Chapter 3 The Truth No One Believed

"What else is there left to say? Your mother, Noelle, and I have been living on the streets, surviving on scraps. And it's all your fault! How dare you show your face here!"

I could feel my father desperately trying to pull his hand free.

"Dad, I've been sending $200,000 home every month! I told Rowena to use the money to renovate our old family home and buy you a place in the city. When did I ever ask you to pay off my debts? When did I ever make you live on the streets? Dad, I really am a vice president!"

My desperation seemed to make my words sound somewhat convincing.

My father's anger eased a little, but he still regarded me coldly. "Why don't you ask everyone here if they believe you?"

I glanced around. Everyone was looking at me with contempt and amusement, without exception.

Even Beatrice, who used to praise me for making something of myself, couldn't stop sneering at my words.

"Zephyr, everyone knows you racked up a massive gambling debt overseas. The people you owed money to were threatening to cut off your limbs. Your wife sold your house, the old family home, and everything else of value just to save you.

"Now, she works six jobs a day just to help you pay off your debts. How can you stand there and claim you're a vice president?"

I froze, unable to believe what I was hearing.

I looked at my parents in disbelief. "Did my wife tell you all that?"

They nodded.

My mother pulled Noelle into her arms, her eyes red, her voice breaking. "We couldn't even afford to get Noelle's eyes treated. She's only seven, and she'll never see the world again. You bastard! Why couldn't you have just died out there?"

My mind went blank the moment I heard my mother say my daughter had gone blind.

A second later, I shoved through the crowd and rushed toward Noelle. "Noelle… Your eyes…"

She clung tightly to my mother's neck in terror. "You're a bad man! Grandma and Grandpa said so. I don't want you to be my daddy!"

Her words cut straight through my heart. The pain was so intense that I nearly broke down on the spot.

I instinctively reached out to hold her, but my mother shoved me away. "Don't touch Noelle. You don't have the right to!"

My father rushed over and stood protectively in front of my mother and Noelle, glaring at me ferociously.

"We've tried everything to contact you over the past few years. We wanted to know why you were gambling and why you'd abandoned your family. But you cut off all contact with us! Why did you even come back if you no longer consider us your family?"

His words left me frantic. My face flushed, and tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Dad, Rowena told me to focus on work and promised she'd take care of all of you. She even replaced my SIM card before I left."

One look at my parents told me everything. They didn't believe a word I'd just said.

"Stop making things up! Rowena works herself to the bone trying to pay off your debts. She leaves early and comes home late at night, juggling six jobs and getting only two hours of sleep. She's collapsed from exhaustion and even coughed up blood countless times.

"We've all seen everything she's done for you and this family. Everyone in the neighborhood is aware of her efforts! How dare you badmouth her, you bastard! How do you even sleep at night? What the hell did you even do to your conscience?"