Chapter 3

It wasn't until everyone had cursed themselves out and run out of steam that the angry crowd finally started to drift away.

And as for Lisa, who'd just been wailing and thrashing around—well, she was nowhere to be seen.

We dragged ourselves back to the apartment complex, both of us completely wiped out. Bruce still had to get everything ready for the shop tonight, and I'd only taken a day off—tomorrow, I was back to work.

But when we got to Bruce's shop, the scene that hit our eyes had us totally floored.

The whole place was transformed into a full-on memorial hall, with a massive portrait of Yulanda hanging dead center like she was staring right through us.

Outside, people were playing sorrowful funeral tunes after another, and there was Lisa front and center, decked out in mourning clothes.

We were so pissed that we could barely see straight. This was our livelihood—the place we depended on to keep us afloat. Nobody was going to risk having a meal here after this mess.

Bruce finally snapped. He grabbed Lisa and shoved her out of the shop, and then ripped down every inch of that black-and-white funeral décor.

Lisa's lips quivered as she put on her usual crying act again. "Heartless. Not only do you refuse to stand up for Yulanda, but now you won't even let her be mourned?

"She's your daughter, for crying out loud. Do you seriously not care about her at all?"

How could we not care?

When she was born, we swore she'd be the only child we'd ever have—every ounce of love we had was hers.

We watched her grow up day by day. Honestly, there was nothing that made us happier.

But at some point, it was like everything between us just flipped upside down.

Whenever I pictured her face now, all I felt was outright loathing—there was not a drop of love left, just pure disgust.

But blood ties didn't just vanish into thin air. No matter what happened, I could never bring myself to truly hate her. So, I spent years just choking down this mess of tangled feelings, unable to do anything about it.

Looking back now, all I could say was, "She made her own choices. Whatever happened next—she did that to herself. We're out of it."

Bruce and I teamed up to throw out every single piece of mourning décor from the shop.

We managed to usher Lisa out the door. "No matter what tricks you pull, we're not taking this back to court. Take your bad vibes and get out," I snapped.

Lisa was so pissed off that she could barely breathe, clinging to the doorframe for dear life. Then, before anyone could react, she suddenly coughed up blood, leaving everyone stunned.

Bruce instinctively reached out, a flicker of emotion crossing his eyes.

I caught her hand and gave a subtle shake of my head, letting him know she was fine.

It didn't take long for another mob to form, shouting the cruelest insults at us, every word nastier than the last.

Then, suddenly, my phone lit up—a message popped up to inform me that I'd just been booted from my job.

[We don't hire heartless people like you. You're terminated.]

Getting a job at my age was already tough enough, and now with the shop in ruins and me out of work, I had no idea how we were supposed to survive.

Meanwhile, the people outside just hung around, smirking and soaking it all up like it was prime entertainment.

"Serves you right. Karma's gonna catch up with you heartless bastards sooner or later," someone sneered.

"Everyone, remember this—never eat at this place again, and don't ever hire the two of them."

"Yeah, let them starve. They don't deserve to live."

Lisa was slapping her thighs and wailing, "Bruce, just own up, stop being stubborn, and listen to me—go file that appeal already. If you fight tooth and nail to get that bastard who killed Yulanda thrown behind bars, people will finally cut you some slack."

My glare couldn't get any colder.

All the rage I'd bottled up throughout the day erupted—I couldn't contain it for another second.

At that moment, I didn't care about anything else. I just wanted to tear straight through Lisa's two-faced act and spill every ugly truth out for the world to see.

"Aren't you all dying to know why we didn't go after Damien? Why did we treat our daughter the way we did?" I shouted, my voice raw and trembling with fury.

Everyone had their phones up, eyes burning with curiosity, just waiting for me to spill everything.

"Come on, why? Tell us already," voices shouted from every side, pressing in.

Lisa's face twisted up on the spot, but she couldn't do a damn thing to stop me.

"You want the truth? Then listen up," I said, my voice dead serious.

Just when I was about to spill the beans, Bruce grabbed my arm and said, "Not now."

His intense reaction instantly sobered me up.

He was right—if I let it slip now, everything we'd fought for would go down the drain.

We had to keep playing our roles until those bastards got what was coming to them.

When I fell silent, Lisa visibly relaxed.

The person outside, phone still raised, realized they weren't getting the juicy details they'd hoped for and instantly flew into a fit of rage.

They snatched up whatever was within reach and hurled it straight at us.

"Why do you have to stop halfway? Just leaving us hanging, huh?"

"Drop the act. Just like everyone online says, you prefer to have a boy and couldn't care less about your girl."

"You're even worse than animals. Even wild beasts wouldn't turn on their own kids."

"What a waste of time."

Seeing this, Lisa wasted no time jumping in, joining the outraged crowd. "Are you trying to slap more made-up charges on Yulanda? She's gone. Can you just let her rest in peace?

"She's your kid, your flesh and blood. Just how much hatred do you have to be this cruel? My poor, poor Yulanda."

She kept wailing, even squatting down and hugging her knees, putting on the most pitiful show imaginable.

I shot her a cold, icy glare.

From the very start, I'd had more than enough of that phony face of hers.

"Just because I can't lay out the whole truth right now doesn't mean you're innocent," I said coldly. "If Yulanda really comes back as a vengeful spirit, the first person she'll want payback from isn't me—it's you. Better hope you can sleep tonight."

Lisa was visibly rattled, stumbling a little. "Shut up."

Word about what happened earlier spread like wildfire online, and a mob of furious netizens came storming over.

To stay safe, we had no choice but to lock up and hide out upstairs until the crowd finally cleared out.

Even though it was the middle of the night, the noise outside was relentless—angry shouts, doors being pounded, and things getting smashed.

It wasn't until five in the morning that the crowd finally started to thin out.