Chapter 3

I didn’t move. I just stared at Chloe.

She took Mom’s arm, all fake concern. “Mrs. Bennett, Nora might be dirty, but she’s still family. We should buy her the dress so she can cover her shame.”

Mom shook with rage and pulled my bank card from her pocket.

With a sharp smack, she hurled it into my face.

“Take your filthy money and get out! Don’t ever call yourself my daughter again. You disgust me!”

I bent down, picked up the card, and wiped off the dust.

The sting in my face was nothing compared to the pain inside.

I lifted my head and looked at every person there.

Finally, my eyes settled on Chloe’s smug face.

“Finished with your little performance?”

I buttoned my shirt, a cold smile on my lips.

“Chloe Parker, right? Trained as a nurse?”

I advanced toward her.

“Which nursing school? Do you have proof of your clinical placement? Let’s see your nursing license.”

Her eyes flickered, and she shrank behind Ethan.

“I… I don’t have it with me.”

Ethan stepped in front of her and shoved me.

“Have you lost your mind, Nora? You get caught being a slut, so now you’re attacking everyone else?”

“Get out. Nobody wants to look at you!”

I nodded. “Fine. I’ll leave.”

“But first, we have a few things to settle.”

I took out my phone to make a call.

If we couldn’t resolve this as a family, we would handle it officially.

But the moment I unlocked the screen, Ethan snatched the phone away.

He threw it down and stamped on it twice.

“Calling for backup? Going to get your lover down here?”

“Let me tell you something, Nora. God himself couldn’t come down here and make you look clean!”

Looking at my shattered phone, I finally snapped. “Ethan!”

“What? You going to glare at me now? Hit a nerve?”

Chloe kept feeding the flames.

“Don’t be like that, Ethan. Of course she won’t admit to doing something so shameful.”

Then she covered her mouth, as if an even more horrifying thought had just occurred to her.

“Oh my God. If she sleeps around that much, what if she has some nasty disease…”

“The skin around that scar looked red. Almost like herpes…”

At the mention of a disease, Mom’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.

“Mom! What’s wrong?”

Ethan caught her and started shouting in panic.

The store erupted into chaos.

Dad, who had been in the restroom, heard the commotion and hurried over.

Chloe rushed toward him, tears appearing on command.

“It’s my fault, Mr. Bennett. I should have stopped her…”

“Nora… she had a baby out of wedlock, and she caught one of those diseases…”

“Your wife said a few words, and Nora tried to hit her. She got so upset that she fainted…”

Ethan nodded furiously. “Dad! Nora did this! She tried to hit me, too!”

Dad turned and stared at me, then jabbed a finger in my face.

“Who’s the man? Tell me!”

I looked back at him coldly. “There is no man. There is no child.”

Smack!

He slapped me so hard my ears rang.

“You’re still lying? Your mother’s unconscious, and you still won’t tell the truth?”

“Listen to me, Nora. Wherever that bastard is, I’ll use every connection I have to find it!”

“I’ll put it in foster care myself! It will never set foot in my house!”

“And I’m going to your workplace! I’ll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of woman you are!”

People around us took out their phones and started recording.

Someone recognized Chloe. “Hey, isn’t that the influencer who does those innocent-but-sexy nurse videos?”

“That’s her! Who knew her future sister-in-law was so shameless?”

Someone started a livestream. The comments were full of insults aimed at me.

I held my burning cheek and looked at the man I called my father.

The last thread tying me to this family snapped.

“Fine! You all say I had a child?”

“Where’s your proof? Chloe, bring this child here and show me!”

I advanced toward her.

“If you’re so sure it’s a C-section scar, are you willing to have a doctor examine it right here?”

“And if you’re wrong, you can get on your knees and apologize!”

She stumbled backward, rattled by my tone.

“I… How would I know where your child is? I… I’m a nurse. I can tell just by looking…”

“Just by looking?” I gave a cold laugh. “Funny. So can I.”

I lifted a finger and pointed at her collarbone without touching her.

“I’ve seen that tattoo in a vice case file.”

“You weren’t using this name back then, were you?”