been driven hard into my heart.

Our parents died young. For as long as I can remember, it was my sister who took care of me.

All these years she was both father and mother to me, and never once had a relationship of her own.

She held on until I finally finished my doctorate, and only then did she fall in love for the first time.

But her luck was bad. She met a scoundrel who took what he wanted from her and ran.

She knew how many rules there were in these wealthy families.

She hadn't wanted to come today at all. I was the one who dragged her here.

If I didn't stand up for her, I had no right to call myself her sister.

I pulled my sister forward until we stood in front of Mrs. Gilbert, lifted my chin, and looked her in the eye. "Apologize to my sister, right now. Do it, and I might still leave the Gilbert family a way out. Otherwise, you can all sit and wait for bankruptcy."

Mrs. Gilbert's face went dark green with rage at being cut down by me. She threw up her hand to slap me, but I caught her wrist before it landed.

I'm strong. I gripped hard enough to make her yelp. "Sophie Henson, have you lost your mind? Let go of me!"

"And what if I have?" I flung her hand away and shoved her back toward Corey.

I said it slow, one word at a time. "Corey Gilbert, your mother doesn't understand what I'm saying, but you should. If you don't want the Gilbert family to go bankrupt, you'd better talk her into apologizing to my sister. Otherwise... in a little while it'll be too late."

My words left Corey's face burning red.

It was exactly as I'd said.

This decision of mine had landed squarely on Gilbert Group's weakest point.

Earlier he'd let his mother put me in my place because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life at my mercy.

He'd wanted to set the rules for me before the wedding.

He just hadn't expected the whole thing to blow up in his face.

In any other setting, forget talking his mother into an apology.

He'd have gotten down on his knees and kowtowed to me if that was what it took.

But bowing to me now, backing down in front of this many people.

Even if Gilbert Group survived, he'd never hold his ground in his circle again.

His throat bobbed twice, and his eyes cut sideways to the guests murmuring all around him.

Those probing looks, hungry for a show, some even pitying, dug into his back like needles.

It took him a long moment to force a few words out through his teeth. "Sophie, restore the patent license first, and we'll talk about whatever this is in private. Don't make an ugly scene here."

"Scene?" I raised an eyebrow and pitched my voice higher on purpose.

"When your mother was slapping my sister across the face, why weren't you worried about an ugly scene? Now it's a scene? Where was all this before?"

My sister saw the situation spiraling further out of control and tugged at my sleeve again. "Sophie, really, let it go, I'm fine... don't fight with them..."

But the more she gave in, the harder my heart clenched.

I turned to Corey, my face cold. "I'll say it one last time. Make your mother apologize to my sister. Otherwise... don't blame me when I take this all the way."

Seeing me threaten Corey again, Mrs. Gilbert jumped back in to stir the pot.

"Apologize for what? Was I wrong? She got herself pregnant out of wedlock, so what if I hit her? Corey, don't be afraid of her, throw this madwoman out of here! The Gilbert family is big and rich, what do we have to fear?"

Corey, already backed into a corner by me, watched his mother court disaster all over again, and this time he truly couldn't take it.

He whipped around and cut her off, his voice sharp. "Mom, stop talking!"

Then he closed his eyes, as if steeling himself for some enormous decision.

Biting down on his lower lip, he said to Mrs. Gilbert, "Mom, apologize to Sophie's sister... this really was your fault..."

"My fault?" Mrs. Gilbert's eyes went wide with disbelief, and her hand shot out to pound his chest. "You ungrateful son! I did all this for your sake! For the Gilbert family! And now you're taking an outsider's side against me?"

"Look at the situation we're in, and you're still going on about this!" Corey ground his teeth.

"The Aurora chip is the core of Gilbert Group. If she really pulls the license, every one of our orders defaults, and just the breach penalties alone would bankrupt us! Are you not going to be satisfied until you've burned the whole Gilbert family to the ground?"

The words hit Jill like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head.

Her mouth opened, and her face went from flushed red to bloodless white in an instant.

Her lips trembling, she stammered, "It's... it's not that serious, is it? It's just one patent. Can't we develop it ourselves?"

"Develop it ourselves? The core technology is all with her. It would take us three to five years, minimum, and by then the market would be gone!" Corey finished, then turned to look at me.

His face was far softer than a moment ago, almost ingratiating.

"Sophie, is this all right now? Cool off a little. I'll have her apologize to your sister in a minute..."

I ignored Corey and kept staring coldly at Jill.

Backed into a corner at last, forced to face reality, she finally shuffled one grudging step forward. "I'm sorry, Angela. I acted rashly just now. Please forgive me..."

"You call that an apology?" I gave a small laugh and looked at Corey.

"When she slapped my sister across the face, the whole banquet hall heard it. Now she apologizes and it's a mosquito's whine? That's beyond half-hearted!"

"Don't push your luck!" Jill blew up again.

"I've already apologized, what more do you want? You expect me to kneel down and beg her forgiveness?"

"Kneeling won't be necessary," I said, holding her gaze.

"But you're going to say it out loud. You were wrong just now. You shouldn't have hit someone without knowing the first thing about it, and you shouldn't have insulted my sister. Say that clearly, and this is over."

"I won't!" Jill stiffened her neck.

"Didn't you just say an apology would do? Well, I've apologized. Sophie Henson, don't keep pressing your advantage. Everyone's watching!"

Maybe it was true, that birds of a feather flock together.

Hearing his mother say it, Corey was actually swayed.

He stepped forward. "My mother's right, Sophie. You only asked for an apology just now. You never said everyone had to hear it. She's apologized exactly as you asked. It's time you settled down and returned the license to Gilbert!"

I let out a cold laugh, looking at Corey, cut from the same cloth as his mother.

The regret in my chest wouldn't stop.

Regret that I'd been blind enough to help him save Gilbert back then.

And deeper regret that seven years together hadn't been enough to see who Corey really was.

Whatever I'd felt for him, in that moment, vanished completely, without a trace.

I was about to fire a few words back at him when the doors of the banquet hall were suddenly pushed open.

I looked up and saw who it was: several shareholders of Gilbert Group.

I couldn't help the cold smile that spread across my face.

It seemed...

This time I wouldn't have to force Corey's mother to apologize after all...