Chapter 3

Amber and I tailed my father all the way to an affluent neighborhood.

Before the gate of the most magnificent and luxurious mansion there, my father pulled out an access card, swiped it, and walked inside.

We couldn't follow him any further.

The live-stream chat scrolled wildly.

[This is the most expensive area in the city. A single square meter can go for seven figures! How does Mr. Wilshere have an access card to a place like that?!]

[Look how smooth and familiar his movements are! It doesn't feel like it's his first time here!]

Amber grew eager to step forward, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Stop. There's no point."

When we returned to that rundown apartment and opened the door, a dark silhouette stood right before us.

Red, bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at me.

"Walt!"

Amber instantly pulled me behind her to shield me.

The lights flickered on, and my father was smiling as usual.

"You're back? Don't go out in the middle of the night. But of course... you're all grown up now, so I shouldn't meddle too much in your affairs..."

The chat exploded.

[Holy crap, watching this stream in the middle of the night almost scared me to death!]

[A pair of glowing red eyes suddenly appeared at midnight. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!]

Amber was dumbfounded. We should have gotten home first, so how was my father already waiting inside for us?

Amber pulled me into my room.

"Wait!"

My father called out.

I slowly turned around.

He handed me a stack of hundred-dollar bills with both hands, the corners of his eyes crinkling with happy smiles.

"I made some money!"

I froze.

The live-stream chat was filled with question marks.

[Wait, that huge mansion earlier... was Mr. Wilshere working there as a cleaner?!]

Because I didn't take the money, my father shoved it into my hands.

"I know you look down on me for selling fish, and I'm embarrassing you in front of your friends... so I found a job cleaning houses for rich people."

Recalling the past, he lowered his head and sighed, his eyes growing teary.

"This is my first paycheck, and I immediately cashed it out. You can finally stand tall in front of your friends... If anything makes you unhappy from now on, just tell me. Don't resort to violence. Look, I can make money too."

The chat instantly felt bad for him.

[No wonder his eyes are red, it turns out he was crying...]

[Look what you did, Walt! Even a dog doesn't despise a poor family! He only got that much money after cleaning a mansion that big. Are you trying to drive your father to an early grave?!]

[So basically, Walt resented his family for being poor, so he stabbed his father?]

[Oh god, I can't take this anymore. My hands are shaking.]

"Stop lying!"

I hurled the money right at his face, my chest heaving violently.

"You're so good at acting, Derrick Wilshere! Can't you speak the truth for once?!"

My father froze, looking blankly at the banknotes raining down all around us.

Amber couldn't hold back anymore.

"Walt, Mr. Wilshere just recovered from a severe injury! Don't treat him like that!"

"No, it's my fault..."

My father lowered his head, his six-foot-tall figure seeming to shrink smaller.

"It's my fault for failing to give Walt a good life, leaving him underfed and poorly clothed... I've also let his mother down..."

He looked at me with reddened eyes.

"Walt, if you think this isn't enough, I saw an ad by a medical institution recruiting human drug testers..."

"Mr. Wilshere!" Amber frowned. "Stop talking nonsense!"

My father closed his mouth and covered one eye with his hand as sighs escaped him.

I went to my room without looking back.

In the living room, Amber consoled my father the entire night.

I couldn't help opening a tiny gap in the door to peek outside.

The moment I did, my father's gaze locked directly onto mine.