Chapter 1

When the tenth branch store opened, I sent a video to my husband to share the good news.

But I saw my six-year-old daughter Hanhan being pushed down by my nephew, with a bump on her head.

My husband didn't have the slightest intention to help, instead, he sat in the chair laughing!

"Kids being rambunctious is perfectly normal, no need to make a fuss."

He called my nephew over and praised his strength, saying he'd surely do well in the future.

The nephew laughed proudly in his embrace.

Hanhan crouched far away, holding her hurt arm in fear.

I turned on the surveillance, wanting to know what exactly happened?

Only to see my husband hugging my divorced sister...

In recent years, the company's performance has been good, and the stock keeps rising.

I planned to ride this wave and open a few more branches, spending the past half-year busy traveling.

It was rare for me to video call home, only to see my daughter bullied by my nephew!

Stranger still, my husband not only did not comfort his daughter but was cuddling the nephew who bullied her.

My daughter watched longingly from the side, and when she got a bit closer, Yangyang would raise his arm to scare her.

On his wrist, he wore the peach-wood bracelet I gave my daughter.

The colorful string tied with a handmade carved peach-wood longevity lock, exquisite and delicate.

It was hand-made by my mother-in-law for Hanhan during last year's Dragon Boat Festival.

Hanhan loved this bracelet so much that she didn't want to take it off, even when bathing.

I asked my husband doubtfully, but he seemed impatient.

"It's just a lousy string! Why be so petty? Besides, you said it was last year's Dragon Boat Festival, isn't it normal that Hanhan doesn't want it anymore?"

I'm very familiar with my husband's tone.

When he's caught lying, he uses this impatient tone to cover his panic.

Before we married, I thought it was quite cute, thinking I found an honest man who couldn't even lie properly.

But now, his impatience sends chills down my spine.

To find out the truth, after the call ended, I made a separate video call to my daughter.

My daughter answered with her children's smartwatch, so the video wasn't very clear.

But I clearly saw that on the wrist where she used to wear the colorful string, there was a deep bruise as if something had been forcefully ripped away.

It was clearly the mark left by the string being forcibly torn off!

But when I asked my daughter what happened,

she just kept shaking her head, too afraid to say anything.

In the past, when we video-called, she would chatter endlessly with me.

She would hop on the bed singing popular internet songs among kids.

She would also put her hands on her waist, twisting and dancing the new dances taught by her teacher.

But in the last six months, she's suddenly become very quiet.

I thought my daughter was growing up and becoming more reserved.

It's only today that I realized, she didn't grow up.

She's clearly being bullied! And the bully is her own closest family!

I can't understand why my husband has suddenly become so indifferent to Hanhan.

After reviewing the surveillance, I discovered he was hugging my sister!

I couldn't hold it in anymore and called my husband to confront him.

My husband seemed to have anticipated my call, calmly saying, it was because my sister slipped and fell into his arms while mopping, and if I didn't believe it, I could check the surveillance!

With a half-doubtful attitude, I reviewed the surveillance footage from start to finish, the video had no sound, and it indeed looked like an accidental hug.

But just based on this, I still couldn't dispel the doubts in my heart.

Because the housekeeper told me that the house bought for my sister, she wasn't living in it.

She's living with us!