When I head over to my daughter, Hannah Westfield's place for dinner during Christmas Eve, I specifically wear a wool coat for the occasion.

Unexpectedly, when Hannah sees me, she pushes me out of the front door instantly.

"Mom, why must you buy the same coat as my mother-in-law did? Don't you know that she hates it when others imitate her? Hurry up and take off the coat before she sees you!"

Meanwhile, my son-in-law, Thomas Clifford, digs out an old coat and puts it on me.

"Mom, there are many relatives visiting our house today. Please spare my mom her pride and don't steal her thunder, okay?"

Seeing how sincere Thomas looks, I decide to yield.

But as soon as I take my seat, Giselle Johnson chortles in amusement as she stares at the old coat I'm wearing.

"Oh Fiona, if you like my clothes, you could've just said so, and I'd give it to you. It's bad if you just steal my old coat from me and wear it, you know? Besides, don't you know that those who imitate always do a bad job at it?"

Furious, I'm about to up and leave when Giselle grabs the coat and blocks my way.

"I placed two money envelopes in the coat pockets a few days ago. There are 20 thousand dollars in there. Why are they gone after you've worn it?

"I don't mind you wearing my coat behind my back, but you must return the money to me right now!"

My son-in-law, Thomas Clifford, frowned at me and said, "Fiona, this coat has always been stored in the closet in the second bedroom. You're the only one who has worn it in the past few days. No one else has touched it, so the money that was inside…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but the accusation in his words was crystal clear.

I looked at my daughter, Hannah Westfield, and waited for her input.

I didn't expect her to stretch out her hand toward me.

"You took it, right? Hurry and hand the money over. Giselle didn't say she was going to punish you. You're just delaying everyone from having dinner by dragging things out."

My heart felt hollow upon hearing Hannah's words.

I had raised her for over two decades. I didn't expect her to pin the blame on me just because Thomas' mother, Giselle Johnson, was adamant that I was the one who stole her money, especially when she didn't have proof to back up her accusation.

"I didn't steal her money."

"I was wondering why things in the house kept going missing," Giselle chimed in. "Turns out there was a thief among us!

"This is a terrible habit to have, Fiona. It's one thing for you to steal things from our home, but imagine if you get caught stealing things from someone else's home. Thomas and Hannah's reputations will be in shambles."

The other Cliffords voiced their support, saying, "She's right. Hannah must be so embarrassed to learn that her mother's a thief."

"As expected of someone who came from the sticks. She's totally unpresentable."

"I wouldn't let my mother leave the house if she behaved like this. How humiliating."

Hannah's face turned a ruddy red as she listened to their criticisms.

I thought she would defend me. Instead, she suddenly shot to her feet and started scolding me, pointing her finger at me.

"I already told you not to come, but you refused to listen to me! Are you happy now that you've ruined Christmas for everyone?"

In reality, Hannah had called me countless times, begging me to join them. Yet now, she was twisting the truth, making it seem as if I had joined their dinner without an invitation.

I felt my strength drain from my body as Hannah berated me. Feeling incredibly upset, I asked, "Do you really think that I'm the one who took the money?"

Hannah's eyes flashed as she replied, "Who else would take it but you? Besides, you're the only one who wore that coat. Hurry and return the money to Giselle."

Thomas chimed in, "20 thousand dollars isn't a lot of money anyway. You can tell us if you're tight on cash. It's not good to sneak around and steal other people's money."

I took a deep breath before standing up and saying, "I don't care if you believe me or not, but I didn't take the money. If you don't believe me, feel free to call the police. They'll get to the bottom of things and prove my innocence!"

Giselle pointed a finger at me and screamed, "Are you saying that I'm framing you, Fiona Westfield? My family isn't so poor that we have to extort money from a country bumpkin. Go ahead and call the police! I'm curious to see who they'll side with."

Hannah and Thomas exchanged a look before they rushed forward to comfort Giselle.

"It's Christmas Eve. We shouldn't get the police involved during such a happy occasion. It'll just ruin the mood for everyone."

However, Giselle refused to listen to them. She grabbed a stool and planted it next to the door before sitting heavily on it.

"We don't have to call the police, but I will get my money back one way or another. No one will have a good time until my money is returned to me!"

