My mother was the president of a listed corporation, she was both rich and powerful. More importantly, she loved me more than anything in the world.

Meanwhile, my father was a man who cheated on her. When he found out his mistress was pregnant with a girl, he beat her until she miscarried and ended up in prison.

So when the judge publicly asked me to choose between my mother and my father, everyone assumed the custody battle was just a formality.

That was until I walked past my mother's trembling, outstretched hand and firmly chose my father instead.

Everyone was shocked into speechlessness.

In my previous life, I had chosen my mother, the one who spoiled me rotten.

She was the type to buy the whole bakery just because I casually mentioned I wanted their cake.

When I complained it was too sunny, she immediately arranged for four helicopters to put up a sunshade cloth and shade me.

She even deposited a hundred thousand dollars on my school meal card because she was worried I wasn't eating well.

Even though she spoiled me like a true princess and paved the way for me through life, I don't want anything to do with her in this life.

My mother was Cassandra Williams, the president of a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate. She was the most admired woman in all of Harville.

She was crying hysterically. Tears poured out of her like a broken dam.

When she reached out her hand toward me, it was trembling uncontrollably.

“Isabel, come to me!”

The person to my right was my father, Robb Payton.

He was, by all accounts, a scum who had just been released from prison on parole for assault.

My father cheated on his wife and beat his mistress so badly that she had a miscarriage. Each vile act he committed was worse than the last.

He was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed while looking at me with disgust.

The choice of parentage was a no-brainer.

Therefore, I decided. “I choose my father!”

The entire courtroom was shocked into stunned silence the moment I announced my decision.

“She must have lost her mind!”

“Why would she choose such a scumbag for a father?”

“Her father must be blackmailing her somehow.”

Countless speculations erupted all across the courthouse.

At last, my father had recovered from his shock.

He stared at me with the same look of shock written all across his face. Soon, it morphed into unabashed disgust.

He spat right there on the spot, “What a joke! I’d rather raise a pig than have to waste my money taking care of a brat like you!”

My mother, who was a reputable businesswoman known for her stoicism, had completely broken down.

She seized me by my shoulder and was beside herself. She no longer cared what people thought of her.

“Isabel! Do you have any idea what you're saying?!

“Have you forgotten what kind of man he is?

“He locked you in the car under the scorching sun so he could go on a date with that woman. He’s the reason you got heatstroke and had to be sent to the emergency room!

“Remember when he abandoned you at the amusement park to go to the casino? You were stranded there until midnight and almost got kidnapped!

“He left you all alone at home when you had a fever and were even convulsing, all just because he didn’t want to spend a couple of hundred dollars on hospital bills!

“Have you forgotten about all of this?!”

I looked at my mother, who was bawling her eyes out. All I did was smile stiffly and insist adamantly, “I remember. But I still want to choose him."

As soon as I said so, all the color drained out of her face in an instant.

She staggered backward and would have fallen over if not for my uncle catching her from behind.

“Isabel!”

My uncle was furious.

“Have you lost it? Why would you want to be with a douchebag who has treated you like a burden for sixteen years?

“Your mother would gladly die for you, and this is how you repay her?”

I shoved him away expressionlessly.

“This is my final choice.”

There was already a flock of reporters gathered outside the courthouse. I was immediately showered by flashing lights the moment I stepped outside.

“Ms. Williams, what do you have to say about your daughter’s choice?”

“Mr. Payton, what strategy did you use to win the custody battle?”

My father was elated by the media circus all around him. He put his arms around my shoulder and smiled brightly in front of the camera.

“Strategy? Blood is thicker than water, that’s all I need to say about it!

“She’s my daughter! Of course she would pick me!”

Then, he looked triumphantly at my mother, who looked completely ashen.

“Are you watching, Cassandra? Just because you have money doesn’t mean you can buy my daughter’s heart!”

That was when a man suddenly charged through the crowd of reporters.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he had a dagger in his hand.

“Robb! You bastard! You’re going to pay for ruining my sister!”

It was the brother of the woman whom my father had beaten to the point of miscarriage!

My father’s expression dropped. His first instinct was to use me as a shield.

“Isabel! Watch out!”

A figure suddenly zoomed in front of me out of nowhere and shoved me aside.

Thump!

My mother had shielded me with her body.

In an instant, her white suit was stained red with blood.

She turned to me and smiled with relief.

“Isabel… you’re safe… I’m so glad…”

Just like that, she gave out and collapsed at my feet.

The police nearby immediately sprang into action and pinned the murderer to the ground.

While the crowd was still reeling from shock, I looked at my shoe that was stained with my mother’s blood and frowned before stepping away.

I took the arm of my father, who was stunned silent, and urged him on, “Let’s go home, Dad.”

I went to my father’s home, which was a glorified junkyard where empty bottles and moldy takeout containers piled as high as a mountain.

He kicked a beer can out of his path and shoved me inside the house before locking the door behind him.

“Where’s the money?”

Robb held out his hand toward me expectantly.

I set my bag down but did not respond.

He snatched my bag from me and dumped all of its contents on the floor.

My bag contained a few books, some pens, and a family photo.

He took the photo and tore it to shreds.

“Did that bitch Cassandra not give you money?” he bellowed, his eyes wide with rage.

When I did not respond, he brutally slapped me across the face.

“I’m asking you a question! Are you deaf?”

He grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall.

“Who do you think you are to play these little games with me?

