Chapter 30
Chapter 30:
With a gentle smile, he reached for Giselle’s shoulders and pulled her back slightly from Brenna. “You’re overwhelming her,” he said.
Giselle blinked through her tears and gave an awkward laugh. “I can’t help it,” she admitted. “For twenty years, I’ve thought about my daughter every single day. Wondering where she was, if she was safe, if she was eating well… And then I—
“I found out she didn’t even finish grade school? It felt like a knife to my heart. How could the Barretts do this to her p>
Shepard turned to Brenna, looking at her. He wanted her to call him Dad and call Giselle Mom. But she remained silent. His heart sank a little, though he understood her. How could she be expected to call two strangers her parents?
Rosie also picked up on Brenna’s hesitation immediately. She nudged Brenna with her elbow, her voice thick with disapproval. “Mom and Dad are standing right in front of you, and you don’t even greet them? That’s so rude p>
Then, slipping smoothly into place between Shepard and Giselle, she hooked her arms around them both. “Dad, Mom, I was the one who brought Brenna home, but she was so mad about me being late that she pushed me, and now I have this sprained ankle. And when I offered her ice cream, she threw it at me and ruined my dress. But it’s fine—I won’t hold it against her p>
She wasn’t even pretending to be nice anymore, looking at Brenna provocatively.
In fact, she was lying outright about Brenna in front of the entire family, just to see whom everyone would believe.
Brenna just shot Rosie a sharp glance and remained silent.
Giselle gazed at Brenna expectantly. After a long pause, Brenna finally said, “Nice to meet you all; I’m Brenna p>
𝗙𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 — 𝖙𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖙 gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀﹐𝖼𝗈𝗺
The Harper family members exchanged uncertain glances, their silence heavy with doubt. Brenna’s lack of immediate response seemed like an unspoken admission of Rosie’s words.
Seeing their hesitant expressions, Brenna knew she needed to clarify the situation before they made any assumptions. She hadn’t come back just to be falsely accused—she wanted to reconnect with her real family.
Without hesitation, she scrolled through her phone, quickly pulling up the surveillance footage from the Flavor Restaurant.
“You can watch this,” she said, holding out her phone. The screen played the events exactly as they had happened.
Giselle and Shepard watched. Luther and Tessa also leaned in. Their faces darkened as the video progressed.
Rosie watched the video as well, her expression twisting with frustration. “How did you even get that footage?” she snapped.
“Rosie!” Giselle’s voice was sharp with disappointment. Her heart ached—her daughter had suffered for twenty years, only to return and be met with hostility from her real family.