I'm a privileged only child hailing from the wealthy coastal region. In fact, my family has just received three brand-new apartments from the government after they've bought up our old property for redevelopment.

On Christmas Eve, my cousin, Patrick Snyder, brings his girlfriend, Kelsey Randall, back for dinner. She stares at me for a while before gasping in shock.

"Hang on, you look really familiar! You must be 69goddess, right? I saw your videos on a porn site before! You really have an amazing figure!"

The atmosphere at the dining table goes eerily silent at that moment. My relatives all shoot me disgusted looks simultaneously.

Dad is so pissed that he tosses his newly-shelled crab away. Meanwhile, Mom can barely catch her breath after hearing the news.

Patrick shields Kelsey from me while looking disdainful.

"You bring nothing but shame to the family, Jillian! Don't go around telling others that you know me from now on!"

I wipe my hands with a napkin slowly. Then, I shoot a wide smile at the pretentious Kelsey.

"Have you forgotten that I'm the one performed the gender-affirming surgery on you, Kelsey?"

"By the way, take it easy with those breast implants too—they can burst, you know."

The moment the words left my mouth, the noisy living room fell dead silent.

The air froze, and everyone's gaze darted back and forth between me and Kelsey Randall, my cousin's so-called refined and well-mannered girlfriend.

My dad, Myron Snyder, was stunned too. His mouth hung wide open, a crab claw poised motionless in midair.

Every last trace of color drained from Kelsey's face.

She instinctively shielded her chest with her hands, a flash of panic shooting through those surgically widened eyes.

That gesture was as good as a confession.

The next second, her tears burst forth like a floodgate thrown wide open.

I had to admit, her ten-thousand-dollar double eyelid surgery wasn't wasted. When she cried, she really did look devastatingly beautiful, the kind that could melt anyone's heart.

"Jillian, I don't know why you don't like me. Is it because I come from a humble background, so you think I'm not good enough for Patrick?"

Crying so hard that her voice trembled, Kelsey shook like a leaf in the wind.

"But how could you make up such vicious lies just to humiliate me?"

She buried herself in Patrick's arms as she wept, looking as though she had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.

"How could you accuse a pure and innocent woman like me of being transgender? How am I supposed to hold my head up after this?"

She'd played the victim card with masterful finesse.

My cousin, Patrick Snyder, had been a bit dazed. My words had carried so much information that his brain hadn't fully processed it yet.

But the moment he saw the weeping beauty in his arms, gasping as if she were about to die, whatever reason he had was completely squeezed out by those few pounds of silicone.

Then, it hit him that I had not only humiliated Kelsey but also insinuated that he was into dudes. A surge of blind rage shot straight to his head.

Patrick slammed his hand on the table with a bang, sending the plates and cutlery clattering noisily.

He jabbed a finger at my face and bellowed, "Jillian Snyder, do you have a screw loose or something? You have no decency yourself—you posted those trashy videos online, and when Kelsey recognized you, you turned around and attacked her instead?"

"And you even accused her of changing her gender? What is this, some stupid novel you're writing? I've been with Kelsey—you think I don't know if she's a woman? Who do you think you are to spout this crap?"

As soon as Patrick said that, the relatives who had been half-skeptical immediately found their anchor.

It made sense, though. In a big, traditional family like mine, admitting that a relative made adult videos was still a lot easier to swallow than admitting their nephew had brought home a transsexual.

After all, the former was a moral failing, whereas the latter would be a complete collapse of their understanding of reality.

"Patrick's right! Jillian, you can't just go around spouting nonsense like that!"

My eldest aunt, Anita Snyder, cracked a walnut and rolled her eyes.

"Young ladies these days—they'll stoop to anything. You got called out and now you're the one pointing fingers? Where are your manners? I thought that woman in the video looked like you the moment I saw it. Especially that mole—it's in the exact same spot."

My second eldest uncle's wife, Rita Britton, quickly said to my cousin, Mary Snyder, "You'd better stay far away from Jillian. Don't let her be a bad influence on you."

She was essentially adding fuel to the fire.

