Chapter 1

The day my foster mother turned up at my door with a bundle under her arm was the day of my wedding.

I had security throw her straight out.

She sprawled at the entrance, wailing.

"Ivy Dickerson! I raised you for over ten years! Now that I'm old and crippled, you kick me out like a dog! I'll sue you for filial neglect!"

I pulled a few bills from my bag and tossed them on the ground.

"Go ahead and sue. I'll cover the filing fee."

"My three brothers are here for the wedding today. If you know what's good for you, crawl far away from here."

"Because if they see you, I can't promise your other leg won't break too."

She flinched, then scrambled to gather up the money, her eyes still locked on my bag.

"Mom knows you've always had the softest heart. Give me a little more? My leg's broken, this isn't enough to buy medicine…"

The crowd of onlookers kept growing, and my future mother-in-law's family came hurrying over at the noise.

My fiancé asked me under his breath, "Is that old woman your mother?"

I shook my head. "Just some old con artist begging for money."

…

When the wedding march started, my foster mother's crying still echoed outside the hotel.

I gripped my bouquet and walked forward.

Jason James stood at the end of the red carpet in a crisp suit, though his face had gone tight.

He caught my wrist and lowered his voice. "Ivy, that old woman really isn't your mother?"

"No."

"Then how did she know your name? And why was she crying like that?"

I laughed. "Knowing a name means anyone can claim to be my family? Then every stray cat and dog on the street could be my mother."

"Besides, isn't that exactly how con artists put on a show?"

Jason's brow stayed knotted, and he was about to press further when a stir went through the crowd below.

I turned.

The doors swung open, and my eldest brother, Allan Dickerson, walked in.

He wore a black suit, broad through the shoulders, long-legged, his face cold and set.

Right behind him came my second brother, Damian Dickerson, and my third brother, Bruce Dickerson.

The officiant froze. "And these three are?"

"My brothers," I said.

Every guest below turned their heads at once.

From somewhere my foster mother had scrambled back into view, her voice shooting up.

"Allan! You ungrateful son! You'll die a horrible death!"

Allan's step paused. He didn't look back. "What's security even doing?"

The words had barely left him before two guards rushed over, hauled my foster mother up, and dragged her toward the exit.

She fought with everything she had. "Let go! You pack of ingrates! I raised you for over ten years! And this is how you treat me!"

"Oh no, my blood sugar's crashing…"

Bruce suddenly smiled.

He walked over, crouched down, and looked at the foster mother who was pretending to faint.

"Broken leg and still running that fast. Looks like you've recovered nicely."

She shook all over. "You… you… what do you want?"

"Nothing."

Bruce dug a piece of candy out of his pocket, unwrapped it, and dropped it into her mouth.

"Keep hanging around here and refusing to leave, and next time it'll be poison I put in there."

Then he patted her cheek, stood, and jerked his chin at the guards.

"Throw her far. Don't let her dirty my sister's wedding."

She flinched again and was dragged back out.

The crying faded farther and farther away, and the hall went dead silent.

My mother-in-law frowned. "Ivy, you take pity on stray dogs off the street. How can you be so cold-blooded to an old woman!"

I smoothed my veil, my voice level.

"A con artist is worth less than a dog, obviously. Do I really need to spell that out?"

She had nothing to say.

The officiant covered the awkwardness and the wedding went on.

But I knew this wedding had already been wrecked by my foster mother.

The banquet had barely started when the story blew up into a trending topic.

The headline was jarring: Foster mother toils for years to raise four orphans, only to have her leg broken by her adopted son and be driven off like a stray dog by her adopted daughter!

The comments erupted.

"Ungrateful animals who repay kindness with hate! They should've been left to rot in the orphanage back then!"

"Right, what good is money? Their hearts are black through and through!"

"The bride's name is Ivy, isn't it? Just wait till they dox you and it all comes back on you!"