All Chapters of My Ungrateful Daughter: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

On New Year’s Eve morning, I brought all the gifts that I had prepared earlier to my daughter’s place.My daughter, Lydia Smith, pinched my grandson, Charlie Smith’s cheeks. “Charlie, we’re going to your grandparents’ place for the New Year’s. Aren’t you happy?”Charlie jumped in excitement. “I’m happy! I love spending the New Year’s with Grandpa and Grandma!” I stood aside and felt a little upset as I looked at their happy faces. Lydia and her husband, Ben Smith, were both the only children of their families.Lydia had said that to be fair, they would draw lots to decide who to spend the New Year’s with. However, she had been going to her in-laws’ place for the past nine years. It was the same for this year, too. I hesitated long before I asked. “Lydia, you’ve spent the New Year’s with your in-laws for the past nine years. Can you spend it with me this year?“Ever since your dad passed away, I’ve spent the New Year’s alone. It’s really too quiet at home.”Lydia’s

Chapter 2

After a while, Audrey gave me a video call. She was smiling as she bragged, “Happy New Year! It’s New Year’s Eve today. What good food are you having?“Thank you for helping Lydia prepare so many gifts for us. We’re having such a great dinner over here!” After she said that, she turned the camera around and pointed at the gifts that I had prepared. I almost burst into tears. Before I could speak, I heard Charlie saying, “Mommy said that it’s a waste if we don’t use her money. After all, she’s staying alone in the countryside. She won’t be using that much money!” I felt blood drain from my face. I stared at my phone screen. “Charlie, can you say that again?”Charlie was about to speak when Lydia covered his mouth with her hand. She grumbled, “Mom! He’s just talking nonsense! It’s the New Year’s! Why are you making everyone unhappy?” She was blaming me for spoiling the mood. I stared at her and said, “Why didn’t you think I’d be upset when you secretly switched all the pa

Chapter 3

I sat alone in the living room and stared at those so-called gifts. I started to tear up. I doted on my daughter for half of my life. Since the day she was born, people around me have tried to persuade me. “Have another child now while you’re still young, so you’ll have more company when you’re older.”I was holding her in my arms, and I decided to give all of my love to her. My husband and I were frugal, and we always prioritized her in everything. When she got married and wanted to buy a house, we did not hesitate to give her all of our money. Then, they said they could not afford a car loan. I silently gave her a supplementary card and helped her with their car loan. Even when she said she wanted to celebrate the New Year’s with her in-laws, I volunteered to prepare gifts on her behalf. I was the walking source of a hefty retirement fund, and she eyed it for a long time. From paying her car loan to her daily expenses, she had been using the money from my account.

Chapter 4

After that, I no longer kept in touch with Lydia. Lydia could not bear it any longer. She repeatedly texted and mentioned me in the family group chat. [Mom, you’re over 60 years old. Why are you throwing a tantrum like a teenager? Aren’t you embarrassed?[I only went back to celebrate the New Year’s with my in-laws because Charlie missed his grandparents. Why are you being so calculative?[After all, I’m married! I have my own family to take care of! How can I stay stuck to you like it was in the past?]After her waves of accusations, our relatives started jumping up with their opinions. [Why is your mother acting like this? She’s ruining your peace after something so minor.][I bet she has too much free time on her hands, that’s why she’s creating drama. She should just do some community work instead and stop torturing her kid.]I did not bother explaining myself. Instead, I just left the group chat. I thought that would be the end of it. Two days later, before the grou

Chapter 5

I sneered. “Why would I let you use my card?”I could hear Audrey grumbling by the side. “If you don’t have money, why are you bringing me out to shop? What a waste of my time. This is embarrassing!” Lydia smiled awkwardly and then hissed viciously to me. “I know you’re the one who did it. Come back and pay the bill immediately! After that, I’ll let bygones be bygones!“I’ll also bring you along for the New Year’s!” She sounded like she had made a great sacrifice, as if she was the one who had been wronged. I did not want to waste my time. I said bluntly, “Lydia, listen to me, from today onwards, no one else can spend my money!“As for you, stop calling me Mom!” I had made my decision. I did not wait for her answer before I ended the call. I leaned against the cab’s window and took a deep breath. The anger I had for years finally dissipated a little. But I knew this would not be the end of it. They were used to taking from me. They would not give up easily. O

Chapter 6

The next day, I went to see Taylor. With her help, I managed to contact Gabby King, the lawyer of the National Academy of Elder Law Association. She was a middle-aged woman in her early forties. Her eyes looked sharp, and she sounded professional. After she heard me talking about the whole incident, she remained quiet for a while. “Eleanor, I have worked on many cases like this. The most important thing is evidence.” I smiled bitterly. “Evidence?“What about my bookkeeping? And those bank transaction details…”Gabby nodded and said, “Of course, this is useful evidence, but it’s not enough.“We need evidence to prove that what they said in the livestream isn’t true, then we can sue them for defamation.“At the same time, we need to prove that they relied on you financially all this while, while at the same time emotionally neglecting you.” She accompanied me home. I took out a rusted metal box from the bottom of my suitcase. Firstly, I took out a copy of a real est

Chapter 7

After the article and video were published, the public slowly changed their opinions.At first, some people were still skeptical. [It’s one-sided; who knows if that’s the truth?]But when the evidence was revealed, the comments changed. When the debt note that Lydia and Ben had signed and the six-year worth of bank transaction records were published, the public jumped to their feet. [Oh my God, they had borrowed so much money, and they didn’t even pay a single cent? On top of that, they still have the nerve to use her retirement fund?][My blood pressure rose when I saw that rigged raffle box! They were all ‘in-laws’!][The daughter was crying so pitifully during her livestream, and it turns out that she’s the one who didn’t spend the New Year’s with her own mother for ten years?]Lydia and Ben had not expected the people online to dox them and find out their work details. They were working in MNCs in the city. Ben was in the middle management, and he was paid fairly well.

Chapter 8

Gabby officially served court papers to Lydia and Ben on my behalf. She requested them to delete the untruthful video within three days, publicly apologize, and pay for the damages of my emotional distress. At first, they still tried to fight. They posted misleading explanations online. More evidence was quickly uncovered by people online. They uncovered their vacation photos in recent years, the new car, Lydia’s new branded bag…It was nothing like the massive financial distress they had claimed to be in. The public opinion had completely flipped. The people who once criticized me turned to criticize Lydia and Ben. Some even learned where they worked and reported their behaviors to their companies. Under immense pressure, Lydia finally called me using someone else’s phone. She sounded hoarse. “Mom… we were wrong. We were really wrong.“Please don’t sue us. Ben’s superior is already breathing down his neck. If this continues, he may lose his job…” I sounded ve

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