"Jillian's just jealous, if you ask me!" My third eldest uncle's wife, Grace Nolan, pursed her lips and looked Kelsey up and down, taking in all her designer labels.

"Kelsey is gorgeous, and she studied abroad. Of course Jilly feels threatened. She puts that trashy content out there, so it's no wonder she turns green at the sight of a real class act."

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my wonderful relatives.

Even though I was a board-certified plastic surgeon who graduated from a top medical school with an annual salary in the seven figures, they made it seem like I was still beneath some shady, pathological liar of a "girlfriend who studied abroad".

To put it bluntly, they were either stupid or malicious.

My family just got three apartments and a hefty sum of money from the government after they bought up our old property for redevelopment.

Meanwhile, Patrick's family had nothing but a mountain of gambling debts.

Dad was trembling with rage, the crab claw he'd been holding finally dropping to the floor.

"Nonsense! You're all spouting nonsense!"

My dad, an honest man who had never clashed with anyone in his entire life, was now fighting for me.

"Jillian is a legitimate doctor! She's busy with surgeries every day, so how could she possibly make videos like that? One more word of this nonsense and all of you can get out!"

"Hey now, Myron, don't be so quick to kick us out." Aunt Anita laughed sarcastically and continued, "Where there's smoke, there's fire. It's Kelsey's first time here, and she doesn't even know Jillian. So, why would she falsely accuse her for no reason? She must have proof!"

Patrick caught on quick too. His eyes darted around, a greedy gaze sweeping over our newly renovated, spacious apartment. A cold, calculating look crept across his face.

Kelsey was still sobbing in his arms. But hidden in his arms, she shot me a provocative glance. It was the look of a victor.

"Uncle Myron, don't say I'm being heartless." Patrick cleared his throat and put on the air of a family patriarch. "This has blown up now, and Kelsey is an influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers.

"If Jillian's video gets out, how are we supposed to show our face in public? Who would ever want to marry her after that?"

My mom, Eileen Bates, clutched her chest, her face deathly pale. "Th-then what do you suggest we do?"

Patrick sighed and patted Kelsey on the shoulder.

"Kelsey has suffered a huge injustice here, and Jillian is spreading these filthy rumors about her. There's no way this doesn't warrant emotional damages. And on top of that, to keep her followers' mouths shut, we're going to need to spend serious money on PR."

He paused, fixing his eyes dead on me. "Here's what I think, Uncle Myron. Didn't you just get three apartments from the government?

"Transfer one to Kelsey as compensation for emotional distress and another one to me as payment for cleaning up Jillian's mess. We'll bury this whole thing and take it to our graves. How about it?"

I nearly burst out laughing.

He went through all that trouble of spreading nasty rumors and putting on a whole sob story just to fleece us for everything we had.

I knew it. They were in this together from the start.

How else would an entitled freeloader like Patrick, full of big ambitions but empty pockets, suddenly show up on Christmas Eve with a "woman" whose plastic surgery was so obvious that one could spot it from a mile away?

They were clearly in cahoots.

"One apartment for Kelsey, and one for you?" I pulled out a chair and sat down, drumming my fingers lightly on the table.

I looked at Patrick, my eyes showing not a trace of panic. If anything, there was a hint of amusement.

"Patrick, you've got quite the appetite. Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?"

Patrick's expression darkened. "Jillian, don't push your luck. I've got the link to that video right here on my phone. One tap, and your dirty little secret will be blasted straight into our neighborhood group chat and your hospital's work chat!

"When that happens, not only will you lose your job, but you'll also have people talking behind your back for the rest of your life."

Right on cue, Kelsey lifted her head. With reddened eyes, she said pitifully, "Jillian, I don't actually want your money. If you'd just get down on your knees, apologize to me, and admit you made up those rumors because you were jealous of me, I'd be willing to let this slide.

"But Patrick's right. My reputation matters too." As she spoke, she rushed toward the window. "I'd rather die than be accused of being transgender. I'm going to jump to prove my innocence!"

"Good heavens! Don't do it!" Aunt Anita and Aunt Rita rushed over to grab her. "Sweetheart, don't do anything foolish. Trash like her isn't worth it!"

