Chapter 1

The year we were most in love, Lexington Sterling, the heir to the city's biggest fortune, stood outside my door.

He shoved stack after stack of property deeds through the gap, 108 pounds of real estate in total.

All he wanted was for me to open the door and say one word to him.

Five years into our marriage, he was known as the "Perfect Husband."

I loved fireworks, so he bought out the entire city's supply and set them off all night.

They formed a massive glowing sign in the sky: "Misha, Marry Me."

When I fainted from the heat once, he invested hundreds of millions to build a private indoor snow park just for me.

Everything changed when he signed Faye Summers.

My mother worked as a street cleaner for six hours under the blistering sun.

She was trembling, nauseous, and on the verge of collapse.

I begged for the snow park to open so she could cool down and recover.

But Lexington just held Faye by the waist.

He coldly ordered the manager to kick us out.

"Faye's cat is having a birthday party today. The kitten is fragile. Don't let that old woman's germs infect it."

My mother ended up in the ICU with severe heatstroke, and I swore to get justice.

But the woman who forced my mom to work in the sun posted a crying video online.

"Poor people will do anything for money. Everyone else was fine, so why is she the only one faking a collapse?"

With paid trolls fueling the fire, the video hit a hundred thousand likes instantly.

I broke down and ran to Lexington for help.

Then I realized the video had been uploaded from our own home.

1

The air was boiling, but I felt like I was standing in a freezer.

I stared at the screen, unable to believe my eyes.

I tried to tell myself it was a glitch or a coincidence.

But a second later, Lexington added me to a group chat with five hundred people.

He shared the video link.

"Paid likes needed. A young girl is being harassed and framed. Help me clear her name and let the villain get what she deserves!"

Immediately, a flood of digital cash gifts followed.

People started sucking up to him right away.

"As expected of the richest man in the city. Ten thousand dollars per gift just to make his girl smile. I'm so jealous!"

"No way, is that old woman really that evil? Shared!"

"I just shared this to thirty groups. Let's make this old hag famous so she stops bullying Mr. Sterling's sweetheart!"

The "young girl" Lexington was talking about was Faye Summers.

She was the one who claimed my mom was "faking it for a payout."

That video was a web of lies designed to destroy my mother.

My hands shook as I dialed Lexington's number.

"My mother is fighting for her life in the ICU. How could you help her attacker and pay people to spread those lies?"

"If Faye hadn't forced the city cleaners to work in 115-degree heat just to find her lost watch, my mom would be fine!"

"Faye isn't the victim. She's a criminal!"

There was a two-second silence before Lexington gave a cold laugh.

"A criminal?"

His voice was devoid of any warmth.

"Misha, you're making baseless accusations against Faye. Isn't that defamation? It sounds like you're the one who wants to go to jail."

An hour later, Lexington and I sat across from each other at the dining table.

He projected his phone onto the TV, playing interviews with other street cleaners.

"Even though we worked for six hours, Miss Summers gave us each five thousand dollars. She even gave us cold water and hats. She was very prepared."

"Yeah, that old lady was the only one who refused everything. What happened to her isn't the girl's fault."

They prattled on about Faye's kindness, claiming my mother brought it on herself.

It was a joke.

Before my mom lost consciousness, she told me clearly what happened.

She had worked under the sun for six hours and tried to buy a bottle of water with her own money.

Someone had snatched it away, telling her she was wasting time.

These people were lying.

Lexington tapped the table, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"See, Misha? Your mother was the one being stubborn. She has no one to blame but herself."

His voice was steady, like he had already decided the outcome.

I remembered how he once climbed 999 stairs on his knees to pray for my mother's health.

But that was five years ago.

Now, for a woman he kept on the side, he didn't care about the truth.

He was standing firmly against me.

My eyes turned bloodshot as I stared at the video.

Faye had abused her influence to force elderly workers into the heat.

She wouldn't even let them drink water.

Now she was buying people off to flip the narrative.

"Lexington," I said, my voice trembling with rage.

"My mother took care of us for five years. You know who she is. She wouldn't even take spare change from a drawer, let alone scam someone!"

"She's dying in the ICU, and you're letting her be slandered like this. I will bring that woman to justice."

Lexington just smiled contemptuously.

"Justice? Don't you just want me to show my 'sincerity' with money like always?"

"How much do you want this time? Ten houses? Twenty?"