Chapter 1

1

My parents are about to put me on trial before the Stone of Devotion.

The Stone of Devotion is a mystical judge. If it finds you unfilial, you are executed on the spot.

When I chose to have my memories live-streamed during the trial, everyone was in shock.

My biological parents had originally hoped for a private trial. They wanted to force me to donate my kidney to their son and seize all my assets.

But I would never surrender. If they wanted to judge me, I would let the whole world judge them instead!

The moment I pressed the button on the Stone, the live stream began.

On one side of the split screen was me. On the other side were my parents.

They looked ragged and miserable. My brother, Grant, lay beside them, his body so swollen from kidney disease that he looked like a bloated balloon.

The comment section exploded instantly. People recognized me.

"Isn't that the CEO whose parents sued her for money? Why is she accepting a live trial? Has she no shame?"

"How can someone so heartless get so rich?"

"Look at her poor brother on his deathbed while she lives a life of luxury. People like her deserve what's coming!"

I was the first person ever to use the live-stream feature for a trial.

In the past, those being judged usually chose to confess and beg for mercy before the cameras turned on.

"Once the trial begins, the accused must accept the consequences. Is that clear?"

The Stone's voice rang out, cold and robotic.

I looked at the calculated greed in my parents' eyes. I suppressed my heartache and nodded.

They were putting on a show of grief for the world, but I could see the loathing and greed they couldn't hide.

To them, my very birth was my greatest sin.

The comments erupted again.

"Why follow the process? Just execute her already!"

"Exactly! She's living the high life while her parents suffer. Typical selfish career woman!"

The Stone's voice boomed:

"Plaintiffs David Sterling, Lydia Sterling, and Grant Sterling. If you lose this case, you will be sentenced to life in prison, and Nora Sterling will receive five million dollars. Are you certain?"

On the screen, Grant's hand twitched as if he wanted to speak.

Lydia turned to him and shook her head. "Don't worry, my sweet boy. This girl is just bringing this on herself."

After saying that, Lydia looked at the judge and nodded firmly.

"The trial begins."

The AI judge's voice echoed. My mind went blank for a moment as my memories were extracted and projected for the world to see.

"Charge One: The defendant was raised with great hardship by her parents, but after becoming a top executive, she refused to provide for them."

The screens began to play a clip.

It showed me standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my corporate office. I was holding a cup of coffee, looking down at the street below.

Below the building stood Lydia and David.

They were wearing tattered clothes, their faces bright red from the freezing wind.

"Nora Sterling, the CEO of Sterling Group, ignores her parents' survival! She refuses to pay a dime!"

"Nora, please come home and see your father! We can't even afford food anymore!"

"We worked so hard to raise you and put you through school. You can't treat us like this!"

They wailed and cried. The screen then showed clips of them trying to find me multiple times.

They had tracked me from the rural backwoods to the city, traveling thousands of miles. But I had avoided them and blocked their numbers.

A banner in front of them read: "Nora Sterling is an ungrateful leech who abandons her parents."

Seeing this, the viewers were furious.

"Is she even human? She's drinking a hot latte in a warm office while her parents freeze outside!"

"I heard her parents are just poor country folks. It couldn't have been easy for them to pay for her education. How can she let them suffer like this?"

"Shoot her now!"

I ignored the comments. I turned to look at the gun barrel rising from the ground in front of me.

The muzzle was pitch black and cold.

In this society, abandoning your parents is a capital crime. If this charge is proven, a bullet will blow my head off before the countdown ends.

Everyone held their breath.

I stared straight into the gun, my expression calm.

Seconds ticked by. The gun didn't fire. Instead, it slowly lowered itself back into the floor.

【CHARGE DISMISSED】

Five giant words appeared on the screen.

The comments went insane.

"Did she bribe the Stone? She's rich, after all!"

"Those poor parents! How can ordinary people fight against corporate money?"

Lydia and David stared at the screen, their lips pressed into thin lines.

The screen lit up again, showing more of my memories.

It was a sequence from my childhood.

Four-year-old me was struggling to hold a heavy broom, sweeping a dusty yard.

The broom was almost bigger than my entire body.

The sound of a baby crying came from inside the house.

Just as I was about to go inside to check on my baby brother, my father stepped out and shoved me back.

"Your mother just gave birth to a boy. Keep your filthy girl-germs away from him. You're bad luck."