Abandoned Wife Rebirth To Slap Faces - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Vance Murray cruised through Journ City's roughest slums on his rickety bike, pulling up in front of a rundown shack.
He sighed, his eyes tracing the familiar, grimy street.
"This is where your mom and I started, kid," he said, voice heavy with nostalgia. "After she passed, I kept thinking about those days—just us, scraping by. So, I moved back."
A shadow of pain flickered in Vance's eyes, but he hid it, turning to mess with a stack of beat-up cardboard boxes so Georgia wouldn't see.
Georgia eyed the shabby house, swallowing her bitterness.
She flashed her dad a warm grin. "Love this place, Dad."
Later, peeking into the nearly empty fridge, she spun around. "I'm cooking tonight, Dad. Bet you're craving Mom's veggie noodle soup."
Vance frowned, waving her off. "No way, kiddo. Your wrist's in a cast—how're you gonna manage?"
Georgia smirked. "Don't sleep on your girl."
She ducked into the tiny kitchen, shutting the door. Leaning against it, tears spilled down her cheeks.
Two years ago, Louis pushed her, seven months pregnant, down a staircase. She lost the baby and broke her arm.
After two days in the hospital, her mother-in-law forced her to cook and clean for the family, injuries be damned. Back then, the pain was worse than now.
One truth hit hard: only her parents truly cared.
Outside, Vance stared at the closed door, his heart aching. His once-fiery daughter was now tough as nails. 'How much has she suffered to get this way?'
Soon, Georgia set a steaming plate of veggie noodle soup in front of him, grinning. "Dig in, Dad. Tell me it's not Mom-level good."
The dish looked and smelled amazing. Vance's chest swelled with pride and pain. "Alright, alright," he chuckled, grabbing fork and diving in.
The next morning, after crashing on the sagging couch, Vance poked his head out of the kitchen and tapped Georgia's door.
"Hey, sweetheart, I'm off to work. Porridge is in there—eat something, yeah?" he said.
In her room, Georgia stared at her phone. She'd spent all night online, where news of her "cheating" and divorce from the Rathbone family was blowing up, trending at number one. The comments were brutal, pure venom.
She killed her Wi-Fi and dialed a number she hadn't touched in three years.
"Georgia? You kept my digits?" Lila Dutton's voice was warm, teasing.
"Lila, I'm getting my old job back," Georgia said, dead serious.
"Whoa, what?" Lila sounded stunned. "You got blackballed from medicine three years ago.
"With your arm jacked up and the internet roasting you, coming back's gonna be rough."
"Plus," Lila added, "you're no slouch. You've got business smarts. I could bankroll you—start something new, make bank."
Why? Georgia gripped her phone tighter. Her biggest enemy was a hotshot on the medical elite list.
"Lila, you know me. I don't stay down. I'm coming back where I fell. Help me out," she said.
Lila sighed, remembering how Georgia, the youngest doc back then, had spotted her talent as a struggling nurse and got her promoted. That faith made Lila who she was.
Gritting her teeth, Lila said, "Okay, I'll make some calls. But don't get your hopes up."
Three hours later, Lila called back, fuming. "Georgia, I struck out. I'm sorry.
"That snake Caroline Hutchinson didn't budge. Back when you were winning awards for the research team, she was a nobody.
"Now, after her big radiation therapy paper made her famous, she's all high and mighty. All she offered was a janitor interview. Total shade!
"Hon, forget this. I'll fund you for something else—"
"When's the interview?" Georgia cut in, voice like steel.
Lila paused. "You're dead set on this, huh?"
"Book it, Lila. I'm doing this."
After a beat, Lila sighed. "Alright, if you're sure. I'll hit you up next week."
Three days later, no word from Lila. Instead, Georgia's phone buzzed with a call from Louis's grandma, Elsie Rathbone.
Her voice came through, dramatic as ever. "Georgia, you're my only granddaughter-in-law, and I don't care what they say! If they don't take you back, I'll just drop dead!"
June Newton, the housekeeper at the Rathbone estate, chimed in. "Georgia, you hear her? She's off her meds and threatening to hunt you down. She only listens to you. Can you come by? I'm begging."
Hearing Elsie was skipping her meds, Georgia wavered but decided to go. In three years with the Rathbone family, Elsie` was the only one who'd shown her real kindness.
Two hours later, Georgia stepped off the bus, heading for the old estate. A sleek, understated Maybach pulled up beside her.