Chapter 2

Hazel Harding's parents favored sons over daughters.

To have a boy, her mother deliberately took her to a crowded market and watched, doing nothing, as she was carried off.

I never told her all these years because I was afraid of hurting her.

But now, here she was, romanticizing that road she'd never walked.

Fine, then. I wouldn't mind laying the bloody truth right in front of her.

Hazel picked up the documents, her fingers trembling.

I thought she would break down, cry, ask me whether it was real.

But to my surprise, she laughed after reading them, her face full of scorn.

"You'd fake documents like these just to smear my real mom? AI-generated, right?"

"You're afraid I won't support you in your old age, so you're deliberately trying to turn me against her. Let me tell you, I'm not falling for it!"

I was so furious I laughed.

"Hazel, these documents are all stamped and on file with the police. If you don't believe me, go check!"

"If your real mother truly loved you, would she have stood there and watched you get taken by traffickers? Would she have never once cared all these years?"

Hazel completely lost it.

"You just can't stand seeing me get along with my real mom!"

"I already announced it in the family group chat. If you won't let my real mom go and you make me lose face, I'll never come back to this family again!"

"I'll tell you the truth—I didn't choke on the SATs at all. I turned in two blank tests on purpose, to get back at you! You wanted to show off my scores, didn't you? Well, I made sure you couldn't!"

Learning the truth left me reeling.

My husband and son stood by, trying gently to talk her down.

"Hazel, stop this, your mom isn't feeling well."

"Yes, whatever it is, let's talk it over calmly."

Hazel wouldn't listen at all. She dragged her two suitcases and rushed out of the house without a backward glance.

I stood there, everything went dark, and I passed out.

When I woke again, I was already lying in a hospital bed.

My son sat beside me, his eyes red.

"Mom, you scared me half to death."

"Hazel's just going through a rebellious phase. She'll grow out of it."

I shook my head, my voice weak.

"She's eighteen. She's an adult."

"For her to say things like that, she must have been holding a grudge for a long time."

I struggled to sit up and dialed the travel agency right away.

"I'm Hazel Harding's parent. The luxury cruise trip for two tomorrow evening—cancel it."

My son tried to persuade me.

"Mom, Hazel just acted on impulse. Please calm down."

"I'll call her right now and ask her to come see you."

"If she knows you're sick, she'll definitely be worried."

But when the call connected, Hazel sneered.

"I think she's faking being sick on purpose, pulling a sympathy act to keep my real mom from going!"

"I'm not falling for it!"

My son wanted to say more, but the call had already been hung up.

I closed my eyes, chilled to the core.

Without hesitating any longer, I dialed the number of that overseas school.

"I'm the parent sponsoring Hazel Harding's study abroad. That three-million-dollar sponsorship fee—I'm taking it back."

There was a pause on the other end.

"Ma'am, if you take back the sponsorship, Hazel's study-abroad spot will be gone."

I gave a cold laugh.

"Then let it be gone."

"She has her real mother. Why should I, her adoptive mother, worry about it?"

Once all that was done, I was discharged and went home.

The moment I stepped inside, a post from Hazel's real mother popped up on my social media feed.