Chapter 192: Grace Loses Her Temper
David muttered, "What kind of talk is that? Is this really the issue here? The issue is whether you still acknowledge me as your father!"
Grace found it laughable.
The Foster family figured she'd landed a wealthy catch—someone like Alexander no less—and they weren't about to let her slip away.
But she wasn't buying into their emotional blackmail.
"I don't want to repeat my answer," Grace said. "I already told you—I refuse to acknowledge you. David, if it weren't for the fact that we're blood-related and I can't sever that connection, I would have filed a petition in court to legally disown you long ago. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. Pretend you never had a daughter, and I'll pretend I never had a father."
David suddenly shot to his feet, agitated. "You ungrateful wretch! Fine, you don't want to acknowledge me? Fine. But you're going to pay back every penny I spent raising you all these years!"
"What money?" Grace asked.
Evelyn's emotions flared up as she pointed accusingly at Grace. "You ungrateful little snake! The Foster family raised you all these years—do you think that was free? Food, clothes, everything—every single thing cost money! We invested in making you what you are today, and now that you've married up, you immediately turn your back on us, don't you?"
"Pay back what you owe me, or I'll take you to court!" David threatened.
Grace let out a cold laugh.
In the end, it always came down to money.
"How much do you want?" Grace asked.
David shot a meaningful look at Evelyn.
Evelyn quickly rummaged through her purse and pulled out several sheets of paper. "I kept records! Look at this! See how much money the Foster family spent on you over all these years!"
Grace was stunned. She watched as Evelyn slammed a detailed itemized bill onto the table. Confused, she picked it up and scanned it, her expression changing.
School fees...
Living expenses...
Everything from her college tuition to the cost of a single pair of socks—page after page of itemized expenses that Evelyn had meticulously recorded.
"You should pay back this money!" David declared. "And since you hit Mia, you owe medical expenses too. If you want to sever our relationship, you also owe me compensation for emotional distress!"
Grace frowned. "Then what about the money the Hayes family paid when Alexander and I got married? Shouldn't the Foster family return that to me?"
She wasn't someone who liked to haggle over petty amounts.
She didn't really care about money.
But since David had produced this ridiculous itemized bill, recording everything so meticulously and seriously, she realized she'd been living under the Foster family's penny-pinching calculations for over twenty years. The thought filled her with profound sadness.
If David wanted to settle accounts so precisely, then she would too.
"That money went to cover your mother's medical expenses long ago," David said. "She was sick for so many years. I supported her, paid for her treatment—doesn't that cost money?"
Grace found it utterly absurd. "She was my mother, but she was also your wife! You're asking me to pay for your wife's medical treatment?"
"You said it yourself—she was your mother!" David shot back.
Grace was furious. She stood up and confronted David directly. "David, I don't care how much money Foster Corporation has or what your net worth is, but surely you had money for my mother's treatment! What financial hole? I think you just don't want to return the dowry money! When Alexander and I married, the Hayes family paid you quite a substantial amount, didn't they? You didn't give me a single penny for my trousseau!"
"Aren't you the one who wants to sever our relationship? Why are you still thinking about the Foster family's money?" David retorted.
Grace bit her lip, her face flushing red. Her nose stung, and suddenly she cried like a child. "You're going too far! They say when a father remarries, he becomes a stepfather to his own children. It's true! After you married Evelyn, did you ever treat me like a real daughter? This bill—do you think I don't know what these charges really are?"
She violently threw the bill back onto the table. "Fifty thousand for school fees? My education cost fifty thousand? I attended free public schools through middle school. Starting in high school, I was already working part-time to support myself. I didn't even finish college before you made me drop out and arranged my marriage!"
"And this—what clothes, what socks cost thousands of dollars? Don't think I don't know that Evelyn bought me cheap clothes worth forty or fifty dollars at most! How much could those rags possibly cost?"
"You even charged the Foster family's utilities to my account! Do you remember where I lived? My room didn't even have air conditioning! Hot summers, cold winters—you wouldn't even spend a few thousand on an air conditioner for me. I had to sleep in the servants' quarters during summer!"
"Growing up, how many household expenses did you cut? You even eliminated the housekeeper's salary and made me do all the work! Mia is your precious daughter—too noble for chores. And me? What was I to you?"
In her rage, Grace tore up the bill and threw the pieces in David's face.
David's expression grew uncomfortable. He was about to argue back when Alexander abruptly stood up, violently kicking over the coffee table, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Get out!"
He'd heard enough.
He had no idea this was how Grace had lived all these years in the Foster family.
She rarely mentioned the Foster family, and he'd assumed David cherished his daughter. He never imagined Grace had endured this kind of treatment.
David tensed nervously. "Don't listen to her nonsense! I never treated her like that!"
"You think I'm lying?" Grace said. "You're right—nobody would believe this story. What kind of father treats his daughter this way? You blame me for not acknowledging you? You're afraid I won't acknowledge you now—where were you before?!"
She suddenly rushed up to David and gave him a hard shove. "I'm getting my mother's ashes back tomorrow! No—I'm getting them today."
David's face showed panic. "You unfilial daughter! You want to disturb your mother's grave?"
The truth was, Hannah's grave was empty.
Grace had always believed her mother died of illness. In reality, David had brazenly brought Evelyn home as his mistress, driving Hannah to jump from a building in despair.
Afterward, the Foster family experienced several unfortunate incidents. David, being superstitious, believed it was because Hannah couldn't rest in peace. So he had Hannah's casket thrown down an abandoned well, and now it would be impossible to retrieve unless they demolished the entire well.
Alexander pulled Grace back. "Calm down."
He looked at David coldly. "Still not leaving? Do you want me to have security throw you out?"
David was intimidated by Alexander's gaze.
He was two decades older than Alexander, but this man's single look carried such natural authority that David couldn't withstand it at all.
Unable to get any money, David slunk away with Evelyn and Mia.
Grace sank back onto the sofa, tears streaming down her face in anger.
Alexander gently cupped her face, coaxing, "Don't cry anymore."
But Grace felt infinite bitterness in her heart.
She didn't want to break down crying. She'd been strong since childhood, but if she hadn't been pushed to her absolute limit, she wouldn't have lost her temper so completely.