It turned out that Claire was the most innocent victim of the hospital mix-up.
All of Cindy's past jealousy and resentment toward her were completely unjustified.
"Know about what?" Claire guessed exactly what she was referring to, but she deliberately played dumb.
Cindy bristled, her eyes flashing with resentment. "That I am not Dad's biological daughter. Did you know all along?"
"Oh, and what if I did?" Claire looked completely indifferent.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Cindy felt absolutely humiliated standing in front of Claire.
"What good would it have done? I had no proof. It was merely a guess."
Claire couldn't care less about what Cindy was thinking. "We aren't close. We have zero relationship. I have no obligation to discuss anything with you."
"Have you just been enjoying the show, waiting to laugh at me?" Cindy demanded.
Waiting for everyone to discover she was a bastard child, only to be thrown out of the James family in disgrace.
Even though she had left on her own terms, it felt no different than being kicked to the curb.
"Why would I laugh at you?" Claire actually found Cindy's current behavior entirely ridiculous.
"Even if you knew you weren't biologically related to them, would you have left the James family voluntarily?"
"To you, the James family was a massive lottery ticket falling right into your lap." "Your mother knew perfectly well you weren't his daughter, but didn't she still let you accept Latham as your father?"
"It is obvious that when wealth is involved, no one can remain rational."
Claire's tone was incredibly flat, but to Cindy's ears, every word dripped with sharp
sarcasm.
"I wasn't doing it for the money. I just desperately wanted a warm, loving home," Cindy tried to defend herself.
Claire raised a hand to cut her off. "Look deep into your own conscience. Do you honestly believe that excuse holds up?"
Cindy's jaw tightened as she fell into a stony silence.
Claire had lost all patience with her. She restarted the car and drove away without a backward glance.
She didn't care what happened to Cindy. Just because Latham wasn't her biological father didn't mean Cindy was an orphan.
Moreover, she still had Octavia and Lance as her biological mother and brother. It was certainly not Claire's place to worry about her.
Claire was exhausted every single day, practically passing out the second her head hit the pillow.
By the time she woke up the next morning, she had already forgotten the previous day's drama and dived straight back into her laboratory work.
That evening, however, she received a phone call from Shirley.
"Claire, you guessed it right! Latham actually had the nerve to suggest my dad pimp me out to that Clark boy for a loan."
Shirley launched into a massive rant over the phone.
"Thank goodness I told my mom yesterday. Manuel Clark's son isn't just fat, he is
gay. His family is definitely trying to find him a beard."
"When my dad brought it up today, my mom tore him a new one. She called him brainless and accused him of trying to sell his own daughter."
"My dad was totally brainwashed by
Latham. He never stopped to think why Mrs would use
Clark business deal as a condition to find
a wife for her son."
fo FindNovel.net
"If their son was actually a great catch, with the Clarks' wealth, would they have any shortage of women lining up to marry him?"
"My dad claimed Latham was just out of options, which was why he resorted to such
a terrible plan. At least he admits it's a terrible plan."
"My mom told him to pack his bags and sleep in the guest room tonight. She demanded he reject Latham immediately, or else she would pack up, move back to her parents' house, and take me and my brother with her."
SWI
Claire thought to herself that Patti was significantly tougher than Octavia.
"As long as your mom is protecting you, you don't need to worry too much," Claire said, feeling the situation was well under control.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Octavia had already invited Mrs. Clark out for afternoon tea.
Seeing that Octavia was finally going to give her an answer, Mrs. Clark breathed a sigh of relief.
She had indeed noticed something
was off about her son a long time
ago. Coupled with the fact that he was spending far too much time with another man, she had developed a very bad premonition.