Chapter 24 Reed Family Drama

The person calling her right now was bnone /bother bthan /bhis bassistant/b–Abel.

Despite his respectful tone over the phone, Abel was ba /bname that sent shivers down the spines of many in bFalvaria/b.

Even just ban /bassistant under that man was enough to terrify people–let alone the man himself.

Abraham. The man who bhad /bbtaken /bher in and raised her….

Abel said, “Yes. Mr. Abraham also told me that you’d better have a good exnation prepared, or else-

Or else what? Abel didn’t finish his sentence.

But even so, a chill ran down Ste’s spine. She wasn’t even sure how she managed to hang up the call. For the rest of the afternoon, she remained on edge, unable to focus even during meetings.

Abraham….

The man the Reed family had always been desperate to uncover–the one who raised her. The bman /bwho ruled both the legal and illegal worlds of bFalvaria/b. There, he was the emperor of the underworld.

And he was also… my fate.

Memories of what had happened three years ago, before she left Falvaria, shed through her mind, bringing an uncontroble sting of tears to her eyes.”

At six o’clock, as she stepped out of the Oriental Grand Tower, bher /bphone buzzed relentlessly.

Snapping out of her daze, Ste picked up. “Hello?”

“Did you really block my number?” Susan’s furious voice sted through the speaker. The rage in her tone was palpable, as if she wanted to tear Ste apart

Ste remained indifferent. “Have I ever joked with you?”

If there were jokes to be made, they had always been at her expense–courtesy of the Reed family and Lillian.

As for her? She hadn’t even grown up with them, yet their expectations for her were endless. No matter what she did, it bwas /bbalways /bbwrong /bin Susan’s eyes–always met with stern criticism.

Hearing Ste’s icy tone, Susan’s rage escted to the point where her head throbbed. “You–you–let me ask you, Rianne is byour /bbest friend, isn’t she? Was it you who sent her abroad?”

Ste answered tly, “Yes, it was me. So what?”

“You-”

Susan was blivid/b.

She had thought Ste would at least try to deny it. But no, Ste didn’t even bother covering it up.

So, what did that bmake /bthe Reed family in her heart?

Absolutely nothing

Susan had nned on binterrogating /bher, but Ste had thrown herpletely off guard by admitting it bso /bopenly,

“You’re actually admitting it?” Susan asked in disbelief.

Chapter 24 Reed Family Drama

What kind of skill was that? If she wanted to do something, she should do it out in the open.

Hearing how blunt Ste was, bSusan /bnearly fainted from anger.

“You–you-

“What?” Ste cut in smoothly. “bMadam /bSusan, are you trying to get me to bring Rianne back to treat her?”

Ste’s words made Susan pause for a moment.

It suddenly dawned on her–since Ste bhad /breturned to the Reed family, she had never once called her “M

Finished

But she had never called her “Madam bSusan/b” either… And bnow/b, hearing it for the first time, Susan found that she couldn’t quite bear it.

She blurted out, I am your mother.”

Ste replied coldly, “Mrs. Reed, do you really want to argue over something this meaningless over the phone??

Mrs. Reed. Not Madam Susan anymore. And arguing over something meaningless? Susan felt like she had a lump in her throat and a ton of bricks pressing down on her chest, bmaking /bit hard to breathe.

Taking several deep breaths, she finally bsaid/b, “Bring Dr. Rianne back, band /bI’ll unfreeze your card.”

It sounded like apromise, maybe even a concession.

But listen carefully–only if Rianne came bback /bto treat Lillian would she get her card unfrozen.

So, in the end, everything is still about Lillian.

Ste let out a low chuckle. “A monthly allowance of twenty–seven hundred dors in exchange for Lillian’s life?”

The irony was almostughable.

The Reed family would spend 2700 dors on a single piece of jewelry for Lillian without a second thought. Her monthly allowance was always at least a few hundred thousand dors

But for Ste? When she first returned to the Reed family, they gave her 2700 dors a month.

Later, Lillian said, “It’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.”

And just because of bthat /bone sentence, Susan derided Ste needed to “learn how to spend money properly–cutting her allowance down to 6800 dors ba /bmonth.

All because of the words of ban /badopted daughter–her allowance had bbeen /bshed in half

Even then, Lillian bwasn’t /bsatisfied. She hadter added, “Ste has no social life, bshe /bdoesn’t need much money.”

bAnd /bSusan had backed her up, saying, “We have everything at home. You and Lillian are different. You don’t need to socialize or attend noble bgatherings/b, so you won’t need bthat /bbmuch /bmoney.”

And just like that, her allowance dropped from 6800 dors to 2700 dors.

And now? Because iof /iLillian, they had frozen itpletely… Did they really think I cared? Ste pondered.