Chapter 2

It was finally ten o'clock at night when we reached the scenic area.

Jack, was standing at the entrance with his three-year-old son in his arms. His wife, Malia, clutched an LV bag and held tightly to his arm.

The moment he saw me, he raised his wrist and flashed his Rolex. "You're finally here, sis! We've been waiting for half an hour. Still haven't got the tickets?"

"I'm buying them now."

I parked the car and hurried to the ticket booth.

"Five tickets at $39.9 each," I said, pulling out my phone to scan the payment code.

The ticket seller nodded and handed me five tickets.

I took them and distributed them among my mom, Jack, Malia, and my nephew, Huxley.

"Wait a minute," someone commented in the livestream. "Five tickets? What about her mother-in-law?"

"Holy shit, she's not even buying the old lady a ticket?"

"Can she really be that cruel?!"

Barbara stood at the entrance, staring at us in confusion. The blood on her forehead hadn't been wiped away, and her clothes were filthy. She looked completely out of place among the well-dressed visitors around her.

I turned and looked at her coldly. "You stupid old hag, don't even think about going inside. A ticket costs $39.9. I'd be better off feeding that money to a dog than wasting it on you."

Barbara trembled, but quickly forced a fawning smile onto her face. "That's right... I'm not even as good as a dog... I'll wait outside for you... I won't go in..."

She huddled in a corner near the entrance, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands like a child who had done something wrong.

The livestream comments flew by.

"I swear to God, I want to slap this bitch ten times across the face!"

"Her mother-in-law contributed $120 thousand toward the down payment when they got married, and now she doesn't even deserve to see the Thanksgiving parade?"

"If she were my mother-in-law, I'd be treating her like a queen every single day!"

Suddenly, a comment appeared in the chat.

The profile picture belonged to my husband, Scott Hamilton. He posted more than a dozen angry emojis in a row.

"Julianna Baldwin, you're going way too far!"

"When we bought the house after getting married, the $100 thousand down payment came from the compensation my dad's family received after his fatal car accident. My mom handed over every last cent without a second thought."

"Now she has dementia, and she doesn't even deserve to see a Thanksgiving parade? Do you have a conscience at all?!"

The comments were instantly flooded with words like "beast" and "inhuman."

I glanced at my phone indifferently, then turned and walked into the scenic area. The parade grounds were dazzling, with elaborate floats and colorful decorations illuminating the night.

My mom excitedly dragged Jack and his family around, taking picture after picture.

I trailed behind them, carrying bags and bags of their things. I was so exhausted I could barely catch my breath, and sweat soaked through the back of my shirt.

"Jules, go buy us two hot dogs!" Jack ordered without even turning around.

"Sure." I hurried to the food stall.

"Jules, I'm thirsty. Get me a bottle of water!"

"Sure."

"Hey, the baby wants cotton candy!"

"Sure."

I ran around them like a servant.

All the while, my mom had eyes only for her precious son and his family. She didn't spare me a single glance.

Suddenly, I stumbled and accidentally stepped on Jack's Air Jordan sneaker.

Smack!

My mom slapped me hard across the face. "Watch where you're going! Do you have any idea how much these shoes cost? If you ruin them, can you even afford to pay for them?!"

I clutched my face. My ears rang, and my vision blurred. My body lost its balance, and I began to fall.

Suddenly, a pair of bony hands caught me from behind.

Thud!

Barbara hit the ground on her knees. She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, but her arms remained wrapped tightly around me, shielding me from the fall.

Her pants tore on impact, exposing a deep wound that went almost to the bone. Blood poured from it.

"Jules, are you okay? You scared me to death..."

The livestream chat filled with comments again.

"I'm crying..."

"That old lady is far too kind!"

"Divorce this ungrateful snake already! She doesn't deserve a mother-in-law this good!"

I froze for a second, then pushed Barbara away in disgust and smoothed out the wrinkles in my clothes.

My mom didn't even look at me after my fall. She was still holding up her phone. "Come on, Jack! Stand in front of that big float. I'm going to record a video and post it on my social media!"

Barbara struggled to her feet. Her entire pant leg was stained red with blood, yet she seemed completely unaware of it. Her eyes were fixed on my elbow.

There was only a minor scrape there.

"Jules, you're bleeding..."

With trembling hands, she pulled an old handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped the wound.

"I... I will blow on it for you... There, there. It won't hurt anymore..."

I lowered my eyes to look at her, a complicated emotion flickering in my gaze. But a moment later, my expression turned cold again.