Lucas was the first to react, stepping in front of Rosalind protectively. “Charlotte, don’t talk to Roz like that. Look at the stray puppies in the yard–she rescued every one of them. A person that kind couldn’t possibly have a malicious bone in her body.”
My heart sank. I yanked up my daughter’s sleeve. Just as I feared, her arm was covered in an angry, red rash, swollen and raw in places, with scratches that looked like they’d been reopen- ed countless times, some even oozing pus.
I pointed a shaking finger at Lucas, my voice trembling with
fury.
“This is how you take care of her? Don’t you know Sophie is allergic to dog fur?”
Shane immediately pulled Sophie away from me. “Sophie, tell your mother! Since when are you allergic to dogs? How could you lie to her like that?” He then turned to me, his face a mask of false concern. “Charlotte, you have no idea. Sophie is constantly bullying Roz! When you were away, she’d order Roz around, even faking sickness to make Roz take care of her all night… She does it all out of jealousy because she can’t stand us being good to Roz.”
“So all these marks on her body? She did them to herself for attention.”
I almost laughed. I carried this child for ten months. I knew her better than my own heart. He thought he knew her better than me?
I was about to take Sophie to the hospital, but Gabriel blocked our path. “Charlotte, you’ve treated us like your own sons since we were children. Don’t you trust us?” He shook his head in feigned disappointment. “Sophie… she’s truly a lost cause.”
As if to prove his point, he pulled out his phone and began swiping through photos of my daughter in compromising positions with various men.
He shot Sophie a look of pure disgust. “You have no idea how filthy she is. The moment you left the country, she started bringing all sorts of men back to the house. If it weren’t for Mr. War- ren being so generous, no one would want her!”
At his words, I felt Sophie’s body tremble violently. I had always known that of the three, Gabriel was her favorite. To hear such vile words from his lips must have been like a knife to her
heart.
Rosalind looked at the photos, a smug smile playing on her lips before she covered it with a look of feigned distress. ‘It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let Sophie be so reckless with herself.
The three men rushed to comfort her. “It’s not your fault she has no self–respect! Don’t blame yourself! This is all her own doing!”
Hearing their words, Sophie ducked her head, her hand tightening on my sleeve. She bit her lip and whispered, her voice barely audible, “Mom, I didn’t.”
My heart broke. I pulled her into a fierce embrace and glared at the vipers in front of me. “You are my only child. If I don’t believe you, am I supposed to believe these outsiders?”
swept my cold gaze over the three ungrateful wretches, a plan already forming in my mind.
Before they could process the menace in my tone, I started leading Sophie towards the door, only to
run
straight into the leering face of Mr. Warren.
I’m here to take Sophie for her wedding dress fitting.”
His eyes raked over Sophie with a possessive, unsettling hunger before he smiled at me. “Mrs.
His oily expression filled me with revulsion. “You’re older than I am, and you want to marry my daughter? Are you insane, or am I?”
The air went still for a moment. Lucas quickly stepped forward. “Sophie agreed to it herself! Besides, after all the years she’s spent running wild, her reputation is in tatters. A man of Mr. Warren’s standing is a huge step up for her.”
He didn’t finish his sentence before my hand flew out, the crack of my palm against his cheek echoing in the hall. “Did I give you permission to speak? What gives you the right to negotiate my daughter’s marriage in front of me?”
Lucas looked stunned, as if he couldn’t believe I would strike him. After all, I had once invested so much in him, believing he had the most promise of the three. He stood frozen, speechless.
Rosalind rushed forward, cradling his face with a look of theatrical pain before turning to me, tears streaming down her face. “Mrs. Shaw, Lucas has been the one looking after Sophie for you all these years! Without him, Sophie would have probably ended up selling her body on the streets! Marrying Mr. Warren is the best she can hope for! How could you hit him?”
Mr. Warren, recovering from his shock, puffed up with indignation. “Mrs. Shaw, I’m willing to overlook her… impurity. And you have the nerve to call me old?” He then shot a sneering look at Lucas and the others. “Everyone knows you spent all those years abroad trying to secretly birth a male heir. Too bad you’re hitting menopause and couldn’t pop one out, so you had to adopt some boys from an orphanage to be your successors!”
“And as for this worthless daughter of yours,” he spat, “I’m still expecting a dowry of one billion dollars! You don’t actually think I want this soiled cabbage for free, do you?”
And there it was. Now I understood how they dared to treat my daughter this way.
But Mr. Warren’s information was fatally flawed. My years abroad weren’t just for recovery; I was expanding my business empire overseas. An empire that included a critical project for his
company.
He thought he was so clever, didn’t he? I couldn’t wait to see how pathetic he looked when he was on his knees, begging a woman like me for mercy.
Seeing my silence, he took another step closer, his smile turning predatory. “You know, compared to your daughter who’s been passed around, I think I prefer you. How about this? Forget the billion–dollar dowry. You and your daughter can marry into my family together.”
He didn’t finish the thought. Sophie, as if possessed by a different spirit, lunged forward and slapped him hard across the face. “Keep your filthy mouth shut!”
Rosalind’s smile vanished. She grabbed Sophie’s arm. “Sophie, do you have any idea what you’re doing? If the Warren family calls off the wedding, who do y you think will want you? Or are you still hung up on the boys? Are you refusing to leave so you can stay here and fight me for them?”
At her last words, Lucas and the others let out a derisive snort. “Don’t worry, Roz. She’s no competition for you. Whether she likes it or not, she’s marrying into the Warren family today. It’s for the good of the Shaw family’s reputation.“=
Mr. Warren, recovering from the slap, roared with fury. He grabbed a fistful of Sophie’s hair and started dragging her toward the door. “So–called heiress? You’re just a worthless piece of
trash nobody wants! Let’s go!”
! slapped his hand away. “Sophie is my only daughter. Do you really think I would let her marry a piece of garbage like you? I’m warning you, touch her again, and I will make the Warren name disappear from this city.”
He faltered, letting go but muttering under his breath, “You’re the one who threw her away in the first place. Don’t come back now playing the loving mother. This family will belong to Lucas,
Shane, and Gabriel soon enough. You’d be smart to get rid of this hot potato while you still can.”
Just then, several luxury cars pulled up outside. I recognized the emblem of a high–end auction house.
