A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 323 My Family Was Ruined

Maria stopped James at once. "Don't hold him like that.

He's too young, so his back and neck haven't completely developed yet. You should hold him horizontally." Obediently, James shifted the baby in his arms.

Then, he headed up the stairs with the baby, with Maria following closely behind them.

He turned his head toward her and said calmly, 'Til just put him in the crib. You can wait here."

"You have zero experience with children, so I'm not sure whether you can do that properly," she reasoned out. Despite his insistence that he could do it alone, Maria went upstairs with him. With her help, James put the baby in the crib and tucked him in.

Before leaving, Maria wanted to say something else to the maid, but refrained from doing so because James was there.

Afterwards, they headed to the supermarket to buy some ingredients for Maria to cook.

James went downstairs after his shower to replace Maria bustling about in the kitchen on her own.

Hearing a sound behind her, she ordered, "Get a tomato from the fridge, wash it, and give it to me. Better yet, cut it up yourself."

Wordlessly, James watched Maria for a few moments. After seeing that she was too busy for the task, he turned around to do as she asked.

Maria gave him the side eye as he stood by the sink near her. "Do you know how to cut it up?" She hadn't seen James cook before.

"I can do everything," he replied.

With a pout, she retorted, "Then can you give birth to a child?"

With the tomato in hand, James sidled up closer to her and asked, "Why, do you want to have a baby with me?"

Maria rolled her eyes in exasperation. 'Is there something wrong with his hearing?' With mock sympathy, she told him, "I'll set up an appointment with the doctor tomorrow so we can have your ears checked." "No, thanks," he replied as he started slicing the tomato.

Within a minute, the tomato was cut up and put aside.

Looking at the evenly cut chunks, Maria muttered, "So, you know how to cook, after all. Why don't you cook for me?"

Washing the tomato juice off his hand, he replied, "I'll cook for you when I've had enough of your cooking."

Maria just stared at him for a heartbeat, and then proceeded to ignore him as she concentrated on cooking.

About a quarter of an hour later, four dishes and a soup were ready. Maria ordered James, who was on the phone, to bring the dishes to the dining table.

The two of them had a simple dinner. Then, as he watched Maria clean up in the kitchen after dinner, James asked, "How long did you stay in the US?"

"One month. Why do you ask? Do you also want to go there for a trip?" she answered, appearing focused on the task at hand.

However, her mind was in a whirl. James had been acting strange in his grandparents' house. Now, he asked that question. Did he begin to suspect Bob's identity?

However, relief flooded her when his questioning stopped at that.

The first trial of Judy and her companions would take place in a week. In prison, Kent was at a standoff with the police. He didn't confess to anything, only saying that he was under Maria's orders when asked. Maria went to the police station to visit him.

Behind the glass wall of the temporary cell, Kent's face was black and blue. He looked like he lost a lot of weight.

His eyes narrowed into slits when he saw Maria.

Maria pinned him with a calm gaze. "Kent, you worked in my cafe because you had been looking for an opportunity to take your revenge on me, right?"

He didn't say anything.

"It must have been difficult for you. It took a year to finally get your chance.11

Kent remained quiet.

Despite the lack of response, Maria pressed on. "I want to tell you some good news. James completely trusts me and has never doubted me. That is why you wouldn't be able to leave here." After staring at her wordlessly for a long while, Kent spoke up in a hoarse voice. "You ruined my family, Maria Song. I've never met anyone as cruel as you. The more beautiful a woman, the more vicious." This time, Maria fell silent.

"I had planned to rape you, you see. After all, you're a hundred times more beautiful than Alina. You're lucky that I never got the chance to do that.

Besides, I underestimated James' feelings for you.

You know, I used to admire you for your courage and character. But that was before you went and ruined my family!1 By the end of his speech, Kent's once emotionless eyes were brimming with hatred. James' contribution was one important factor of Maria's success in dealing with Kent's father. What was the difference between James helping Maria and him doing it by himself?

It was just a matter of time.

In the end, the result was the same-the company went bankrupt.

It would have happened sooner or later.

What Kent did not know was that Maria did not hold such an outlook. For her, she took down the company all for the sheer pleasure of exacting her own revenge.

She stood up straight. "Do you know why I did that? At first, Jiang family had nothing to do with me, and I couldn't care less about whatever crimes your father had committed." In fact, it had nothing to do with Kent either, but he targeted her indiscriminately in his revenge and ended up sacrificing the rest of his life for it.

Kent studied the woman's porcelain-like profile and the elegant expanse of neck bared by the impeccably cut knee-length coat, which made her look expensive and dignified.

"Jonathan made a woman undergo five abortions, made her believe that he was single, and then borrowed a large sum of money from her without paying her back. That young woman was only in her twenties when your mother came to her. She had her whole life ahead of her, and she ended it just like that. A happy family was instantly shattered." Maria's voice became softer. "Did she do anything wrong? No." Kent looked at Maria in shock. Nobody told him about this story.

Under the circumstances, he knew that Maria had no reason to lie to him.

Maria continued, "She used to be a ray of sunshine in my life. When I was at the lowest point in my life, she drew me out of that dark place and saved me. She was cheerful, lively, and beautiful. Dancing was the thing she loved the most. She was the most beautiful bridesmaid at my wedding with James. But..." She slowly turned around and looked into Kent's eyes. "Jonathan destroyed her.

He wrecked a life that was carefully nurtured by her parents, and he didn't even repent after she died. Instead, he spent money to suppress all media coverage of the scandal and threaten her parents so that they wouldn't speak up.

Her parents sold their company and everything else they owned to sue Jonathan, but he bribed the officials to protect himself. Her parents grew old before their time..."

Kent was speechless.

Later, after Maria left, he admitted his guilt.

He should be sentenced to three years in prison, but the sentence was lengthened to five years due to the pressure the Tang family had exerted.

The Jiang family, which used to be a prosperous, influential family in H City, had disappeared.

Maria had no patience to wait for some certain person to come back from abroad, so she decided to use the fastest way. Its success was not assured, but at least she could make some progress.

In addition, she and James were on high-profile news, so Colby might no longer trust her completely. She had to do one last thing before his trust in her completely vanished.