Chapter 399
Chapter 399
Every member of the Lee family was present.
Under everyone's scrutiny, Karen entered the room. Everyone glared at her as she did. They did not want her to step foot into the house.
Especially Brayden. He was glaring particularly fiercely at her.
The glare was filled with so much hatred.
The only sound that could be heard was Karen's steady footsteps as she entered.
"Bang!" A heavy slam sounded.
The front door had been shut. The house itself was very spacious but it did not seem to spark with any life. It felt depressing to be here.
Karen had always thought so ever since she was a child.
She had felt a little sad about it as well. She didn't think she was adopted. So, how could it be so depressing being at home all the time?
Karen sighed. "Dad, I..." she started.
"Don't call me that. I don't want to hear it," her father growled with no hesitation.
Karen went quiet after that, her eyes brimming with sadness.
Elias let out a small sigh again. Karen was in big trouble now. Whenever she used to speak to her father, her father had always sent some sort of tiny acknowledgment even though he never seemed particularly fond. However, his current reply just now sounded like bad news.
"Answer me. Have you left the country recently?" her father asked coldly.
"Yes, I have," Karen answered truthfully.
"What did you get up to then? I want to know everything!" he then demanded, standing up.
The others were casting accusing glares at Karen.
Especially Karen's brothers. She had always outdone them ever since they were little. They felt as if they had been stepped on by Karen, inferior. And so, they had taught their respective children to not acknowledge Karen as their aunt, let alone address her.
If there was an opportunity to chase her out of the family, they'd happily take it.
Coincidentally, it seemed like the day they had wished for.
"I was saving my son," Karen said after a moment of silence.
"Saving your son? So you killed Duncan because of that?" her father thundered.
"Yes, I did," Karen admitted.
The whole room burst into an uproar. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
"Does she not feel shame? Is she not going to repent? How can such a cold-blooded person be in the Lee family?" the others wondered in distress.
They couldn't believe Karen was related to them.
Brayden had a permanent look of cold ferocity on his face. If Duncan had become head of the family, he would have been able to rule over the whole house. The entirety of the Lee family would let him do whatever he wanted. However, this wistful dream had been destroyed by Karen.
"Is your son dead?" Karen's father directed this question at her.
"If I hadn't been there sooner, he would have been," Karen answered.
"So, you mean to tell me that your son hadn't been killed? Yet, you killed Duncan anyway?" he roared back, gaze unwavering from Karen.
"My son was..." Karen tried to continue.
"You don't get to say anything else! Just answer me, yes or no?"
"Yes," she replied eventually.
"It was wrong for Duncan to mess with your son. However, he would have never gone through with killing him. Despite that, you went ahead and killed Duncan. That is unacceptable!" her father scolded as he was fuming red with rage.
"Dad, can you not do this? Duncan was going to kill my son! He even found Black..." Karen sighed as she trailed off, unable to finish. It was always like this. He had never wanted to hear her reasons and always dished out the blame on her.
Perhaps this was Karma for the horrible things she had done in her past life.
"Shut your mouth!" Brayden interjected and yelled, " Everyone knows my son's personality. He would never think to hurt his own family! All of this is your fault! It was you who attacked and killed him first!"
Karen merely glared at him.
"Do you understand that you're wrong now? Will you repent?" Her father walked over to her slowly.
"No, I didn't do anything wrong. It was Duncan who started it. It was him! I didn't do anything wrong!" Karen defended as her eyes turned red with tears. She was deeply hurt.
He raised his voice at her, "Shut up! There's no point explaining yourself now. Now tell me, what are the consequences of killing a family member? We all know this. So now I want you to say it to me, say it loudly!"
"Say it!" the other members of the Lee family also yelled in support.
Karen was silent. Then, she asked, "Dad, you mean to tell me it doesn't matter if what I did was right or wrong?"
"It's your fault for killing one of your own! So many years have passed and you're the only person foolish enough to do such a thing. Aren't you special?!"
"I'm not wrong," Karen retorted firmly.
