I stepped out of the car and had barely pushed the door open when I spotted my parents, each sitting in opposite corners of the living room sofa.
Neither of them spoke, but the tension in the air was palpable.
As soon as I stepped closer to the sofa, my father stood up and began berating me.
“How could you be so reckless at your age? Do you even realize I canceled a multimillion–dollar business dinner tonight just to wait for you? And since when do you know how to fly a plane? Why wasn’t i informed about this?”
As his anger flared, he slammed his hand on the table and pointed at me, shouting furiously.
“Sharon only asked you a few questions at the police station, and you lashed out and threatened her. Is that how a sister should behave? And what’s going on between you and Evan? Don’t forget-”
Before he could finish, my mother picked up a vase from the table and hurled it at him.
“George Cook! What do you mean by that? A bastard dares to criticize Opal? Have you forgotten the agreement we made?”
George glared at her, shifting his fury from me to her as he glanced at the shattered vase on the floor.
“Have I ever broken that agreement? Even with Sharon, haven’t I left the majority of the inheritance to Opal? But you-”
As their argument escalated, I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted.
“Enough! Stop yelling! If you’re going to keep fighting, take it outside!”
They froze, stunned by my outburst, and fell silent, returning to the same awkward silence from when I’d first walked in.
Seeing they had finally quieted down, I sat on the other sofa and spoke directly.
“I want to cancel my engagement with Eugene.”
“No way!”
Before I could even finish, my father flatly rejected me, his voice firm and unwavering.
“The engagement between you and the Shaw family was decided when you were a child. It’s not something that can be canceled over such a trivial matter. I won’t agree to it.”
“This isn’t why you won’t agree,” my mother snapped, her anger boiling over as she pointed a finger at him. “You just want Opal to marry Eugene, taking our family fortunes with her. Then, once she’s out of the way, you plan to have your bastard daughter replace her and claim everything!
“Don’t think I don’t know that your bastard daughter has been colluding with Eugene behind our backs. Do you really believe I’m blind to your schemes?”
“Mom!” I gasped, stunned. She knew. She actually knew!
