I was shaking with anger. It was so bad that I had to ask the nurse for a shot of painkiller, then went straight to the press conference.

Samson and Jessica looked like they had seen a ghost. After all, in their eyes, I was supposed to be curling up in the morgue, crying over my child's corpse.

My tone dripped with sarcasm. "What a pair of star-crossed lovers, Mr. Samson Foster and Ms. Jessica Foster."

I put extra emphasis on the word "Foster."

Reporters surged forward, eager for a headline. Dozens of cameras zeroed in on Jessica's pale face as I dropped the bomb.

"If you love her so much, Samson, why not share with the audience that Jessica's your biological cousin?"

Everyone in the room was immediately dumbfounded.

Camera flashes went off nonstop. Even people who had been cheering them on in the livestream suddenly fell silent.

I smiled. "The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. After Samson's father died, three illegitimate children appeared out of nowhere. Now, you've outdone him by having an affair with your own cousin."

Jessica couldn't stand the stares anymore. She broke down in tears, hiding behind Samson.

I snatched the host's microphone and roared at the top of my lungs. "Now you know what being shamed feels like? Weren't you having a good time taking the role of both cousin and mistress at the same time? How dare you prance around like you've done nothing wrong when you knowingly became a homewrecker!"

Samson shot me a vicious glare.

"If you insist on making a scene, then I'll make everything clear right now. Kelda Shaw and I were only forced together by our families' arrangement. Jessica Foster and I are cousins in name only. We don't have any blood relation. Aren't you worried that this will come back to haunt you by forcing us apart?"

Ha!

Once divorce is on the table, people who loved each other would show their true colors. No lie was too difficult to make.

I took a step closer, locking eyes with Samson.

"Forced together? When your father went to prison and every business partner pulled out, who gave you the money and support to get back on your feet? The Shaw family. Why didn't you refuse us? When you used your connection to the Shaw family at business banquets to network and rebuild your reputation, why didn't you ever say you were being forced?"

Samson had no words as his expression was extremely sour.

But I wasn't finished.

Suddenly, the big screen lit up with a video of him on his knees, sobbing after he was caught cheating, begging me not to divorce him.

The entire room erupted.

More and more reporters rushed in, cameras flashing.

#Breaking news! Foster Group's CEO in an illicit affair!

Public opinion flipped. Suddenly, I was the victim everyone sympathized with.

Samson and Jessica became pariahs. They pulled their coats over their heads, desperately trying to get their assistants to shield them as they fought their way out.

The Foster family's bodyguards were scrambling to snatch and smash the cameras.

I called my assistant.

"Buy up the trending topics for the entire year. I want everyone in the country to recognize those two. Yes, even a stray dog!"

No sooner had I finished speaking than Marie appeared, blocking me in the parking lot with several others.

She waved her hand.

Someone quickly brought over a large case, and with a click, the lid popped open.

The dim parking lot was suddenly flooded with blinding, golden light.

She smiled at me and tried to apologize.

"Alright, Kelda. I'm not going to play any games with you. Five hundred kilos worth of gold should be enough to calm you down, right? This was all Jessica's fault… That witch must have seduced Samson! Don't worry, I'll make sure she'll never show her face in front of you again."

I fiddled with the ivory bangle on my wrist, my smile growing more and more pleasant as I said to Marie, "Back then, wasn't it Samson's father who fooled you like a child, until you grudgingly agreed to accept those three illegitimate children?"

The smile vanished from Marie's face. When she saw I was about to leave, she suddenly dropped to her knees right in front of me and clung to my legs, refusing to let go.

"I'm begging you! You can't have children anymore, anyway. If you keep this boy by your side, at least you'll get to experience being a mother!"

But Marie wasn't really begging me. For all those socialites at the top, reputation was everything. No matter how rotten things got behind closed doors, they always kept up the most basic of appearances. If this scandal didn't subside, Marie wouldn't even be able to get a seat at the table in our circle.

Besides, even if the Fosters had the best legal team in the business, the Shaw family wasn't exactly a pushover either.

There was no way this divorce would come cheaply. They would have to pay, and she was looking for an amount far more than just five hundred kilos of gold.

I didn't want to waste another second. I was ready to leave.

Suddenly, someone shoved me hard. My lower back slammed into the corner of the wall so badly I couldn't get up for a while.

Samson stood over me, glaring down with a face full of resentment and rage. "You made my mom kneel, Kelda? You've got some nerve!"

After that, Samson only got bolder.

The Fosters didn't just plan a grand party for the baby in a month. They started bragging about transferring the entire Foster Group to that illegitimate child.

Did they really think I was done with them?

I was just about to send someone to crash their party when my assistant called, stammering that my mom had been kidnapped and forced into a car.

Thinking back to what happened in the parking lot, my heart sank. I marched straight to the Fosters' celebration, but security stopped me at the entrance.

"Mr. Foster said the mistress isn't allowed in. They don't want to ruin the mood."

Unbelievable.

I clenched my teeth and forced the words out, "Tell Samson Foster to come out here, or I'll…"

"Or you'll do what?"

Suddenly, a bucket of slop was dumped all over me. The smell was so strong I nearly threw up.

Samson strolled out, looking disgusted. He waved his hand in front of his nose. "This was prepared just for you. To clean you up a little."

I clenched my fists and glared at him. "If you lay even a finger on my mom, I'll make sure the entire Foster family pays!"

Samson crossed his arms, laughing with the others, looking at me like I was nothing.

"You think the Shaw family is what it used to be? You're just a stray living off me, yet you dare to bare your fangs at me?"

No wonder he was emboldened to flaunt his affair with Jessica.

In recent years, the Shaw family had shifted from traditional industries into finance and kept a low profile. Most people thought we had lost our power.

But no one realized our assets had actually grown thirtyfold.

Even the investors scrambling to curry favor with Samson were only there because the Shaw family secretly handed the Fosters the best high-return projects, attracting a crowd of clueless opportunists.

I used to hide this to protect his ego.

Now, it had only given him the confidence to treat me however he liked.

"Let my mother go," I said coldly, "or I'll bankrupt the Foster Group today."

Samson swirled his wine in his glass and walked over, his eyes turning icy. He slapped me hard across the face. "Who are you trying to fool? You made my mom kneel. You should have known there'd be consequences."

A group of bodyguards forced me to my knees, holding my shoulders in the most humiliating position possible.

Samson shoved his phone in my face, a cruel, gloating smile on his lips. The moment I saw the screen, every drop of blood in my body seemed to freeze.

My mother, who had loved me more than anything, was tied to a wooden frame, while several bulky men raised iron rods and smashed them down onto her legs. Her painful screams echoed through the abandoned warehouse. They ignored her desperate pleas. Then, those disgusting men moved in to tear off her clothes.

Samson waved his phone, smiling as if it were nothing. "What now? Still want to act tough?"

He poured a glass of red wine over his shoes. "Either lick it clean, or I'll let everyone watch your mother and those men live on camera."

A wave of mocking laughter broke out as people started to sneer.

"Come on, lick it!" Samson said.

Rage blazed in my chest, threatening to make me explode from the inside out.

It was all my fault!

I had treated him too well, so much so that he had forgotten that the Fosters were just a pack of strays I had once rescued.

When I finally bowed my head in disgrace, a shout suddenly rang out nearby.

"Ms. Shaw! We found your mother!"

The crushing weight on my chest vanished in an instant.

I stared coldly at Samson's stunned and panicked face, and uttered each word clearly, "I want the Foster family wiped off the map in this city in three days."