I was about to step forward and explain myself when Hannah pulled me to the side and hissed, "Why are you being so stubborn, Mom? You've already been caught red-handed, so hurry and return the money to Giselle. We can sweep this incident under the rug once you apologize to her."

I nearly burst out laughing at Hannah's ridiculous logic.

She claimed that I had been caught red-handed, but the money was still missing, which meant that she had nothing to back up her accusation that I stole it.

"Why are you only suspecting me when there are so many other people in the house?" I demanded. "Are you only harassing me because I'm alone, so nobody will stick up for me?"

If Hannah had defended me earlier, Giselle wouldn't have had the guts to drag my name through the mud with such overwhelming arrogance.

Hannah was momentarily rendered speechless by my words before she began berating me again.

"Don't try to make me the bad guy, Mom. I didn't take your side only because there's conclusive evidence, so it's pointless for you to claim that you're innocent. If I stubbornly took your side, I'd basically become an accomplice.

"How would Thomas and Giselle see me then? How will I be able to lift my head in this family ever again?

"Besides, Thomas is the one who gave the coat to you. There's no reason for him to steal his own family's money. I'm also familiar with his character, so I know that he won't do something so pointless!"

I barked out an indignant laugh and said, "You're familiar with his character? I'm your own mother! Why are you treating me like this?"

Hannah guiltily averted her gaze. After I criticized her, she finally began to share her analysis of the situation.

"Uncle Isaac is more well-off than us, so it can't be him. Aunt Patricia's children are civil workers, so their family isn't strapped for cash. Aunt Charlotte is unmarried and childless, so she doesn't need so much money."

I pursed my lips and retorted, "No one will complain about having more money."

Hannah pinned me with an accusatory gaze after she was done explaining her analysis.

"Who could it be if not you? You're the only stranger here right now. Everyone else is part of the Clifford family. There's no way that they would take Giselle's money."

I lost my temper at that moment. I twisted Hannah's ear and shouted, "Come to your senses, Hannah Westfield! Do I look like someone who desperately needs 20 thousand dollars?"

I didn't expect her to answer me immediately, screaming, "You do!"

My heart squeezed painfully. I couldn't believe that she had said such a thing.

Hannah glanced at Giselle, noticing that the latter was on the brink of losing her temper. She then turned to me and said, "I have 20 thousand dollars on me right now. I can return the money to Giselle on your behalf before the situation turns ugly. Remember to transfer the money back to me later.

"Watch for my signal later and apologize to Giselle. Then we can—"

Unable to keep my anger under control any longer, I slapped Hannah before she could finish her sentence.

Hannah's head snapped to the side. She stared at me in disbelief, asking, "Why did you slap me, Mom?"

Thomas immediately dashed over to check on Hannah. He glared at me and demanded, "Why did you hurt her, Fiona? You shouldn't resort to violence when you can just talk this out."

I pointed at Hannah. My voice was trembling when I said, "I slapped her to bring her back to her senses. Giselle's word isn't law. Why do you believe her instead of me? I'm your actual mother!"

Hannah looked incredibly upset as she gazed at me, but her words were like blades that stabbed into my heart.

"I just didn't want you to keep walking down the wrong path, Mom. That's why I came up with a plan to return the money to Giselle on your behalf. Not only did you spit in the face of my thoughtfulness, but you also raised your hand against me."

Hannah claimed that she was being unbiased by acting according to the evidence that was available. However, she refused to trust me for even a second even though there was no evidence to prove that I was the thief. On top of that, she was my own flesh and blood.

"Fine! You've made it clear that you're not going to listen to me. I'll just leave and forget that I ever had a daughter like you!"

I put on my coat and prepared to leave this horrible place.

Hannah stepped forward to block my path. "You're leaving? Return the money to Giselle before you do, or you won't be going anywhere."

I couldn't help but feel as if I was looking at a stranger when I looked at Hannah. I couldn't believe that my own daughter would treat me this way when I had raised her for over two decades.

The truth was, I had accepted the dinner invitation because I wanted to inform Hannah and Thomas that our old home was getting demolished. Thus, they could use the compensation money to buy a new house near a school.

Firstly, it would be convenient for my grandson, Oliver Clifford, to attend school in the future. Secondly, they could avoid getting into arguments with Giselle if they had a place of their own.

