Chapter 3

Yet both my daughters went completely stiff in my arms, too afraid to move.

I sniffled and filled two bowls with stew for them.

They waited until I had left before cautiously starting to eat, then they lowered their voices and whispered to each other.

“Mom made us stew. What if Desmond finds out? Won’t he be mad?”

“Shh! Don’t let Desmond know. Otherwise, we’ll go hungry again for two days!”

My heart clenched painfully in my chest, squeezing the breath from my lungs.

That afternoon, I dug through the financial records from top to bottom.

Living expenses, education funds, money set aside for my daughters’ projects— every last payment had been secretly transferred by my son into Linda’s account. She used the money to buy cars, handbags, real estate, jewelry…

It was all money I had given for my daughters, yet not a single cent had ever been spent on them.

I stared at the transactions and let out a cold laugh. My own son had been bleeding the family dry right under my nose.

Whenever he requested even a single cent for his sisters, he went through the motions of meticulously recording every expense. Yet when it came to sending money to Linda, he never hesitated, not even once.

As I was investigating, two more comments suddenly floated across my vision.

[Look into her! She’s the one who manipulated your son into transferring 300 million dollars!]

[She doesn’t just want this little bit of spending money. She wants the entire Kinsley family!]

I followed the trail and found out Linda did not come from a respectable, scholarly family at all. She worked in the nightlife scene, specializing in targeting wealthy families’ only sons.

Her family was drowning in debt, and they were counting on Desmond as their personal cash cow.

That whole 'proper lady' act of hers was completely fake.

Her financial records looked neat at first glance, but the holes were obvious once you started digging.

The funniest part was that my own son was still completely clueless, treating her like royalty.

…

That night, I gently pushed open the bedroom door.

My two daughters shared a large bedroom. Wendy had not gone to sleep yet. The moment she saw me, she bolted upright.

“Mom, do you need something?”

I shook my head and sat down beside her. “No. It’s nothing.”

She had just begun to relax when something suddenly occurred to her. Her eyes turned red.

“Wendy, what’s wrong?”

She suddenly grabbed my sleeve, her voice trembling. “Mom, I don’t want anything. Please don’t kick me out. I’ll be good. I’ll do whatever you say.”

My throat tightened. Before I could say anything, Nicole woke up too and turned toward me.

“Mom, I’ll get along with Wendy. I’ll be good to Desmond too. I won’t ask for anything. I’m easy to take care of. Please don’t kick me out.”

My eyes burned with tears as I reached out and pulled them both into my arms. “I told you this just now. As long as I'm here, no one can kick you out.”

Two pairs of tear-filled eyes looked up at me.

“Really?”

“Yes. I would never lie to you.”

Wendy’s lips trembled, and she whispered, “But…”

My heart felt like it had been stabbed. “This is your house. You make the rules. You're both my precious daughters.”

Wendy stared at me for a long time before finally whispering, “Mom… I never hated pink.”

My breath caught for a moment. She still remembered all of it.

I pulled her tighter into my arms and said in a gentle voice, “I know. I trusted the wrong person back then. I love you both. I never allowed anyone to hurt you. Sweetheart, just wait a little longer. I’ll prove it to you soon.”

I swallowed the ache in my chest, along with the fury burning inside me.

Just a little longer.

…

The next day, Desmond came to talk to me about his birthday party.

I agreed without hesitation. Of course, we were going to hold one. I was going to make sure he remembered it for the rest of his life.

“Mom, don’t forget the birthday gift you promised me!”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

He left, already dreaming about those shares. I, meanwhile, began preparing his real birthday gift.