In the silence, Leonard's steady voice cut through. "You can't give it to Ms. Clara."
Stunned, Thea turned to look at him.
He leaned back against the chair, exuding a presence of nobility that far exceeded his standing. A faint smile tugged at his lips as his sharp gaze locked onto Clara.
"Thea is the real daughter of the Storme family. Clara was adopted. What right does she have to accept that bracelet?"
The dining table fell into a heavy silence as a multitude of gazes converged on Thea, making her squirm with discomfort.
She quickly tugged on Leonard's sleeve, whispering, "I don't care about that bracelet. You don't have to do this."
He smiled at her, then fixed his gaze on Clara with an intensity that was almost obscene. "Ms. Clara, why don't you beg me? Maybe then I'll ask Thea to drop it."
A chill ran down Thea's spine.
Leonard wasn't standing up for her. He was using her name to force Clara into submission, without a care for Thea's feelings.
Penelope slammed her cane on the floor several times.
"Well, well. You're really bold, Thea. You got yourself a man and had him humiliate your sister? Bet you've been holding that in for a while."
"Listen up, if you keep making things hard for Clara, don't blame me for kicking you out of the family."
Thea lowered her eyes.
The system's voice rang in her ear. "Thea, your target has been switched. It will take effect in two weeks."
In other words, from now on, neither the Storme family nor Leonard could hold her back.
Years of pent-up frustration welled up inside her.
She raised her head sharply. "Clara, want to bet again?"
At the mention of a bet, Clara's composure flickered for a split second. "The wager?"
"That bracelet. We'll take turns bidding, only using our possessions as stakes. Whoever bids higher wins the bracelet and the other person's stakes."
Everyone around looked surprised.
They all knew Thea grew up in an orphanage, and since her return, she had remained the unloved daughter of the family.
How could she challenge Clara like this?
Clara clearly thought so too. She was the first to pull out a black card. "I hope you don't back out. This is all my savings."
Thea smiled and showed her own card.
The butler, Rowan Ellison, checked the balance and looked confused. "Ms. Thea wins."
"No way!" Clara refused to believe it and then pulled out a bunch of keys.
"The island from Dad, the villa from Mom, and the yacht from Jeremy. This should be enough, right?"
They were birthday gifts from the past few years.
Thea calmly took out some documents.
Rowan's face turned serious. "Ms. Thea wins again."
A ripple of shock passed through everyone in the room, and they tried to catch a glimpse of the papers' contents.
Thea's expression didn't change. "Want to keep going? Everything you have comes from Mom and Dad. I don't believe you have anything else. Let me tell you. These are my scholarships and patent contracts. I earned them myself. And I have more to show."
Clara's face flushed bright red, her chest rising and falling as she snarled, "Well, I have more. 1.6 billion dollars' worth of courtyard houses. I don't believe you can come up with that kind of money so fast."
Jeremy's expression changed. He hurriedly stopped her. "Clara, don't."
"Why? This is all I have left. Jeremy, do you want to see me lose?"
"No, it's just—"
Before Jeremy could finish, Rowan cut in with the answer. "Sorry, Ms. Clara. Ms. Thea is now the owner of those two courtyard houses."
"What?" Clara gasped, like someone had grabbed her throat.
1.6 billion dollars was now Thea's stake. If Clara couldn't outbid her, everything she owned would belong to Thea.
Clara nervously twisted her sleeves. Penelope and Jeremy looked anxious but helpless. They couldn't openly help Clara cheat.
Just as she bit her lower lip, on the verge of tears, Thea continued to watch her with a chilling calm.
In the past, she would never have been this aggressive.
She kept wanting to fit in with the Storme family and didn't want to make things hard for their little princess.
But today, no matter what anyone said, Thea wouldn't change her mind.
Someone was already ready to take the bracelet from Clara.
She burst into loud sobs.
At that moment, Rowan stared at his computer in disbelief. "1.5 billion dollars? Someone just transferred 1.5 billion dollars into Ms. Clara's account!"
