Chapter 6
Back in her office, Lydia closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a long, weary breath.
The confrontation had drained every ounce of energy from her.
Despite her outward toughness, deep down, there was still a vague sense of exhaustion she couldn't quite explain.
They were her parents, but all they ever gave her was hurt, and they always wanted something more from her.
Lydia's phone buzzed. It was a message from Amelia. [How did it go? Did you sort it out?]
Lydia suddenly remembered that before heading downstairs, she'd shot Amelia a quick text about her parents showing up.
She filled Amelia in on what happened. Amelia called immediately, sounding furious. "They actually had the nerve to show up at your office? That's so freaking shameless.
"Lydia, you did the right thing. Don't show them any kindness.
"If you let yourself go soft on people like that even once, you'll be asking for endless trouble."
Amelia's understanding and support felt like a warm wave, helping Lydia shake off the cold emptiness inside.
"I know," Lydia said, her voice a bit rough. "I'm worn out.
"I thought I'd finally moved on, but they keep coming back to haunt me."
"Don't be scared," Amelia reassured her.
"They're taking advantage of you because they think you're easy to push around. If you stand firm this time, they'll definitely back off for a while.
"Still, you need to be ready. They might have more tricks up their sleeves. Like showing up at your place or dragging other relatives in to try and pressure you. Stay strong and don't give them an inch."
"Yeah, I understand," Lydia said with a nod.
After chatting with Amelia, Lydia felt much better. She dove right back into her work, using the busy tasks to numb her feelings and keep her mind off everything that had happened.
Turned out, Lydia had no idea how low her family could go.
*****
A couple of nights later, Lydia was working late at the office.
Out of the blue, an old college friend she hadn't talked to in ages sent her a link. Along with it was a message: [Lydia, is this about you?
Lydia's heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling about this.
She clicked on the link. It was a post on a local forum with a clickbait headline: [Calling out my relative who makes 300 thousand a year but won't lift a finger to help her family.]
The post was dripping with self-pity, written by someone claiming to be the cold-hearted woman's family.
In her story, Linda painted herself as a worried mom losing sleep over Alex's future.
She made Liam out to be the hardworking big brother, busting his ass to support his younger siblings.
Frank and Sienna were cast as heartbroken old folks abandoned by their ungrateful daughter.
And Lydia was painted as the villain of the story.
The post claimed Lydia had always been scheming and selfish. After college, she only landed a job because her family pulled strings for her.
Now that she was a big-shot executive in the city, making a ton of money, she looked down on her family. For two years, she hadn't bothered to check in on her aging parents.
The family's sole hope, Lydia's exemplary and high-achieving nephew, had been accepted into a prestigious university. However, she was unwilling to assist with the tuition fees.
When her parents showed up at her office begging for help, she had security kick them out.
Linda skipped over all the inconvenient truths and made herself out to be the poor, innocent victim.
She never once mentioned how the whole family ignored Lydia when she was sick two years ago, or how they tried to squeeze 300 thousand out of her without a second thought.
At the end of the post, there were a few photos. One was a plain, makeup-free shot of Lydia from her college days, looking kind of awkward and totally ordinary.
Another showed Frank and Sienna slumped on a beat-up old couch back home, both looking super gloomy.
And there was a pic of Alex's college acceptance letter, with the school name totally censored.
The post was super dramatic and meant to rile people up, pulling at everyone's heartstrings and stirring up outrage.
There were already hundreds of comments pouring in. Most were from people who had no idea what was really going on, all jumping in to tear Lydia apart in outrage.
[Oh my god, how can she be this heartless?]
[She made it big and forgot her roots. What an ungrateful brat.]
[It's really sad how her parents raised her all these years.]
[People like her deserve to be exposed and have their lives ruined.]
Some so-called neighbors and distant relatives from back home jumped in the comments, pretending they knew the family personally.
[It's true. Her parents are really honest. They've worked themselves to the bone for her their whole lives.]
[Her brother always treated her so well. Never thought she'd end up like this.]
Every nasty comment was cutting deep into Lydia's heart.
Her hand was shaking with anger as she clutched her phone tightly.
She never imagined Linda could sink so low. This wasn't about money anymore. They were trying to trash her name and wreck everything she had.
They wanted to use the internet mob to make her give in.
Lydia's eyes flashed with cold determination. She had believed that if she were resolute enough, she could sever ties with her past completely.
But now, they seemed like parasites clinging to her very being. If she didn't get rid of them completely, they would keep tormenting her forever.
"Since you've shown no mercy, don't expect any from me," Lydia muttered, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she fired up her computer.
She wasn't about to waste her time arguing with those trolls online. That would only make things spiral out of control.
What she needed now was evidence. Then, she'd strike back with her strongest weapon and hit them where it hurt the most.