“We want Auntie to be our mom. She’s nicer than you, and she treats us way better!”

“Yeah, if Leanne can’t have kids, she’d treat yours like her own.”

I looked at the people in front of me, tears filling my eyes. They were all my family, yet they were all hurting me.

I let out a bitter laugh. I said, “You want me to divorce him? Fine. But I want half of Harlan's assets. If I don’t get my share, forget about me signing the papers.”

If my family was rotten, I didn’t want any of them anymore. I’d just take what I deserved.

“Harlan, don’t forget, I was the one who stuck by you when you were trying to get back on your feet. I was the one who hustled to bring in the business, going to supplier after supplier, comparing prices, and making those deals happen. Half of everything you have, I’m entitled to it.”

He stood there, head down, saying nothing for a long time. Finally, he muttered, “But you know I’m in the middle of a big deal with Mr. Winchell. If I give you half of everything I have, I can’t come up with that much right now. You rebuilt Hannergy Technologies with me—can you really stand to see it get bankrupt again?”

My expression hardened. “Oh, so you can’t bear to let the company fall, but you can bear to cheat on me with my step-sister, huh? You know this company’s success is partly because of my hard work, so don’t even think about keeping it all. Either give me half or don’t even think about divorcing you. Besides, Hannergy Technologies is doing great now. What do you think will happen when the media finds out you dumped your wife for her younger sister? You think the public will still trust you?”

“You know I can’t give you that much right now! You’re doing this on purpose! You want Hannergy Technologies to go bankrupt again!” he snapped, completely losing his cool.

“Leanna, how about this?” My father stepped in, trying to smooth things over and calm me down. “I know you’re hurt and can’t accept what’s going on. I’ll give you a villa and a million dollars, so you can get some rest.”

“You’re so selfish! How can you watch Dad go bankrupt? Can’t you just leave quietly? If you do, maybe I’ll still call you ‘Mom.’ But if you don’t, don’t even think about Winnie and I calling you that,” my son yelled.

“Yeah, Mom, Willie’s right! You love money more than us, don’t you? Just take Grandpa’s offer! If you don’t, we won’t forgive you!” his sister chimed in.

I looked at them—my kids, the ones I nearly died giving birth to. Their words stabbed me in the heart, and before I knew it, tears had spilled down my cheeks. God, the pain was unbearable.

“Fine. I don’t need either of you. I just want what’s mine.”

In the end, the Barrymores covered part of the settlement. I signed the divorce papers, took my share, and walked away without looking back.

I moved to Australia and decided to adopt a child.

The orphanage director eagerly introduced me to all the kids, but my eyes landed on a gloomy-eyed boy in the corner.

He sat there, his small body curled up in the corner as if he didn’t belong to the world around him.

Noticing me looking at the boy, the director explained quietly, “That boy’s had it rough. His parents had a poor relationship, and his father would abuse both him and his mother. One day, he watched his mother get beaten to death. When he was brought here, he didn’t speak at all—he was withdrawn and isolated.”

I flipped through his file and found out that he was exceptionally intelligent, with an IQ over 170, and had a photographic memory.

He didn’t like to talk, often lost in his own world, preferring to read by himself for over 10 hours a day. But he was emotionally shut off, cold even, unable to connect with others. His traumatic childhood must've stripped him of any feeling.

Gently, I took his hand and asked, “Do you want to come with me? I want to be your mom.”

His lifeless eyes suddenly brightened up a little, and he nodded.

With his slightly hoarse voice, he asked, “Can you take my two friends too? They’re both girls, and they’re really good.”

I ended up taking in Duncan Chadbourne and his two friends Matilda Tychson and Minerva Gottlieb.

Each of them had something special about them, and I put everything I had into helping them grow. I stayed by their side every step of the way.

Duncan had this crazy talent for business from the start. At just 12, he was already making money selling homemade holiday chocolates to his classmates. Then he taught himself how to code, created a computer game, and sold it online.

He just had this instinct for spotting what the market wanted. By the time he was 15, he had landed a million-dollar investment and was working with college grads on game development. As his experience grew and the market expanded, his business empire slowly spread into various fields—luxury sports car finance, fintech, internet services, AI—you name it.

His empire kept expanding, and eventually, he became the richest man in the world.

Matilda was a lot like him—calm and composed—but she was more into research, particularly in the field of groundbreaking technology development.

With Duncan’s investment, she founded Frontier Technological Research Institute, focusing on advancing research in areas such as communication technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence chips, and other fields.

The institute had been specializing in providing core technical support for Duncan’s company. Together, the siblings’ combined efforts had made their business empire technologically far ahead of their competitors.

Minerva, on the other hand, was lively and kind. She believed in the power of education and worked her way up until she became the principal of a prestigious academy.

This academy not only catered to students from elite families but even had the president’s son enrolled.

Over the years, I gave my all to raising my three adopted kids, and having them around made my life a lot less lonely.

But as my 50th birthday approached, I decided it was time to go back to the U.S. to pay a visit. The kids were acting all mysterious, dropping hints about some big surprise they had planned for me.

At the party, Leanne stood by the entrance, wearing a peacock-green dress that showed off her curves and fair skin. She linked arms with Harlan as they greeted the guests.

“Leanna! You’re here!” she said with a big smile, rushing over to me and taking my arm. Before I could react, she grabbed my arm and led me to where the media was waiting, striking a perfect graceful pose.

“I know there’ve been some rumors going around, but they’re all nonsense. My sister and I have a great relationship. I would never interfere in her marriage or be some kind of homewrecker. These lies have really hurt me. I hope our friends in the media can help clear things up.”

Before she finished speaking, her eyes brimmed with tears, and a mixture of sorrow and strength appeared on her face.

“Miss Barrymore,” a reporter called out, “is it true that your sister interfered in your marriage before? Rumor has it you were forced to leave 20 years ago. What do you say to that?”

Before I could answer, my father jumped in.

“Leanna, you’re finally back!” he said, coming over with my stepmother. In front of the cameras, they pretended to hug me and even had tears glistening in their eyes.

“Everyone, I haven’t seen my daughter Leanna in 20 years. I’m sorry, I got so emotional. At my age, all I want is for my kids to stay close. That’s enough for me,” he said, dabbing at his teary eyes with a handkerchief.

“Miss Barrymore, why haven’t you visited your father in 20 years? Is that any way for a daughter to act?” another reporter asked.

“And what about your son? He’s taken over the family business, and the company is about to go public while your daughter’s studying for her Ph.D. in New Zealand. In all these 20 years, your children have missed a mother’s love. Why did you leave your son and daughter behind and leave the U.S.?”