Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
As soon as the mediator left her seat to arrange documents, he raised his voice.
“Satisfied now?”
“I’m about to lose my job. It’s all your fault.”
I laid his payments to the streamer on the table.
“You paid him.”
“You abandoned her.”
“If you had taken Mom in, would I have needed to do this?”
He grew louder.
Returning, the mediator cut him off.
“This isn’t a place for arguing.”
She turned to Mom and asked where the eight hundred thousand had gone.
Mom glanced at my brother.
He was staring at her too.
After a moment’s struggle, she nodded.
“My daughter took it.”
I submitted the bank-stamped statement.
The money had gone directly from Mom’s account to his. The date, account numbers, and purpose were clear.
No one spoke.
Mom stared at the page, the corner of her mouth twitching.
She knew the lie was exposed, but never looked at me.
Then she suddenly clutched her chest and slumped sideways in the wheelchair.
My brother hurried to support her.
He seized the chance to shout at the mediator.
“Look what she’s done to Mom! Isn’t that enough proof she’s unfilial?”
The mediator ignored him and recorded that Mom had provided false testimony.
As I left, he blocked my path.
He didn’t rage this time.
Instead, he came closer and lowered his voice.
“Sis, Mom still has another video.”
When I looked at him, he finally smiled.
“Keep pursuing this, and I’ll make sure your family can’t live in this city anymore.”
Three days later, it spread to Chen Zheng’s work chat, my son’s parent group, and numerous local social-media accounts.
In it, Mom lay in a hospital bed, accusing me of defying her since childhood and coveting family property after marriage.
Near the end, she cried.
“If anything happens to me, my daughter will be responsible.”
“My son is dutiful. She’s jealous and wants to ruin him.”
When I saw it, my hand stopped on the screen.
It was the video that destroyed me in my previous life.
So she had prepared it right after her first stroke.
Not a dying woman’s moment of confusion.
From the beginning, she had wanted my labor and his good reputation.
He immediately sent two messages.
“Withdraw your case. Take Mom home.”
“Otherwise, this is only the beginning.”
Soon, other parents filed a joint complaint at my son’s school, demanding his suspension.
Chen Zheng’s company suspended him too, pending an internal investigation.
They had no intention of solving Mom’s care problem.
They were using my husband and son to force me to kneel beside her bed again.
07
The next day, I took my son to school as usual.
Several parents blocked the gates.
Holding up phones, they demanded to know whether I had deliberately sent my paralyzed mother to a care home to fight for the inheritance.
My son gripped his bag straps, pale-faced.
I shielded him behind me and brought out printed copies of the estate inventory, bank statements, and care agreement.
“My brother received all the principal assets Dad left.”
“I pay the living and medical expenses required of me. I’ve never taken a yuan from my mother.”
“You may question me. But if anyone harasses my son again, I’ll report it to the police and hold you responsible.”
The questions dwindled into silence.
The principal hurried over and stated clearly that the school would not suspend a child who had done nothing wrong.
I took my son to his classroom, then went to the police station.
The false videos Mom and my brother spread had harmed my family and work.
This time, I wouldn’t debate family affection with them.
I gave the evidence to my lawyer and the police. Every loss would be pursued separately.
When my brother received a summons, he finally panicked.
That evening, he brought Mom below our apartment building.
She sat in her wheelchair with a document bag in her lap.
Seeing me, she skipped any greeting.
“Drop the case.”
He drew a deep breath and swallowed his anger.
He forced a smile, trying affection.
“Sis, we’re family.”
“I’ve already lost my job. Things have gone this far. You should be over your anger.”
I didn’t look at him.
“Did you record that video willingly, Mom?”
She avoided my gaze.
At first, she wanted to brush the question aside.
As I kept waiting, she grew impatient.
“I was only leaving myself a way out!”
“I gave Qingwei the property because he must carry the family. But he’s a man. He doesn’t know how to care for people. When I’m old, of course I still need my daughter.”