The silence in the living room was deafening. Sayaka's face lost colour while the rest of the family members in the room looked from one person to the other. It became obvious that Akira's words had some validity, judging from Sayaka's expression.

"What do you mean?" Sayaka asked with a shaky voice.

"I like your ability to deny, even when you realise there is no way out." Akira looked at her without mercy.

"I don't know what you are talking about." The older woman did not give in.

"I have said it time and time again. I am not a person that you should push. I do not make empty threats. I thought that my earlier demonstration was enough for you to understand that. But you care too much for your family image, don't you, Madam Yamazaki?" She asked.

"You…" Sayaka started.

Akira lowered her head and hid the hurt and heartbreak in her eyes. She had not known her biological mother for a long time, but she had hoped at least she would have some feelings towards her. She would not care about not getting the same affection as Hanae.

But how could she try to send off her baby to suffer without a second thought?

Even if Akira could not provide for her baby without help, was the Yamazaki family so poor that they could not afford to feed one more mouth?

The hurt and heartbreak slowly disappeared, and all that was left was anger. All-consuming anger at this woman she had called Mom…

Even her other mother was kinder than this one. At least, Helen Brown did not pretend to be something that she wasn't. She could be cold and even cruel sometimes. But she did not hide her darkness in platitudes or pretences. At least, not from her.

Akira's eyes were devoid of all care when she looked at Sayaka.

"You should know I cloned your phone as soon as I came to this room. I am not so stupid as to trust you after you ambushed me a few times. So, I know everything that you have been doing, including talking to the Sisters of Divine Repentance." Akira responded.

"You were pretending?" Sayaka asked angrily.

"You can even look at me and ask that question with a straight face? You are truly something special. If I lacked ability, wouldn't I have been sold off and helped you count the money?" Akira asked. "I am, at the very least, better than you."

"Since I came to this room, I have given you multiple chances to change your attitude. I thought showing you what I was capable of was enough for you to change your heart and mind. But you still insisted on pushing me until we come to this point." She paused. "Why couldn't you leave yourself with a way of survival?"

These were the same words that Sayaka had spoken to Akira when she said she was leaving.

"I am doing this for your future. I am your mother. How could I harm you?" Sayaka was afraid as she listened to Akira.

She looked back to the interactions between her and Akira since she came to the room and realised something. Akira had played with her by being aggressive and then backing away. She controlled the situation perfectly.

Akira lured her into a trap, bringing their relationship to the final point. However, it could also be considered as giving her a chance to change her mind.

"Please don't. The more you speak, the more you disgust me."

Akira tapped her phone and opened her mother's file. She looked at the content with fast eyes, and her eyebrows lifted in surprise. She did not expect to find something so juicy on the woman. Her mother seemed like a typical housewife of a wealthy family.

The most dirt she expected was the misuse of family money, shoplifting or some other petty thing. But this…

When she decided to cut all routes of survival for her mother, she was not confident she would succeed. She was afraid that her foolish father would protect her mother as he always did. But the file had enough ammunition to keep her down forever.

Her lips stretched into a happy smile.

Perhaps, she was a jinx as her grandmother had suggested.

But again, if these people did not want their evil deeds to be exposed, they should have lived upright lives. And they should not have stepped on her.

But before dealing with her mother…

"We are close to the final act, my dearest family. But before that, I would like to say something to the person whose crime has gone unpunished for years." She paused. "Yes, I am talking about you, Aunt Kaoru. Don't think I had forgotten about you."

Kaoru felt her blood cool down.

"What do you mean? I have not done anything." She replied loudly.

"Do you remember when I said that we will find out about my kidnapping years ago? Well, we are all aware of the culprit in our hearts. But it is a shame that even I do not have enough evidence to get Aunt Kaoru convicted." Akira sighed.

"Then, why are you accusing me carelessly? Do you think that I won't sue you for slander?" Kaoru became fierce once she heard that Akira did not have enough evidence.

"Don't be so quick to speak up, Aunt. I said enough evidence, not none. Both you and your daughter are quite skilled at hiding your illegal money. I cannot deny that I have some respect for your wit. No wonder you have been able to keep Madam Yamazaki under your thumb for all these years." Akira laughed.

Sayaka showed incomprehensible anger at the words, but she did not know how to respond.

"I have plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing to you as the culprit for my kidnapping, including your hidden gold and jewellery in a safety security box. Fun fact: your daughter also hid her ill-gotten gains in the same way." Akira said.

"Both of you should have enough money for finding a good lawyer. I am not sure if you will be able to survive once Dad finds out these details though. Of course, I have also sent the information to the special police for further investigation."

"I don't believe that you have anything incriminating. Everyone knows I was at the hospital on the day you were taken." Kaoru folded her arms over her chest. "Do not try to pin things on me just because you have no accusation against me."

Akira smiled subtly. "I also have a few surveillance videos of you and my kidnapper a few weeks earlier from a few cafés. Of course, it is still circumstantial, but I am sure with a little more effort, I will be able to get hard evidence for your crime."

"Then, I will wait," Kaoru said stubbornly.

Akira did not mind her attitude. She turned to Sayaka.

"That is all you can do. In any case, I am more surprised that my so-called mother found out about your involvement in my kidnapping years ago and said nothing about it." She said.

Akira's eyes held no affection or any positive feeling for her mother after reading her file.

And surprisingly, this discovery was not the juiciest one.