The day my mom was beaten up for being a mistress, I slammed the family crest into my dad’s face.

I had been studying abroad, and on my return flight, I came across a video.

The title read, [Richest Family’s Heirs Defend Their Mom and Beat Up Mistress.]

In the video, my mother was wearing coarse linen clothes while my brothers surrounded her. They were punching and kicking her.

They even tore her clothes and cussed her out as a shameless mistress.

Her eyes were teary as she desperately tried to explain. However, she was only met with mocking laughter.

A stranger in haute couture stood shielded behind them, and she sweetly said, “Alright, I know you’re doing this for me, but we don’t need to waste our time on ungrateful people.”

The surrounding guests showered her with birthday wishes and praised her for her graciousness.

“This is the grace befitting Mrs. Roth! Do some people really not own a mirror at home?”

“A mistress dares to call herself Mrs. Roth? Doesn’t she know the entire Roth family was built on her assets? Which part of her looks like a lady?”

Hearing them call her “Mrs. Roth,” I clenched my phone, and the screen reflected my icy expression.

I had only been away from home for three years.

How did I not know that I had acquired such a despicable “mother”?

The content of the video made my blood boil.

The moment I stepped off the plane, I immediately pulled out my phone to call my eldest brother, Gerard Roth.

Unfortunately, the line was busy.

I tried calling my second and third brothers next, but none of them answered.

Eventually, my fourth brother impatiently snapped at me on the other end.

“Beatrice Roth, what’s this about?! You’re acting like I owe you money! It’s Mom’s birthday today, and we’re busy! Stop bothering us!”

I scoffed and asked, “Which Mom?”

“Beatrice, did studying abroad turn you stupid? Who else could it be?!”

My fourth brother angrily told me to stop joking around and hung up right after.

Seeing his attitude, I began to be suspicious of the video. It could have been deliberately generated with AI to sow discord within our family.

Indeed, our mother in the video bore no resemblance to the one I remembered.

Everyone knew that every asset the Roth family owned came from my mother’s family.

My father was, to put it nicely, the Roth family’s chosen son-in-law. But to put it bluntly, he was a social climber.

Every honor and glory he earned was thanks to my mother, so he had always obeyed her every word.

So, how could I possibly tolerate my mother being humiliated like that in the video?

I took a deep breath and held back my anger. I was determined to look into what had happened at the banquet hall and discover the truth.

I hailed a cab and arrived at the entrance.

Right then, a girl got out of another car alongside me.

She glanced at me before standing right in front of me. Her expression dripped with contempt.

“You’re here for my mother’s birthday banquet too? Isn’t this place reserved exclusively for the Roth family? How can a random stray stroll in?”

She was wearing the season’s latest gown, and her neck was adorned with a pendant as big as a pigeon’s egg.

Seeing my plain short-sleeved shirt and long pants, disgust filled her eyes.

Thinking that I might be in the wrong place, I politely asked her, “Is the wealthiest family in Annfort, the Roth family, here?”

She tilted her head back and scoffed derisively.

“Since you already know, why are you here to cause trouble? Watch yourself. My dad could make your family disappear from Annfort overnight!”

I pulled out my phone and showed her a photo of my father.

“Who’s this?”

She looked at me like I was an idiot.

“My dad! Oh, I get it! You’re here hoping for a chance to be my dad’s mistress, huh?

“My dad loves my mom like his life depends on it. Save your breath! As for the last one who tried to climb the ladder, my mom could make her beg for mercy with just a glance!”

I immediately had my suspicions and played the video I had received.

The girl across from me burst into laughter.

“If you already know everything, why are you still trying your luck? How pathetic can you be?

“Since we’re the same age, let me give you some advice. That woman claimed to be my dad’s legitimate wife, but my brothers tossed her out into the wilderness.

“In the end, she crawled back with a broken leg and demanded that my dad return her daughter. Hilarious! Her looks make my dad want to vomit! How could he possibly have a child with her?!”

Hearing her words, I clenched my fists tightly.

So, while I was studying abroad for three years, these people had tormented my mother!

However, my brothers were all her biological children. Why would they side with outsiders to mistreat her?

My mother might be gentle, but they knew that she was quite vindictive.

Besides, our grandfather had long said that once I returned, I would be in charge of the Roth family!

How dare these people?!

I shoved the girl in front of me aside and ignored her shrieking as I charged into the banquet hall.

What I saw there was a sight I would never forget for the rest of my life.

My brothers were pinning my mother down in the banquet hall. Forced to kneel, she licked that unfamiliar woman’s shoes…

“Stop it!”

I lunged forward and kicked Gerard away.

He instinctively opened his mouth to curse at me, but the words died in his throat the moment he saw me.

However, the girl from earlier slapped me across the face.

“You pushed me and hit my brother? Do you really think those from the Roth family are pushovers?”

Gerard’s eyes instantly turned vicious after what she said.

“Tarni, did she just push you?”

“You wench! You’re just as vicious as your mother!” he cussed at me.

I stepped forward to argue, but my mom pulled me back from the floor.

“Beatrice, let’s leave.”

There was meekness, caution, and even fear written all over her face!

