3: 3

3

Called out in front of everyone, Kirsten couldn't keep the smile on her face. She let out a scornful little snort.

"What is wrong with you? Can't you tell when someone's trying to help you?"

"Everything I've said, I've said for your own good."

"Look at your age. Throwing a tantrum like some little girl?"

I smiled.

"Then keep all that good for yourself."

"You—"

Kirsten choked, pointing at me, unable to get out another word.

Tracey's face went a livid green.

"Listen, old woman. I'll ask you one last time. Are you signing this or not?"

"And I'll tell you one last time. I'm not signing."

My voice was firmer than it had ever been.

Tracey laughed, one cold laugh after another.

"Good. Good, good, very good."

"Ivan, you heard her. Your own mother said it herself. So don't blame me for what comes next."

Ivan's brow knotted tight.

"Mom, does it have to be like this? What good does it do you, dragging this out and making everyone look bad?"

When I said nothing, something vicious flickered in his eyes.

"Fine. You won't sign?"

"You won't sign, then don't blame me for not treating you like my mother anymore!"

And then Ivan actually reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a disownment letter.

Looking at those three words, disownment letter, I felt my pupils tighten, twice, hard.

I hadn't expected it.

Ivan and Tracey had come this prepared. They'd even had the disownment letter ready in advance.

So it turned out that in the face of selfishness, a mother's love wasn't worth a thing.

For a woman he'd known less than two years, my son was ready, without a moment's hesitation, to throw away the mother who had raised him for twenty.

Looking at my face, drained nearly white of any color, a flicker of reluctance passed through his eyes.

"Mom, you forced this on me. You've only got yourself to blame for not knowing when to bend."

"We gave you chance after chance. You're the one who didn't value them."

"Sign it, and after this you don't have a son in me, and I won't care whether you live or die!"

Disappointment swept over me all at once, like a rising tide.

The last thread of warmth I felt for Ivan turned to ash.

When I lifted my head again, my eyes were cold as ice.

"Fine. Have it your way."

I picked up the pen and signed my name, pressing hard.

I handed the signed disownment letter back to Ivan, straightened my spine, and turned around.

I didn't spare them another glance. Step by step, I walked toward the door.

The whole room went dead silent.

Everyone was stunned by what I'd just done.

Ivan most of all.

He never seemed to imagine I would agree so cleanly.

He'd always believed he could use family to keep me in line.

After all, I only had this one son.

All my life, for the sake of so-called family, I'd given in more than once.

But this time, he was bound to be disappointed.

"Ivan, your mother's really leaving!"

As I got closer and closer to the door, someone in the crowd called out.

But Ivan only snorted, not the least bit concerned.

"Let her leave! Who's she trying to scare?"

"Without me for a son, she won't have a place to land. Just watch. In three days she'll come back and beg me on her own."

4: 4

4

Once, hearing Ivan say something like that would have gutted me.

I'd have been heartbroken, twisted up inside.

But now, when he finished, there wasn't so much as a ripple in me.

Even my steps felt lighter as I walked.

The first thing I did once I was out the hotel doors was call the bank's customer line and freeze my paycheck card.

I'd emptied every bit of my savings for this wedding.

If Ivan and Tracey wanted to cut ties with me, then they could pay for the reception themselves.

A black Rolls-Royce with consecutive premium plates was parked at the curb.

The door opened, and a poised young man held an umbrella himself and respectfully invited me in.

"Miss Farley, welcome home!"

"The chairman has waited thirty years for you."

If anyone had been there, they would have gasped out loud.

Because the man was none other than the personal assistant to Nicholas Farley, president of the Farley Group, the richest family in New York.

Ivan and Tracey had no idea.

I was the Farleys' eldest daughter, lost to the world for thirty years. Wanda Farley.

Only three days ago, the Farleys had found me.

I'd meant to tell Ivan and Tracey the good news once the wedding was over.

Instead, before the wedding was even over, I'd been driven out of the venue like a stray dog.

The car turned into Hillcrest Estates and finally stopped before a sprawling European-style manor.

"Wanda… my daughter…"

The moment my father saw me, the man who had once commanded the business world couldn't hold back his tears.

"Dad…"

My own eyes went hot. I walked quickly to him and held him tight.

He stroked the top of my head, his voice choked:

"You're home now. You're home."

In that moment I felt a warmth I hadn't known in a long time.

To make it up to me,

my father transferred the Farley Group, worth tens of billions, into my name.

The manor we were standing in was signed over to me too.

On top of that, he gave me ten storefronts in the best locations in the city.

"I've already heard about the wedding…"

He looked at me, his eyes full of ache for me.

"Don't you worry. From this day on, the Farleys are the ground under your feet. Anyone who dares make you suffer even a little, I'll bury his whole family with him!"

I held my father's hand, about to tell him it was all right.

Just then the phone rang.

It was Ivan.

The moment I picked up, his furious voice came through:

"Mom, you froze the paycheck card?"

"Yes, I froze it."

I nodded and admitted it plainly.

And then, as if something had set him off, Ivan's voice shot up.

He was so worked up it cracked:

"What gives you the right to freeze the card?"

"Do you have any idea how humiliating it was when the hotel asked me to settle the balance on the reception and my card kept getting declined?"

I gave a cold laugh:

"The right? It's my paycheck card. That's the right."

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. I didn't just freeze the card. I sold your wedding house too."