I was abandoned just five days after I was born.

For some reason, my biological mother dumped me outside the headquarters of the Bloods.

A group of dangerous-looking men stared down at me and frowned.

“Should we raise her?”

And just like that, I gained ninety-nine dads.

At home, I was their little princess. However, to avoid causing trouble for them, I spent over ten years living like an ordinary girl.

Until I became the target of school bullying in high school.

A rich girl cornered me in the bathroom with her followers, dumping cold water on me, tearing my clothes, and shoving a phone in my face while recording.

“What are you staring at? You’re just some scholarship charity case. Does a loser like you actually think you can get into college?”

However, they pushed me too far.

Screaming, I grabbed the rich girl and dragged her with me off the third floor.

When I woke up, Ms. Jones, the teacher in charge of the infirmary, was pointing at me and screaming.

“So because she hit you, you tried to kill her?! Instead of reflecting on yourself after people insult you, you planned revenge?!

“Call your parents! I want to see what kind of people raised you! If nobody comes today, you’re finished!”

My entire body instantly went cold.

Then I looked up nervously and asked, “Ms. Jones, are you sure you want me to call my dad?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, a sharp slap echoed through the room.

“You sure? Because I’m sure as hell I am!

“You little brat! You dared touch my daughter? Get your parents over here right now to apologize!”

Macy’s father, Daniel Fuller, raised his hand and slapped me across the face. His eyes were filled with vicious fury.

Instantly, I fell to the floor. Half my face burned with pain.

Ms. Jones, however, acted like she saw nothing at all. She immediately scrambled to appease Daniel with a flattering smile.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Fuller. The school will handle this seriously. We won’t tolerate this kind of behavior!”

Then she turned around and started yelling at me.

“Ariel! Look at what you’ve done to Macy! Hurry up and call your parents to pay her medical expenses!”

I lowered my head as my nails dug deeply into my palms.

The taste of blood spread through my mouth.

“No, it was Macy. She was the one who got people to corner me in the bathroom. They poured cold water on me and tore my clothes. I only…”

However, before I could finish speaking, Macy weakly started crying on the hospital bed.

“Dad! She’s lying! I was just passing by when Ariel suddenly went crazy and pushed me down the stairs! She’s just jealous that our family is rich. She’s hated me for a long time because she’s poor!”

“That’s clearly—” I immediately tried to argue.

Ms. Jones didn’t give me any chance to speak, though.

“Be quiet, Ariel! The facts are already clear. You deliberately injured another student!”

She dragged me straight out of the medical room.

Then she roughly pulled out my phone and smacked it against my face.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses! Call your parents right now, tell them to get over here, and pay!”

At once, all kinds of teachers and students in the hallway turned to look at me, their eyes filled with curiosity and gloating.

However, as I held the cold phone and looked at the crowded contact list, I still didn’t dare make the call.

After all, I had ninety-nine dads.

Dad Number One was a mob boss.

Dad Number Three smuggled weapons.

Dad Number Fifteen ran illegal loan operations.

And Dad Number Seventy-Eight owned underground casinos…

Even though they always loved giving me black cards, patting my head, and saying, “Ariel, behave. But if something happens, you call us immediately. Whoever dares touch even one finger of yours, I’ll make their whole family disappear from this earth.”

“That’s right! Whoever dares make you suffer, I’ll chop them apart myself!”

However, every single one of them was South City’s most wanted criminal.

A shiver instantly ran through my whole body.

I recalled how they were always leaving early and coming home late, their bodies covered in bloody knife scars, shouting about running into cops again today.

Thinking of how the news constantly showed criminals being arrested and thrown into prison, I couldn’t drag them into this.

When I looked up again, I tried one last time to plead.

“Ms. Jones, my dad… is all working out of town. He’s far away and can’t come.

“Can’t I just… write an apology letter? I’ll apologize and even accept disciplinary punishment. Just please don’t call them, okay?”

However, Ms. Jones only let out a mocking laugh.

“Working out of town? No wonder they raised a shameless child like you. And they can’t even come?”

“Nope!”

“Macy’s medical fees and emotional damages cost a lot of money. Can a little kid like you even afford that? Hurry up and make the call already. Stop dragging this out!”

Her face was full of contempt as she looked at me.

“How much is it? I can—” I was just about to say I could pay for it myself. After all, I still hadn’t touched the black cards my dads had given me.

That was when Daniel suddenly walked out and tossed a bank card directly to Ms. Jones.

“Ms. Jones, there’s five hundred thousand dollars in this card. Consider it a donation to the school.

“My request is simple. Get her parents here immediately to compensate us and admit guilt.

“Otherwise, I’ll call the police and charge her with intentional assault! Once she has a record, she can forget about getting into college for the rest of her life!”

The moment she saw the bank card, Ms. Jones’ eyes lit up instantly. She turned to me, her tone becoming even harsher.

“Ariel, did you hear that? This is your last chance!

“Either call your working-class parents here right now to apologize and pay up…

“Or you’ll end up with a criminal record and never get into college for the rest of your life!”

A criminal record…

Those two words stabbed straight into my brain like needles.

I couldn’t have a criminal record. If I went to jail, I wouldn’t be able to take my exams.

I still wanted to get into college, make money, and take care of my dads when they got old.

