Chapter 1

1 My sister-in-law thought I was a useless slacker.

To her, all I did was lounge around in flip-flops, sipping iced tea, completely devoid of ambition.

She loved sowing discord in my home, whispering poison into my wife's ear every single day.

What she didn't know was that this was the standard uniform of a multi-property landlord in sunny Florida.

That day, I had just finished collecting rents and returned home when I overheard my sister-in-law badmouthing me behind my back.

"Natalie, look at him. He doesn't even go to a real job! He has zero drive. What's the point of staying with a bum like that?"

"Honestly, I know an executive who's young, sharp, and loaded with potential…"

My sister-in-law, Alyssa, had left our hometown to grind here in the city, working overtime until late at night.

Seeing me lounging around the house doing nothing clearly made her bitter and resentful.

Yet she was chewing on the fresh king crab I bought, using the latest iPhone I gifted her, and still talking trash about me to my wife.

Who wouldn't be furious?

I threw my keys onto the counter, ready to go in and tear into her.

Before I could step out of the hallway, Natalie spotted me and rushed over to hold me back.

Alyssa's husband came from a mediocre background, and Natalie didn't want to bruise her ego or ruin their sisterly bond.

Because of that, she had always kept my true wealth a secret from Alyssa.

After holding me back, Natalie turned around to scold her sister.

"How could you say that, Alyssa? That's totally out of line."

That weak, gentle reprimand did nothing to extinguish my anger.

Still, Natalie had always pampered her younger sister.

For my wife's sake, I tried not to make a scene.

Alyssa, however, only pushed harder.

"Why should I shut up? Am I wrong?"

"All he does is play video games all day. Calling it freelancing is just a polite way of saying he's an unemployed parasite!"

"He's given up on life at such a young age. What are you going to do, Natalie? Work yourself to the bone to support him forever?"

My temper flared instantly.

I marched right over and snatched the iPhone out of her hands.

"You eat my food, use the phone I bought you, and insult me under my own roof? Do you take me for a fool?"

Alyssa didn't back down in the slightest.

"It's just a stupid phone! Take it back, then!"

"Compared to the prime years of youth my sister is wasting on you, what's a cheap phone worth?"

"Tell me, which part of what I said was a lie? You spend all day wandering around in flip-flops or rotting on the couch playing games!"

Hearing that, I let out a bitter, sarcastic laugh.

I wore flip-flops because it was convenient when checking utility meters, and gaming was part of my freelance investments and streaming revenue.

How did that suddenly translate into being a hopeless loser?

Alyssa was shrewd, immediately turning to Natalie to brainwash her.

"Natalie, he's totally useless and just dragging you down. You should leave him before it's too late!"

She was blatantly trying to break up my marriage right in front of my face.

I had never met anyone with such shameless audacity.

I turned to look at Natalie, waiting to see how she would handle this.

In the end, Natalie only weakly protested, "Don't talk about him like that. He's your brother-in-law."