Chapter 4

In the screenshot, I had supposedly told Melanie to get out of the Harmon family and that she didn't deserve to be Mom and Dad's daughter.

Melanie locked herself in her room and refused to open the door no matter who knocked. She only cried through the door, "Don't blame Wendy. I'm the one who stole two decades of her life."

Mom's eyes were red with anxiety. "Melanie, I will never abandon you!"

Dad also came to confront me. "We've already decided to officially make you a part of the family! What more do you want from us?"

"I didn't send those messages," I said. "I left the phone in the living room to return it to you guys."

Jasper slapped his phone down on the table, with the screenshot still visible. "We have the chat history right here, and you're still trying to weasel your way out of this?"

Eric quietly informed him, "Mr. Jasper, the new phone really wasn't in Ms. Melanie's possession last night."

Jasper glared at him coldly. "How much did she pay you?"

Dad, however, didn't lose his temper immediately. He had a technician check the phone's internal records and asked Dr. Thompson to examine Melanie.

But the moment the bedroom door opened, Melanie threw herself into Mom's arms, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Please stop the investigation. I sent the messages to myself, alright? Wendy is your biological daughter anyway. Eventually, you'll all take her side."

Mom's face turned pale with heartache, and whatever lingering hesitation she'd felt finally disappeared. She looked at me and said, "Wendy, your sister has already admitted her mistake. Why do you still insist on targeting her?"

I stared at her in bewilderment. "What mistake has she admitted to?"

"Stop pretending!" Jasper roared at me. "Ever since you came back, the family hasn't had a moment of peace. Melanie used to be so cheerful and happy. Look at what you've done to her!"

Dad's phone kept ringing. All four of the grandparents had already driven into the neighborhood, and they were sending messages one after another.

Grandpa George said that if I suffered any more grievances, Dad and Jasper weren't going to get a single percent of the company shares.

Grandma Naomi said that anyone who refused to acknowledge me as the family's daughter would be kicked out of the family instead.

Grandpa Edgar halted Mom's nomination to join the board of directors next year.

Grandpa Polly was the most blunt of them all. "Pack her things. I'm taking her home with me today."

Dad stared at the messages for a long time, his expression growing darker by the second.

But the moment Melanie started crying again, he turned his phone face down on the table and chose to deal with me first.

Desperate to sweep everything under the rug, he said sharply, "Apologize to Melanie, and don't mention a word of this in front of your grandparents!"

I shook my head. "I'm not apologizing, not when I didn't do anything."

This was the first time since returning to the Harmons that I'd refused to give in to someone else's demands.

Melanie's sobs grew louder, and Jasper flew into a rage. He pointed at the door and hollered, "If you're not going to apologize, then get out! Melanie has spent two decades with us! What gives you the right to make her suffer like that?"

Mom closed her eyes. "If I'd known you would turn this family upside down, I would've never brought you back."

Dad's expression was icy as well. "Someone like you who feigns a medical condition to earn her grandparents' pity doesn't deserve to be a Harmon."

Jasper added heatedly, "In fact, someone like you doesn't deserve to be loved by anyone! You're not welcome in this family. You should just disappear for good!"

My chest clenched painfully, but one thing became crystal clear to me.

It wasn't that the rooms, gifts, and the company shares were too good for me. It was that I didn't even deserve to be their daughter.

"Okay."

I placed the house keys, the debit card, and paternity test results on the table before calling Ms. Lane.

"Ms. Lane, can you come pick me up?"

I'd reached the front door when my health monitoring wristband suddenly began sounding shrilly. Just before my vision went completely dark, the front door swung open from the outside.

All four of my grandparents came in at the same time. The very next second, their agitated voices echoed across the villa, "Wendy!"