My Mother Starved So I Could Become a Billionaire… But When I Came Home Early, I Found My Wife Treating Her Worse Than a Dog

While Margaret was healing in Santa Barbara, Victoria was experiencing a very different kind of reality.

Held in a county jail awaiting trial, she had lost her designer clothes, her makeup, and her dignity. Her father’s assets had been frozen, leaving him unable to pay her multi-million-dollar bail. The media had labeled her the “Most Hated Woman in America” after the abuse footage was leaked.

Desperate, Victoria’s lawyer contacted Ethan, begging for a meeting.

Ethan agreed, but only on his terms. He met her in the glass-walled visitation room of the prison.

Victoria looked unrecognizable. Her hair was greasy, her face pale, and her eyes hollow. When she saw Ethan, she threw herself against the glass.

“Ethan! Please! You have to drop the charges!” she cried, her voice cracking. “I can’t survive in here! The other inmates... they know what I did. They treat me like garbage!”

Ethan sat down, his expression completely blank. “You reap what you sow, Victoria.”

“I’ll sign the divorce papers! I won’t ask for a single penny!” Victoria pleaded, tears streaming down her face. “Just tell the prosecutor you want to drop the case. Please, Ethan! I’m begging you!”

Ethan leaned forward, his voice a freezing whisper. “You think this is just about a divorce? You starved my mother. You burned her hands. You treated a woman who did nothing but love this world like a wild animal.”

“It was a mistake! I was sick!” she screamed.

“You’re not sick, Victoria. You’re just cruel,” Ethan said. “I’m not dropping the charges. In fact, I’ve hired the most aggressive prosecutors in the state to assist the district attorney. We’re seeking the maximum sentence of twenty years.”

Victoria stared at him, realizing for the first time that there was no way out. Her beauty, her father’s power, her wealth—none of it could save her from the man she had betrayed.