Mrs. Freddy immediately snatched the phone from Moana’s hand, her expression changing in an instant. Her tone, which had been harsh just a moment ago, suddenly turned sweet and forced.

"Sean! Oh my gosh... you finally called." Mrs. Freddy chuckled. "Don’t take what Moana said to heart. She’s just stressed out right now."

Moana glared in disbelief. "Mom! Give me back my phone!"

Mrs. Freddy roughly brushed Moana’s hand aside while continuing to smile obsequiously at the person on the other end.

"We actually still consider you part of the family," she continued softly. "Moana still loves you very much, too. She’s just being stubborn."

On the other end, Sean chuckled softly.

"That’s hilarious," he said casually. "You’ve only been broke for a few days, but you’re already starting to sell your pride."

Mrs. Freddy’s face tensed for a moment, but she quickly laughed again to keep the mood light.

"Sean, you know our situation is tough right now."

"Of course I know," Sean replied coldly. "I even know that the electricity bill for that house is two months overdue."

That remark immediately made Mr. Freddy turn to him sharply.

"Sean..." he said, starting to step closer. "We can talk this out calmly."

Moana was utterly sick of seeing her parents act like starving dogs in front of money. Just a few minutes ago they were cursing him out, and now they were groveling in front of Sean.

"Stop embarrassing yourselves!" Moana snapped.

But Mr. Freddy immediately snatched the phone from his wife’s hand.

"Sean," he said quickly. "Moana still has a lot of information about your company. But we don’t want things to get any worse. We can work together."

Moana froze instantly.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

Sean was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the line. Then his laughter sounded again, lower and softer.

"So now you’re trying to blackmail me?"

Mr. Freddy swallowed hard. "That’s not what I meant."

"Then don’t sound like a desperate loser."

Those words made Mr. Freddy’s face turn red.

Sean continued in a casual tone, as if he were enjoying the whole thing. "You really are an interesting family. You used to live off my money, and now you’re trying to sell my secrets."

Moana clenched her fists tightly.

For some reason, Sean’s insult felt even more painful because this time she couldn’t refute it.

Sean was right.

They really were like parasites.

"I’m not interested in working with a failed family," Sean continued coldly. "But I’ll give you a little advice."

The room suddenly fell silent.

"Don’t push Moana too far," he said softly. "Because when she’s truly broken, she can become far more dangerous than you think."

Click.

The call ended abruptly.

The room froze for a few seconds.

Mr. Freddy slowly lowered his phone with a scowling face, while Mrs. Freddy looked frustrated that her chance to ask for money had just completely failed.

And in the midst of that silence, Moana stood motionless, staring blankly ahead.

Sean’s last words kept echoing in her head.

> "When he’s completely broken, he can become far more dangerous..."

And now, since everything fell apart, Moana began to feel that Sean wasn’t just trying to destroy her. Moana knew, her ex-husband was waiting for her to turn into something else.

Mr. Freddy flung the phone onto the sofa in frustration.

"Damn it!" he cursed, rubbing his rough face. "Sean has really changed."

"He hasn’t changed," Moana replied softly. "He’s always been like that. We were just too busy enjoying his money to see his true self."

Mrs. Freddy immediately clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Don’t act all wise now. If you hadn’t spread your legs for Sean back then, we’d never have enjoyed all that luxury."

Those words made the room fall silent again.

Moana stared at the woman for a long time. There was no trace of surprise left on her face. She seemed to be getting used to hearing such disgusting remarks from her own parents.

"Interesting," she said softly. "You two aren’t even ashamed to say things like that in front of me."

Mrs. Freddy shrugged nonchalantly. "Shame won’t make us rich."

Mr. Freddy sat back down and lit a new cigarette. His hand trembled slightly from the stress that had been building up since morning. "The important thing now is that we have to get out of this situation."

"How?" Moana asked coldly.

Mr. Freddy fell silent for a few seconds before finally turning to his wife. Their gazes seemed to catch the same idea.

"Clara," Mrs. Freddy said softly.

Moana immediately frowned. "What?"

Mrs. Freddy leaned back on the sofa with a small smile. "If Sean is out of reach, maybe his ex-wife still is."

