Chapter 3My Toxic Daughter’s Regret

Soon, Nancy’s accusations on the livestream spread all through the Internet.

The video someone had recorded gained a million views in half an hour. It was titled, “Famous lawyer's daughter accuses him of assault mid-livestream.”

I tried to hold back my temper, asking her in a trembling voice, “Why do you keep doing this to me?”

Nancy slowly smiled, blinking her large eyes.

“Your eyes were so bright when you looked at the chat just now, Daddy. Much brighter than when you look at me.

“It's your fault for ignoring me. Rebelling is my way of getting your attention.”

I could not help it any more. For the first time, I hit her.

Her eyes widened in shock, then she let out an ear-piercing wail. Her expression said she was stunned and hurt that I would dare to hit her.

That was when my wife came back from work. Nancy immediately ran into her arms.

“Mommy, Daddy hit me! I hate him! I'll keep rebelling against him!”

When my wife heard the whole story, she turned pale. She crouched down and patiently tried to advise Nancy again.

However, Nancy just stared at me over my wife's shoulder. There was no remorse in her eyes, only hatred and resentment for that slap.

That night I stared at the ceiling and could not sleep a wink.

The next day, the police came to my house to check for evidence.

A female officer examined Nancy's body thoroughly but could not find any evidence of assault.

She crouched down and asked Nancy, “Little girl, why did you tell everyone those things?”

Nancy blinked and said seriously, “I wasn't lying, ma'am. When my father misses me, he'll rub my head and hug me.”

The officer fell silent. Her gaze on me turned from professional to slightly uncomfortable.

The result of the investigation was “insufficient evidence to press charges”.

However, the netizens did not care about that.

[Insufficient evidence doesn't mean it didn't happen.]

[How could a seven-year-old come up with something like this on her own?]

[I bet there’s something wrong with that lawyer. They just haven’t found out what yet.]

My photo was posted all over the Internet, and my name became a trending hashtag. They called me the “PDFile Lawyer”.

The next day, I was fired by the law firm on the grounds of “irreparable damages to the firm’s reputation.”

I stood outside the firm with the letter in my hand, blinded by the sunlight.

When I got in the car, Nancy sat in the backseat eating an expensive ice cream, swinging her legs happily. She tilted her head and licked the cream off her lips.

“Daddy, why do you look paler than the little girls in your pictures?

"Shouldn’t you be happy that you don’t have to go to work anymore? Why aren’t you smiling?”

I stared at her silently, my nails digging into my palms before I even realized it.

Over the next few days, I locked myself in my room, preparing for the National Young Lawyer Public Interest Speech Competition. I had registered for it three months ago.

The Department of Justice organized the contest, which only happened once every three years. The champion would immediately win a position in the High Court, and the panel of judges included a deputy minister.

The audience included VIPs from the city’s legal system, leaders of every big law firm, and reporters from every national paper. The cameras would send the footage live to every major platform on the Internet.

This was my last and only chance to redeem my reputation.