Chapter 3
When I got back to the hospital in my hometown, my dad had just been moved from the emergency room to a regular ward.
He lay in bed with a pale face, an oxygen tube in his nose, looking ten years older than he actually was.
My mom sat by the bed wiping away tears.
When she saw me come in, she quickly pulled me to the end of the hallway.
“Ethan, what exactly happened?”
“Your in-laws brought more than a dozen people. They splashed paint and burned fake funeral money.”
“She says you cheated her out of $800,000 and still want her to pay you $8 million.”
“That number is terrifying. How could we possibly have that kind of money?”
I steadied my mom’s trembling shoulders.
“Mom, I’ll handle the money.”
“I didn’t cheat anyone. The money was lost when the company blew up, and all the paperwork was legal.”
“But they don’t believe it!” My mom was crying so hard her voice was hoarse.
“Now the neighbors are all pointing fingers and saying you turned into a big-time con man out there.”
“Your dad cares about his face more than anything in this world. He can’t take this.”
Just then, a burst of noisy footsteps came from down the hall.
It was Margaret again.
Mia was behind her, along with several young people holding phones to livestream.
“There he is! Everybody look, this is that scammer Ethan!”
Margaret shouted at the top of her lungs, making sure the entire ward could hear.
The livestream cameras were almost pressed against my face.
“Mr. Ethan, we heard you used your old connections from the financial regulator to run fake investments and scam your mother-in-law out of money. Is that true?”
“Mr. Ethan, your wife says she’s suing you for fraud. What do you have to say in your defense?”
Mia stood in front of the camera looking like a victim, constantly wiping away tears.
“I never thought the person sleeping next to me would turn out to be such a devil.”
“My mom’s retirement savings were the very money he begged to manage, and now it’s all gone.”
“I just hope the law will give my mom justice.”
I stood in front of my mom and looked at Mia coldly.
“Mia, dare to tell the truth in front of the reporters?”
“Those $800,000, did I really beg for them?”
Mia froze for a second, then cried even louder.
“You still want to argue now! Do you think my mom would joke about her life savings?”
Margaret rushed up and tried to slap me.
I grabbed her wrist in one hand.
“Don’t make trouble here. This is a hospital. My dad is still inside.”
“If you dare shout one more time, I’ll expose everything that happened back then.”
Panic flashed in Margaret’s eyes, but her shrewish temper quickly covered it up.
“Expose it? Go ahead and expose it! I’m scared of you?”
“If you’ve got the guts, say right now in front of everyone how you stripped that $800,000 clean!”
I let go of her hand and pulled out a backup phone.
“Since you want to see it that badly, I’ll show you.”
I opened a video.
I have this occupational habit. I spent five years doing compliance inspections at the financial regulator, and any conversation involving money,
I would subconsciously keep a record of it.
I never expected that habit to save my life today.
It was from the first time Margaret came to my house carrying two boxes of cheap tea.
In the video, she pushed a deposit slip into my hand in a flattering tone.
“Ethan, Mom heard you’re a manager at that financial company.”
“You help Mom put this $800,000 in. I don’t ask for much. Just double it for me in one year.”
“Aren’t you an expert? You must have a way.”
The me in the video refused in a serious tone.
“Mom, company rules say I can’t handle accounts for relatives.”
“And the market is bad right now. Products with this kind of high yield carry huge risk. I don’t recommend you invest.”
In the video, Margaret dropped straight to her knees and started throwing a tantrum.
“If you won’t help me, then you’re looking down on me! You want to watch me die without money for treatment!”
“If you don’t agree, I’m not getting up!”
By the time the video reached that point, the expressions on the faces of the young people livestreaming had turned a little strange, and one of them had quietly aimed the camera at Margaret.
Margaret’s old face turned red, then white.
She suddenly snatched the phone and slammed it onto the floor, then stepped on it hard twice.
“Fake! This is an edited video!”
“Don’t believe him. He works in finance, so making something like this is too easy for him!”
Mia quickly jumped in to smooth things over too.
“Ethan, that trick is way too cheap. A chopped-up video like this won’t save you. See you in court!”
I looked at the young people livestreaming and said calmly,
“Everyone, whether this video is real or fake, the cost of a technical authentication is low.”
“The material in your hands is enough to make a reversal news segment.”
Mia dragged Margaret away in a panic.
Before leaving, Margaret even spat at the ward door.
“Ethan, just wait to die! The lawyer said your kind of behavior can get you life in prison at most!”
I turned back and looked at the tightly shut ward door.
The last trace of pity in my heart vanished completely the moment she spat.