Xu Qin's pupils constricted sharply. She staggered back a step, her voice trembling: "The...the basement? What basement? Pingping and the others...they did this to you..."

Shen Chumo sneered, her eyes sharp as knives: "What, pretending not to know now?"

She suddenly ripped open the collar of her school uniform, revealing a hideous scar below her collarbone: "This was burned by Jiang Chen with a cigarette butt. Where were you that day? Oh, I remember now, you were at a charity gala with Jiang Haihe, and it even made the front page of the newspaper."

Xu Qin's legs went weak, and she knelt down on the ground.

She reached out her trembling hand to touch the scar, but Shen Chumo slapped it away.

"No...it's impossible..." Xu Qin shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "Pingping and the others clearly said...they were just joking with you..."

"Are you kidding me?" Shen Chumo suddenly grabbed Jiang Ping, who was hiding in the corner, and forced her to look up by pinching her chin. "Come on, tell your mother yourself how you were 'kidnapping'?"

Jiang Ping trembled with fear and stammered, "I...we were just...just joking..."

"Are you kidding me?" Shen Chumo tightened her grip, causing Jiang Ping to cry out in pain. "How about we play a joke too? Like when you locked me in the basement, not feeding me for three days and pouring ice water on me every day—"

"Enough!" Jiang Haihe suddenly rushed up to try to pull them apart, but Shen Chumo kicked him to the ground with a side kick.

Xu Qin collapsed to the ground, feeling as if her soul had been ripped out. She finally realized the hell her biological daughter had endured while she had been immersed in a false happiness all these years.

"Chu Mo... Mom really doesn't know..." She cried her heart out, "If I knew... if..."

"If you knew?" Shen Chumo released Jiang Ping, looking down at Xu Qin, "What would you do? Cry like this, and then continue being your Mrs. Jiang?"

"Mom, no, Ms. Xu, I'm giving you a chance now. First, you can divorce Jiang Haihe, and I'll still acknowledge you as my mother. Second, we'll sever all ties, and I'll exchange your kindness in giving me life and raising me for this crisis in the Jiang family. How about it?"

"Chu Mo, how could you be so heartless... Mom really knows she was wrong..."

Jiang Hai, clutching his kicked chest, struggled to his feet and grabbed Xu Qin's hand: "Qinqin, don't listen to her provocations! Don't you know how I've treated you all these years?"

He forced a smile, his voice gentle, and said, "I know you're upset, but Pingping and the others are young and don't understand, and Chumo has been misunderstanding us..."

Xu Qin's gaze began to waver, and tears blurred her vision.

Seeing this, Jiang Haihe immediately raised his voice: "The company is facing difficulties now, and this is precisely the time when we need our family to unite. If you leave, wouldn't that play right into some people's hands?"

Shen Chumo watched this scene coldly, a mocking smile curving her lips.

Xu Qin was still struggling with the decision.

Shen Chumo suddenly leaned down and grabbed Xu Qin's collar: "Choose one or two? My patience is running out."

Jiang Hai struggled to his feet, his face contorted with rage: "Xu Qin! If you dare to divorce me, I'll make sure you lose everything!"

&34;Snap!&34;

Shen Chumo slapped Jiang Haihe across the face again, knocking him to the ground. She then turned to Xu Qin and sneered, "Hurry up and choose."

Xu Qin trembled violently, then suddenly broke down, screaming, "I choose option two! Isn't choosing option two enough?!" She collapsed to the ground, like a lump of mud, "Anyway...anyway, you've already hated me for a long time..."

"Very good." Shen Chumo straightened up, took a document from her bag, and threw it on the ground. "This is a severance agreement. Sign it, and from now on, we have absolutely no relationship."

Xu Qin finished signing the document with trembling hands, then suddenly burst into manic laughter: "Hahaha...karma...it's all karma...Old Shen, you saw it all from heaven, didn't you..."

Shen Chumo put away the agreement, took one last look at the woman she once called "Mom," and as she turned away, a barely perceptible pain flashed in her eyes, but it quickly returned to its icy expression.

Once upon a time, they were a happy family of three, but sadly, they can never go back.

This woman doesn't deserve to be her mother.

She ignored them and turned to walk upstairs: "Where are my things?"

Jiang Ping then came to her senses and said tremblingly, "In...in your old room..."

Shen Chumo went straight upstairs, pushed open the door to her former room, and found that the room had been ransacked, clearly indicating that someone had tampered with it.

Her eyes turned cold, and she strode to the bedside, pulling open a drawer—

The jewelry box inside is missing.

That was the only keepsake her father left her.

Shen Chumo's eyes suddenly darkened. He turned and went downstairs, grabbing Jiang Ping by the collar: "Where's my jewelry box?"

Jiang Ping trembled with fear: "I...I don't know..."

"Don't know?" Shen Chumo sneered. "This is your last chance. If you don't tell the truth, I'll break your hand."

Jiang Ping's face turned deathly pale, tears streaming down her face: "It was...it was Dad who took it! He said he wanted to teach you a lesson, so he...he put it away..."

Shen Chumo released her, walked up to Jiang Haihe, and stepped on his chest: "Where's the thing?"

Jiang Hai was both shocked and furious, but seeing her cold eyes, he finally dared not continue to resist: "In...in the safe in the study..."

Shen Chumo withdrew her foot and turned to walk towards the study.

Jiang Hai scrambled to his feet, a sinister glint in his eyes. Suddenly, he pulled a small knife from his pocket and stabbed Shen Chumo in the back.

"Chu Mo, be careful!" Xu Qin exclaimed.

Shen Chumo didn't turn her head, but dodged to the side, grabbed Jiang Haihe's wrist with her other hand, and twisted it forcefully!

With a sharp crack, Jiang Haihe's wrist dislocated, and the knife clattered to the ground.

"Ah—!" Jiang Hai screamed and fell to his knees, trembling with pain.

Shen Chumo picked up the knife and gently patted his face: "Jiang Haihe, it seems you really don't learn your lesson."

Jiang Hai looked at her in horror, finally realizing that the Shen Chumo in front of him was no longer the weak girl he could easily manipulate.

Shen Chumo ignored him, turned and went into the study, found the safe, and the safe's combination was useless to her. She quickly opened the safe and retrieved her jewelry box.

She opened the box to check; everything was there, and at the very bottom was a faded family photo.

In the photo, the father is holding his young daughter, while Xu Qin stands beside him, smiling gently—back then, they were a happy family.

After confirming that everything was intact, she coldly glanced at Jiang Haihe, who was slumped on the ground: "Mr. Jiang, Ms. Xu sacrificed her own daughter to give the Jiang family a chance to survive. Are you sure you want to betray her 'sacrifice'?"

Shen Chumo's voice was light and airy, yet it was like a sharp knife piercing Xu Qin's heart.

Xu Qin slumped to the ground, her makeup ruined by tears, her carefully styled curly hair disheveled and plastered to her face, making her look as if she had aged ten years in an instant.

After saying that, she walked out of the Jiang family's gate without looking back, leaving the house in complete silence.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like