Chapter 3

My father was furious, blaming me for posting the photo online.

I cried silently, "The buyers weren't nice to me. I just wanted to show off some fatherly love I never had before."

Blood is thicker than water after all. My father hesitated, then couldn't bring himself to blame me further.

He thought staying silent would cover up the truth, and ordered me to delete the photo.

But as soon as I deleted it, netizens had more to say.

"The old scammer won't clarify anything, just forces his daughter to delete the photo! That woman at the reunion dinner was definitely the mistress!"

My father not only lost a million followers, but his company's stock price also fell.

Because netizens not only found my mom, but also dug up her impoverished living conditions.

Now the deceived netizens were truly angry! They rained fire on my father and Mandy.

"You heartless bastard! How dare you make your daughter call the mistress 'Mom'! Have you no conscience?"

"Homewrecker! You stole someone's husband 14 years ago, now you're stealing their daughter! Have you no shame?"

"Damn, they even have a son!"

The all-knowing netizens uncovered 5-year-old Tyler.

Unexpectedly, this gave Mandy an opportunity. She seized on it to try and take the money and run.

"What should we do? They know about our son now. Will they harm Tyler?"

"I don't care, I want to emigrate. I want to live abroad."

When it came to his son, my father hesitated.

But he was reluctant to let years of hard work go to waste. He decided to send me to find my mom and put out the fire.

My mom was surprised to see me. Her eyes held a glimmer of hidden hope.

She nervously wrung her hands, hesitantly asking, "Emily, why are you here? Did your father..."

Even at a time like this, she was still fantasizing that my father would take her back and we'd be a family again.

I had to be cruel and tell her the truth.

"Mom, my father and Mandy have a son. They're preparing to leave the country."

"Can you help me fight for some of the inheritance?"

I knew it would be hard to change my mom's mind quickly.

So I had to use harsh medicine to make her give up hope.

In my past life, she washed dishes during the day, delivered food at night, and collected recyclables in her spare time.

No matter how difficult or tiring it was, she never asked my father for child support.

Because she didn't know he had a son. She firmly believed my father would feel sorry for her, feel sorry for his daughter.

If she had asked for money before that, it would have cheapened her in his eyes.

Only then did I learn that my father had lied to my mom. He had promised her he wouldn't have more children, that all his assets would be left to me...

My mom finally woke up. She took out a loan to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit.

That lawyer was incredibly skilled and knew how to use public opinion to our advantage.

My father was clearly in the wrong. After consulting many lawyers, he had no choice but to curse and grumble as he gave my mom three houses and $750,000 in cash.

To my father's current net worth, this was a drop in the bucket.

But it was enough for my mom to start over.

After getting the money, my mom eagerly asked me, "Emily, now that Mom has money, are you willing to live with me?"

Her eyes were full of longing. She wanted nothing more than to make up for all the years of lost motherly love.

But Mom, you already repaid everything in your past life. This life you should live for yourself.

Using the excuse of preparing for college entrance exams and it being more convenient to stay at my father's, I gently refused her.

"When I can earn money, I'll live with you, Mom. But before then, you need to take good care of yourself. Stay healthy and beautiful."

My mom seemed to understand my meaning. She hugged me and cried for a while, then lightly nodded.

At this critical moment, my father didn't dare stop me from going back.

But when I walked in, his expression wasn't good.

Seeing my father's cold attitude towards me, Mandy couldn't hide her glee as she taunted me.

"Oh Emily, are you really on your father's side?"

"Your father trusted you to find your mom and film a video to clear things up. What did you do instead?"

"You helped your mom take your father's assets!"

I definitely wasn't on my father's side, just like how his search for me across the country was really just traveling around with Mandy.

He wasn't on my side either.

Recalling the details uncovered by netizens, I took out the video I recorded with my mom.

"Dad, my mom only found a lawyer after seeing netizens' comments. I really didn't know..."

My father was still riled up by Mandy's words and ignored me.

With no other choice, I had to take a step back. "Dad, people online are saying you didn't really want to find me. Is that true?"

Of course my father couldn't admit his hypocrisy. He stubbornly replied, "That's nonsense!"

I seized the opportunity to advise him: "If you officially register me as part of the family, transfer me to a new school, and film a video of Mom agreeing to an amicable split, wouldn't that disprove the rumors?"

"Well..." My father felt my words made some sense.

Seeing my father waver, Mandy finally dropped all pretense. She pointed at me and sneered.

"It's either her or me in this house!"