After getting ready, I went to the company, only to find the entrance packed with banners and ominous standing sprays. Unsurprisingly, when my boss, Mr. Cliff Murray, saw me, he looked displeased.
I cut him off before he could speak. "Don't worry, Mr. Murray. Give me one week. If I don't fix this by then, I'll resign."
"Then you'd better keep your word, Diana. This matter is having a massive impact on the company. Everyone's talking about it. Since you've already been promoted and are getting paid a decent salary, you should just give your mother 500 dollars a month and save everyone the headache."
"Rest assured, Mr. Murray. I will resolve this matter. And thanks for your trust in me."
Keeping my cool, I turned around and walked away. As soon as I walked into the break room, I could hear my colleagues gossiping about me.
"So what if Diana's sales numbers are good? She won't even support her own mother. What will our clients think if they hear about this?"
"My phone's been blowing up all morning. Clients keep asking if our Diana is the same one everyone's talking about online. I couldn't even bring myself to tell them!"
"She really fooled me. She looks decent enough and spends a lot of money without a second thought, but she can't even spare 500 dollars for her own mom? It makes me wonder how she turned out like this."
With a slight smile, I appeared right behind them. "You want to know how I turned out like this? I can tell you."
They nearly jumped out of their skin. When they saw it was me, they looked extremely awkward and scurried away without a backward glance.
While they were fleeing, they muttered something about how I was sick in the head. Yeah, I was sick—very sick to be precise. But I was now cured.
Anyone who wanted to guilt-trip me was going to get the cold shoulder, especially if that person was my mother.
It was a good thing I had already moved away ages ago. Otherwise, I would have had a hard time standing my ground.
The gossip in the office was unbearable, so I asked Mr. Murray for a week off. The moment I went downstairs, I saw Mom waiting with a mob, blocking the entrance.
"How heartless can you be, Diana? Why are you treating me like this? When you were just a baby, I even had to borrow money to make you baby formula because I couldn't produce milk.
"All I'm asking for is 500 dollars. With how much you're being paid now, you can't just abandon me!"
As I watched her sob uncontrollably, a famous influencer, Christy Burch, stormed over to me.
"Diana, you are a disgrace to women everywhere! As a fellow woman, I can just tell that you're unmarried. That's exactly why you don't know how painful it is to give birth and raise a child!"
"Stop trying to guilt-trip me. It's an adult's responsibility to raise their child if they decide to have one. I'd advise anyone who isn't ready not to pop them out randomly. Women shouldn't treat themselves like a walking uterus! She's the perfect example of one!"
My criticism made Christy furious. "Diana, do you mind if we follow you around? I'd like to see how you spend your money in a day!"
Ignoring her, I hopped into my car and sped off. The comments section went wild immediately.
"Look at that luxury car she's driving! That car costs a total of 800 thousand dollars!"
"What does she make in a year? 800 thousand dollars is a lot!"
"This company is listed on the stock market. I heard she just got promoted to executive director, so it's possible that she's making over a million dollars."
"If she can drop 800 thousand dollars like it's nothing and is living in a nice place, why is she so stingy?"
Stingy? I had money and was generous to everyone. Just not to Mom.
I went on a shopping spree, making a show of splurging. After dropping tens of thousands of dollars on bags without a second thought, I dined at a place where it cost more than a thousand dollars a meal as if it were nothing.
On the flip side, Mom was living a miserable life. Christy made a split-screen comparison. On one side, I was walking into luxury stores, spending money like it was water. On the other side, Mom was digging through trash cans by the street.
The contrast between Mom's disheveled appearance and my glamorous look was stark. Naturally, it once again drew another flood of criticism from netizens.
Even while I was still shopping, a woman ran up to me and yelled, "Diana, are you for real? How do you even have the nerve to be out shopping after abandoning your own mother?"
I looked at her coolly. "If you feel sorry for her, then why don't you take care of her? If you can't do it, don't even try to guilt-trip me. You should just take care of your own mother instead of worrying about other people's mothers!"
She was speechless. After a long while, she screamed, "Look here, everyone! This is the high-ranking executive who refuses to give her mom 500 dollars!"
I walked away quickly. She tried to get people to stop me, but unfortunately for her, while there were plenty of rubberneckers, anyone who actually wanted to stop me and lay a hand on me had to think twice about whether they could handle the consequences.
When I noticed a few people coming over together, trying to surround me and manhandle me while spewing insults, I called the cops straight away. I had the woman charged with harassment and disorderly conduct. She was going to be locked up for a week.
Furious, she started cursing me out. I said in an even tone, "What a fool. You don't even know when you're being used."
After I sent those who stalked and harassed me behind bars, the news about it spread across the internet like wildfire.
Meanwhile, Mom was keeping busy. She spent her whole day scavenging for recyclables, dragged them to the recycling center, exchanged them for ten dollars, and bought a pack of pasta with the money.
She then built a makeshift stove out of bricks outdoors. After starting a fire, she cooked the plain pasta. On the other hand, I was at a high-end Jovaran restaurant, enjoying a meal that cost thousands of dollars.
The stark difference and my aloof demeanor once again set the internet ablaze.
"How cruel!"
"Why hasn't her company fired her yet?"
"To be honest, she's pretty capable. I've worked with her before. I never thought she was this kind of person. She even sponsors a few impoverished students. I wonder why she's so cold-blooded to her own mother."
"Don't bother trying to defend her. A self-serving person like her would never believe they're in the wrong!"
"She's incredibly selfish. I'm her neighbor, and she doesn't even say hi to people when she runs into them. It's no surprise that she won't support her mom!"
After identifying those who made the nastiest comments, I contacted my lawyer to gather evidence and started building a legal case against them.
…
Three days had passed since then. Mom started a live stream, and sitting beside her was Christy.
"Ms. Lynch, don't be nervous. Look, everyone is here to support you."
Ten thousand people had poured into the live stream, all well-meaning viewers. Seemingly uneasy, Mom waved her hands frantically. "There's no need for this! I don't want to cause trouble for all of you!
"I just want my daughter to come back home. If she isn't willing to give me 500 dollars, I'd be happy with just a visit from her, even if she came empty-handed.
"I live alone, so I don't really have many expenses. I can survive by collecting scraps if I really have to. It's just… Diana, eventually, there will be a day when I'm too old to collect recyclables.
"I just don't want to die alone at home and have no one find me until I start to rot. It wouldn't be good if it gets to that point."
As I listened to her say all that, I remained expressionless. The viewers, however, were absolutely livid.
"Ms. Lynch, I'm an attorney. I'll represent you for free if you'd like to sue her. Based on her monthly salary of 100 thousand dollars, she should at least give you 20 thousand dollars a month!"
"Ms. Lynch, I own a supermarket. There's unsold, imperfect-looking produce daily. If you don't mind, feel free to take it."
"Ms. Lynch, I'll provide you with a whole crate of pasta and ten liters of cooking oil every month. Don't worry. You won't go hungry."
"Where is the support from her local community? Why is nothing being done when an old lady is struggling so much?"
"She has a daughter, so she doesn't qualify for government assistance."
The flood of comments in the live stream thrilled Christy.
Holding Mom's hand, she comforted her. "Ms. Lynch, you should sell products with me tomorrow. I'll pay you a salary. If your daughter won't support you, I will!"
I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I heard that. A sucker had arrived! Great. Since someone else wanted to support her, it was fine by me!
Just then, Alan came to see me. He was sweating profusely and looked rather surprised.
"Diana, I finally understand why you don't give her a single cent! She's faking it! She gives her monthly pension to a man named Oliver Erickson, who lives in Unit 602, Building 3 of Smoraville Residences!"
