He stepped down from the stage with a frown, his flashy fiancée trailing close behind.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on?"
He didn't even glance at me, just kept muttering under his breath. "What are we paying security for? How did they let some beggar waltz in here?"
But then, in the very next second, his eyes found my face.
The irritation on his features froze solid.
"Sharon? You're not dead?!"
The words flew out before he could stop them.
Barret realized his mistake immediately and scrambled to rearrange his expression.
"Sis, you've finally decided to come back?"
His eyes darted, and he put on a look of deep anguish.
"Ten years without a single word from overseas. Do you have any idea how worried Mom and Dad have been? You stole the family's money and disappeared without so much as a goodbye. They nearly threw themselves off a building!"
Right there, in front of everyone, he dumped the blame squarely on me again.
The guests around us turned, their gazes dripping with contempt and judgment.
"So that's the ungrateful daughter who ran off with their money?"
"Look at how shabby she's dressed. Probably couldn't make it overseas. Heard young Mr. Fox's company is about to go public, so she came sniffing around for a handout!"
My mother had finally collected herself by now.
She clenched her jaw, and the performance kicked in. She shot to her feet and jabbed a finger in my face.
"You wretched girl! You have the nerve to show your face here?"
"Do you know how much your brother suffered to build his business? Oh, now that he's made something of himself, you want to come crawling back for a piece of it?"
"I'm telling you, not a chance in hell! The Fox family has no daughter as shameless as you!"
My father let out a cold snort.
He slammed his palm on the table. "Throw this lunatic out! Today is a proud day for the Fox family. Don't let her dirty the place!"
That was when Barret's fiancée, Sara Whitney, looked me up and down with undisguised disdain.
"Barret, so this is your clueless hick of a sister?"
"She doesn't have an ounce of manners. There are important people coming tonight. If she offends the wrong guest, she couldn't pay for it with ten lives!"
She rolled her eyes.
Barret patted the back of Sara's hand, soothing her. "Relax. I won't let her cause a scene."
Then he turned to me and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket.
"Sharon, here's ten thousand dollars."
"Consider it a gift for the fact that Mom and Dad gave you life. Take it and get lost."
"Don't ever show your face in front of me again. This family has nothing to do with you. Don't even dream of taking a single cent from here."
He flung the bills at me. They scattered across the floor.
I looked at this family, united in their righteous fury, and almost laughed.
Did they actually believe their own garbage?
"Ten years ago, when you sold me to the traffickers, you got three hundred thousand dollars for it."
"And now you think ten grand is going to make me go away?"
A cold smile cut across my lips.
The room erupted.
"Sold her to traffickers? Didn't they say she stole the money and ran?"
"But, come to think of it, the seed money for Mr. Fox's startup always did seem to come out of nowhere..."
Barret's face went white as paper, sweat beading along his hairline.
But he recovered fast.
"Bullshit!" He slammed the table, voice shaking with manufactured rage. "You ran off with some man because you thought this family was beneath you! Things didn't work out, so now you come crawling back to slander me? Have you lost every shred of conscience you ever had?"
He sold the outrage well. Almost convincingly.
My mother lost it, shrieking as she charged toward me.
"Shut your filthy mouth, you little tramp!"
"Security! Where the hell is security? Gag her and throw her out! Now!"