“Tarni Roth, you pushed me and thought you could just walk away? You truly act like the daughter of a mistress! You have no manners whatsoever!”

Immediately after, Tarni grabbed a nearby bottle of red wine and hurled it at us.

My mom tried to shield me, but I noticed the bruises and wounds all over her body. They were festering and covered in pus.

“Mom!”

Shards of glass cut her arm, and blood streamed down. Yet, she kept urging me to run.

I glared at Gerard and his three accomplices.

They instantly surrounded Tarni and looked at me defiantly.

“What’s your problem? You barged in here uninvited. We’re already being generous by not blaming you!

“Get out of here with your useless mother! She should consider herself lucky to have the honor of licking our shoes!”

My whole body went numb with rage when I heard their words!

“She’s your mother too!”

The entire crowd erupted in derisive laughter.

“Has this woman lost her mind? Mrs. Roth is standing right here!”

“Hilarious! First, her mom pretended to be Mrs. Roth. Now, she’s acting like she’s Miss Roth. Don’t these two have any shame?”

Tarni looked at me with haughty disdain.

“You poor thing. Did you never see your father growing up?

“No wonder. Your mother’s a woman of loose morals. She doesn’t even know who your father is. That’s why she’s barking at my father like a mad dog!”

The cold expressions on my brothers’ faces made it clear that they thought the same.

They then spoke in unison. “Get lost, you two! Don’t ruin our mother’s birthday banquet! Not just anyone can be Mrs. Roth!”

I laughed bitterly.

“Don’t you even recognize your own mother? Do you even remember who’s really in charge of the Roth family?”

“Of course it’s our dad, you lunatic!” Tarni sneered proudly.

That social climber?

I could not help but smirk in scorn.

He was an outsider who had been barred from the ancestral hall. He had never even seen the family sigil!

“Felix Roth?” I could not help but snort coldly.

“Everyone in the industry knows he’s just a son-in-law who married into the Roth family. How could he possibly have a say in the Roth family?”

My words sent Tarni into a rage.

Clearly, others at the banquet understood this too.

“Exactly. Since Mrs. Roth dislikes managing the business, Mr. Roth changed his last name from Woods to Roth by marrying into the family. Even if he has some say now, he can’t possibly control the entire Roth family!”

Just then, the woman who had gone to change her shoes reappeared in the banquet hall.

“I’ve entrusted all of the Roth family’s affairs to my husband. This is a family matter. An outsider like you naturally wouldn’t understand.”

“How can you prove you’re Mrs. Roth?”

When she heard me say this, the woman laughed out loud.

“Do I really need to prove it?”

“My sons are right here. Over the years, I’ve been by my husband’s side while we negotiate business deals.”

The surrounding guests immediately backed up her claim.

“Whenever Mr. Roth discussed business, Mrs. Roth would always be present. Your mother, on the other hand, looks timid and hesitant. She doesn’t even look like a wealthy matriarch!”

“How could the heirs of the Roth family not know their own mother? How ridiculous!”

Everyone seemed to be so sure that it made my blood run cold.

I immediately pulled out my phone and prepared to call my dad.

However, Gerard swatted it out of my hand.

The screen shattered instantly.

“What are you doing? Trying to call the police?

“You and your mother are the ones being unreasonable!”

Sweat beaded on their foreheads from guilt.

Had they secretly found our dad a new wife behind my back?

My mom’s entire body trembled as she instinctively knelt to apologize to that impostor.

“I’m sorry. I’ve found my daughter now, so we’ll leave.”

Leave?

I would never leave!

They had humiliated my mom in front of everyone. Who knew how much worse it had been behind closed doors?!

I picked up my shattered phone and asked the woman across from me again, “Are you sure you’re Felix Roth’s wife?”

She sneered. “Of course!”

Unfortunately, my phone could only handle voice calls at this point. Otherwise, I would have given my dad a video call.

The call connected, and a familiar voice rang out.

“Beatrice, are you studying hard? Why are you calling me?”

Tarni’s eyes widened instantly when she heard the voice.

Anyone there who knew my dad could recognize his voice.

I let out a cold laugh.

“Dad, how many daughters and wives do you actually have?”

In response, he sternly told me to stop messing around.

“Of course you’re my only daughter! Who’s been spouting nonsense to you?”

Just as I was about to tell him about the banquet hall incident, Tarni’s mother got someone to snatch my phone away.

Then, she crushed my phone with her high heels as she smirked in contempt.

“You actually hired someone to impersonate my husband? Only their voices sound alike. Did you really think anyone would be fooled?”

The guests, who had wavered moments ago, scrutinized me again after her explanation.

Seeing me and my mother looking so disheveled, they smiled mockingly.

However, my four brothers paled visibly and yelled at me, “Beatrice, your mother is nothing but a maid in the Roth family! If you’re having delusions, keep them to yourself! Don’t come to Mom’s birthday banquet looking for trouble! Get out!”

They seemed so anxious, which made me grow even more suspicious.

Were they trying to dote on Tarni as their sister and lie to our dad?

Just then, Mr. Jones came in pushing the cake. He was the villa’s elderly butler, and my eyes lit up at the sight of him.

Yet, my mom tugged at my sleeve as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Beatrice, let’s go. We have to leave now!”