Chapter 1

For ten years, I woke at three every morning to knead dough for my breakfast stall, all so I could put my daughter through college. Hot oil splattered across my arms day after day, leaving scars on my forearms that would never fully fade.

But today, just when I desperately needed the money to keep my stall open, I discovered that the $200,000 in my bank account was gone.

It was not until I got the bank statement that I learned the truth.

My daughter had reconnected with her biological mother back in middle school. All these years, she had been secretly transferring money to her.

When I confronted her over the phone, I cried so hard I could barely breathe. "That money was our retirement savings!"

But she only laughed impatiently.

"Stop saying you raised me. You didn't even give birth to me. My biological mother is the one who gave me life. Consider the money you spent on me your way of showing her respect."

The call ended with a cold beep. It felt like a blade had been driven straight through my heart.

I rushed home like a madwoman to find my husband. I thought he would at least feel sorry for us losing our retirement savings.

Instead, he sat calmly on the couch and took a sip of coffee. "Blood runs thicker than water. Stop being so selfish."

That $200,000 was the money we needed to survive. And he was actually lecturing me about blood ties, when he was nothing more than her adoptive father too.

Chapter 1 Blood Runs Thicker Than Water

I clutched the bank statement, my hands trembling uncontrollably. Every number printed on it felt like a red-hot brand searing into my heart.

It was the $200,000 my husband and I had saved for retirement. And now, not a single cent was left.

I rushed home, determined to get an explanation from my husband, Daniel Carter. But he was sitting calmly on the couch, taking a sip of coffee.

"Blood runs thicker than water. Stop being so selfish."

His words left my mind completely blank.

I stormed over to him and threw the bank statement in his face. "You knew all along?"

Daniel's expression darkened. Instead of looking at me, he pulled a medical report from his briefcase and tossed it onto the table. "Sophie's brother has leukemia."

He pointed at the report, his voice cold as ice. "Are you satisfied now? You accused your child without even asking why. How can you live with yourself?"

I stood there, stunned.

Leukemia.

The fire raging inside me was instantly extinguished by the mention of that illness.

Should I be heartbroken over my money, or should I feel guilty for being so 'uncaring'?

Just then, Daniel's phone rang.

He answered it, and his tone instantly softened. "Sophie, don't cry. Take your time."

Sophie Collins, our adopted daughter, sobbed on the other end of the line. "Dad, my mom fainted. The doctor said she has been worrying herself sick. What are we going to do about my brother's illness?"

"Don't worry. I'm coming right over. Let your mom get some rest. I'll make her some chicken soup."

Daniel hung up without even looking at me and got up to head for the kitchen.

I grabbed his arm. "Our retirement savings are gone, and you still have the heart to worry about someone else?"

Daniel shook off my hand and snapped furiously. "You are Sophie's mother too! As her adoptive mother, isn't taking care of her biological mother when she's sick the least you can do? How can you be so thoughtless?"

His shouting left me speechless.

Silently, I walked into the kitchen and made a pot of chicken soup.

…

I carried the thermos to the hospital.

When I pushed open the hospital room door, Daniel was sitting beside the bed, carefully tucking the blankets around Susan Parker.

Sophie stood nearby with a towel, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead.

The three of them looked like a real family, while I stood in the doorway like an unwanted intruder.

"Emily, you're here." The moment Susan saw me, her eyes reddened, and she struggled to sit up. "Emily, it's all my fault. I dragged your family into this."

Daniel immediately pressed her back down and turned to me with an irritated look. "What are you waiting for? Can you not see that Susan is weak? Bring the soup over."

I set the thermos on the bedside table.

Susan grabbed my hand, tears streaming down her face. "Emily, I know this is hard for you, but if there had been any other way, I would never have come to trouble your family. Evan is only 19."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

"We will have to think carefully about what to do with the stall," I said quietly.

The moment the words left my mouth, Sophie suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me. "Mom! Please, I'm begging you. Save my brother! If you don't agree, I won't get up."

Her cries drew everyone's attention in the hallway.

Daniel's face instantly turned red.

He pointed a finger at me and shouted angrily, "Look what you've driven our daughter to! It's just some lousy little stall. How could it possibly be more important than a human life? I'm telling you, Emily, this is settled! I will find someone to take over the stall tomorrow!"

He was not asking for my opinion. He was ordering me around.

I looked at Sophie kneeling on the floor, then at Daniel's furious expression and Susan sobbing weakly in the hospital bed.

At that moment, I felt as if my whole world had collapsed.

Chapter 2 The Price of Ten Years

At three in the morning the next day, I got up as usual.

Daniel got up with me, saying he would help me for one last day.

Steam rose from the breakfast stall, stinging my eyes. For ten years, I had struggled to make a living amid the smoke and bustle of this little stall.

