The tears came up out of her like a dam breaking.

I held her until she could talk. Then she told me–things I had not heard, things I had not been around to hear.

"Daddy, they said I'm a cash drain. Grandma wouldn't give me food.

"I was so hungry… so I ate what cousin Ace left on his plate. They said that was all I deserved.

"Uncle said everything I had was Ace's. He made me wash Ace's underwear. He made me serve Ace at dinner. He said if I didn't, they'd throw me out…"

The pain in my chest doubled with every line.

I had wired so much money home. My daughter had not been allowed to sit at the table. She had been a five-year-old housekeeper for a six-year-old.

When Ace fell, the punishment landed on Lily.

I wanted to walk into that kitchen, pick up the cleaver, and end every adult in this house at once.

Vera was banging on the bedroom door.

"Levi! Open the door! Why are you locking it? We're family!

"This is what happens when you spoil her! She doesn't think of anyone but herself! Ace is her own family! It's just one kidney–why is she being like this?!"

Lily started shaking against my chest.

The fury cleared the rest of my head. I opened the door–my hand came down hard across Vera's face.

She held her cheek, eyes wide, disbelief and anger flashing.

"Levi Jordan! Have you lost your mind?! You hit me?!"

My brother-in-law looked at me with disapproval, going on about how I had no sense of family, no right to call myself her husband.

I stopped listening. I went back to the room, packed our things, picked Lily up, and dragged the suitcase to the door.

If I stayed one more minute, I knew I would walk into the kitchen… and not walk out a free man.

My mother-in-law was at the front gate.

"Mom! Stop him!" my brother-in-law shouted from behind. "He won't let Lily donate!"

She grabbed my arm without thinking–but when she met my eyes, her grip loosened.

I stepped past her.

She suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me, wailing.

"My son-in-law has lost his mind!

"I came all the way from the village to help raise his child, and now he wants to take my granddaughter and run away!

"If you want to leave, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

The moment I thought about what they wanted to do to my daughter, the anger surged.

I kicked the old woman in the stomach.

Then I picked up my suitcase, held my daughter tight, and walked away.

I thought that would be the end of it.

I was wrong.

Vera went live on a streaming platform.

She cried to the camera, accusing me of being violent. She said I only came home once a year, and that I had led our usually obedient daughter astray.

She even played footage–her mother kneeling in front of me, and me kicking her without hesitation.

It was the holiday season. Everyone had time.

Her stream exploded.

Within hours, people were digging up my information, flooding me with insults. Some even edited black-and-white memorial photos of me and posted them on New Year's Day.

Worse, Vera called the police.

They tracked me down at a hotel.

She showed up holding her phone, livestream still running.

In front of everyone, my mother-in-law dropped to her knees again.

"Levi, I'm sorry. I forgot you don't like black sesame dumplings. I should have made peanut filling.

"It's my fault… I didn't make your holiday comfortable. You can hit me, you can scold me–but please, don't take my granddaughter away from home…"

Vera held the phone steady, her voice softer than ever.

"Honey… don't be angry. It's all my fault."

"It's New Year's Day. Come home with me."

They had twisted everything, turning me into a violent freeloader who married into his wife's family.

The chat confirmed it. Strangers were cursing at me. Even the police, caught up in the holiday spirit, tried to persuade me–saying families should stay harmonious during the New Year, that I should think about Lily.

It was absurd.

With the crowd backing her, Vera used brute force to pry Lily out of my arms.

Only the chat–those who knew the truth–were on my side, cursing Vera nonstop.

[Can this vicious woman just die?!]

[I can't take it anymore. How can someone be this disgusting? She already applied for an operating room. She's made up her mind, she's going to take Lily's heart!]

I was frantic, but to outsiders it looked like Vera was holding me in a close embrace.

Only I knew that where no one could see, she was pressing hard over my mouth, stopping me from making a sound.

My mother-in-law saw Lily alone and quickly got up, grabbed her, tucked her under her arm, and ran.

The crowd burst into cheers, but no one noticed how tightly she was gripping Lily's wrist–so hard it left a bloody mark.

I struggled desperately, trying to call for help, but no one paid attention.

Applause broke out around me. They thought they had 'saved a family.'

However, no one cared how my daughter felt.

Vera was a surgeon. If she wanted to operate, she could do it anytime.

The fact that she chose New Year's Day meant Ace's condition had already reached a critical point.

I did not dare imagine what would happen to Lily after she was taken away.

After the crowd dispersed, I bit Vera hard and demanded hysterically,

"Why?! Lily is your biological daughter! Why are you choosing him over her?!"

Vera only glanced at me coldly and locked me in the hotel.

