Ruby, unwilling to let Isabella be humiliated any further, immediately shifted the attack back onto Brenna. “Oh, please! Look at yourself. Do you really expect us to believe that someone who never even finished grade school designed a nuclear-powered cargo ship propulsion system? You must have stolen this! People like you bring nothing but disgrace. Don’t you dare associate yourself with the Barrett family again from now on!”
Brenna didn’t spare Ruby a glance. She simply flipped open both her own design drafts and Isabella’s, setting them side by side for the crowd to compare.
Alec’s and Ruby’s faces immediately turned dark. Alec clenched his fists, his entire body tense with barely restrained anger. Then, he barked, “Enough with this nonsense! Do you really think you made our family rich? The Barrett family’s success is built on my and your brother’s hard work. You had nothing to do with it! We clothed and fed you for years, and this is how you repay us? You ungrateful brat-get out now!”
Ruby, feeding off his rage, didn’t hesitate to pile on the lies. “We took you in, gave you everything, spent millions raising you-and you dare act like you’re the victim here? Do you think the scraps of talent you brought to this family mean anything compared to what we gave you?”
Brenna’s eyes turned ice-cold. She believed there was no point in arguing with them. She was leaving, and once she walked out that door, the Barrett family’s problems would no longer be hers.
“Fine. We will have nothing to do with each other from now on,” she said. She bent down to grab her laptop from the floor.
However, Isabella was faster. She snatched the sleek black device before Brenna could reach it, holding it tightly in her grasp.
“You’re so stubborn, Brenna. I was kind enough to offer you a way out earlier, but in return, you throw dirt on me and my family? You make mistakes, refuse to apologize, then try to turn it around on us? This computer must contain confidential information about the Barrett family. You can’t take it with you!”
Before anyone could react, Isabella grabbed a glass of water from a nearby guest’s hand and poured it directly over the keyboard of the laptop.
Without warning, Brenna slapped Isabella across the face. Then she grabbed the drenched laptop and immediately began drying it off.
“How dare you hit me?” Isabella gasped, her face twisted with fury. She raised a trembling hand to strike back-only to be slapped again by Brenna.
Ruby, a second too late, lunged forward, incensed. “The Barrett family raised you, and this is how you repay us now? By attacking our real daughter?”
For years, Ruby had treated Brenna as a convenient target for her frustration, an outlet for her anger. But never-not once-had Brenna retaliated.
Ruby wanted to hit Brenna. But something in Brenna’s eyes made Ruby falter, her raised hand hanging mid-air.
“Mom, she hit me!” Isabella exclaimed, clutching her stinging cheek, her eyes burning with resentment.
Ruby grasped Isabella’s hand, her breath catching at the sight of the glaring red imprint on her precious daughter’s face.
“Does it hurt, Isabella?” she asked.
Isabella shot Brenna a venomous glare, her fury boiling over as she lifted her leg, aiming a kick at Brenna while she gathered her belongings.
Brenna dodged instinctively, smoothly. Securing the last of her things, she turned to face them, her voice icy. “Oh? So it hurts? Mom, when you used me as a punching bag all these years, did you ever ask if I felt hurt? You had no problem beating me senseless, but the second I lay a single hand on your precious daughter, you act like you are heartbroken.”
Ruby’s eyes flickered with unease for a moment. Then, she recovered quickly, her lips curling in disdain. “And what do you think we took you in for? To pamper you?”
“So you’re finally admitting what you did to me.” Brenna swept a frosty look over the Barrett family, then swung her backpack over her shoulder. Without a word, she turned to leave.
The July sun blazed mercilessly.
Brenna stood beneath the shade of a tree, waiting for her real family, the Harpers’ car, to arrive.
Half an hour had passed, but no one had come.
Just then, Brenna’s phone suddenly vibrated with a friend request. A note accompanied it.
“Hello, I’m Rosie Harper, your sister.”
Brenna accepted the request without hesitation, and within seconds, she received a message from Rosie.
“Hello, I’m Rosie, your sister. Mom, Dad, and our elder brothers are tied up with work today, so they want you to go to Flavor Restaurant first. They’ve arranged lunch for you there.”
Doubt crept into Brenna’s mind. Was this some kind of scam? Why send her to a restaurant instead of simply giving her the Harper family’s address?
But not many people knew she was heading to the Harper residence today. Whoever this was had to be a member of the Harper family.
A weight settled in Brenna’s chest. Her first day home, and they couldn’t even bother to pick her up? That said enough about how little they valued her.
She doubted this family would be any better than the Barrett family.
Another message from Rosie popped up.
“Brenna, I’ll be waiting for you.”
Brenna responded with a single word, “Okay.”
It was nearly impossible to get a taxi at this hour. With no other choice, Brenna took the bus, getting off at Flavor Restaurant.
The establishment was the pinnacle of luxury in Shirie, a favorite haunt of the city’s elite. Dining here meant dropping at least ten thousand dollars.
The moment Brenna pushed the door open and entered the restaurant, a blast of crisp, cool air wrapped around her, shielding her from the suffocating summer heat. Her lungs felt lighter instantly.
The restaurant was quiet, nearly empty. No one paid her any attention-except for a waitress who approached her with a polite smile.
The waitress was a young woman, pretty and probably in her early twenties. She wore a tailored red uniform, exuding professionalism.
“Welcome, Miss. Are you Brenna Harper?”
“Yes. The Harpers asked me to meet them here. Could you tell me which room they’re in?” Brenna’s eyes scanned the space. No one seemed to be waiting for her, which meant the Harper family was likely in a private room.
The waitress kept her polished smile intact, subtly studying Brenna’s casual outfit-a plain white T-shirt featuring a video game character, layered under an oversized striped shirt that draped past her frayed denim shorts. A worn baseball cap sat atop her head, partially hiding wavy hair streaked with deep blue.
Brenna’s skin was smooth, her facial features delicate yet striking. The bold blue lipstick added an edge to her look.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.