“Are you working with that bitch to sabotage me?”

When my forehead slammed against the wall, I could feel something hot trickling down my face.

My vision began to blur. I felt like I was seeing visions of a winter long past.

At the time, I had a fever running up to forty degrees. It was so severe that my body began to convulse.

My mother was in the middle of striking a multi-billion-dollar business deal overseas. When she was told about my condition, she dropped everything and left the executives hanging in shock as she took a private jet back home.

The flight took nearly half a day. When she got home, she took me into her arms and cried the entire night.

It was only later that I found out the business deal had been three years in the planning.

Robb’s tremendous shout snapped me out of my memories.

“Tell me! What kind of plan are you hatching here?”

When I did not respond, he became more upset and kicked me in the stomach.

I curled up on the floor and felt like vomiting.

“Call Cassandra right now!

“Tell her you need money! A lot of money!”

I reached for my phone and obliged, “Alright, I’ll call her.”

I dialed the number that I had memorized by now and even rehearsed the tale I was going to tell her in my mind. I would make up something about how I needed a fifty-thousand-dollar deposit for a school competition.

However, what greeted me was a mechanical voice telling me that the number was unreachable.

I hung up and dialed again, only to receive the same message.

“I can’t get through. She must be in the middle of a surgery.

“Don’t worry, Dad. If you just give me a little time, I can gradually siphon money from her. I promise I’ll get plenty for you.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Gradually? I don’t have time for that!”

Suddenly, Robb stared at me as a sinister smile began to form.

“Come here! Let me examine your body!”

With that, he unbuckled his belt.

“I have plenty of ways to get your mom to give you some money.”

He proceeded to use the belt to tie my hands behind my back.

“I’m going to strip you now and take some pictures.

“If she doesn’t give you the money, I’ll post these pictures! You’re going to become the most famous person in school!”

With that, he slowly reached for the buttons of my school uniform.

I closed my eyes and began to weep silently.

Just as his grimy fingers were about to reach my shirt button.

Bang!

The rusty iron door was thrown open with a powerful kick.

“Isabel! You have to come to the hospital with me, your mother is dying!”

It was my uncle, Cole, who had shown up. He quickly sized up the situation inside the room.

The veins on his neck bulged in an instant. Even the veins on his forehead were showing.

He charged right in and punched Robb square in the face.

Then, he hastily took off his suit jacket to cover me.

After that, he turned back to Robb and pinned him to the ground before unleashing a flurry of punches on him.

“You scumbag! You call yourself a man? She’s your daughter!

“I’m going to kill you right here. Don’t test me!”

Robb was beaten mercilessly. The only thing he could do was cover his head while begging for mercy.

“Stop! Stop! It’s a misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!”

Cole stopped at last. He pulled him up by the collar to interrogate him.

“What were you trying to do to your daughter?”

Robb spat out a mouthful of blood before scrambling for an explanation, “I wasn’t trying to do anything. I was just trying to scare her!”

Cole turned to me with a pained expression in his eyes.

“Isabel, you can tell your uncle the truth. Did he try to strip you?”

I shook my head and told him, “He didn’t do anything. I was the one who tied myself up for fun.”

“What?”

Cole looked at me in disbelief.

“He must have tied you up…”

I cut him off sharply, “I've told you I asked for it!”

He tilted his head and seemed even more baffled than before.

“Isabel, does he have some dirt on you somehow?

“You can tell me. I’m your uncle, and I promise you I will have your back no matter what!

“I’ll even put my life on the line and take him out right here!”

I shook my head and insisted again, “No.”

Robb got up from the ground. He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled gloatingly.

“Listen to your niece, she said it herself!”

Cole glared at him, “Consider yourself lucky. I’ll make sure you get what’s coming later!”

Then, he squatted low in front of me and held me firmly by the shoulders, “They’re trying to save your mother’s life in the hospital now. You have to come with me to see her!”

I forcefully shrugged off his hand and cried out, “I’m not coming with you!

“Even if she dies, I won't see her!”

Cole’s brows were furrowed tightly. He was frozen with shock.

That was the moment he decided he was done bickering with me. Without a word, he carried me over his shoulder and strutted outside.

I squirmed fiercely, but it was no use.

“Let me go! I said I'm not going!”

Then, he forcibly shoved me into the car and sped towards the hospital where my mother was.

“Your mother is suffering from blood loss. They’re trying to resuscitate her now.

“The doctor says the knife was only a centimeter away from her heart.

“She was still murmuring your name moments before she lost consciousness. She was so worried you would be scared by what happened.”

His voice was choked up with tears by this point. I noticed he had an iron grip on the steering wheel.

The radio was playing a live talk show where viewers could call the station.

Soon, a caller called in. She sounded completely hysterical.

“What is that Isabel girl thinking? Her mother shielded her from a knife, and she didn't even bother to glance at her mother before leaving! How could she be so heartless?”

The host agreed, “That’s right, we’re trying to make sense of it too. How much bitterness must she feel toward a mother who has shown her nothing but profound love?”

That was right, my mother loved me more than anything else.

Her love was to the point of being unconditional.

I remember an episode when I made a remark about how ugly the school’s meal card looked.

She proceeded to deposit a hundred thousand dollars into the meal card and made it the best-looking meal card in the entire school.

I stared at the scenery rushing past outside the window. Without warning, I reached for the handle and pulled.

Then, I jumped out of the car while my uncle screamed in the background.