Chapter 3

We pulled out of the school gates. Nora gripped her seatbelt, her face pale. She seemed to sense something coming, but she wasn't ready to believe it. Watching her, my heart ached. But she needed to see the truth first, that none of this was her fault. It was her father who'd done this.

Half an hour later, I pulled up outside one of the most expensive riverside apartment buildings downtown. A single square meter there cost more than most people made in a year.

"Get out," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt.

Nora stared at the lavish lobby, her voice shaking. "What are we doing here? Dad said he was going to the market today to buy discount vegetables..."

I looked at her and smiled.

"Is that right? Then let's go find out what kind of discount vegetables they sell in a building like this." I took her cold hand and walked straight to the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor.

The elevator doors reflected my face, cold as ice, and Nora's frightened eyes beside it.

There was only one unit on the top floor.

I didn't ring the bell. I typed in the door code instead. In my last life, I'd bought this apartment outright with my year-end bonus and put it in Daniel's name. Back then I thought it would give him a sense of security for staying home full-time. Looking back now, I couldn't have been more stupid.

The lock beeped, and the door swung open.

A pair of limited-edition men's dress shoes sat by the entryway, next to a pair of rhinestone-studded women's heels.

Nora recognized the shoes. Just last week she'd asked Daniel for a new backpack, and he'd sighed and told her, "Nora, honey, your dad won't even replace his own worn-out shoe soles. We have to be considerate. Your mom works so hard for this money."

And now those shoes, worth twenty thousand, sat right there on the floor, practically mocking her.

We walked further in. Laughter drifted out from the living room.

"Daniel, this Van Cleef necklace is way too much. Has Nora's tuition been paid yet? Don't shortchange the kid for my sake." A soft, gentle voice floated out.

It was Bianca, the woman Nora had always called her "art tutor," the family friend who supposedly came by for free to help with her painting.

"Why bother with that ungrateful brat?" Daniel's voice was full of contempt and smugness. "That idiot Vivian just wired me a million as a down payment. I figured I'd get you a gift first. As for Nora, any excuse will do. She hates Vivian's guts by now anyway. She only listens to me."

Nora went rigid beside me, as if she'd been struck by lightning.

She bit down hard on her lip. Tears spilled out instantly, but she didn't make a sound.

I let out a cold laugh and kicked open the half-closed living room door.

The bang sent the two of them shooting up from the couch.

Daniel had a glittering diamond necklace in his hands, halfway to clasping it around Bianca's neck. The second he saw me and Nora, the color drained from his face.

"V-Vivian?! What are you doing here?" he stammered, instinctively hiding the necklace behind his back.

Bianca panicked too, but she recovered fast, arranging her face into something pitiful as she stood up. "Vivian, this isn't what it looks like. I just came by to help Daniel sort out some art supplies for Nora..."

"On the couch? And you had to try on an eighty-thousand-dollar necklace while you were at it?" I walked further in, my eyes sweeping over the expensive fruit and designer shopping bags scattered across the coffee table.

Daniel spotted Nora behind me and his expression instantly shifted to one of anguish.

"Nora! Let me explain!" He rushed over, reaching for her hand. "It's your mother's fault! She's the one who forced my hand! She cut off my card, and I had no choice but to come here and beg Bianca for a loan to cover your tuition..."

"A loan?" I cut him off without mercy and threw a stack of papers straight at his face.

They hit him and scattered everywhere.

Dozens of pages of bank statements and spending records fluttered through the air like snow before settling across the floor.

"Daniel. You took the education fund I set aside for Nora and used it to buy Bianca a car, handbags, jewelry. This is what you call breaking your back for our daughter?" I stared at him, ice in my voice.