Part 2The Mad Mother

The lawyer explained that my mother had secretly transferred the main company, Stone Industries, into my name. It was my pre-marital property, untouchable even by Cici, my wife. Stone Industries was my parents' life's work. If it fell into the wrong hands, I would never be able to face my mother again. The most urgent task now was to find evidence to clear her name.

After leaving the law firm, I immediately went to visit my mother in prison. Her face, haggard and pale, her eyes vacant behind the cold bars, made my fists clench in helpless rage.

"Alex, I didn't do it… I truly didn't do it!" My mother wept, tears streaming down her face. And I knew it. This was a naked frame-up—a meticulously orchestrated deception by my wife, designed to transfer the company to Caleb.

I turned away, fighting back my own tears. "Mom, I believe you. I've found a lawyer. Don't worry, you'll be out in a few days."

My mother sat there, dazed, merely whispering. "I never imagined Cici would do this to me. From childhood, I treated her like my own daughter."

"That day, I drank the tea she offered without a second thought. I was even picking out a birthday gift for her."

...

My mother choked back sobs, her eyes brimming with profound disappointment, a deep, weary defeat. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth, my gaze unwavering as I looked at her. "Mom, my lawyer friend says there's still a chance. Once you're out, I'll take you abroad for a change of scenery."

As visiting hours ended, I bade my mother farewell and walked out, my heart heavy with a profound sense of loss. Despite my reassurances to her, I knew the situation was dire. No one wanted to take on this case, to go up against Cici and her powerful connections.

"Caleb, make sure all the documents are ready. The company will be transferred to you shortly."

Not far away, Cici was carefully instructing Caleb on the transfer process. By the time I fully processed their conversation, I was already standing before them, my gaze sharp and unwavering, piercing through her.

"Cici Bennett, are you truly going to transfer the company to him?"

She frowned, her voice icy. "Why are you still fixated on this small matter? The company belongs to Caleb."

I hadn't held out much hope, but hearing her words, my heart was viciously impaled all over again. I took a deep breath, asking, my voice raw with indignation, "For him, you would frame the woman who raised you since childhood?"

Cici shielded Caleb, her voice laced with impatience. "Caleb is an underprivileged student I sponsored. This is a graduation gift for him. Stop being as unreasonable as your mother!"

I stared at this woman, so familiar yet so alien. For a moment, I thought I had misheard. But her cold, mocking gaze rested squarely on me. "Your mother was too stingy. Caleb’s family is poor. What's wrong with giving him the company? If she hadn't refused, I wouldn't have treated her this way."

So, my mother's years of selfless devotion were worth less than a few empty words from an underprivileged student she sponsored. And for her own selfish desires, she had allowed my mother to be burdened with a false accusation.

Caleb, hiding behind Cici, whimpered, his eyes brimming with false vulnerability. "If Alex doesn't want me to take over the company, then I don't want it." He pulled his hand away and turned to leave. "I was foolish to dream. Cici, I won't bother you two again."

Cici grabbed his arm, her breathing quick and shallow. "Caleb, what are you saying? The company is compensation for my mother-in-law assaulting you. No one can stop this."

My gaze was locked onto her arm, wrapped intimately around Caleb's. It was only then that I fully grasped the brutal truth: years of nurturing, of selfless care, meant nothing compared to a poor student's fabricated story. My heart churned with bitterness, tears, unbidden, welled and spilled.