Chapter 2

"What nonsense are you saying! I didn't even ask..."

Mandy was startled, her nails digging into my flesh.

My father looked confused, but forced a smile and nodded in agreement for the cameras.

Seeing my father nod, Mandy grew anxious.

While my father was chatting with other parents searching for lost children, she secretly encouraged my mom to claim me.

"Sister, you've suffered so much looking for your child. You should let her know."

My mom was oblivious to the manipulation, thinking this was my father's intention. Her eyes lit up.

"Emily, I... I am..."

Perhaps daughters are more easily moved by their mothers.

In my past life, I chose her without hesitation.

And in doing so, I hurt her again.

The year of the reunion dinner, I was a high school junior.

To pay for my education and move us out of the basement, she worked three jobs a day.

In the end, she collapsed and died while delivering food.

Her funeral was hastily arranged. No one sympathized with her.

My father said, "Your mom just had to prove herself. First she insisted on finding you, then she insisted on fighting for you. Look at her - no skills at all, yet she dared to defy me."

Relatives said: "Your mom brought this on herself. She gave up a life of luxury to suffer like this."

The mistress also said...

She covered her mouth and whispered in my ear: "We should thank you both. If you hadn't stupidly gotten kidnapped, if your mom hadn't stupidly insisted on finding you, I wouldn't be living this life of luxury now. Haha, I'm so grateful to you two idiots."

Mandy, my father's mistress, smugly jangled her diamond bracelet.

I didn't understand - why did a mother so devoted to finding her child not have a happy ending?

And I didn't have a happy ending either.

Working part-time through college, I finally graduated and landed a job at a Fortune 500 company.

But Mandy was afraid I'd come back for the inheritance since I studied law. She hired some thugs to gang rape me to death.

Not only did she turn it around and say I was promiscuous, she spread photos everywhere.

And so I died at my most humiliating moment - filthy, degraded, without even getting revenge for my mom.

My heart clenched. I couldn't repeat those mistakes.

I couldn't bear to look my mom in the eye. I tugged on my father's sleeve.

He hadn't noticed Mandy's scheming, and instead scolded my mom for being inconsiderate.

"Stop crying. You're just here to see her once, don't push your luck."

Afraid of being exposed if we stayed too long, he quietly threatened my mom.

"Leave quickly. You don't want to affect her college entrance exams, do you?"

My poor mom still harbored illusions about my father even now.

She kept looking back as she left, hoping my father would call her back out of concern.

But of course, my father couldn't see how thin she had become. He rushed back to the table, focused only on serving food to Mandy.

When the meal was almost over, someone asked if my father had prepared a gift for me.

Only then did he pretend to be generous and ask what I wanted.

I couldn't ask for too much at first. I acted shy and mumbled, "I'd like a laptop for studying."

I knew my father couldn't refuse me in public.

But to my surprise, he only bought me a $400 off-brand laptop.

Who would believe this was the tycoon who had offered a $3 million reward to find his daughter online?

I realized this way of getting money was too slow. I took a photo of the laptop and posted it online with the caption: "My first ever laptop. Thanks, Dad."

My father knew how to play the internet game, but so did I.

As expected, netizens didn't disappoint me.

Not only did they curse my father for being stingy and hypocritical, they also dug up Mandy's identity as the mistress...