The moment Karen heard the words "cousin-in-law," her expression immediately turned stiff. She glared at Clara with cold and piercing eyes.
Clara pressed her lips together tightly. Was Douglas deliberately trying to destroy her?
Karen seized Clara's wrist and forcefully dragged her into the villa's foyer. The second they stopped, she threw Clara's hand aside and stared at her with a pale face filled with anger.
"That's your husband's cousin?"
Clara gave a small nod.
"Yes."
Slap!
Karen struck Clara across the face with all her strength. The sharp sound echoed through the foyer, and Clara's ears instantly rang from the impact.
"Have you completely lost your sense of shame? What were you thinking, getting involved with your husband's cousin on the first day of your marriage? Are you trying to get yourself killed? If you want to ruin your own life, then go ahead, but don't drag this family down with you!"
Karen turned her face away after shouting at her. Clara slowly lifted a hand and touched her burning cheek before looking back at Karen with cold eyes.
"So you won't even ask what really happened first?"
Whenever something went wrong, Clara was always the first person blamed. It never mattered what actually happened or who caused the problem in the first place. Karen's sharp voice rang out again, filled with contempt.
"One man can barely take care of himself because of his condition and appearance, while the other looks completely healthy and capable. You have eyes, don't you? Anyone would know which man a woman would choose. Don't tell me you already slept with that so-called cousin last night?"
At that moment, a soft voice drifted down from upstairs.
Vicky slowly walked down the staircase, and Karen immediately hurried toward her.
"Vicky, are you feeling better now?"
"Thank you, Mom. I'm already much better."
Vicky smiled gently at Karen before shifting her attention toward Clara.
"Clara, I understand what you're feeling right now. But no matter what, you should still think about our family and control yourself."
Earlier, Vicky had seen everything from the upstairs window. She watched Clara kissing a man inside the car. What shocked her the most wasn't the fact that Clara kissed someone who wasn't her husband. Instead, she couldn't believe that her plain and quiet sister would actually kiss a man at all.
Vicky then looked back at Karen with an innocent expression on her face.
"Mom, don't you agree?"
Karen immediately smiled.
"Of course. My Vicky has always been right."
Clara quietly tightened her fists but didn't say a word.
Anyone watching them would find it hard to believe which daughter was actually Karen's biological child.
For years, Karen had done everything she could to secure her place in the Jarrett family. She constantly tried to please everyone in the household, but Clara was always the one forced to sacrifice her own happiness for it.
The smile on Karen's face slowly disappeared when she looked back at Clara again. Her expression immediately turned cold and serious.
"Clara, you're already part of the Ferrari family now. From this day forward, you need to protect their reputation properly. Don't bring shame to this family."
Clara lowered her eyes slightly, hiding the disgust burning inside her. Her face stayed calm and emotionless, worn down like someone who had already endured too much.
"Thanks for reminding me," she replied calmly. "But if you keep pushing me like this, I might really do something impulsive in front of the Ferrari family one day. I don't know whether they'll take revenge on the Jarrett family because of it, but if I were you, I wouldn't risk finding out. Understood?"
Vicky stared at Clara in disbelief. She never expected the quiet and obedient Clara to suddenly say something like that. A frown immediately appeared on her face.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying exactly what you heard."
Clara slowly lifted her head. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her expression remained as distant and indifferent as before.
Did they really believe she would continue standing there quietly while they treated her worse than a servant, just like before? That version of Clara no longer existed. Back then, she used to force herself to stay humble because she desperately wanted love and approval from everyone around her. Pleasing people had become the only way she knew how to survive.
But the moment Karen forced her to marry into the Ferrari family instead of Vicky, Clara stopped caring about disappointing her mother.
"What?"
Vicky looked completely stunned. She had spent years ordering Clara around however she pleased, so seeing her finally resist was something she never expected.
Anger instantly spread across Vicky's face. She glared at Clara viciously before turning toward Karen.
"Mom, did you hear what she just said?"
Karen had clearly understood the warning hidden behind Clara's words as well. Still, she believed Clara would eventually give in like she always did before. Holding onto her authority as a mother, Karen sharply said, "Clara, apologize to your sister right now!"
Clara looked directly into Karen's eyes without backing down. Her voice turned icy.
"Apologize for what exactly?"
In Karen's memory, Clara used to be a smart and beautiful little girl. Yet as the years passed, she seemed to grow quieter and less noticeable. But at this moment, the sharpness in Clara's eyes completely caught Karen off guard.
