Chapter 2

With a snap, she closed her metal lighter, smirking. "Dad, you can't blame us for playing favorites. Adrian has always thrown his weight around at school, emboldened by the family fortune. If we don't teach him a lesson today, plenty of people out in the real world will do it for you."

These four adopted daughters who I had poured my heart and soul into raising for a decade…

I had spent a fortune hiring top-tier mentors to school them in strategy, vision and the art of manipulation.

I pulled them from the mire of the orphanage and bestowed upon them status and resources beyond the reach of ordinary people.

However, they turned the very tactics I had taught them against my biological son and joined forces with outsiders to bully him.

I walked past Shania and went straight to Adrian's side.

Adrian bit his lower lip hard, tears silently flowing. "Dad..."

His voice was hoarse; his hands clutched his tattered school uniform tightly, as if it were the last shred of dignity he had left.

I took off my cashmere coat and wrapped it firmly around Adrian. "It's okay now."

I stroked his ice-cold hair and pulled him into an embrace.

Shania watched my actions, frowning deeper. "Dad, shielding him so blindly will only ruin Adrian."

She walked over and tried to grab Adrian's arm. "Adrian, get up and apologize to Elliot and we won't pursue the matter further."

I spun around and slapped Shania’s face.

The sharp slap echoed through the restroom.

Shania's gold-rimmed glasses slid off and hit the floor, cracking upon impact.

Juliette and Vivian's expressions changed instantly.

"Dad! What are you doing?"

Juliette shielded Elliot behind her and rushed forward. "You actually hit Shania over something so trivial?"

Shania raised a hand to stop Juliette. She turned her head; the slap mark was visible on her fair skin.

Even so, she maintained her condescending composure. "Dad, if hitting me helps vent your anger, I won't fight back. But I stand by what I said: Adrian must learn to respect others. Until he does, the four of us will never acknowledge him as our brother."

Elliot hid behind Juliette and tugged gently at her sleeve. "Juliette, Mr. Fuller is so scary. I'm scared."

Nicole scoffed, toying with the lighter in her hand. "Dad, you've really disappointed us today. I thought you could distinguish right from wrong; I never expected you to be like ordinary parents who spoil their children rotten."

I glanced icily at those four self-righteous faces, wondering, 'Had I raised them too well over the past decade? So well that they'd forgotten exactly what they were?'

"Your disappointment means nothing to me." I helped Adrian to his feet and looked condescendingly at them.

"Since you believe Adrian throws his weight around just because the family is wealthy, then none of the four of you will spend another penny of the Fullers' money."

Vivian scoffed. She crossed her arms and cast a disdainful glance elsewhere. "Dad, are you threatening us with cutting off our cards again? We handle so many core projects at Fuller Group; do you really think the company can keep running without us?"

Shania bent over to pick up her glasses. She leisurely wiped the dust from the lenses with a handkerchief before putting them back on. "Dad, we've spent ten years by your side. Even if we haven't achieved much, surely you can't say we haven't worked hard. Are you really going to go to such extremes over a good-for-nothing like Adrian?"

I shielded Adrian as we walked toward the exit.