Chapter 3

I was indeed floored. I'd always thought my parents got divorced and split up the kids.

It turned out that Lily was the other woman. She wrecked another family without even blinking.

But the real kicker? I couldn't believe that she sold Oliver for money.

I always knew she cared more about money than anything. She'd pinch pennies with me. But I never thought she'd go so far as to sell Oliver for cash. Oliver was her own flesh and blood.

I tried not to judge her too harshly and tried to hold on to the image of her grief when we got the news about Oliver.

But honestly, all I remembered was how she was already back playing casino games with her friends a few days later.

When Richard called and told her we weren't allowed to go to Oliver's funeral, she didn't push back at all.

I asked her to take me.

But she said, "I feel so guilty that I couldn't scrape together enough money for Oliver's medical bills. I don't have the courage to see him."

I really felt sorry for her back then, and that was why I pushed myself so hard to study and earn money.

But as I look back on everything now, one thought flashes through my mind. Did Oliver die because we couldn't afford the hospital bills? Wasn't Richard running his own business?

Later, I ran into that rich lady again at my part-time job, the one who ended up marrying Richard. She was cradling a boy, who was two or three years old.

Did she have Oliver killed because she already had a son?

That horrible thought haunted me, and I wanted to rush up and shout at her, "Was it you? Did you kill Oliver?"

But deep down I knew. Weak people like me don't get to know the real truth.

This lavish wedding was the start of my hunt for answers.

I glared at Richard, his phony attitude making my blood boil. I snapped, "Quit pretending we're related. Who the hell do you think you are? Get lost!" I was nailing the role of the ultimate villain daughter.

Seeing Richard fuming, Lily pinched me and snapped, "Emily, what are you doing? That's your father."

Richard chimed in, "Yeah, I'm your father, you ungrateful brat!"

Seeing more and more people stopping to watch, Lucas grabbed my hand and hauled me off into a hotel room. Lily was clinging to Richard and rushed in after us.

Lucas told me to take a breath and calm down, and then headed back out to deal with the guests.

Now, it was just me, my mom, and Richard in the room.

Richard's voice grew sharper, dripping with impatience. He shouted, "You must've heard people call you a bastard more than enough times, right? If you refuse to acknowledge me, you'll always be nothing but a bastard.

"If you ever have kids, they'll be little bastards. So you'd better think hard. Are you recognizing me as your father or not?"

"Not a chance. What makes you think you have the right to ask me that?" I shot back.

Lily looked devastated, her voice sounded shaking as she spat, "Emily, how could you be so ungrateful? Where did I go so wrong raising a daughter like you?"

What a joke. Did she ever look in the mirror before she started bawling?

I shouted, "No way am I ever going to recognize you. Your surname alone makes me want to puke."

Seeing how stubborn I was, Richard snapped, "Fine! Just you wait. You'll regret this."

With that, he spun around and stormed out.