Chapter 1

At my Ashford University acceptance party, my own mother called the police and had me arrested for aggravated assault.

All because my cousin accidentally drank my mango juice and had an allergic reaction.

"Get into a good school and suddenly you think you're above everyone."

"Even if you're my daughter, I will not cover for someone with bad character."

My cousin was terrified. She held out her arm, showing the few scattered red hives on it.

"Aunt Hester Parsons, I'm really fine. These hives will be gone by tomorrow. I picked up the wrong cup by accident. It has nothing to do with Jasmine Turner."

Uncle Marcus Reed tried to reason with her too.

"Hester, Jasmine worked so hard to get into Ashford. If she goes in there, she'll have a record. This will ruin her whole life."

My mother sneered.

"It's not that serious. A few days locked up will teach her to reflect. Character matters more than grades."

"She has to learn this lesson. She's an adult now, which means she should understand even better that you have to accept the punishment when you do something wrong."

"You two can stop speaking up for her. The fact that she got into Ashford just proves I know more about raising a child than either of you."

Later, I ended up with a criminal record.

Deaf in one ear.

Rejected by Ashford.

And the woman who kept insisting she knew best about raising a child ended up on her knees, begging me to turn and look at her just once.

——

Two officers walked into the banquet hall soon after.

"Who called the police?"

My mother stepped out of the crowd at once.

She was wearing a fitted plum-colored cheongsam today, her posture upright and righteous, her back held perfectly straight.

"I did."

She pointed at me, her voice ringing, every word crisp.

"My daughter knew perfectly well that my niece is allergic to mango, and she still maliciously handed her a glass of mango juice to drink. I have every reason to suspect this was premeditated harm."

She bit down hard on the word maliciously.

As if afraid no one would hear it clearly.

At the very top of the banquet hall's stage hung a huge banner, gold letters on a red background.

"Congratulations to our beloved daughter Jasmine on her admission to the prestigious Ashford University. A bright future awaits."

My mother had it custom-made, positioned to face the main doors.

She stood at the entrance, personally greeting every guest who came to the party.

Listening to question after question—how did you do it, is there some secret—all of them coming to her for advice.

The lines around her eyes deepening as she smiled. "Oh, it's nothing. I just understand a little more about raising children than most people, that's all."

Just like now, she crinkled the corners of her eyes even deeper, smiling at the officers, neither servile nor arrogant.

"Today is my daughter's party to celebrate getting into Ashford. But as a proper mother, I will absolutely never cover for someone with flawed character. Even if it's my own daughter, I'll put justice before family."

"I called the police so that everyone here would know—no matter how good your grades are, if you fail as a person, you'll only become the scum of society, a parasite on this country."

"Please, officers, take her away. Charge her with aggravated assault and punish her to the fullest extent."

The officers stared at the four words on the banner, a bright future awaits.

Something faintly unreadable crossed their faces.

"Ma'am, do you understand that aggravated assault is a criminal charge?"

"Once she's charged, she could go to prison."

Uncle Marcus shot to his feet and grabbed my mother's arm.

"Hester, don't do something foolish. You know how much Jasmine gave up to get into Ashford. If she goes to prison, her whole life is over."

He quickly turned and tried to explain to the officers.

"This is all a misunderstanding. My niece never—"

"Be quiet." My mother cut him off sharply. "Helping her now only feeds Jasmine's arrogance and bad habits. The only reason Anne Thomas wasn't in mortal danger from her allergy today is dumb luck, and that's no excuse for Jasmine to dodge her crime. If she dares to hurt her own family today, tomorrow she'll dare to kill!"

She hauled me up out of my chair and fixed her eyes on me. "You tell the officers yourself—did you or did you not deliberately hurt your cousin? You got into Ashford and let it go to your head, didn't you? Suddenly your own family means nothing to you, is that it?"