Karen swallowed nervously before lowering her voice and turning toward Vicky. "Vicky, let's stop this for now. If she loses control and actually does something reckless..."
Even though Vicky hated it, she had no choice except to back down.
If Clara really snapped and caused trouble in front of the Ferrari family, the Jarrett family would suffer the consequences as well. If that happened, how could they continue living comfortably inside this wealthy household?
After seeing her mother and stepsister fall silent, Clara turned around and walked upstairs to pack her things.
She had spent more than 20 years living inside this villa, but the number of belongings she actually owned was pitifully small. Sometimes, the place didn't even feel like her home. It felt more like she was only staying there temporarily as an outsider.
By the time Clara came back downstairs with her suitcase, nobody remained in the foyer anymore.
She paused briefly before quietly heading toward the back entrance and leaving the villa through there.
Clara didn't understand why Leonardo's cousin suddenly seemed interested in her, but she was certain about one thing. She needed to stay far away from him.
Leonardo had already been waiting outside the villa for quite some time, yet Clara still hadn't come out. Little by little, his patience started running out. As he remembered the information written inside yesterday's report, his brows slowly drew together. Could that plain-looking woman really have been treated badly by her own family all this time?
The second that thought crossed his mind, Leonardo unconsciously touched the cheek Clara had slapped earlier before letting out a cold scoff. She didn't look like someone willing to quietly endure mistreatment.
"Sir, would you like to come inside?"
Hearing the soft voice, Leonardo turned toward the window. Standing beside the car was a delicate-looking woman carrying herself with quiet elegance.
The moment Vicky saw his face clearly, she completely froze.
Earlier, she had already witnessed Clara kissing a man inside the car, but she never imagined that man would look this handsome and polished. A man like him stood out too much from ordinary people. How could someone so exceptional possibly take interest in Clara, that plain and foolish country girl? At that moment, Vicky became even more certain that coming outside had been the right decision.
Leonardo noticed her thoughts immediately through the look in her eyes.
A mocking sneer appeared on his face.
"And you are?"
"I'm Clara's older sister. You can just call me Vicky."
Even though Leonardo treated her coldly, Vicky didn't seem bothered by it at all.
Vicky?
The name quickly reminded Leonardo about the information he had seen before. The Jarrett family had two daughters. One was Clara, while the other was the woman originally meant to marry into the Ferrari family before being replaced.
Most people would probably call Vicky beautiful, but she wasn't the kind of woman he liked.
Strangely enough, he found Clara's plain appearance much more pleasing to look at.
Leonardo completely lost interest in continuing the conversation with Vicky. His tone turned flat as he asked, "Where's Clara?"
"She... well... She's probably still upstairs packing her things. Before I came down, she asked me to invite you inside first."
Vicky had no intention of wasting this chance. Every person connected to the Ferrari family possessed money, power, and influence. On top of that, this man was unbelievably handsome.
Leonardo saw straight through her thoughts, and a mocking smile appeared on his face. Clara invited him inside? More likely, she had already slipped away by now.
Without bothering to look at Vicky again, he raised the car window and drove off immediately.
No man had ever ignored Vicky so coldly before. Her face instantly turned pale with anger.
Meanwhile, Clara returned directly to the apartment she rented for herself.
Back when she first entered university, she stayed in the dormitory on campus. Later, after graduation and during her internship, she moved into this apartment alone. The only reason she went back to the Jarrett family villa recently was because Karen insisted she stay there and marry into the Ferrari family. If Karen hadn't forced her into it, Clara would've never returned to that house again.
Since Leonardo wasn't staying at the villa and clearly wanted nothing to do with her, she saw no reason not to remain here instead.
By the time Clara finished unpacking and cleaning up the apartment, the afternoon had already arrived. She quickly changed clothes before heading outside to buy a few daily necessities.
The neighborhood where she lived sat in one of the busiest parts of Beerworth. Transportation there was inconvenient, and the people living nearby came from all kinds of backgrounds.
As Clara turned into a narrow alley, a sudden loud sound shocked her.
Was that a gunshot?
She instinctively looked up and saw a white van speeding wildly toward her like a mad animal that had lost control. Clara quickly dodged to the side. Right as the van rushed past her, the door suddenly swung open, and a tall man jumped out.
He rolled across the ground before landing right near her feet.
Clara immediately tried stepping away, but before she could react, the man abruptly stood up and pressed something cold against her temple.
His voice sounded low and smooth, and strangely enough, it also sounded familiar.
"Take me out of here. Right now."
The moment Clara lifted her head and saw his face clearly, her heart dropped heavily.
"Douglas!"
