Chapter 3

Gritting his teeth, Michael snarled, "You want to divorce me so badly? Fine! Let's do it! But let me make this clear. Even if we divorce, I'll be the one drafting the settlement agreement. I'll ruin your reputation and make sure you leave with nothing!

"I'm also going to make my mom see the truth. The daughter-in-law she adored is nothing more than a vile woman who exploited her mother's death for money and used lawsuits to extort others!"

Paper scraps scattered through the air around us. Through them, I saw the ruthless determination in Michael's eyes and the barely concealed smug smile on Layla's lips.

In the end, I said nothing. I turned around and walked out of the law firm.

After returning home, I silently began packing my belongings. By the time I dragged my suitcase downstairs and reached the entrance of the residential complex, a huge crowd swarmed toward me.

One after another, they shoved cameras and phones in my face, snapping photos and recording videos like a pack of vultures.

"Yeah, that's her! She's the one who told her elderly mother to stage a crash-for-cash scam!

"Apparently, after her mother got hit and died, she used her death to extort money. When extortion didn't work, she tried to squeeze money out through lawsuits instead!

"She practically drove a young lady fresh out of college into depression. That poor woman almost committed suicide a few times!

"Thankfully, that scammer's husband is an upright lawyer who stands for justice instead of blindly protecting his wife. He's been defending that innocent lady this whole time. Otherwise, who knows how badly that lady would've suffered?

"And now that her husband refused to go along with her scam, she threatened him with divorce. Look, she's even packed her bags and is ready to leave!"

Vicious accusations came nonstop. Through the crowd, I caught sight of Layla and Michael standing in the back with smug, gloating expressions.

So, this live stream was Michael's method of publicly destroying me. Judging by the reaction, it was working perfectly.

The live streamers at the scene kept fanning the flames, while the comments online were flooded with insults.

"Holy crap! What a vile woman! She sacrificed her own mother for money."

"I feel bad for her mother. How's she supposed to live long with a trash daughter like her?"

"I feel differently. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Her mom getting run over must be karma."

"Right? Why didn't the driver hit someone else? Why did it have to be her mother? That just proves her mom wasn't any better either."

The public outrage spread at terrifying speed. In no time, my photo became viral. They labeled me as a monster daughter, a human parasite, and a traffic-scam bitch.

With the streamers constantly stirring up the crowd, the onlookers started throwing coffee cups, energy drink cans, and fast-food packaging.

Stepping through the trash scattered over the ground, I walked straight through the crowd and stopped in front of Michael. "Are you really going to take things this far?"

He frowned slightly.

Before he could answer, Layla beat him to it with tear-filled eyes. "Bianca, I know your mother died, but I haven't had it easy these past few days either! I'm begging you, let me go! Stop targeting me already!"

Pain flashed across Michael's eyes as he looked at her before he turned back to me with cold resolve.

"You brought this upon yourself, Bianca. Your mother got run over because she was staging a scam. You never should've kept filing lawsuits to make things difficult for Layla.

"Her new car is damaged because of your dead mother. The fact that Layla didn't demand repair costs already shows how kind she is. Meanwhile, you're mindlessly dragging this out!

"No wonder your mom died early. You cursed her by being a wicked woman!"

The moment he finished speaking, my mother stepped out from the crowd and looked directly at him. "Who did you say died?"