Chapter 4

Laughter quickly returned to the private dining hall after I left. When it was time to begin the meal, Mom stepped out to receive wishes from the guests.

Just as the atmosphere of the party reached its peak, Liam entered the hall with several staff members.

“Mrs. Radley, happy birthday on behalf of the hotel. This bottle of champagne is a gift from our hotel.”

Mom’s aged face bloomed with a smile. “Thank you. This looks wonderful!”

Before she could enjoy it, the bill was placed in front of her. “The total for this party comes to eighty thousand dollars. Would you like to pay by card or cash?”

The dining hall was noisy, yet his words cut cleanly through the chatter, landing in everyone’s ears.

Mom’s smile froze. “How much did you say?”

“Eighty thousand dollars. Since this was a familiar booking, no deposit was collected beforehand. The full amount is due now.”

Mom did not even have eight thousand dollars, let alone eighty thousand. It was impossible.

She rummaged through her belongings for a long time but found nothing. After a moment, she seemed to recall something and hurriedly said, “This party was booked by Mary Radley. Go ask Mary for the payment. Why are you asking me?”

Liam maintained a polite smile. “We don’t know anyone named Mary Radley. You’re the host of this party, so naturally, we’re collecting payment from you.”

Mom looked around the hall in panic. She finally realized that I was nowhere to be seen.

“Mary! Mary! Where did you go? Get out here, now!”

She no longer cared about saving face. She shouted several times, but no one answered. She pulled out her phone and made call after call, but none were picked up.

“Madam, how do you plan to pay? If payment cannot be made, we may have to involve the police,” Liam said as he placed the card reader in front of her.

“Wait, wait. There is no need to call the police over something so small.” Mom hurriedly stopped him.

She lowered her voice in front of our numerous relatives and friends and pulled Jessie aside.

“Didn’t you say you knew the hotel owner? Go talk to him. See if we can delay the payment for a couple of days. Your sister’s not here, and I can’t come up with this much money right now.”

At a loss of words, Jessie let out a startled sound.

“What are you standing there for?” Mom urged. “Go. Everyone is watching.”

Left with no choice, Jessie walked up to Liam and said stiffly, “Mary was the one who booked the party. You should be asking her for the money. Besides, we’re still eating. Why are you collecting payment now? Couldn’t we settle this after the meal?”

She hoped to stall for as long as possible. But Liam, following my instructions, did not budge.

“Where is your sister? If you can bring her here, she can pay. Since no deposit was collected, if you leave without paying after you finish your meal, who would I look for then?”

“We’re not going to run. I’ll find Mary and make her pay.”

Liam remained unmoved. Mom finally lost her patience and stepped forward. “Jessie knows the hotel owner. We’re all acquaintances. Can’t you make an exception?”

“Madam, do you truly know our owner?”

Jessie did not dare answer. She did not know the hotel owner at all. She had only ever met him because I once brought her here for a buffet and happened to exchange greetings with him. I had briefly introduced her in passing. He had likely forgotten her long ago. There was no reason for him to give her any special consideration.

“I’m very sorry. I suspect you’re attempting to skip payment. We’ll proceed with calling the police.”

At that, Mom panicked and immediately pulled out a bank card. “I’ll pay. I’ll pay, all right?”

I recognized that card immediately. It was the one I had given her. Every month, I transferred her living expenses into it. So it was still my money.

It would not be enough to pay up. Mom and Jessie emptied their pockets, scraping together just over twenty thousand.

Liam’s mention of the police had only been meant to frighten them. He simply told them to make up the remaining payment in a few days and then left.

Watching them humiliate themselves through the CCTV lifted my mood considerably. I left the hotel without a second thought and no longer concerned myself with them.

That night, Mom sent me a message asking me to transfer money to her immediately. Otherwise, she would disown me.

I did not even read it. I deleted the message outright.

I finally understood it all. No matter what I did, in her heart, I would never measure up to Jessie’s hair.

Since that was the case, why should I exhaust myself trying to please her? I might as well give up the pretense and do whatever I pleased.

I went to work as usual the next day. While I was in a meeting, I suddenly received a call from the police.

They told me that the lock on my apartment door had been forced open and thieves had broken in.

Fortunately, the security guards had noticed in time. The intruders were swiftly restrained before they could do anything more.

I frowned. I lived in a high-end residential complex. The idea that thieves would pry open doors there made no sense.

With that thought, I quickly pulled up the CCTV footage.

The moment I saw the true faces of the intruders, everything clicked into place.