"You transferred the 150,000 to him."

His body shook. "How did you know?"

"My lawyer checked. That 150,000 came from Zhou Dafu, and you acted as a middleman to transfer it to Gary. You know about the demolition compensation too."

My second uncle’s face went deathly pale.

"Nora, I—"

"How much did you get out of this?"

He hung his head, his voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz: "Zhou Dafu promised me ten percent when the demolition happens."

Ten percent of 1.1 million—110,000.

My second uncle sold my father’s house for 110,000.

"Get out."

"Nora—"

"I’ll say it one more time: get out."

He stood up, left the apples, and bent over as he left.

After the door closed, I picked up the bag of apples and tossed them into the trash bin.

Chapter 13

On the day the court subpoena was formally served, Gary did not sign for it.

Lucy signed it on his behalf.

When Sienna called to inform me, she added, "It seems your stepfather is no longer in the local area. I heard he went to the provincial capital."

"What is he doing in the provincial capital?"

"I'm not sure. But someone saw him at the Letters and Calls Office of the provincial military district."

My heart sank.

"What is he doing at the Letters and Calls Office?"

"It is said that he went to report a situation, claiming that you, as the orphan of a martyr, are not supporting your sick mother, thus bringing shame to the military."

I held the phone, my fingertips turning cold.

This move was too vicious.

My father was a martyr, and the honor of the military was tied to his name. If someone were to stir up trouble under the name of an "unfilial martyr's orphan," the military, for the sake of maintaining its image, would very likely step in and apply pressure.

That afternoon, a call came through, just as expected.

"Hello, is this Ms. Jiang Nora? I am Officer Zhou from the Political Work Department of the provincial military district."

"It is me."

"It’s like this: we received a petition regarding you, reporting that your mother is currently critically ill and hospitalized, requiring family members to cooperate with her treatment..."

"Officer Zhou, I can explain the full situation regarding this matter to you in detail. But before that, I would like to ask, what is the name of the person who submitted the petition?"

"This... Gary."

"He is my stepfather and has no blood relation to me. His status is the remarried husband of my mother, Beth."

"Mhm, I understand. But in view of the martyr status of your father, Comrade Jiang Yuanzheng—"

"Officer Zhou, my father's pension and settlement housing were illegally embezzled and misappropriated by my mother and her remarried husband. I have already filed a lawsuit in court regarding this. I can provide you with all relevant evidence and the explanatory statement issued by the Veterans Affairs Bureau."

The other end of the line went silent for a few seconds.

"You say the pension was embezzled?"

"Yes. Not a single penny of the more than 340,000 RMB in various pensions and subsidies was used for my upbringing and education. The settlement housing was illegally transferred to my stepfather's name and used for mortgage loans."

"This situation... we are not aware of it here."

"Therefore, I suggest that you verify the facts before making any judgments."

"Okay, we will look into the situation."

After hanging up, I called Officer He at the Veterans Affairs Bureau directly.

"Sister He, someone is using my father's name to petition at the provincial military district. Are the explanatory materials ready?"

"They are ready, and the official letter can be issued today. Do you need me to mail it directly to the provincial military district?"

"Please, thank you."

"Nora." Officer He paused on the phone.

"Hmm?"

"Some of your father's former comrades are still in the military system. Do you want me to help you contact them?"

I was taken aback.

"My father's comrades?"

"Yes, those who were on the front lines of flood control with your father back then. Your father was well-liked in the military. After he sacrificed his life, several comrades wanted to find you and your mother. But after your mother remarried, she moved, and they lost contact."

My fingers rested on the table for a few seconds.

"Please help me contact them."

That night, Beth's condition deteriorated.

Dr. Li called, his voice urgent: "Ms. Jiang, your mother showed symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy this afternoon, and her consciousness is blurred. If we don't operate soon—"

"Dr. Li, I have already said, I will not undergo matching."

"I understand, but if you have other relatives—"

"She has no other immediate family members."

"Then..."

"You can contact the organ transplant system to join the queue."

"The waiting time for the queue is very uncertain—"

"I know."

After hanging up, I sat in the living room, staring blankly at the television.

Grandma C sat down next to me with a bowl of white fungus soup.

"Is her condition worsening?"

"Mhm."

"What do you think in your heart?"

I took the soup and had a sip.

"I don't know."

"It's normal that you don't know," Grandma C said. "To hate someone for more than a decade and suddenly hear that she is dying, it's only right that you don't know how to feel."

"Grandma, am I being too cruel?"

"You are not cruel." Grandma C patted the back of my hand. "A cruel person wouldn't ask themselves if they were being too cruel."

"But—"

"Nora, listen to me."

"You don't owe her a piece of your liver. You owe yourself a clean and clear life. Retrieve what should be retrieved, sever the relationships that should be severed, and then live well."

"If your father were still here, he would say the same."

I held the bowl without saying a word.

The wind started blowing outside the window.

My phone rang again, this time from an unknown number.

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Is this Jiang Nora? My name is Liu Tiezhu, your father's former squad leader."

Chapter 14

Liu Tiezhu's voice was rough and resonant, carrying the straightforward energy characteristic of a soldier.

"Nora, I am your Uncle Liu. Your father and I were in the same squad when he was around. He was the deputy squad leader, and I was the squad leader. I held you when you were little; you were only two years old then."

"Uncle Liu." My voice felt tight.

"Nora, Officer He told me about your situation. To be honest, I've been looking for you all these years. When your father left, several of us comrades went to see him off. At the time, your mother was holding you and crying in the funeral hall; our hearts were broken seeing that. Later, we wanted to help, but your mother said there was no need, saying she could take good care of you."

"After that, we lost contact. We went to your home, and you had moved. We asked the Civil Affairs Bureau, and they said your mother had remarried and that it wasn't convenient to disclose the new address."

I gripped the phone, unable to say anything.

"Nora, your father—you might not remember him clearly. But let me tell you, he was truly a good man. That year during the flood, everyone on the levee was retreating, but he rushed forward alone to carry the trapped villagers to safety. He carried three out, and the levee collapsed. He didn't make it out."

"The last thing he said was, 'Save the common people first'."

I pressed the phone to my ear, curling up on the sofa.

Grandma C sat silently beside me, just holding my other hand.

"Nora, are you doing well now?"

"I'm doing quite well, Uncle Liu."

"A shop of your own?"

"Mhm, I've opened five."

"Good, good!" He laughed, his voice very loud. "If your father knew, he would be overjoyed. He loved the dishes your mother made—"

He stopped abruptly at this point.

"Uh, I mean—"

"It's okay, Uncle Liu."

"Well, Nora. Officer He said your mother is hospitalized now, and there's something about the house. Don't worry about these things; I'll help you handle them."

"Uncle Liu, there's no need—"

"What do you mean no need! Why should your father's things go to outsiders? I'm managing this matter! I'll be back tomorrow to talk to that stepfather of yours in person."

"Uncle Liu, this matter is already going through legal procedures—"

"Law is law, but some things need to be made clear first. Your father was a hero who sacrificed for the country; how can we, the living comrades, hold our heads high if his daughter is being treated like this?"

I didn't stop him again.

After hanging up the phone, Grandma C handed me a tissue.

"Your father's comrades?"

"Mhm. He said he'd be here tomorrow."

"Those soldiers, they are stubborn. But their hearts are in the right place."