“Sophia, can you believe that Chloe Summers actually brought Nathan Brooks to demand half of the Carter family estate? The audacity is beyond comprehension!”
Hearing the anger in my father’s voice, I quickly tried to calm him.
“Dad, just throw them out with a good beating. They’re not worth getting upset over”
Dad gave a cold laugh.
“I’m having her things thrown out right now. Let’s see what kind of ugly scene she can make.”
Three days later, Chloe really did file a lawsuit in court–and opened a personal social media account, launching a full blown smear campaign against us.
She claimed that when her mother died, she entrusted all her assets to my father for safekeeping, but that he adopted her only as a front to seize her inheritance–while secretly abusing her. She even accused him of pushing her into an icy pond as a child, nearly freezing her to death.
To make things worse, Nathan appeared on camera as her witness, swearing that she had indeed been mistreated by the Carter family, and that I had bullied her.
In less than a day, she had gained hundreds of thousands of followers. Everyone online condemned my father as a vile man who would steal from an orphan, and painted me as inhuman for abusing my “cousin”
Some even began digging into our family’s past–mocking me as promiscuous for going to a bar once, and denouncing Dad’s luxury cars and mansion as ill–gotten gains.
Our company’s website was flooded with angry comments. People accused Carter Pharmaceuticals of selling fake, dangerous drugs and called for a boycott.
Ryan Carter saw the online storm and was so furious his face turned purple. He immediately wanted to confront them.
I just smiled, stopped him, and handed him a receipt my father had sent me.
“Ryan, don’t rush. Let them blow this up as much as they want. The bigger the spectacle, the better–when the truth comes out, they’ll be the ones humiliated, and we’ll have gotten nationwide publicity for free.”
Ryan glanced at the receipt, instantly understanding, and gave me a big thumbs–up, showering me with praise.
“I knew my wife was the smartest. No way you’d let a pair of petty schemers comer you.”
Then he pulled me into his arms and covered me with quick kisses.
Seeing his bright smile, I couldn’t help but laugh too, my gloom lifting.
Two days later, Ryan held a press conference, inviting every major media outlet, radio station. and even several well known online influencers.
Nathan and Chloe also showed up, clearly waiting for me to announce how the assets would be divided.
Nathan looked at me with smug disdain.
Chapter 9
3:24 pm
“Sophia, we’re family. Why make this so ugly? Once I make it big, do you think I’d forget our
bond?”
I smiled at his arrogance.
The reporters adjusted their cameras for the perfect shot.
Chloe, dressed head–to–toe in designer brands, stood there like some high–society wife.
“Sister, let me make this clear up front–I’m also a Carter daughter. I won’t accept even a cent less than my rightful share.”
I gave her a cool smile.
“Chloe, do you have any shame? Do you even know what you really are?”
“Half the shares? You think you deserve that?”
Her face flushed crimson as she snapped back,
“Sophia Carter, so what if you have the Carter name? My name is on the household registry too. I’m a legitimate Carter heir. Even if Dad were here today, he’d have to give me what’s mine!”
I didn’t bother arguing, just arched an eyebrow.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Chloe, but legally, you were never my father’s adopted daughter. At most, you were someone my family bought as hired help.”
Before anyone could react, I displayed a scanned copy of the receipt on the big screen–the one showing that her father had sold her to mine for six thousand dollars.
Next to the receipt was a special note in clear print: Chloe Summers’s household registration is not to be changed; she is to enter the Carter family only as a servant.
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