Chapter 2 They're Doing Just Fine

"How dare you dodge!" Serena's face flushed crimson as her voice rose sharply. "Do you know who I am? Do you have any idea who my parents are? I'm telling you, that necklace will be mine today!"

She lunged at me in a frenzy.

The bodyguards behind me immediately stepped forward and blocked her path.

Alas, their obstruction only made Serena more hysterical. "Let me go! Do you know who I am? Try laying a hand on me, I dare you! Mom, Dad, they're bullying me!"

Derek and Heidi rushed over as well, pointing at the bodyguards and shouting.

"What do you people think you're doing? Let go of my daughter!"

"Do you know who we are? We're specially invited guests! How dare you offend us!"

The commotion quickly drew the attention of the event organizers. A well-dressed middle-aged man strode over. He just so happened to be my adoptive father's assistant, Wesley Zeller.

When he saw me, he bowed respectfully. "Ms. Sherwood, are you alright?"

Then, he turned to the Carters, his expression instantly turning cold. "And who are you? How can you raise such a disturbance here?"

Once Derek noticed that someone in charge of the event had arrived, he immediately pulled out his business card and handed it over with an air of arrogance. "I'm Derek Carter, and this is my wife, Heidi. We're the authors of the bestselling book "Desert Tears."

"We were invited by Mr. Sherwood to attend this auction. Your people are bullying my daughter. How do you plan to handle this?"

Wesley didn't even spare the card a glance. "I don't care who you are. Apologize to Ms. Sherwood now, or I'll have to ask you to leave."

Derek flipped out at once. "What did you just say? Apologize? Do you even understand the situation? We're Mr. Sherwood's guests! Do you have any idea who he is? He's the host of this auction!"

Heidi shrieked as well, "Exactly! You're just a staff! How dare you use that tone on us! We want to see Mr. Sherwood now! I want to ask him personally how he manages his staff!"

Emboldened by their actions, Serena crowed, "Hear that? Run along and get Mr. Sherwood like the dog you are!"

Then, she pointed at me, "And you! Just wait, bitch! You'll regret this soon enough!"

I watched their performance, saying nothing.

Wesley expressionlessly took out his walkie-talkie. "Security, disturbance in Hall A. Please respond immediately."

The color drained from Derek and Heidi's faces. Derek barked, trying to sound fierce despite the tremor in his voice, "You… You wouldn't dare!"

Several tall security guards arrived within moments. Wesley gestured toward them. "Escort these three 'distinguished' guests out."

The guards stepped forward, each grabbing hold of Derek and Heidi.

Serena's face went pale with fright as she shrieked, scrambling behind them. "What are you doing? Let go of my parents! We're authors! We're public figures! You can't treat us like this!"

Heidi immediately dropped to the floor, slapping her thigh as she wailed, "This is outrageous! You're bullies! We came here out of kindness to do charity, and this is how we're treated!

"My poor Natalie! If you can see this from heaven, you'll weep at how your parents are being mistreated!"

She started using me again as a prop, putting on that same fake display of maternal love. Listening to it made me feel sick.

Meanwhile, guests around us began to gather, pointing and whispering at the idiot trio.

"Isn't that the family who wrote 'Desert Tears?' Why are they rolling on the floor?"

"I heard their daughter died in the desert trying to save them. How tragic."

"Tragic? It looks to me like they're doing just fine. They aren't exactly behaving like someone who had lost a daughter at all."

"Exactly. Look at the dress their only surviving daughter is wearing. That right there is a limited edition piece worth hundreds of thousands."