I thought my grandfather was joking.

He wasn’t.

—What else? —I asked.

Edmund Lu moved another chess piece.

—The apartment your ex-husband lives in.

I froze.

—That apartment was registered under Nolan’s name.

—Registered ownership and actual entitlement are two different things.

He looked at me.

—Your grandfather helped you with the purchase. The registration was temporary because of your marriage.

My fingers tightened around the chess piece.

—So Nolan never truly owned it?

—Not in the way he believed.

My phone rang.

Nolan.

I didn’t answer.

It rang again.

Then again.

Finally, a message appeared.

“Please call me. My father has been ordered out of the residence, the company board is questioning several benefits, and the bank has frozen an account connected to our family.”

I stared at the screen.

Grandfather calmly poured tea.

—That’s only the beginning.

I looked up.

—What do you mean?

He pushed a thin folder across the table.

On the cover was Nolan’s name.

Inside were records from the last three years.

Housing privileges.

Business contracts.

Government project access.

Preferential financing.

Every benefit Nolan’s family had received after our marriage.

At the bottom of the final page was a note:

“Eligibility contingent upon continued family relationship with Lu family member Nora Lu.”

My breath caught.

—They used my status?

Grandfather nodded.

—Not illegally.

—They simply never realized the protection disappeared when you did.

My phone rang again.

This time it was Nolan’s mother.

I answered.

Her voice was shaking.

—Nora, please. Your father-in-law has nowhere to go.

I remained silent.

—You were part of this family for three years. Surely you can’t just abandon us.

I almost laughed.

—You didn’t want me as family when I was your daughter-in-law.

Silence.

Then she whispered:

—What do you want?

That question made me smile.

—Nothing.

—Then why are you doing this?

I looked at the folder.

—I’m not doing anything.

—I’m simply no longer protecting you.

I hung up.

For the first time, I understood why Grandfather had called me an idiot.

I had spent three years believing I was giving Nolan a house, a car and a peaceful divorce.

I hadn’t realized I was giving up the privileges his entire family had been enjoying because of me.

That evening, I received one final message from Nolan.

“I found another document in our apartment.”

A photograph followed.

It was an old agreement bearing my grandfather’s seal.

Nolan had circled one sentence in red.

“Upon termination of the marriage, all temporary privileges shall immediately revert to the Lu family.”

Then another message appeared.

“Nora… what exactly did you marry into?”

I stared at the screen.

Before I could answer, Grandfather’s secretary entered the room.

—Miss Lu, there is one more matter.

—What?

He placed another folder on the table.

—Your former husband’s company has requested an emergency meeting.

I opened it.

The first page contained the company’s ownership structure.

My name appeared at the very top.

I stopped breathing.

Because according to that document…

Nolan had never owned the company he spent three years calling his own.