Chapter 3

Jodie continued, "I can pay to help you clean your slate, and I can even give you a sum of money to leave this city and start over. What do you say? I'm only doing this for Leroy and to protect the Huff family name."

She stood there on her moral high ground, practically radiating the halo of a saint.

My relatives nodded in unison, singing her praises.

"Look at Jodie. She's so mature and generous! Isabelle, you'd better get down on your knees right now! An offer like this won't come twice!"

I gently propped Mom up against the couch cushions, then slowly drew myself up to my full height.

Instead of getting angry, I let out a cold laugh. "Get down on my knees? Start over? Jodie, do you have any idea that intentionally fabricating and spreading defamatory claims carries a sentence of up to three years in prison?"

Seeing that I was not only ungrateful but also dared to bite back, the relatives completely lost it.

Desperate to suck up to Jodie, the "heiress", they wanted nothing more than to grind me into the dirt.

Uncle Jacob slammed his cup onto the table with a heavy thud. "Isabelle Huff! Don't you dare push it! You are going to write a confession letter and apologize to Jodie today for the sake of our family's reputation! Otherwise, I will kick you out of the family!"

Aunt Andrea's eyes lit up, the wheels in her greedy mind turning at warp speed.

"Exactly! An apology isn't enough. We need compensation! We've suffered so much humiliation because of you. You owe us for emotional distress!"

"Hand over all that dirty money you've made these past few years and split it among us! Consider it penance!"

Looking at their greedy faces, I found it almost comical.

These were my so-called family.

The moment money was on the table, they threw every shred of decency out the window.

Noticing that I remained unfazed, Leroy grew bolder. He pulled out his phone and opened a livestreaming app.

"Since you refuse to repent, I'll let the internet judge you! Everyone, look! This is my high-class escort cousin! She was caught red-handed with solid proof, and she still won't admit it. She's throwing a tantrum right here in our living room!"

He shoved the camera right into my face.

The viewer count instantly skyrocketed, and the chat began scrolling at breakneck speed.

"Holy crap! She looks so innocent. Can't believe she does that for a living."

"200 bucks? Where's the link? Sign me up!"

"Women like this have no shame. Absolutely disgraceful!"

Jodie chose that exact moment to lean into the frame. Her eyes were red, the picture of a deeply wronged victim.

"Please don't attack Isabelle, guys. She just made a mistake. I only wanted to help her find her way back, but she… she wants to hit me…"

Her flawless performance instantly set the chat ablaze.

"You're such an angel! Why are you even trying to help a whore like that?"

"Dox her! Make her lose her job!"

Leroy stared at the screen, his mouth twitching into a distorted grin as digital gifts flooded the screen.

Seeing the chat's furious reaction, he figured he'd turn the heat up a notch to boost his followers.

"Alright, chat! Let's make her kneel and apologize to everyone live on stream!"

I took a deep breath to force the fury back down into my chest.

My fingernails dug into my palms. I was right on the edge.

But I had to remember I was a police officer. I couldn't just use force on civilians without cause.

Seeing that I remained unmoved, Leroy flicked his hand.

"Damn it. Didn't you hear me tell you to get on your knees? Do you really have to make me do this the hard way?"

He raised his palm, swinging it aimed directly at my face.

The split second before his hand made contact, I moved. My left hand shot out like lightning, locking onto his wrist with pinpoint accuracy.

I twisted his arm against the joint, hard.

"Ah!"

Leroy let out a squeal like a slaughtered pig. His entire body was forced to bend forward from the pain.

Seizing the momentum, I stepped into his space, slammed my right hand onto the back of his neck, and forced him downward.

Leroy's face was slammed violently against the solid wood dining table, making the plates and silverware rattle.

The side of his face instantly contorted under the pressure, and his stream of curses dissolved into muffled whimpers.

Dead silence fell over the room.

The cup in Uncle Jacob's hand slipped, shattering into pieces on the floor.

Aunt Andrea's jaw dropped.

No one had expected that Isabelle—the quiet young lady who did nothing but study and work—could move with such lethal precision.