Luckily, it was only the second floor. I jumped down and escaped.

When I reached her hospital, I searched room after room.

Not here.

Not here either.

Just when I was about to lose hope, I finally saw my daughter.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her small face pale as she lay quietly on the bed.

I did not think, I immediately yanked the IV needle from the back of her hand.

Just as I picked her up and turned to leave, Vera suddenly appeared, blocking my path.

Her voice carried a threat. "Levi, what are you doing? I only brought her here for a check-up."

The chat flashed again.

[This shameless woman already had Lily tested for compatibility. This surgery is for a direct heart transplant.]

I completely broke down and shouted,

"Vera, do you even have a heart?! Lily is your own daughter!"

A trace of hesitation flickered in Vera's eyes–but the next second, her gaze hardened.

"Put Lily down. I'll perform the surgery myself. She won't feel any pain.

"Levi, trust me."

My blood ran cold. At that moment, I was completely done with her.

I grabbed a scalpel from the nearby tray. Holding my daughter in one arm, I waved the blade wildly with the other.

"If you dare touch a single hair on my daughter's head, I'll kill you!"

Vera's expression turned cold and heavy. She hadn't expected such a reaction.

Gritting her teeth, she prepared to force her way forward.

"Levi, you brought this on yourself. You could have just handed her over.

"Why did you have to push things this far?"

She stared at me like a predator, closing in step by step.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside the door.

I shouted at the top of my lungs,

"Help! Someone's trying to kill us!"

The door was slammed open. Police and reporters rushed in.

Vera stared at me in disbelief.

"You actually called the police?!"

The reporter looked like she had just hit a major story, camera flashes going off nonstop at Vera's face. She kept raising her hands to block the light.

Seeing how disheveled she looked, some of the frustration in my chest finally eased.

She thought she was the only one who could use livestreams to morally pressure people.

In the end, we were all taken to the police station.

Vera, as Lily's biological mother, insisted she only wanted to do a compatibility test for her daughter. The police had no grounds to hold her and eventually released her.

Standing outside the station, I felt a deep sense of helplessness.

I grew up an orphan. I knew what it felt like to have no money. After having my daughter, all I wanted was to give her more and more–yet I ignored how she felt growing up.

Thinking about everything she had endured, I held her tightly and apologized.

"Daddy, I've never blamed you. Being with you is what makes me happiest."

Looking at her innocent smile, I broke down in tears and swore to myself that I would get justice for her.

I took her to another hospital with the reporter and had her injuries examined.

The bruises all over her body–light and dark–were evidence of Vera's abuse.

I wanted a divorce. I wanted custody of my daughter. And I wanted Vera to pay for what she had done.

However, I did not expect her to refuse.

"Levi, what exactly are you making a fuss about? Haven't we always lived like this?

"I've told you so many times–losing one kidney won't kill her."

The chat messages started flooding in.

[Oh my god, I'm so angry. I checked the preview–Hunter isn't her brother at all. He's her first love.]

[What?! So that means Ace isn't her nephew–he's her son?]

[Yeah. Vera had Ace before she married Levi.]

[This woman is disgusting. I hope Levi fights back. Lily is such a sweet kid–losing her would be heartbreaking.]

[Same here. Compared to Ace, I much prefer Lily.]

Seeing those comments, my whole body went cold. I could not react for a long moment.

It was not until my daughter softly called 'Daddy' that I clenched my fists.

If I just divorced her like this, it would be letting Vera off too easily.

Over the next few days, I found a lawyer and started gathering evidence of Vera's affair.

I had no family or friends here. With no other choice, I sent my daughter to daycare and repeatedly told the staff not to let anyone take her except me.

When Vera received the divorce papers, she went mad and called to curse me out.

"Levi, do you just hate seeing our family happy? Why do you want a divorce?

"I'm telling you–even if we divorce, you're leaving with nothing. And Lily stays with me!"

I let out a cold laugh and hung up.

The lawyer was not working during the holidays, and I had not finished gathering evidence. I did not want to provoke Vera and complicate things.

However, I did not expect her to find the daycare.

When I went to pick Lily up, I was told she had already been taken by her mother.

Rage shot through me. I had warned them again and again–so why did they still hand her over?

The teacher said casually, "Her mother came, and she even brought the household registry. I couldn't refuse to release the child to her biological mother."

"If you ask me, some people must be involved with the wrong kind of women, that's why they won't let their daughters see their real mothers."

I was furious and panicked, with no time to argue.

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely unlock my phone. After several tries, I finally dialed Vera's number.

"Levi, weren't you acting pretty bold when you said you wanted a divorce?

"For your information–Ace doesn't need a kidney.

"He needs a heart."