Chapter 226
Alden glared at Arabella with a fiery intensity. “We’ve given you the best education and resources money can buy, and this is how you repay us? Acting just like your biological parents! You should’ve gone back to them long ago!”
The internet was ablaze with scandalous stories, dragging the Hawke family’s reputation through the mud.
One hit piece followed another, wrapping the family in a storm of negativity. And now, with this latest uproar, Alden and Grace blamed it all on Arabella.
They had hoped to use PR and spin doctors to bury the mess, but nothing seemed to work.
Arabella cried, desperately denying the accusations. “Mom, Dad, they’re slandering me! I’ve never done such things. You know I have a lot of haters, people who are jealous. How can you believe them over me?”
Her four brothers, who once would have rushed to her defense, now stood by silently, their expressions cold, no one willing to speak for her.
“I don’t care if what’s online is true or not,” Mrs. Hawke sobbed, her voice cracking with anger and regret. “I just want you out of this family, and I want my real daughter back!”
As Arabella heard those words, her eyes narrowed with a mix of hurt and defiance.
“Mom, I’m the daughter you raised! Have you forgotten who’s been by your side all these years? Your real daughter doesn’t even acknowledge you! Only I have stayed with you. Do you think I wanted to be an impostor? I’m the innocent one here!”
Arabella’s whine was hysterical. “We’re supposed to be family!”
Mrs. Hawke, clutching her chest in pain, was led away by Dorian; she muttered in regret while walking away, “I should never have let my daughter take the fall back then. We were wrong. We raised someone else’s daughter for twenty years, and now look how vicious she is… she’s tearing us apart.”
Mrs. Hawke was filled with remorse, wishing desperately that it was Miranda standing there instead of Arabella.
The more she heard, the more Arabella’s face darkened, her eyes burning with resentment and hatred.
Alden, tired of the chaos, simply instructed Dorian, “Handle this mess in whatever way least damages the family.”
With that, he shot Arabella a final cold stare; snorting, he headed upstairs. Mrs. Hawke had said her piece, and Alden had no patience left to argue. He was fed up with Arabella now.
The company’s stock was plummeting, and their business partners were backing out. He and Dorian had been working around the clock to manage the crisis. The last thing he desired was to handle family affairs.
But deep down, regret gnawed at him just as it did Mrs. Hawke. How could they have ever let their real daughter take the blame?
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Miranda, no matter how unassuming back then, was their daughter and now she shone brightly. Arabella, no matter how much they spent on, was not theirs and had only brought disgrace.
Arabella gritted her teeth as Alden left.
“Dad, don’t forget, we’re family! We’re all in this together. I’m tied to this family just as much as you are. Sink or swim, we’re in the same boat! You didn’t forget, did you?”
Alden’s face changed at her words; he stared at Arabella with disbelief and cold fury. His chest heaved with the weight of disappointment and anger.
“Fine, fine, all these years and we raised an ingrate!”
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Chapter 226
With that, he left everything to Dorian and stormed out of the room. Once the parents were gone, only Dorian, Alistair, the rest brothers, and Arabella remained in the room.
Arabella sat on the floor, sniffling, wiping away tears, trying to look as pitiful as possible as she turned to her
brothers.
“Guys, you know me best. You know I’d never do those things. If Mom and Dad don’t believe me, surely you do, right?”
In the past, the brothers had always doted on her more than their parents. Even though she’d sensed their growing distance lately, Arabella couldn’t believe they would abandon her so easily.
She looked pleadingly at Dorian. “Dorian.” Then to Alistair. “Alistair, you always said that even if I wasn’t your real sister, I was the sister you loved most. No one could ever hold a more important place ever in this world, right?”
Her voice trembled as she glanced at Orion and Lysander. “We’re still the closest. They’re all out to get me. You’ll help me, right?”
But as she spoke, the brothers remained unmoved. Alistair’s gaze was icy as he gazed down at her. “There’s not a shred of us in you. How did we ever think you were better than our real sister?”
Due to Arabella, Alistair’s career had taken hits. The incident from two years ago had become a stain on his life; he grew more regrettable as time passed, and his resentment towards Arabella only deepened.
Not to mention, her biological parents were constantly trying to extort money from him, shamelessly so. Now, her biological parents were being sued for defamation by Maximus. And when Maximus sued, there was no chance of winning.
Tim and Luna were pinning all the blame on Arabella. If things escalated, it would be even harder to contain. Maximus might just be putting on a show by suing the Zade family. When it came to paying up, the Zades’d probably stick to them like a leech. Thinking about everything that lay ahead, Alistair grew more exasperated. Arabella looked at Alistair, her tone turning icy. “Alistair, what do you mean by that? Aren’t I the one who’s been wronged the most here? Is it my fault that I was born to such parents? You guys were the ones who promised to protect me and then backpedaled. It’s you who have changed, not me!”
