"No! No!" Ophelia screamed. She ran up to Tristan and pleaded tearfully, "Tell them, Dad! Didn't you fund an entire building for the university? They can't expel me?"Tristan couldn't even save his ass right now, much less Ophelia's.Isaiah grew angrier when he heard the phrase 'fund an entire building.' He pointed at Tristan and explained to Christine, saying, "Please let me explain, Ms. Keller. This funding was made by Mr. Keaton on behalf of Ad Astra Inc. "We thought you were the one who intended it… We didn't expect this sort of thing to happen!""Now, I know." Christine's calmness never wavered. She looked at Tristan, all warmth gone from her eyes. "Tristan Keaton, from this day onward, you're no longer a member of Ad Astra Inc. "I'll be revoking everything you've received from the Keller family. I'll see you in front of the family court at 9:30 am tomorrow. Be punctual."Christine then turned away from him and came over to us, gently saying, "Aubrey, Aster, let's go hom
But Christine wasted no time with them. She turned to Samuel and asked calmly, "You're a teacher here?""Y-yes, Ms. Keller," Samuel stammered."Were you the one who removed my daughter's student exchange program application?""N-no! It wasn't me, it was Mr. Keaton…" Samuel swiftly threw Tristan under the bus."Alright." Christine nodded and took out her phone, ignoring Samuel.She then made a call. "Hi, is this Headmaster Isaiah Lincoln? I'm Christine Keller."The man on the phone immediately said respectfully, "Oh, Ms. Keller? What did I do to receive the honor of your phone call? If you needed anything done, you could've just sent me a text!""It's nothing important," Christine said lightly. "It's just that my daughter, Aubrey, was bullied by a teacher from your school by the name of Samuel Young, as well as a student named Ophelia Keaton. "They stole Aubrey's student exchange program spot, tore her application papers up, and even instructed the guards to drag them off campu
Samuel's knees grew weak the moment Christine introduced herself. He nearly fell on the floor and had to grip onto his desk to steady himself. An awfully terrified expression appeared on his face. "M-Ms. Keller… What a-are you doing here?"Everyone knew that the university's largest funder was a trust foundation called Keller Trust Foundation. Its founder's identity had always been shrouded in mystery.Samuel never expected such a powerful individual to turn up in his office in this situation. What was even more terrifying was that he'd just helped two liars bully Christine's own daughter!Christine ignored Samuel and went up to Tristan, his face still bone-white."I need you to explain yourself, Tristan," Christine said.Tristan opened his mouth to speak, but no words left him. Cold sweat drenched his expensive suit collar. He trembled before collapsing to his knees. "Christie… I've made a grave mistake, Christie… I'm sorry…" Tears and snot drenched his face as he tried to hu
Silence filled the office after I hung up the call.The security guards looked at one another, none of them daring to take a step further. They weren't stupid. They'd already sensed that something was wrong the moment they saw Tristan grow pale white in the face after hearing my phone conversation.Fear filled Tristan's expression. He stared fixedly at me, trying his best to be calm.The reason he'd behave so boldly today was that Christine was overseas. He'd thought she'd never be able to make it back in time. Who knew Christine had returned early?Anastasia and Ophelia looked confused for a moment before they burst into laughter."Mom? What, is your mother some kind of royalty? So what if she comes?" Anastasia wrapped her arms around her chest, sneering. Ophelia covered her mouth as she giggled. "She didn't call some officious woman to try and talk sense into us, did she?"Samuel thought I was just putting up a front, too. He snapped, "Absolutely outrageous behavior! Who els
"I've seen countless folks like you who try to get into powerful families through false relations. It's absolutely despicable!" Tristan said.He cocked an eyebrow. "You're still quite young. You must be working now, right? "This pushiness of yours isn't going to do any favors for your career. I still have some influence in Centuria's business world. If you upset me, I'll make sure you never find employment here in Centuria!"Was Tristan trying to threaten me with his company's influence? How pathetic. His so-called influence was nothing more than an illusion that Christine had given him in the past.Ophelia and Anastasia were delighted."Do you hear that?" Ophelia giggled shrilly, pointing right at me. "Dad says he has no idea who the two of you are at all! You two are liars! How despicable of you to pretend to be from my family!"Anastasia straightened up. "What are you still doing standing there, Mr. Young? Didn't you hear what my husband said? "Call the security and drag th
It was my father, Tristan. Our gazes met the moment he walked in. Panic and shock flared in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by calmness.Tristan walked right over to Ophelia and Anastasia, as if Aubrey and I were strangers. He asked worriedly, "Anastasia, Ophelia, are you two alright?"Anastasia immediately went into his arms and cried, "You're finally here, dear! These two girls were the ones who said we were lying. They even tried to beat us up!"Ophelia pointed at us and exclaimed, "They were so mean to us, Dad! They even complained to the headmaster, trying to take my spot away!"Tristan gently consoled Anastasia before turning to Aubrey and me."So, you two are the ones who bullied my wife and child?" Tristan asked. The familiar warmth and kindness in his face had been replaced with hatred.Sadness overwhelmed me."Tristan Keaton," I gritted out. "Tell me again—who exactly is your daughter?"Tristan's cheek twitched as fear lanced through his eyes. He didn't answer m