For an occasion like this, Tiffany’s absence was highly unusual.

Missing an opportunity to belittle Claire, flaunt her own daughter, and angle for personal perks was completely out of character for Tiffany.

Claire quietly asked Yolande about it.

Yolande replied in a hushed, secretive tone, “My mom got tangled up with her cousin’s family.”

Seb was far more outspoken than his older sister.

“My mom is going crazy dealing with her cousin’s mess, running around everywhere trying to pull strings for Leon Byron.”

“Since Karla refused to give her the time of day, she started seeking out other connections.”

“I heard she’s at another high-stakes poker game today just to network.”

Seb was intentionally snitching on her.

He hated seeing his mother running herself ragged for her maiden family.

His maternal grandparents’ side had never once considered his mother’s well-being.

That entire family was a pack of bloodsucking leeches.

Yet, his mother was completely willing to bend over backwards for them.

They never even appreciated it.

He desperately hoped his great-uncle would step in and order his dad to keep her in check.

So she would stop stirring up trouble every single day.

Padgett frowned deeply as he listened, but he had no intention of intervening.

If the second branch of the family couldn’t handle their own internal mess, that was their own incompetence!

It would be wildly inappropriate for him, as the patriarch, to discipline his nephew’s wife.

Seb was still far too young to grasp family politics.

Karla found the whole situation amusing. “No matter who she manages to rope in, I’ll shut her down.”

“Sienna Darwin suffered horribly. She was nearly crippled. Even though she’s doing rehab now, there’s no telling when she’ll fully recover.”

“She will never back down and let the mastermind behind her attack walk free.”

The blame rested entirely on Leon’s arrogant delusion that being a rich kid meant he could make any problem disappear.

Now that he had hit a brick wall, he expected his parents to bail him out—but it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“I agree she’s just wasting her time,” Seb chuckled. “Karla, you did the right thing by ignoring her.”

It would save his mother from her daily delusions of grandeur.

Karla nodded. “Don’t you worry!”

The topic was brushed aside just like that.

No one in the room stepped up to defend Tiffany.

Dinner that night was an absolute feast.

Claire casually shared a few funny stories from training camp, just to keep the conversation lively.

What everyone was most curious about, however, was the student who had gotten injured during the drills.

Seb, being the youngest boy in the family, naturally had the biggest streak of morbid curiosity.

just need to know, did Solenia?”

seriously come the only modern-day eunuch in

Claire shook her head. “He’s not completely castrated.”

“His condition is mostly stable now He just lost one. If he heals properly, it shouldn’t impõet his daily life too much.”

“He lost a ball?” The rest of the table took the news calmly, but young Seb was utterly scandalized.

“You can

just one onction perfectly fine with

don’t be so dramatic.”.

Owen flicked his younger cousin,

the forehead

Claire was a girl, after all; it was highly inappropriate to keep grilling her about this.

Seb clearly hadn’t thought that deeply into it.

He was just genuinely curious.

The others swiftly steered the conversation in a new direction.

They all insisted Claire had lost weight and practically forced her to eat more to regain her strength.

By the end of the meal, Claire was so stuffed she could barely walk.

She was originally planning to head back to campus that night.

Since she had promised to bring leftovers back for her roommates, she had asked the kitchen staff to set aside a portion early on on

But wanting to make sure the food was still fresh, she decided she needed to leave

soon.

However, Owen immediately solved her dilemma.

He simply instructed one of the staff to drive over and deliver the food to Claire’s dorm.

Defeated by her family’s relentless hospitality, Claire had no choice but to stay the night at the estate.

Thankfully, she had already texted her roommates to explain the situation.

She was pretty confident Skylar wouldn’t be too heartbroken once she saw the feast that had been sent her way.