Chapter 486: You Did Great

“That’s my story. Thank you for listening,” Reese said. Her voice shook a little at the end.

She ended the livestream and let out a deep breath.

It felt like she had just finished a long, hard race.

Now, it was Bianca’s turn to speak.

Back at the press conference, the room burst into noise.

Reporters all began shouting questions at once.

“Miss Scott, do you have any proof of what Reese said? How can we believe her without it?”

“Her high school teacher backed up her aunt’s story. What do you say about that?”

They moved closer towards her with their microphones in hand, waiting for her answer.

Bianca didn’t flinch. She looked around at the crowd and the flashing cameras.

Then she said in a confident tone, “Of course, I have evidence.”

The room went silent again. Everyone stared, waiting.

Bianca gave a small smile. She lifted her arm and made a soft, inviting gesture.

The reporters turned to look where she was pointing.

A woman stepped out from the crowd. She looked like she was in her forties or fifties.

She walked slowly onto the stage and stopped next to Bianca. Her hands shook a little, and it was clear she felt nervous in front of the cameras.

Some reporters began whispering.

“Who is she?”

“I have no idea…”

Bianca leaned toward the woman and whispered, “Don’t worry. Just tell them what you remember.”

Her calm voice seemed to help. The woman gave a small nod, looking a little more relaxed.

Bianca then turned to face the crowd.

“Everyone, after Reese was kicked out of her home and had to quit school, she worked different jobs to survive. The woman beside me owns a restaurant where Reese used to work.”

She looked at the woman again and said gently, “Ma’am, could you tell us what happened back then?”

The woman looked down, clearly nervous, but her voice came out loud and clear.

“Reese was really pitiful,” she began.

“I still remember the day she came to my restaurant for a job. Her clothes were worn out, and her shoes were barely holding together. I asked her a bit about her situation. She paused, then told me she hadn’t eaten in three days. She looked so desperate, I decided to let her work in the kitchen, washing dishes.”

She paused for a moment and took a breath.

“As time passed, I got to know her better. That’s when I found out her family had kicked her out.”

The woman looked up, her face now filled with anger.

“I asked her why. She told me her family wanted her to pay back all the money they spent raising her. I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t even look eighteen. I asked more, and she said they thought she was too fat to ever get married, so they couldn’t get a bride price for her. That’s why they told her to pay them back. She even asked me how long it would take to earn that much just by washing dishes.”

Her voice shook a little, but she kept going.

“I was so angry after listening to her. What kind of people treat a child like that? She started crying hard—really hard. She could barely speak. Then she told me something that broke my heart.”

The woman swallowed and added quietly, “She said she didn’t have real parents. Just an aunt and an uncle-in-law. But she still saw them as her only family. She didn’t want to upset them. No matter how hard the job was, she said she’d do anything just to keep it.”

After a short pause, the woman went on.

“I felt sorry for her, so I let her stay at the restaurant and gave her a place to sleep. She worked really hard, but after about two weeks, her hands got hurt from all the dishwashing. It became hard for her to keep up. She was also a bit heavy, so moving around wasn’t easy for her. She couldn’t really be a waitress either. Her looks didn’t fit the kind of image customers expect.”

She took a breath and continued in a soft tone.

“I’m running a business, and I couldn’t keep helping her forever. She noticed I was in a tough situation, so she quit on her own. She packed up and left. I don’t know where she went after that.”

The woman let out a long sigh, clearly unsure if she’d said the right things. She gave Bianca a nervous glance.

Bianca gave her a warm smile as if to say, “You did great.”

But not everyone was convinced.

One reporter shouted, “Why should we believe her? Maybe you just hired these people to make Reese look innocent!”

“Hey, what’s with all the noise?” the woman said firmly. “I’ve always told the truth. If you don’t believe me, check the footage from my place. I’ve had it saved for years.”

As soon as she finished, Bianca grabbed the remote and turned on the big screen behind her.

The video started playing.

It was in black and white, and the quality wasn’t great, but the date from six years ago was clear.

On the screen, a heavyweight girl was seen washing dishes at a sink.

Still, because the footage was old and the girl looked different from Reese now, people weren’t convinced.

“How do we know this video’s real?” someone asked. “What proof do you have that it’s really Reese?”

The restaurant owner’s face turned red with anger. She pointed at the crowd, about to shout back.

Bianca quickly intervened to stop her.

“Thanks for standing up for Reese, ma’am,” Bianca said. “That’s enough for now.”

The restaurant owner took a deep breath and nodded. Diana stepped forward and gently led her out of the room, knowing she needed a break from all the pressure.

Bianca then turned to the reporters and calmly added.

“One person’s story might not be enough to prove anything. But what if more people say the same thing?”

She pressed the remote in her hand.

The screen behind her changed.

A new video began to play. It was an interview Bianca had done a few days earlier while talking to people on the streets. She had been searching for anyone who knew Reese.

In the video, a contractor stood at a busy construction site.

He spoke about a heavyweight girl who worked for him years ago. She said her name was Reese.