"Mom, don’t even start," Moana hissed quickly.

But Mrs. Freddy seemed even more intrigued by her own idea. "Clara is a gentle woman. Back then, she kept hanging on even though Sean was cheating on her openly. Women like that usually feel sorry for others easily."

Mr. Freddy began to nod slowly. "We can approach her nicely."

Moana laughed in disbelief. "Nicely? After everything I’ve done to her?"

Mrs. Freddy glared at her. "That’s why you’re coming along. Cry a little, apologize a little, and then ... put on that pitiful face of yours."

"Mom!"

"What?" Mrs. Freddy clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Your self-respect has been shattered for a long time. So don’t pretend you still have any dignity now."

Those words hit her hard.

Moana turned her face away while clenching her fists tightly. She used to hate Clara. She hated her so much. Clara always looked perfect, calm, and loved by everyone. Meanwhile, she continued to live as a woman looked down upon, even though she’d managed to win Sean over.

But now...

For some reason, Moana couldn’t bear the thought of standing before Clara in such a shattered state.

"I don’t want to see Clara," she said softly.

Mr. Freddy stood up immediately. "You have no choice."

"You’ve acted like that before. Do it again now ...! Pretending to be in pain and pretending to suffer. With a little drama, we’ll definitely be able to blackmail Clara!" Mrs. Freddy laughed.

"Yes! Clara will surely feel sorry for you when she sees you in such a mess," said the father.

"Pretend to be the victim. You have to win Clara over. Pretend that you’ve been wronged in many ways. Tell her you’re sorry." The mother insisted.

"No ...! No ..., Mom ...! I’d rather die than be looked down upon by her."

Mrs. Freddy chuckled. "How funny. You couldn’t even manage to kill yourself."

The room fell silent again.

Moana’s face turned cold. Those words felt like a knife being twisted in the same wound.

Mrs. Freddy rose slowly and approached Moana. "Listen carefully," she whispered softly. "If you still want to eat well, sleep comfortably, and survive, stop letting your feelings get in the way."

"Clara might hate you," she continued. "But woman like her ..., ia also the easiest to take advantage of."

Moana stared blankly ahead. She began to realize that her parents truly had no limits anymore.

Moana slowly lifted her head. Her gaze turned sharp, a far cry from just a few minutes ago.

"I won’t cry in front of Clara," she said coldly.

Mrs. Freddy immediately clicked her tongue. "Don’t be so stubborn."

"I’m serious." Moana stood up slowly from the sofa. "I may have fallen, but I’m not that broken that I have to pretend to be a victim in front of a woman I once humiliated."

Mr. Freddy laughed sarcastically. "Oh, so now you have self-respect?"

Moana turned her head quickly. "No. But I still have a brain."

The room suddenly fell silent.

Moana walked over to the table and picked up the bank’s business card from earlier. Her fingers tapped the table lightly as she thought.

"You’re too stupid if you think Clara can be blackmailed with cheap drama," she continued calmly. "She might be gentle, but she’s no idiot."

Mrs. Freddy narrowed her eyes. "Then what do you think we should do?"

Moana gave a small smile. But it looked cold.

"Sean."

"We just failed to deal with Sean," Mr. Freddy growled.

"Because you approached him like beggars," Moana retorted quickly. "You were too eager to show that we’re desperate."

Mr. Freddy fell silent immediately.

Moana began to pace slowly. Her head felt much clearer now. The shame, anger, and heartache that had been tearing her apart were slowly transforming into something else.

Sean was right.

When she was completely broken, she did indeed become more dangerous.

"Sean isn’t afraid of threats," Moana continued softly. "He also doesn’t care about sad dramas. But Sean has one weakness."

Mrs. Freddy immediately stepped closer. "What?"

Moana stopped walking.

"Ego."

The room fell silent.

"Sean likes to win," she continued with a faint smile. "He likes to feel the strongest, the smartest, the one in control of everything. That’s why he deliberately let me live."

Mr. Freddy began to listen intently.

"He wants to see me crawl," Moana said. "He wants me to beg while slowly breaking down."

Mrs. Freddy crossed her arms over her chest. "And then?"

Moana just gave a mysterious grin.