Laura’s Victory Second Chance

Chapter 31

Even Christopher, usually pretty even–tempered, was getting close to losing it because of Laura. Today, not only was the Sharpe family embarrassed, but the Brown family was too.

“David!” Christopher didn’t hold back anymore. He raised his voice in front of everyone. “This is the good daughter you raised, huh?”

David, still worried about his unconscious daughter, felt the heat from Christopher’s glare. “Mr. Brown, please don’t be angry,” he said, sweating.

“I came to this party in good faith, and this is how you treat your guests?”

David kept wiping his brow, raising his glass in a shaky salute. “Mr. Brown, there’s a reason for all this. It’s my fault for not teaching my children better. I offer you this drink. You’re a generous man, so please don’t hold my daughter’s behavior against me.”

But Christopher had enough. He splashed the wine from his glass right in David’s face. “David, if you can’t respect us, don’t expect us to show you any respect. I want an explanation for what just happened today.”

Elara chimed in, still fuming, “If the Sharpe family doesn’t give us an answer, this isn’t over!”

David wiped the wine from his face, forcing a smile despite the humiliation. “Yes, yes, my daughter is still unconscious. When she wakes up, I’ll personally bring her to apologize. As for Laura, I’m not sure what she needs to do to satisfy you both.”

Elara was seething. “I want her to kneel and apologize to my son!”

T

“Of course, Mrs. Brown, don’t get too upset. I’ll make sure Laura apologizes to Mr. Robert Brown right away.”

Before David could finish, Laura cut him off. “Why should the victim apologize to the perpetrator? I’ve never heard of such nonsense. If you want to kneel to the Brown family, that’s up to you, but don’t drag me into it.”

David’s frustration boiled over. He marched toward Laura, his patience snapping. “You ungrateful girl! Kneel!”

He wanted to slap Laura, thinking he didn’t want to offend the Browns; he had two projects still in the works with them. Angering them could ruin everything.

He didn’t care about what Laura was thinking. His eyes burned with rage, like those of an angry beast ready to pounce, as he thought, ‘Even if Laura refuses to kneel, I’ll force her to!‘

Laura stood her ground, unfazed by his anger, staring into his eyes that were filled with rage. “What if I don’t kneel?” Her voice was cold.

“You ungrateful brat! After everything I’ve done for you–providing for you like you were my own daughter–this is how you repay me?” David raised his hand, fury in his voice. “If you don’t apologize to the Brown family today, I will beat you myself!”

Laura let out a sad laugh. “Apologize? Did I force Robert to cheat, or did I make him hide it? He and Olivia are the ones at fault here. If you want me to apologize, fine, but only if you can tell me what exactly I did wrong.”

David faltered, struggling to find a valid argument. Finally, he blurted out, “No matter what happened between you three, this is a private issue. You shouldn’t have made a scene here and embarrassed everyone. Isn’t that reason enough?”

Laura sneered, “I’m the one making a scene? Dad, think about it. Who started this whole mess? Who was playing both sides? Do you want me to stay silent and carry that blame for the rest of my life?”

David paused, realizing she had a point. It wasn’t Laura who initiated any of this.

Seeing him at a loss for words, Laura continued, “You keep saying I’m in the wrong, but where exactly did I mess up? Now that the truth is out, you just want to save face. But when those two did that shameful thing, did they think about how embarrassing today would be for you?”

“Shut up!” Robert snapped. He was already in a bad state, but Laura only seemed to add insult to injury.

Changing her focus, Laura turned to David. “Dad, you still haven’t answered me. Do you really see me as your daughter, or am I just like these earrings?”

She was bringing up the gifts David had prepared for his two daughters when the party started, and he struggled to respond.

“You said you cared for me like your–own–daughter, yet when Olivia wanted my room after coming back, I was sent to the storage room to sleep. “When she wanted my clothes, I gave her some without hesitation, and what did she do? She told you I gave her old stuff, and you scolded me without hearing my side.

“It was my coming–of–age ceremony, yet everyone was focused on welcoming her. No one even remembered my birthday. Isn’t that favoritism?

“And remember, it was Olivia who seduced Robert first. Before we even knew the truth, how did you treat me? You scolded me! But the moment the truth came out, you wanted to blame me for her mistakes.

Chapter 31

The sapphire necklace and earrings represent how you feel about us. So, Mom and Dad, if you’ve never truly considered me as your daughter, why do you keep trying to manipulate me as my parents?”

Emma’s expression hardened. “Laura, you truly are ungrateful. How can the minor grievances you listed compare to the kindness we’ve shown you all these years?

‘Had I known this is how you’d turn out, your dad and I should have thought twice about adopting you. David, remember what I said? No matter how much we give someone else’s child, she will never be truly grateful.”

As tensions escalated, the spectators fell silent. They had witnessed the Sharpe family’s behavior, and with Laura’s earlier threats to sue for defamation, no one dared to speak up.

Laura shot Emma a mocking smile. “Did you really adopt me out of kindness? Or was it all about the shares?”

The word “shares” caught Elara’s attention. Besides the 700 million dollars, did Laura have shares in the Godfrey family? It made her think about the status of the Godfrey family. Even a small stake in that family could be incredibly valuable.

Suddenly, Elara regretted confronting Laura for her son. Shares held far more weight than 700 million dollars.

David, sensing the shift, wanted to keep this under wraps. “Alright, let’s stop making a scene. If you don’t like the earrings, I’ll buy you a new pair tomorrow. Isn’t tonight enough to vent your anger?”

David’s reasoning returned as he considered Laura’s worth; he couldn’t afford to completely alienate her.

Laura caught on to his calculations and flashed a sly smile. “It’s too late for that.”

Her smile sent a chill through the room. David and Emma had never really taken Laura seriously because they’d always thought they had her under control, especially with the shares in play.

“Tonight, Laura is like a completely different person. If she decides to change her mind, our plan to get those twenty percent of the shares will fall through. David felt a wave of panic crash over him at that thought.