"Mom! I beg you to give me back that $300,000. My sister urgently needs it for medical expenses! We can't delay this any longer!" Ryder Clark said, kneeling.
His mother-in-law, Karen, slapped him hard across the face. "Get lost! You useless jinx, when did I owe you any money?"
"The insurance company said the claim money was taken by you!" Ryder anxiously explained.
Three days ago, his sister suffered a severe injury in a hit-and-run accident. The exorbitant medical expenses had him suffocating. Finally, when he hoped to receive the insurance payout, his mother-in-law withheld it!
Karen stubbornly said, "So what if I took it? Over the years, you've lived off my household, so you owe me! As a man, you can't even save up for your own sister's medical expenses, what use do you have? Just leave and find a car to crash into!"
Karen then turned to Sarah Johnson, who was sitting on the sofa playing with her phone, and complained, "Look! This is the worthless man you found for yourself! A poor ghost who can't earn any money!"
"Mom, he's just a poor working man. How can he save money?" Sarah looked at Ryder who was kneeling on the ground. Despite being annoyed with this pathetic husband of hers, she still felt some sympathy.
She added, "Mom, maybe we should give him the insurance money, considering..."
"Shut up!" Karen shouted, cutting her off. "This money is for your brother's future wife. No one can touch it!"
Karen kicked Ryder in the stomach provocatively and taunted, "You can’t even get your own money back! Don't you have the guts to take a knife and kill me?"
Ryder clutched his stomach, burning with anger, but he glanced at his wife, Sarah. He could only swallow his pride.
"I knew you were a coward. Get lost. Our family doesn't need a parasite like you! We'll file for divorce in a couple of days, and from now on, no one owes anyone anything!"
Karen pushed Ryder out while she spoke. Sarah didn't stop her, and her expression was filled with disappointment towards Ryder.
As for his father-in-law, Ernest Johnson, he kept his head down and read the newspaper as if nothing had happened.
The door closed.
Outside the door, Ryder was utterly disappointed. After three years of being a burden, he knew his mother-in-law was sharp-tongued and critical, but he never expected her to be so heartless.
"No matter what, I'll gather the money for the operation!" Ryder got on his old electric scooter and went to the construction site to demand his wages.
Ryder studied architecture and got a job at a construction company after graduating from college. Though he was a technical staff member, he did the same laborious work as an ordinary laborer, working long hours to earn $5,000 a month.
It was precisely because of this that his mother-in-law despised him even more.
Half an hour later
Foreman's Room, Construction Site
Tom and several other site supervisors were gambling, with stacks of banknotes on the table.
Ryder pleaded desperately, "Sir, could you please settle my unpaid wages first? I haven't been paid for half a year! My sister urgently needs money for medical expenses..."
Impatiently, Tom smoked and replied, "Damn it! All you think about is money. We haven’t received the project funds yet! How would I get the money to pay you?"
"Sir, if the project funds haven't arrived, why has everyone else received their salaries except me?" Ryder hurriedly asked.
Tom and the other supervisors exchanged glances and suddenly sneered, "To tell you the truth, I intentionally withheld your salary!"
"Why?" Ryder looked astonished.
"Why?" Tom flicked his cigarette butt onto Ryder and smirked, "Because a useless person like you managed to marry the most beautiful woman in Houston. It's unfair in my eyes! You have a problem with that? Then find someone to teach me a lesson!"
Ryder felt disheartened.
Tom had been mingling in Houston for many years, and he had some power. In front of Tom, he was nothing but an ant!
Tom continued with an evil grin, "Actually, if you can arrange for that beautiful lady at your home to have some fun with me, I can reward you with a couple of hundred dollars! How about that?"
The other supervisors on the table chimed in, "I'll throw in two hundred dollars too. After Sir is done, let me have some fun too!"
"It would be best to let this idiot watch us while we have fun. I’ve heard Sarah is still a virgin! She must be tight!"
Such vulgar words poured into Ryder's ears. He just couldn't bear it any longer!
Ryder charged at Tom and threw a punch, hitting him on the cheek.
Tom took several steps back, surprised by the sudden attack. He was enraged. "Beat him!"
The supervisors and the workers outside rushed in.
Against four hands, Ryder was quickly brought down.
He was soon covered in bruises.
"You idiot!" Tom stepped on Ryder's head, unzipped his pants, and urinated on him. "Take him out and throw him away!"
...
Night fell.
Ryder squatted on the side of the road, crying with his head in his hands. It was a day where he had lost all his dignity!
In fact, some people knew that he was the young master of the Jones family in New York. The reason why he had fallen to this point was a heartbreaking past.
Twenty-five years ago, his father John Clark married into the Jones family in New York. One year later, the Jones family's Miss Emma Jones gave birth to a son.
As per the family's tradition, the boy took the maternal surname and was named Ryder Jones.
John, being weak-willed, suffered from constant humiliation in the Jones family, with a status lower than that of a servant. Emma, on the other hand, indulged in extravagant and promiscuous behavior, constantly being with different men.
Soon after that, the strong-willed Emma openly found another son-in-law! She had crossed all the limits.
Successful men having three wives and four mistresses was not uncommon. It was not rare for the young ladies of prominent families to marry two men.
The man who entered the door became the second father of Ryder Jones.
After the second father and Emma had a son together, John's status plummeted. Ryder Jones, even after being Emma's son, was far less favored than his younger brother. Just ten years ago, Emma decisively got rid of John, kicking the two of them out of the Jones family.
"These parvenus and their illegitimate children are not worthy of having a meal with our Jones family. They have no relationship with us anymore!"
These were the harsh words Emma left behind! Leaving New York, the two of them returned to the rural area of Houston and relied on each other. Ryder Jones changed his name to Ryder.
Later, John adopted a seven-year-old girl named Ava as his daughter. Although the family of three was poor and destitute, they still found warmth in each other. But good times didn't last long. Three years ago, John disappeared for a month for no reason and came back with a terminal illness. He borrowed a lot of money for treatment, but in the end, he couldn't save his life.
After John's death, in order to repay the debts, the just graduated Ryder had to give up his dignity. He became a son-in-law of the Johnson family, working there like a horse for three years. This time, when his sister had an accident, Ryder tried countless ways to come up with the medical fees.
He even plucked up the courage to contact Emma, their mother who they hadn't had any contact with for ten years, for money. But all she coldly said was, "I don't have a son like you. Giving birth to you was the stupidest decision of my life!"
She hung up after uttering those bitter words.
The most desperate moment in life had come.
"Sister, because of my incompetence as your brother, this is my last resort. From now on, you’ll have to live happily by yourself..."
Ryder stood up, determined.
He decided to jump from a construction site building and fake an on-site injury.
That way, he could get a compensation of 600,000 dollars! "I hope the compensation won't be taken by my mother-in-law!"
Just as he was about to enter the construction site, a black Rolls-Royce suddenly stopped in front of him.
A dignified old man stepped out of the car.
He bowed to Ryder. "Young Master, sorry for the long wait!"