I didn't expect to get caught up in such a mess before I could deliver the good news.

"Why do I have to return the money when I didn't take it?" I demanded.

Giselle scoffed and asked, "Who else would take it but you? In fact, Ollie told me earlier that you're the thief. He saw you hiding the money away after you stole it."

She then picked up Oliver and cooed, "She's the thief, isn't she, Ollie?"

Oliver pointed at me and babbled, "Thief… Thief…"

My heart twisted painfully.

Just to frame me, they were even willing to drag Oliver into this mess despite the fact that he was only two years old.

Unfortunately, Hannah became even more convinced that I was the thief. She delivered her ultimatum, saying, "You have to return the money if you want to leave tonight. Don't blame us for getting rough if you refuse to do so!"

Giselle's eyes flashed. "Doesn't she have a couple of old houses in the countryside? Will she be able to pay back the 20 thousand dollars she stole from me if she sells them?"

Hannah's eyes brightened for a split second before she fixed a disdainful expression on her face.

"Those houses are leaky and dilapidated. They're not worth a lot of money. She can probably only sell them for 15 thousand dollars. Besides, the real estate market hasn't been doing so well recently, so no one will buy them. We should just force her to return the money right now."

Just then, Thomas' uncle, Isaac Clifford, suddenly spoke up.

"My wife and I have been thinking about buying a house in the countryside to spend our senior years in. Are you interested in selling the house? I'm willing to take it off your hands for ten thousand dollars."

Giselle immediately agreed. "It's a deal. Ten thousand dollars is better than nothing!"

She then turned to address Thomas, saying, "Thomas, call your cousin and ask him what we need to prepare to transfer the ownership of the property. Tell him to draw up a contract for us. All the better if he can get it done by today, so we don't have to keep worrying about it."

The houses that they were talking about were actually worth three million dollars, and yet they were treating them as if they were utterly worthless.

My entire body shook with anger as I listened to them speak as if my properties belonged to them. "That house belongs to me. What makes you think that you have the right to sell it?"

Hannah stepped forward and retorted, "What do you mean they belong to you? Dad's name is written on the deed. At most, you only own a third of it while I own the last third.

"I'm making the decision now to sell it to Uncle Isaac for ten thousand dollars. Don't forget that you still have to return another ten thousand dollars to Giselle."

My patience had reached its limit, and I didn't want to continue wasting my breath on them. I grabbed my coat from the couch and prepared to leave.

Giselle leaped to her feet when she saw me holding the same coat as her. "Are you still going to argue that you're not the thief? You're holding my coat right now!"

I looked at the coat that I was holding before directing my gaze to the same one that was hanging on the back of her chair. My expression darkened when I hissed, "This isn't your coat. Look!"

I reached into the coat pocket and pulled out an ID and a high-speed rail ticket. Both items had my name printed on them.

Thomas was the one who convinced me to change coats, explaining that Giselle would get upset if I stole her spotlight.

Since the situation had already escalated to this point, there was no need for me to worry about Giselle's feelings any longer.

"I bought this coat at a shopping mall," I said. "I still have the receipt. Also, your coat is hanging on the back of your chair!"

Giselle turned to look at her chair. An awkward expression flickered across her face when she noticed that her coat was folded neatly on the back of her chair.

Hannah's face had turned a ruddy red, and she signaled me to stop speaking several times.

Meanwhile, Thomas wore a disgruntled expression. He gestured at the other Cliffords, who were seated around the dining table, multiple times, trying to get me to stop.

I ignored their warnings and continued, "My daughter criticized me the moment I stepped through the door because of you, asking me why I'd bought the same coat as you. Your son insisted that I change into something else so that I wouldn't steal your spotlight—as if your entire worth hinged on this coat."

I had essentially trampled Giselle's pride beneath my feet with my blunt words.

Losing her temper, Giselle dashed toward me. She grabbed my coat and hurled it to the ground. She then proceeded to stomp on it several times as if she wasn't done expressing her anger yet.

She suddenly stopped when she felt something beneath her feet. Gleefully, she rummaged through the coat and pulled out a stack of papers, raising it high into the air so everyone could get a good look at them.

"Are you still going to deny that you stole the money? How are you going to explain this then?"