Chapter 4

When Jocelyn raised the compensation amount, Andrew looked positively gleeful.

"That's right. A heartless ingrate like her deserves a proper lesson. We can't let her off easy!"

Mom nodded solemnly.

"Jocelyn, you're doing the right thing. Otherwise, who knows what worse things she might do in the future?"

My sister looked at me, her eyes filled with sorrow, her emotions spiraling out of control.

"Yara, the way you've squandered my hard-earned money… You might as well have stabbed me with a knife. Didn't you always say you wanted to cut ties with this family? Fine. I'll cut ties with you!"

No matter how much I tried to explain, she refused to believe me.

In the end, I let out a weary sigh.

"Jocelyn, I'll say it one more time. I never went to college. When I said I wanted to cut ties, I meant with this family. Not with you."

Andrew sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. "Of course. How could you ever bear to cut ties with Jocelyn, someone you see as a walking ATM?"

Seeing that I was still denying it, Mom's face turned frosty as she scolded me.

"Debts must be repaid! It's only right and proper! Yara, where's your conscience? Stop agitating your sister. She's sacrificed far too much for you in this lifetime."

Looking at my own mother's hypocritical expression, I no longer wanted to waste another second.

I took out my ID card and handed it to the judge.

"Please log into the Ministry of Education's student registry system and check. The truth will be revealed."

Mom suddenly cried out, stopping him.

"No! Your Honor, who hasn't made mistakes in their youth? As a mother, I admit I have my faults too. As long as my daughter is willing to admit she lied, I can mediate between the sisters. However, once it's proven she lied, she'll carry that stigma for life. She'll lose her job, and her reputation will be ruined forever."

Jocelyn looked at her in surprise. "Mom, are you sure you want to do this?"

She replied firmly, "Yes. Both of you are my children. I don't want to see you standing against each other in court, and I certainly don't want Yara to continue down this selfish, destructive path."

Her words immediately stirred sympathy among many in the courtroom.

"In the end, a mother's heart is still soft. There's no love like a parent's."

"Exactly, yet she still claims her mother is biased? Seems to me she's the one who doesn't understand."

Even the judge seemed moved. He turned to me and spoke gently.

"Yara, don't waste your mother's good intentions. Apologize to your sister. You're still young and have a bright future ahead. Don't ruin it over a moment of stubbornness."

I replied firmly, without hesitation, "No. You must verify this."

My words hit the room like a pebble dropped into still water, sending ripples everywhere.

"I've never seen someone so ungrateful, so clueless."

"Where does she get the confidence? Fine. Let her get exactly what she's asking for!"

By then, the clerk in the courtroom had already logged into the student registry system.

However, as the clerk read through the query, her brows slowly knit together. She leaned closer to the screen, double-checking what she was seeing.

A few seconds later, her voice rang out, quiet, yet unmistakably clear across the courtroom.

"Your Honor… There is no record of Yara in the university system. No major, no academic history, no enrollment, no thesis. On top of that… I've also found that she never even sat for the SAT exams."