I glanced at the phone screen.

"Mhm."

"Did you know your cousin would speak up for you?"

"No," I said, kneading the dough. "But I know that lies cannot withstand the test of time."

That afternoon, someone else stepped forward.

Old Zhang. The middle-aged woman Auntie Liu had brought that day, Beth’s coworker.

She registered an account on the local forum and made a post.

The title was: "I’ve known Beth for twenty years; let me say a few words about her daughter."

The post wasn't long, but it carried a lot of weight.

"I’ve worked in the same factory as Beth for twenty years. She is indeed polite to outsiders, but I’ve always remembered some of the things she said in private.

She said, 'This little money-loser should never have been born,' and 'If it weren't for the pension, I would have thrown her away long ago.'

When I went to her daughter’s shop last time, I was originally there to help mediate. But when I saw the scars on her daughter’s arm, I couldn't say it.

Beth told me that scar was self-inflicted.

But her daughter said it was from iron tongs.

I believe her daughter.

Because Beth has a habit when she lies—she smiles. That unnatural smile. That’s exactly how she smiled when she told me her daughter 'did it to herself'."

This post was pinned to the top of the forum.

Within a day, it had over a thousand replies.

"She didn't throw the child away because of the pension? Is that something a human being would say?"

"No wonder the sister refuses to return; I wouldn't go back either."

"The video the sister filmed was nothing but moral kidnapping."

The comment section of Lucy's video had turned into a massive disaster.

She deleted the video.

But the screenshots and screen recordings had already spread.

That evening, Lucy called.

Not to me, but to the front desk of my shop.

"Put Nora on the phone! She’s paying people to smear me online!"

The young girl at the front desk was trembling so hard she could barely hold the phone. "P-please, one moment—"

I took the phone.

"Lucy, speak."

"You were the one who made people post those things, right? You made your cousin post that, didn't you?"

"What Lin Yue posts is her own business; it has nothing to do with me."

"Don't lie to me! And that Zhang woman, what right does she have to talk nonsense online—"

"Which part of what she said was a lie?"

Lucy choked.

"Your mother said 'I didn't throw her away because of the pension'—was that true?"

Lucy was silent for several seconds.

"That was just an angry outburst."

"An angry outburst?" I laughed.

"Was her hitting me with a rolling pin an outburst? The iron tongs an outburst? Locking me in a storage room in the dead of winter an outburst? Lucy, you’ve been alive for twenty-five years—has your mother ever hit you once?"

There was no sound on the other end.

"Not even once, right?"

"That's different—"

"Of course it’s different. You are Gary’s daughter, and I am Jiang Yuanzheng’s daughter. She didn't want a daughter; she wanted the pension and the house. Do you understand now?"

I hung up.

Chapter 10

The shift in public opinion was more violent than I had imagined.

After my cousin Lin Yue’s post and Old Zhang’s message, local independent media began to focus on the story.

A major local account called "Tales of the South City" did a special feature, with a blunt title: "Martyr's Orphan Abused by Stepmother's Family for Six Years, Now Demanded to Donate Liver to Save Their Lives."

They dug up information on my father, Jiang Yuanzheng—a third-class meritorious soldier who sacrificed his life in the 2004 major flood relief mission at the age of twenty-nine. The military provided his survivors with a lump-sum pension, annual subsidies, and resettlement housing.

This information was all publicly accessible, but once pieced together, it created a nuclear-level effect.

The inheritance left by a soldier who sacrificed his life for the country was swallowed whole by his wife and her remarried husband.

And that daughter had been abused since the age of seven, treated as free labor, and beaten until covered in scars.

She ran away at fourteen, starting from zero all on her own.

Now, she was being demanded to return and have her liver cut to save the mother who beat her for six years.

The comment section exploded.

"What kind of mother? This is a beast."

"To treat a hero's child like this—how can he rest in peace in the underworld?"

"Even if you take a step back, shouldn't that pension money be spent entirely on the child?"

"How did that resettlement house end up in the stepfather’s hands? Isn't this a crime?"

Gary panicked.

He reacted to the severity of the situation faster than Lucy. Once the transfer record of that house was scrutinized, not only would he have to return the property, but he might also face criminal liability.

At ten in the morning, I was prepping in the kitchen when Lu came in almost running.

"Nora, your stepfather is here."

"Again?"

"This is different. He brought someone who looks like a lawyer or something—he’s wearing a suit."

I wiped my hands and went out.

In the private room, Gary sat in a chair, looking more disheveled than the last time I saw him in the hospital. He was unshaven, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Beside him sat a short, stout middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, clutching a briefcase.

"Nora." Gary spoke, his voice hoarse and strained.

I sat down opposite him and said nothing.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses spoke first: "Ms. Nora, I am Mr. Gary’s representative, Attorney Sun. Regarding the property at the military family compound, we would like to negotiate with you."

"Negotiate what?"

"Although there were some... flaws in the transfer process for that property at the time, Mr. Gary has legal mortgage interests in it, and he has been paying off the loan for ten years—"

"Flaws?" I interrupted him.

"Attorney Sun, the owner of that property is me. Beth violated the rules in disposing of a minor's property as a guardian without court approval, gifting it for zero yuan to a third party with no blood relation. That’s not a 'flaw'; that’s an infringement on a ward’s property rights."

Attorney Sun adjusted his glasses. "That may be so in theory, but in actual practice—"

"In actual practice, what is it you want?"

Gary couldn't hold back anymore. "Nora, retract that lawyer’s letter, and we can settle the house matter privately."

"How?"

"The house... I can return the house to you. But you have to agree to two conditions."

"Go ahead."

"First, you return for the compatibility test. Second, you delete all those things online."

I looked at him and said nothing.

"Nora, I’m not begging you; I’m negotiating with you. Take the house if you want it, but you have to save your mother."

"Gary."

"Hmm?"

"That house was always mine; I don't need you to return it. The court will order it."

"You—"

"Second, I didn't post those things online. I have no ability to delete them, and no obligation to do so."

"Third, Beth’s liver is not on the table for exchange."

Gary slammed his fist on the table. "You heartless wretch! Your mother is dying!"

"She is not my mother."

"She gave birth to you!"

"She gave birth to me, then beat me for six years, stole over five hundred thousand of my pension, and sold my house. A mother like that is better off without."

Gary stood up, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Attorney Sun quickly held him down. "Brother Gary, stay calm—"

"I can't be calm!" Gary pointed at me, his finger shaking. "You just wait. Since you won't do the test, I’ll make sure the whole city points their fingers at your spine!"

"Go ahead and try."

He shoved Attorney Sun’s hand away and stormed out of the room.

The door slammed with a deafening bang.

Attorney Sun stood up awkwardly, forcing a smile. "Ms. Nora, Mr. Gary isn't in a good state of mind today—"

"Attorney Sun."

"Yes?"

"The court summons will arrive next week. Tell your client to prepare the materials early."

Attorney Sun’s smile froze for a second, and he grabbed his briefcase and hurried away.

Lu came in to clear the teacups from the table.

"Nora, will he really try something?"

"He will."

"Then what do we do?"

"We meet force with force." I stood up.

"Oh, by the way, Cole has a meeting at three this afternoon; help me cancel it. I have a trip to the Civil Affairs Bureau to make."

Chapter 11

The office hall of the Civil Affairs Bureau was not crowded.

I took my household register and ID card and found the records inquiry desk located next to the marriage registration window.