Chapter 1

My daughter was falsely accused of stealing, but my husband took the blame for everything.

I knew it was the daughter of his first love who had done it, and I wanted him to tell the truth.

Instead, he launched into a furious tirade.

"What decent company would hire a thief? If word gets out, how will Ava find a good job in the future? Our daughter is sick anyway…"

My husband even said that helping Ava was her honor, and I was so furious I couldn’t speak.

While I worked desperately to find new evidence, my husband tried to make our daughter take the blame for assault.

But he had no idea that I already had all the evidence in my hands!

"My daughter took it. I found this watch in her room."

My husband, Ryan, suddenly walked in from outside and personally admitted that my daughter had stolen the watch.

I immediately grabbed him. "Are you insane? You know who the real thief is…"

Before this, our daughter had firmly insisted that she saw her roommate, Ava, steal the watch. Ava was the daughter of Ryan’s close female friend, but we had no evidence.

Now Ryan had produced the stolen item. He glared at me.

"Do you want me to become a criminal along with you two? Our daughter made a mistake, and all you can think about is covering for her. I really don’t know how you raised her."

He acted as if he were nobly sacrificing his own daughter for justice. My heart ached with rage.

Beside me, our daughter cried and shook her head. She had always been introverted. When she was little, she had withdrawn completely from the world and rarely interacted with anyone.

She pitifully tugged on Ryan’s sleeve. "Dad, I didn’t do it."

Smack.

My husband slapped her across the face. His expression was full of disgust.

"What did I teach you? No matter what else you do, never become a thief. You’re an embarrassment."

With that, Ryan returned the stolen item to its owner. The watch was incredibly expensive, worth nearly a million dollars. The owner immediately called the police and was absolutely furious.

If the accusation was confirmed, our daughter would definitely be arrested.

"So you were the one who stole it? You always looked so harmless. I never expected you to be this pathetic and desperate."

"My daughter didn’t do it. It was clearly—"

I was about to speak when Ryan yanked me aside. He leaned close and "reminded" me that exposing him would mean I was committing perjury, and besides, there were no security cameras.

"If you want to get me killed, just say so. If we tell the truth, they’ll stop pursuing the matter."

The owner mocked our daughter and ordered her to kneel and apologize, but my husband knelt first.

"It’s all our fault."

Because the police were still standing nearby, he didn’t dare act too arrogantly. On the way out of the police station, our daughter cried nonstop.

She kept saying that she hadn’t done it. "Ava stole it. Dad, you know that too. Why are you lying?"

"Ava is going to work for a Fortune 500 company someday. If she can’t get a good job because of this, what will happen to her mother for the rest of her life?"

"You’re my child. How could you possibly compare to Ava?"

"…"

"Don’t be upset. Let your Aunt Victoria take you out for a meal. Helping Ava is your honor."

"That’s enough." I was furious, but we had no evidence, and my own husband had personally handed over the stolen watch.

He had even admitted that our daughter stole it, completely turning her into a falsely accused thief.

I had to find more evidence. I couldn’t let him continue acting recklessly.

"Mom, I really didn’t steal it."

"I know." I comforted my daughter and told her not to dwell on the matter. I would find solid evidence and clear her name.