Chapter 1

I filed three separate petitions to sever ties and terminate my parental rights over my high-school-aged daughter.

The first time, the judge denied it: "Your daughter is still a minor. Motion denied."

The second time, the judge warned me: "Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, you have a legal obligation to support her until she turns eighteen."

The third time, before the judge could even speak, I shoved a stack of evidence toward the bench.

"Your Honor, look through what I submitted. Once you do, you'll understand why I have to cut her out of my life."

The judge reviewed the evidence right there in court. His face instantly twisted in pure fury.

"Arrest her! How can someone like this exist in our world?!"

What I didn't expect was that the person he ordered arrested wasn't my daughter.

It was me.

"Lorraine Jiang, you call yourself a mother, yet you do this to your own flesh and blood?! You're a monster!"

"Your petition to sever parental ties is denied again! You will support her until she turns eighteen, period!"

The judge's face was flushed with utter rage.

He slammed his gavel down so hard it echoed through the room. A second later, bailiffs grabbed me and dragged me toward the door.

He held me in contempt of court and ordered me detained for twenty-four hours to teach me a lesson.

Sweat poured down my face, and I screamed out an appeal on the spot.

"Your Honor! Look closer at the evidence I gave you!"

"My daughter is a demon! She's fooled all of you! I have to cut ties with her!"

I shrieked at the top of my lungs while the officers wrestled me into the holding area.

Down in the gallery, reporters immediately thrust their cameras forward, capturing every second of my breakdown.

I wanted to explain to the press that this was all her scheme.

Before I could get another word out, the metal door slammed shut, locking me inside the cell.

Twenty-four hours later, when I was finally released and powered on my phone, it buzzed nonstop.

Notification chimes rang out for a solid minute before finally quieting down.

Most were missed calls and texts from my husband and coworkers wondering where I'd vanished to.

Aside from those, a breaking headline sitting at the number one spot on the trending page caught my eye.

Monster Mother Sues Minor Daughter Repeatedly, Fabricates Evidence to Manipulate Judge, Arrested in Court!

I clicked the link. The video of my courtroom meltdown had gone completely viral.

To farm more clicks, media outlets had edited the thumbnail to look grotesque, even photoshopping a pair of devil horns onto my head.

My hands shook with rage. I immediately went to the comments and started typing.

"Don't let Riley fool you! She's the real monster here!"

"This is exactly what she planned! She wants to suck the life out of me forever!"

In an instant, my comment was buried beneath a flood of new replies.

I didn't even have to guess—this online smear campaign was definitely Riley's doing.

She knew the public mindset inside and out. Between a middle-aged woman and a helpless teenage girl, the internet would always side with the vulnerable youth.

I'd had enough of her psychological games over the years. I had literally raised a demon under my roof.

No matter how brutal this path became, I would rip that mask off her face.

I pulled out my phone to dial another lawyer, but before I could, my legal counsel called me.

"Lorraine, the court just issued a formal injunction barring you from filing any more petitions against your daughter."

"If you insist on filing a fourth time, you could face criminal charges and prison time."

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water.

Fine. If the law wouldn't hold Riley accountable, I would expose her to the whole world myself!

The moment I stepped up to my front door, my daughter ran out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom, why do you hate me so much? What did I do wrong?"

"Everyone online is saying awful things about you, but I know you must have your reasons! Please, tell me!"

Seeing Riley's innocent, tear-stained face only made the rage inside me boil hotter.

Disgusted, I violently shoved her hand away and snapped, "Save the act. Who's it for?"

"There are no cameras here right now. You can drop the drama."

Riley parted her lips as if to speak, but the next second, a mob of journalists stormed out of the stairwell.