Chapter 2

Sure enough, the very next second, Mom shot daggers at me. "Clara, apologize to Julian right this instant! If not, get out of our house!"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I was about to speak up for myself when, out of nowhere, I heard Mom's inner thoughts. [If I had known this child would turn out to be such a nuisance, I would've strangled her when she was little!]

In an instant, my eyes widened in disbelief. I couldn't believe my ears.

Mom had always favored Beatrice. I always assumed it was just because she was frail and needed more care. But never in my worst nightmares did I imagine that she actually wanted me dead.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to remain calm. "I won't be apologizing to him!" I stated firmly.

"In that case, get out of our house! From this moment on, you're no longer a daughter of mine!" Dad's furious roar rang in my ears.

Then, I heard his innermost thoughts, dripping with sheer disgust. [Such a useless piece of trash. As expected of a bastard child.]

Beatrice, who was standing beside us, reached out to grab my arm. She even put on her best worried expression. "Don't say things you'll regret, Clara. Mom and Dad are just doing this for your own good."

Yet, I clearly heard the triumphant voice inside her heart. [You should've been kicked out of this house ages ago. I'm the only little princess in this family. People like you were born to be trampled under my feet!]

As I took in the gloating look in Beatrice's eyes, a sharp pain pierced through my heart. The man I loved the most didn't give a damn about me, whereas the family I was closest to actually wished I were dead. Since all of them detested me so much, I would no longer cling to this place or these people.

"In that case, let's divide the family assets. I want my share of Spencer Group!"

"What a joke! You want a share of Spencer Group? What's the meaning of this, Clara? I'm the chairman of the company. What makes you think you can make such demands?" Dad was the first to jump up in opposition, his face flushing crimson.

I took my time and made sure every word hit home. "Because I joined the company the second I graduated. Because I was the one who built Spencer Group from an unknown little company into a publicly listed one. Because I own 35% of the company's shares!"

Dad's eyes widened with disbelief. "How the hell do you have 35% of the shares?"

After all, he only owned 30% of the company's shares.

I curled the corners of my lips into a mocking smile. Spencer Group was mired in crises in its early days and bled shares to survive.

I knew this had always been a thorn in Dad's side, so over the years, I quietly bought the shares back behind the scenes. I had initially planned to give them to him as a huge surprise for his birthday in a couple of days.

But looking at Mom and Dad now, they were simply unworthy of receiving my heartfelt gesture.

"As it stands, I'm the largest shareholder of Spencer Group. If you want to kick me out of this family, you'd better be prepared to say goodbye to the company."

The lot of them who had been aggressive and thundering with rage just a moment ago instantly exchanged glances, completely at a loss for words.

I couldn't care less about what was going through their minds at that moment. I took a step forward, prepared to leave.

Just then, Julian rushed over and grabbed my wrist. He looked at me with a sullen, dark expression. "Are you sure you want to do this, Clara?"

I cocked my brow and retorted, "I can do whatever I want. Who do you think you are?"

Julian clearly hadn't expected me, the woman who had catered to his every whim, to suddenly act like a totally different person and actually talk back to him. His face went through a whole spectrum of colors from anger.

Realizing that things were going south, Beatrice hurried over. "You've crossed the line, Clara! If you're angry, you can take it out on me! Why are you snapping at Jules?"

Julian looked at Beatrice affectionately. Then, he gently pulled her behind him to protect her.

"Clara, if you're pissed off, you can take it out on me, but leave Bea out of this."