Many of my regular customers had heard that I was selling it and gathered around me.

"Emily, you can't give up cooking like this. Where are we going to get such good breakfast sausage after this?"

"Exactly. How can you just quit all of a sudden?"

I forced a smile that looked uglier than crying and told them there was an emergency in the family.

Daniel had already brought the buyer, Walter, over.

"Daniel, the most I can offer for this stall is $300,000. You know how tough business is these days."

Walter lit a cigarette and brushed him off casually.

My heart sank.

After ten years of pouring my blood, sweat, and tears into this stall, the equipment and location alone were worth more than that.

"$500,000. I won't sell it for a cent less," I said through gritted teeth.

Daniel pulled me aside and hissed under his breath. "Are you out of your mind? Is this really the time to haggle over a few hundred thousand dollars? Sophie is waiting for the money to save her brother's life!

"What does someone like you know about running a business? You have no idea what you are talking about!"

He berated me mercilessly in front of an outsider.

My face burned with humiliation.

Just then, Susan showed up too. She was wearing an old, faded dress, her face pale and haggard.

The moment she arrived, she grabbed Walter's hand and pleaded through her tears, "Sir, please, I'm begging you to have mercy. My son is waiting for this money to save his life."

Then, she turned to the neighbors gathered around us and cried, "I've never been good at anything in my life. I only have this daughter, and now I have to trouble her adoptive mother's family to run around trying to save my son. I am truly a sinner."

She had chosen her words perfectly, making me look like some selfless saint.

Everyone's eyes turned toward me.

If I insisted on my price now, I would become the heartless villain who refused to save a dying man.

Daniel immediately stepped forward and caught the frail-looking Susan, soothing her gently. "Susan, please don't be like this. Emily is not that kind of person. She's just not thinking clearly right now."

The two of them played off each other perfectly, making me look like a complete clown.

In the end, I signed the contract for $300,000.

I looked at the scars on my arms left by years of hot-oil burns and felt like the past ten years had all been one big joke.

The money hit the account soon after.

Sophie took my bank card, saying she was going to the hospital to pay the $300,000 deposit.

I felt uneasy and said I wanted to go with her.

Daniel immediately stopped me. "What are you going for? Hospitals are crowded, and things can easily get lost. Just give the card to Sophie.

"You are just a breakfast-stall vendor. You can't help at the hospital anyway, so don't make things harder."

His tone was filled with contempt.

I handed the card to Sophie.

She took it and immediately threw herself into Susan's arms.

She cried out, "Mom, Evan can be saved!"

After crying for a while, she wiped her tears and slipped the card into Daniel's hand.

"Dad, I don't know how to handle something like paying the deposit. You should do it. I trust you to take care of it."

Daniel took the card and patted her shoulder affectionately. "Good girl. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."

From beginning to end, neither of them even looked at me, much less thanked me.

That night, I quietly cleaned up the guest room.

Daniel came over and said, "Let Susan have the master bedroom. She is weak, and the guest room is too small for her to sleep comfortably."

I froze. "Then where are we supposed to sleep?"

"We will sleep in the guest room."

He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, leaving me no room to argue.

I watched as Susan moved into the master bedroom that Daniel and I had shared for more than a decade. She did not hesitate in the slightest.

She even told Daniel to replace our wedding photo on the nightstand with a solo portrait of Sophie.

At that moment, I finally understood—this house was no longer my home.

Chapter 3 His Secret Lover

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The bed in the guest room was small and hard. No matter how I lay, my whole body felt uncomfortable.

I got up to go to the kitchen for a glass of water.

I had just reached the living room when I heard Daniel speaking in a hushed voice on the balcony.

His voice was gentler than I had ever heard it before. "Babe, don't worry. I'll have the money soon. Then, we can finally go on the vacation you've always wanted."

Babe?

My mind went completely blank. I shoved open the balcony door and rushed outside.

Daniel jumped and hurriedly hung up. "What are you doing? Why are you wandering around in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Are you sleepwalking?"

I pointed at his phone, my voice trembling. "Who were you talking to? Who's 'babe'?"

A flash of panic crossed his face, but he quickly composed himself and turned the accusation back on me. "What are you talking about? I was talking to a friend about work. You're seriously losing it."

He shoved me back into the room and slammed the door behind me. "Stop being so paranoid all the time. Taking care of Susan and Sophie is what you should be doing."

I leaned against the cold door. My hands and feet felt frozen.

…

The next day, I used grocery shopping as an excuse to leave the house and secretly followed Daniel.

He did not go to work. Instead, he walked into a jewelry store.

A short while later, a young woman dressed to attract attention also walked inside.

I hid behind a pillar across the street, my heart pounding.

