Chapter 18
Thea walked in, tossing a file onto the couch as she sat down. "Weird. I couldn't even get in the house earlier. The butler had to open the door for me. I only moved out for a bit, not forever, Was it really necessary to delete my fingerprints from the system?" Emmalie quickly stood up, putting on a sweet smile. Thea, you're finally back! We've missed you so much. Now we can be a family again.
She gently took Thea's hand, as if expecting a warm response.
But Thea sneered, "Cut the act, Emmalic. I know exactly what you're up to."Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
For a moment. Emmalie's face twisted, and then she burst into tears. Thea, how can you blame me for the fingerprint issue? It was just a glitch in the system.
"Do you know how worried we were? We thought someone might take advantage of you out there. And now, after all your fun, you come back and take it out on me, huh?"
Ivy clicked over in her high heels, stepping protectively in front of Emmalie. She glared at Thea. "Ungrateful brat! I should be the one upset with you, but here you are, bullying Emmalie. How did I end up with such a selfish daughter!"
"Worried about me?" Thea scoffed. "If you were so concerned, you must've known I was framed for leaking Avon Ventures" data.
"So why didn't a single one of you reach out? Not one call, not one message. You'd already written me off. I bet you even had the paperwork ready to disown me if I ended up in jail.
"Have you lost your mind?" Ivy stared at Thea in disbelief, shaking with anger. "After everything that happened, I had Emmalie send you countless messages! You're the one who shut us out. And now you're blaming us, huh?" "Messages?" Thea frowned and turned to Emmalie..
Emmalie avoided her gaze from behind Ivy. "Thea, don't you remember? You blocked me. I thought you didn't want to talk to us, so I didn't call. I'm sorry if I upset you."
Ivy scoffed, "Don't apologize to her! It's just her rotten attitude. It's not your fault"
Thea laughed bitterly. "Fine. Then let's see the proof. Let her show us her phone, and we'll see if she really sent any messages.
"Enough!" Ivy snapped, grabbing Thea's phone and slamming it to the floor. Her eyes burned with disgust. "We finally manage to have a family meal, and you have to bring this drama, huh? Having you was the worst mistake of my life."
The hurt hit Thea for only a moment before she smiled coldly. "Yeah, I came here to stir things up. I want Emmalie to explain herself
She shoved past Ivy and threw the file in Emmalie's face. "Nice work teaming up with Madelyn to steal Avon Ventures' data and selling it to Braden under my name."
The papers scattered. Seeing the evidence in black and white, Fanmalie clenched her fists but still played the victimn, tears welling in her eyes. "Thea, what are you talking about? I didn't do this! I swear!"
Ivy grabbed Thea's arm, her voice sharp. "Have you lost your mind? Why would you try to pin this on Emmalie?"
Max chimed in, sounding impatient. "Look, I get it. You're scared of jail, but there's an easy way out just apologize to Jake and marry him, and everything will be fine. Why drag Emmalie to this?"
Thea gathered the scattered papers, thrusting them at Max. "You know how to read these documents. You can tell what's real or fake. Emmalie wants me ruined. She's the one who should pay for this. Why should I have to bow down to the Hendrix family?" Max barely glanced at the papers before tearing them apart. He took a deep breath. "Thea, enough. I'll step in and fix this for you. Happy now?"
Thea had expected them to side with Emmalie, but seeing it play out stung more than she'd imagined. Tears streamed down her cheeks. If I didn't have this proof, none of you would even care about me, would you?"
Seeing Thea's despair, Ivy hesitated, guilt flashing across her face She opened her mouth as if to say something.
But before she could speak, Emmalie collapsed into Ivy's arms, sobbing hysterically.
"Mom, it's all my fault. I never should've come back," she murmured. "I should've died out there instead of reuniting with you. Then everyone would be happy, and Thea wouldn't resent you. I'll leave right now, I don't want to cause any more trouble Turning to Thea, Emmalie fell to the ground. I'll go. Just stop trying to hurt me and frame me. You've had the family's love for years. I never tried to get in your way."
Before Then could respond, Ivy slapped her across the face. The sound echoed through the room as Ivy's eyes flashed with
anger.
"Even if you didn't sell the data yourself, you clearly didn't manage things properly." Ivy snapped. "And now, you believe these lies about Emmalie without a second thought: Are you trying to drive her to suicide?"
Her voice shook with rage. "How can you be so heartless? Emmalie went missing when she was just a little girl, and after all these years, we finally found her. Do you have any idea what she's been through? Why are you so determined to make her life miserable:" Thea's cheek swelled where Ivy had slapped her, but she just stared coldly at the enraged Ivy.
At that moment, she realized how foolish it had been to come here, thinking they might still care about her in the slightest It was laughable.
As Ivy continued to scold her, she ordered the staff to take Emmalie upstairs to rest.
Once Ivy was finished, Thea composed herself and turned to Max. No longer pleading, she said calmly, "This isn't something you can fix by choosing sides. Avon Ventures took a huge hit. Even if I agreed to marry Jake, the Hendrix family might not want me now. "I know you won't believe me, not even with the evidence right in front of you. So I'll take it to the police and let them investigate. If Emmalie's innocent, I'll admit I was wrong. But think about the future of the Rowland family. This won't just go away." Max had always doted on Emmalle in some ways. But as the future heir to Rowland Group, he hesitated and looked torn. "Help!" Suddenly, a servant came rushing down the stairs, her face pale with panic. "Emmalie tried to kill herself!" "Emmalie!" Ivy shrieked, fainting on the spot.
Max's face darkened. He immediately ordered the staff to call for the family doctor and restrain Thea.
His fury was palpable as he glared at Thea's confused, shocked expression, his voice dripping with anger. "Thea, you better pray nothing happens to Emmalie."