Looking at that bank card, then at Ms. Jones’ ugly, greedy face, tears instantly rushed out of my eyes.

With trembling fingers, I finally turned on my phone screen.

“Ms. Jones, please don’t call the police. I’ll… I’ll call my parents.”

…

My shaking hand tapped the very top contact named “James” in my phone.

Even though he was a mob boss, he was still the most normal out of all my dads.

I could only hope he could pretend to be an ordinary person and help me get through this.

“Beep… beep…”

The call was answered almost instantly.

James’ gentle voice came through the phone with a smile. “Ariel?”

“Dad…” I pressed my lips together before speaking. “The teacher wants you to come to school. I…”

“Come to school?” He instantly sounded excited. “Oh wow, did my girl win another award? This is the first time you’ve asked me to come and accept a certificate for you. Wait for me, I’m heading there right now!”

“No…”

My chest tightened painfully as I tried to say that wasn’t it when, suddenly, a clear gunshot rang out from the other side of the phone.

Right after that came the scream of a strange man, followed by several heavy thuds.

I froze instantly.

Then I vaguely heard a quiet voice say, “Clean it up.”

Childhood memories rushed into my mind at once.

Every time James came home, there would be blood on him, but he always lied and said it was spilled ketchup.

His breathing sounded a little uneven, but when he spoke to me again, his voice was still gentle.

“No what, sweetheart?”

The moment I thought about whether he was doing something dangerous right now and if he was hurt, my heart immediately started pounding wildly.

The words at the tip of my tongue forcibly changed into, “N… nothing. I can collect the certificate myself. You sound busy. I’m hanging up.”

“Hey! I haven’t talked to him yet! Why’d you hang up?!”

Ms. Jones shouted and reached for my phone.

Instinctively, I dodged to the side and quickly ended the call.

The next second, “Smack!”

Another hard slap landed across my face.

Ms. Jones’ face twisted with anger. “You caused such a huge mess and still want to hide this from your parents?!”

Daniel suddenly slammed a hand against the wall and pointed at my nose while yelling, “Don’t think you’re safe just because you’re hiding it from the adults!

“I run Hawkins! I’ve got connections at the police department, too! You dared touch my daughter? Your whole working-class family could disappear in minutes if I wanted!”

Macy limped out as well and sneered at me.

“You’re so pathetic, not even daring to call your parents. What, is your family so poor that they can’t even afford food? Then where’d you get the guts to push me? Ridiculous!”

I lowered my head, my voice so quiet that it was almost a whisper.

“My dad really can’t come… I’m sorry, Macy. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have pushed you.

“I can kneel and apologize in front of the whole school. I’ll even be your servant for a year. Or you can hit me back. Just don’t call the police, okay? I don’t want to get expelled…”

Macy let out a mocking laugh, but Daniel roared and reached for my phone again.

“You think you’re in a position to negotiate?!

“Give me your parents’ number. I’ll talk to them myself!”

Ms. Jones immediately joined in. “Ariel, give your phone to Mr. Fuller! Stop being stubborn and show some good problem-solving attitude!”

Daniel charged forward to snatch the phone, while I desperately protected it and kept backing away.

In the end, I stumbled and dropped to the floor.

My knees slammed against the cold tiles, and the pain made tears stream down my face.

However, I still kept begging.

“Please don’t contact my dad. Macy, please. I’ll do everything I said before. I’ll apologize, make up for it, let you hit me back, anything. Just don’t call my parents, okay?!”

Only after my knee was bleeding did a satisfied look finally appear on Macy’s face.

She stopped her dad and deliberately raised her voice.

“Fine. But just apologizing publicly isn’t enough. Tomorrow, you’re going to kneel and apologize to me a hundred times. You’ll keep doing it until I’m satisfied. Then I won’t call the police.”

“Okay.”

Clenching my fists tightly, I agreed to every single condition she gave me.

My chest felt like it was bleeding from humiliation, but at the same time, I felt it was worth it.

As long as my dads weren’t dragged into this.

That night, I returned exhausted to the small apartment Dad number two, Michael, rented for me.

Wearing a baseball cap pulled low over my face, I saw three men busy cooking in the kitchen.

They were Dad Number Sixty-Six, Robert, Dad Number Seventy-Nine, David, and Dad Number Ninety-Three, Thomas.

The moment they saw me come home, they immediately gathered around happily.

“Ariel’s home!”

At the dinner table, Robert grinned and pinched my cheek.

“Ariel, I heard your school’s giving you an award? Why didn’t you let me go with you? Going by turns, it should’ve been my turn already, right?”

David skillfully massaged my shoulders while arguing back, “The hell it should. It’s my turn!”

Thomas pushed a bowl of soup in front of me.

“Drink up. It’s good for your brain. Get yourself into a good college.”

My nose suddenly stung, and I nearly burst into tears.

However, I forced a smile and explained, “It’s just a small certificate. No need to trouble yourselves. Next time, if it’s a big award, I’ll call you guys.”

“Fine, fine, we’ll stop arguing. Eat first, sweetheart.”

The three of them excitedly served me food.

But while we were eating, Robert’s expression suddenly changed. He stood up and answered a phone call.

I could vaguely hear a few phrases from where I sat.

“That shipment… got targeted again… jumped into the river himself… Damn it, making money’s getting harder and harder…”