In an instant, the whole apartment descended into chaos—crying, yelling, frantic pleading all melting into a blur of noise.

Mom and Dad were utterly at a loss. In fact, Mom had already started wiping away tears, and when she looked at me, her gaze was filled with despair and doubt.

I watched this farce unfold with cold detachment.

So much for family. Blood ties didn't mean a thing when there was something to gain.

I pulled out my phone and, with an air of casual indifference, sent off a message.

Then, I looked up at Patrick and Kelsey, who were waiting for me to get down on my knees, and smirked.

"You want to jump?" I questioned with a scoff. "This is the second floor. The worst you'd get is a fracture. However…"

My gaze landed on Kelsey's suspiciously oversized chest, and my voice took on an eerie tone.

"If the impact is too hard and those implants really do burst, what leaks out won't just be silicone but also your—"

"Shut up!" Kelsey shrieked, her voice so rough that it cracked.

She seemed to realize she'd slipped up and immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, staring at me with sheer terror in her eyes.

Patrick, desperate to cover his embarrassment, jabbed a finger at me viciously.

"Jillian, I'm giving you ten minutes to think it over! Either sign the agreement or be utterly ruined! Your choice!"

With that, he grabbed Kelsey and stormed out the door, supposedly to calm her down. But it was more likely they were regrouping to figure out their next move.

All the other relatives trickled away too, leaving behind a mess of scattered chaos and my parents sighing in despair.

After they'd gone, Dad sat on the couch, chain-smoking one cigarette after another. Shrouded in swirling smoke, he seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.

"Jillian, maybe we should just pay our way out of this trouble. Is that video actually real?" he asked hoarsely.

Even my own father was starting to doubt me.

The saying of "a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes" couldn't be more true.

"Dad, do you trust me?" I walked over and crouched down in front of him. Then, I took hold of his rough, weathered hands before continuing, "I'm a doctor and obsessive about cleanliness—both physical and moral. That video is fake, and so is Kelsey."

Dad lifted his bleary eyes to look at me. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

Just then, there was a knock—no, a pounding at the door.

"Jillian, time's up! Open up!" Patrick's voice, thick with impatience and greed, came through the door.

I rose to my feet and smoothed out the creases in my clothes.

If they were so hellbent on digging their own grave, who was I to deny them?

I walked over to the entryway and opened the door.

Outside the door were Patrick, Kelsey, and the entire peanut gallery of relatives who thrived on drama.

They were even holding printouts with screenshots of an explicit video. Though the images were censored, the side profile and figure did bear some resemblance to me.

Clearly, they'd prepared these props well in advance.

"So? Have you made up your mind?" Patrick waved the property transfer agreement in his hand, grinning smugly. "Sign this, and I'll burn these photos right now. You have my word that no one will ever see them."

Kelsey stood behind him, having already touched up her makeup, back to that lofty socialite demeanor.

She leaned in close to my ear and hissed venomously in a voice only the two of us could hear, "Jillian, I know you never made any video. I had someone create it with deepfake. But so what? No one actually cares about the truth.

"All anyone cares about is a juicy story. So what if you're rich and successful? I'll still crush you. Now hand over the apartment like a good girl, or I'll make sure your name is dragged through the mud so bad that you'll wish you'd never been born."

I looked at her overdone face and smiled even brighter than she did. Then, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped the button to stop the recording.

I gently waved it in front of Kelsey's horrified eyes, saying, "Kelsey, I've recorded everything you just said. However, it seems you've forgotten something."

I stepped aside from the doorway and made an inviting gesture. "Come on in. Signing something this important should really be done in front of the whole family to be legally binding, don't you think?"

Patrick, thinking I'd finally caved, was overjoyed. He shoved past me and swaggered right in.

As rattled as Kelsey was, she steeled herself and followed Patrick inside after seeing how confident he seemed.

The whole family had gathered in the living room once again, the atmosphere even more suffocating than it had been during dinner.

Patrick slapped the agreement down on the coffee table and shoved the pen into my hand.

"Quit stalling! Sign it now!"

I picked up the pen but didn't sign right away.