chapter 4

"Don't pretend to be a good person here, because I won't forgive you."

Vivian remained calm, "I'm not telling you all this to seek your forgiveness. I don't need your forgiveness at all."

"I just want you to see the reality - there is no place for you in this family."

She walked to the cabinet next to the sofa and took out a letter, handing it to me.

"Your mother, on her deathbed, begged me to protect you. This is the letter she left for you."

I hurriedly took it, opening the yellowed envelope.

The handwriting was messy, but it was indeed my mother's handwriting.

"Sienna, I'm sorry, I can't watch you grow up..."

In the letter, she explained that she and Vivian used to be close friends who shared everything, and there were some emotional entanglements between them, but she hoped I wouldn't investigate, saying it was all karma.

She wanted me to trust Vivian, saying she would help me.

After reading the letter, I slumped on the sofa in silence.

Vivian broke the silence.

"I'm not telling you this to see you cry. You have to pull yourself together, there's a lot to do."

"I taught you to be independent, to be cautious, not to trust anyone easily."

"I had you deal with Tristan to make you see through the tricks of a scumbag, but you fell deeper into it."

"Do you think I don't know what Luna is up to?"

"I warned her, told her to stay away from that scumbag, even threatened to make her get rid of the child and cut ties with Tristan completely."

"But she didn't listen."

A hint of pain flashed in Vivian's eyes.

"For Tristan, for the favor of the Ashmore family, she has cut off the mother-daughter relationship with me."

"She's my own daughter, what can I do?"

Her voice choked up.

After a few minutes of silence, she regained her composure.

"Sienna, the shares your mother left you were the result of her hard work, meant to secure your future."

"Now, it's time to take back what's rightfully yours."

When I returned home, it was already dark.

The living room was brightly lit, with a tense atmosphere.

Victor and Grandma sat on the sofa.

Tristan and Luna sat opposite them.

Luna weakly leaned on Tristan's shoulder, and now they were a legitimate couple.

I walked in, speaking calmly.

"Dad, I want to take back what my mother left me. Please transfer the shares to my name now."

Victor slammed the coffee table, "Are you out of your mind!"

"Do you know what time it is? How dare you bring this up to me now?"

"The company is your mother's hard work, and it's also the legacy of our Ashmore family!"

"Hand it over to you? Let you squander it all?"

Grandma immediately chimed in.

"Exactly! What do you, a girl, need so many shares for?"

"Those things originally belonged to the Ashmore family!"

Luna spoke softly.

"Sister, please don't pressure Dad."

"We need to unite, they say a family in harmony will prosper..."

I looked at her hypocritical face and couldn't help but retort.

"Family? Whose family? The Ashmore family is your family, what does it have to do with me?"

Tristan stood up and walked over to me.

He had a fake gentle expression on his face.

"Sienna, I know you're not in a good mood right now."

"But can we put the issue of shares aside for now?"

"After all, Luna and I are about to get married, we can't afford any more trouble at this critical moment."

"Considering the love we've shared over these years..."

He reached out to try and touch me.

I took a step back, avoiding his touch.

"Love? What love?" I interrupted him, "Is it your affair with Luna, or your heartlessness?"

I looked at him coldly, "A man who betrayed me, got my sister pregnant, is here talking to me about love?"

Tristan's face instantly turned pale.