"Stop denying it. Just tell me now, what are the consequences?!" her father yelled.
"I'll be disowned by the Lee family," Karen sighed as she said.
Elias was upset and thought to himself, "How can so many people attack this kind woman so harshly?"
"So you're aware then. Well, since you've acknowledged that, you're no longer a member of the Lee family as of right now!" her father said coldly.
Karen's heart felt as if it had been pierced with a knife. It had always been like this ever since she was a child. Even though she wasn't in the wrong, she was always the one to be blamed.
"Alright," Karen said, then she promptly turned around and left.
At this moment, the other members of the Lee family snickered. She had finally left. It was about time.
"Stop!" Brayden suddenly yelled out.
Karen stopped her steps and looked back at him, asking, "Is there anything else?"
"It seems that you don't know what being disowned by the family means. You're no longer a member of the Lee family, so please leave all of your possessions behind. You don't deserve to own them! Leave them here now!" Brayden uttered mercilessly.
Everyone in the Lee family turned to stare at Karen to see what her reaction would be.
"I don't own anything from the Lee family," Karen said.
"Nothing? Please, everything you have now is ours!" Brayden retorted.
"No, I made the money by myself. Everything I have now, I've earned through my own hard work," Karen replied. Ever since she had graduated from college, she had never asked for a penny from the family. She had earned all her money from her work and made quite a fortune herself.
While Karen was a beast in fighting, she was talented in doing business as well.
"Ridiculous! How could you have made the money without the Lee family as your backbone? Without us, you'd have died long ago! You wouldn't even have the chance to make money! We provided you with the foundation and you took advantage of our family's influential power! So, everything you have now belongs to the Lee family, you owe your entire life to us. Now, hand us everything!" Brayden said as he advanced towards her while the other members followed suit.
Everyone glared at her, including her father.
Brayden was right. Everything Karen had now belonged to the Lee family. Without the foundation of the Lee family and its glorious reputation, no one would have worked with her. She was simply incapable to make so much money in such a short time.
Karen shook her head and said firmly, "No, I earned everything by myself. The money belongs to my son. Other than him, no one else can take it away!"
"B*tch! Your money? Yours?! Say that again!" her father yelled at her.
His thunderous rumble felt as if it could collapse the entire house.
"It's mine. I have already paid back what I owe you. I have given the Lee family more than 10 billion dollars over the years. That is more than enough," Karen stated. Her father's unrelenting stare upset her further.
In the beginning, Karen had turned in every single penny she had earned to the Lee family. Over the years, she had already given so much. Her debt to the family had already been paid off earlier on.
"B*tch!!" her father roared as he raised his hand to slap her.
Karen just stood there and let it happen. She said, "You're my father. You can hit me if you wish to."
"Dad, hit her!" Brayden persisted loudly. Her father's strength was brutal, Karen did not stand a chance.
Her father merely stared at her and muttered, "I have never beaten you up before. I regret not doing so when you were a child."
Karen let out a sigh at that. She remembered that Elias had told her about how her father had slapped her once when she was a child. She had fainted at the time. Fortunately, Karen's mother
saved her. Otherwise, she would've been dead. How could he stand there and pretend that he had never hit Karen before in his life?
Elias had told Karen that in secret. The Lee family had always preferred boys over girls. The last thing the head of the Lee family wanted was a daughter. But then, they were bestowed with Karen.
However, Brayden took Karen's momentary stun as an opportunity to kick her. Karen was kicked four to five meters away, but she didn't fall over though there was some blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She glared at Brayden and swore, "From today onwards, you are no longer my brother."
"I'm not your brother either, you heartless b*tch!" one of her brothers echoed.
"I am not your brother too, B*tch, I'll beat you to death!" another one yelled.
The four brothers advanced onto her and kept kicking at her. However, she did not kneel over or let out even a noise out of pain. She endured the assault silently.
She wiped at the blood on her face with the back of her hand, feeling depressed. She was now no longer a member of the Lee family.