Chapter 1
The day my mom was framed as the other woman, I slapped the matriarch's seal right in my dad's face.
Mid-air, I received a clip titled: [Billionaire Heir Knocks Out Dad's Side-Chick—Live.]
On-screen, my mom, once the queen of the city, was reduced to a housemaid in burlap, my four brothers circling like wolves, fists raining, her blouse torn as they screamed "cheap homewrecker."
My mom's eyes were bloodshot as she begged them to listen, but the room answered with jeers.
Behind my four older brothers, the interloper in head-to-toe haute couture played saint.
She said, "Alright, I know you're just looking out for me, but there's no need to even spare a glance for someone who doesn't appreciate it."
The guests around were all wishing her a happy birthday and praising her for being so generous.
Someone said, "Now that's the real class Mrs. Smith should have. Seriously, do some people not own a mirror?"
Another person scoffed, "Everyone knows the Smith empire was basically her marriage settlement. Where's the class in that woman?"
The second they crowned that impostor "Mrs. Smith," my phone groaned in my white-knuckled grip, rage blazing through my ribs.
My own glare on the cracked screen looked ready to kill.
I'd only been away from home for three years.
Since when did my mom become this shameless woman?
Rage surged through me.
As soon as I got off the plane, I whipped out my phone and dialed my eldest brother, Zack Smith. The line was busy.
Then I called my second and third brothers, but neither of them bothered to answer.
Finally, my fourth brother, Johnson Smith, picked up, his voice full of irritation.
He snapped, "Yvonne, are you trying to kill us here? It's Mom's birthday, and we're swamped. Quit bugging us."
I snorted coldly and asked, "Which mom are you talking about?"
Johnson shot back, "Yvonne Smith, did you lose your mind while you were overseas or what? Who else would I mean?"
He snapped at me to stop joking and immediately hung up.
Seeing his attitude, I couldn't help but suspect the video was some AI deepfake just to mess with us.
After all, the mom in the video was nothing like the one I remembered.
Everyone knew the whole Smith empire had been folded into my mom's wedding settlement.
My dad was the Smith family's official son-in-law, but let's be honest, he was a gold-digger with a ring.
Everything he had, he owed to my mom, so he always listened to her, no questions asked.
There was no way he'd ever let my mom be humiliated and reduced to that pitiful, cautious mess in the video.
I took a deep breath, forcing down my anger, and decided to head straight to the ballroom hall from the video to get to the bottom of this myself.
I hopped out of the cab at the entrance, and at the same time, a girl, Lillian White, got out of another car right beside me.
She glanced at me, then planted herself in front of me with a look of disdain.
She scoffed, "Are you here for my mom's birthday party too? Didn't the Smith family book the whole place? Since when do they let random nobodies stroll in?"
She was rocking the latest designer dress, with a chunky necklace that looked big enough to be a pigeon egg.
She was wearing the latest designer dress, with a chunky necklace the size of a pigeon egg.
For a second, I wondered if I'd come to the wrong place, so I asked her politely, "Is this the Smiths, the richest family in Ambera?"
Lillian lifted her chin and snorted with contempt.
She sneered, "So you know who we are, and you still dare to stir up trouble? Careful, or my dad will wipe your whole family off the map in Ambera."
I pulled out my phone and brought up a photo of my dad for her to see.
"Who's that?" I asked.
Lillian gave me a look like I was totally clueless.
She said, "That's my dad. Oh, I see what's going on. You came here hoping to hook up with my dad and be his side chick, right?
"My dad worships my mom. So don't even bother. The last girl who tried to take my mom's spot? One glare from my mom and she was begging for forgiveness."
A suspicion crept into my mind.
I showed her the video I'd just received, playing it right in front of her.
Lillian laughed so hard that she was nearly crying.
She said, "So you already know, and you still want to butt in? Are you that desperate?
"Since we're about the same age, let me give you a piece of advice. That woman claims she's my dad's real wife, but my brothers just tossed her out into the wild.
"Even with a broken leg, she dragged herself back, demanding my dad return her daughter. It's honestly hilarious. The sight of her turns my dad's stomach. As if he'd ever have a kid with someone like that."
Hearing her words, my fists clenched so tight that I could feel my nails digging into my palms.
Looks like while I was off studying abroad, my mom got turned into their daily punching bag for three whole years.
My brothers were all born to my mom. So why the hell were they siding with outsiders against her?
My mom might act soft, but they knew I always delivered payback times two.
Besides, my grandpa had already promised that when I got back, the whole Smith family would be mine to run.
How could they treat my mom like this?
I shoved Lillian aside, ignored her shrill protests, and barged straight into the ballroom without a glance back.
What I saw next was burned into my memory forever.
My mom was pinned down in the middle of the ballroom by my own brothers, forced to lick the shoes of that woman in designer clothes. It was utter humiliation.