I watched Daniel pull my bank card from his pocket and pay with it. Then, he handed the woman a jewelry box.

She opened it, her face lighting up with delight, and affectionately kissed him on the cheek.

My blood boiled. I could not hold back any longer, so I stormed into the jewelry store.

"Daniel!" I shouted his name.

The moment he saw me, his face went deathly pale. The woman was startled too and instinctively hid the necklace behind her back.

Daniel reacted quickly and snarled at me. "What the hell are you doing? You followed me?"

I pointed at the necklace in the woman's hand, too furious to speak clearly. "Who is she? You used my money to buy her a necklace?"

"What are you talking about?" Daniel grabbed my wrist, squeezing it so hard it hurt.

"It's for Susan! She's been worrying herself sick over her son. What's wrong with me buying her something to make her feel better?"

He actually had the nerve to twist the truth with such confidence.

The woman quickly caught on and put on a wounded expression. "Emily, don't get the wrong idea about Daniel. He was only trying to do something nice."

I stared at the glittering gold necklace in her hand and felt sick to my stomach.

Just then, Sophie and Susan showed up too.

"Dad, Mom, what are you doing here?" Sophie frowned when she saw us arguing.

But when she noticed the necklace in the woman's hand, her expression changed.

She said nothing about it. Instead, she turned to me. "Mom, what's wrong with Dad buying a necklace for my real mom? Did you really have to follow him all the way here? How are we supposed to hold our heads up as a family now?"

I felt like a clown, a complete and utter joke.

With all four of them standing against me, I could not defend myself at all.

Daniel gripped my arm so tightly that it felt like he was about to crush my bones. He dragged me out of the jewelry store and shoved me into a cab.

The entire ride, he berated me, calling me an embarrassment and accusing me of making a scene over nothing.

I did not say a word. Inside, I felt completely numb.

Chapter 4 The Trap

I was dragged home by Daniel.

The moment we walked through the door, he shoved me onto the couch.

Susan brought me a glass of water, pretending to be concerned. "Emily, try not to take it so hard. Daniel is only doing what is best for this family."

I looked at her hypocritical face and felt my stomach churn.

Dinner that night was unbearably tense. I could not eat a single bite.

Suddenly, Sophie put down her utensils. "Dad, Mom, I have an idea. Evan's medical bills are a bottomless pit. The money from selling the breakfast stall will never be enough.

"Why don't we sell this house and buy a smaller one in a small town? We can use the rest of the money to pay for Evan's treatment."

I jerked my head up and stared at her in disbelief. This was our home. The only home we had.

Before I could say anything, Daniel slammed his hand on the table. "Sophie is right. A house is just property. People are what matter."

Then he turned to me and ordered, "Emily, get the deed tomorrow."

"No!" I finally snapped, shooting to my feet and screaming. "This is where I draw the line. I will never sell this house!"

Tears immediately streamed down Sophie's face.

She sobbed as she accused me of being selfish, saying I had never truly considered her my daughter or her brother my family.

"If you really loved me, you wouldn't just stand by and watch my brother die!"

Daniel joined in, calling me cold-blooded and heartless.

That night, I did not sleep a wink.

Late into the night, once I was sure they were all fast asleep, I quietly slipped into the master bedroom.

Daniel's phone was charging on the nightstand. With trembling hands, I unlocked it with his fingerprint.

Then, I opened his WhatsApp. I saw the messages between him and Sophie.

Sophie had written, "Dad, don't worry. As soon as the house is sold, I'll transfer $500,000 to you. Once you have the money, you can run off with your lover and never have to look at that old hag Emily again."

My hand trembled so badly that I could barely hold the phone.

I kept scrolling. Then, I saw another message from Sophie to Daniel.

"Don't worry, Dad. I've already told my mom. Once we get the money, we'll just tell her Evan died and make sure she never bothers us again. As for Emily, you can handle her."

So, even her brother's illness had been a lie.

They had all been plotting something of their own. And I was the only fool who had been kept in the dark while every one of them schemed against me.

My whole body trembled as I put the phone down.

It felt as though I had fallen into a frozen pit. Cold seeped into my bones.

This was not just a scam for money. It was a carefully planned hunt targeting me.

I covered my mouth and forced myself to stay calm. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I did not dare let them fall.

I knew crying would not help.

I quickly took out the old phone I had hidden in my pocket. With trembling hands, I photographed every damning message on Daniel's screen.

Only after I had finished did I quietly put his phone back where it had been and slip back into the guest room.

The next morning, I sat at the dining table with an unusual calmness.

Daniel and Sophie both looked surprised to see me.

I ignored them and quietly drank my soup. After finishing, I set down the bowl and spoke. "Fine. I agree to sell the house."