Chapter 249
"What do I do? Sterling must be coming after me. I don't dare go back..."
At Valerie's house, Gloria sat on the sofa, clutching a cup of cold tea, her whole body tense with nerves.
Valerie's expression wasn't much better. "If you keep hiding like this and don't go back, they'll suspect you even more. At least if you go back, you can try to defend yourself."
Gloria shook her head frantically. "I can't. I can't do it. Sterling and Henry will both be there—I can't fool them..."
Her tricks might work on Percy and Kaitlyn, who felt guilty about their daughter, but that was about it. Henry had believed her at first, but over time, his attitude toward her had grown colder and colder. Gloria worried that at this rate, Henry would eventually figure everything out.
"Mom, what am I supposed to do? What if the Brown family finds out?" Gloria's panic was overwhelming. She clutched Valerie's sleeve desperately for help.
The identity swap had been Valerie's idea to begin with. All these years, it was only thanks to Valerie that she'd been able to stay safely with the Brown family until now. Only Valerie could help her.
Valerie's brow furrowed. "Now you know to come find me? Where were you before? Did I tell you to go after the Lancaster Group?"
Gloria tried to argue. "So I should just let Willow stay at the Lancaster Group? As long as she's there, she'll have contact with Sterling. Am I supposed to just watch them get together? Let Willow's status rise above mine?"
"Shut up!" Valerie was displeased. "If you're so in the right, go tell the Browns! Tell them you couldn't stand Willow's status being higher than yours. Go on, tell them!"
Gloria bit down hard and fell silent.
Valerie's voice was cold. "You don't have a brain in your head, and all you do is throw tantrums at me. Without me, would you have what you have today?"
In a daze, Gloria felt like she was back in childhood. This was how Valerie had always disciplined her—telling her to take, to fight for things, insisting that everything had to be fought for. If she didn't fight, others would snatch it away, and she'd end up with nothing. When she didn't know how to fight, Valerie would scold her in this exact tone, telling her what to do.
Facts had proven Valerie was always right. Because she learned to snatch and fight, back at the Spencer household, Willow's father had doted on her. Then she'd successfully stolen the identity of the Brown family's daughter.
"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm just so scared." Gloria suppressed her agitation and became meek and obedient. "I know—without you, I never would've made it this far. So please help me again."
She linked arms with Valerie and leaned intimately against her shoulder. "We're mother and daughter—real blood. As long as I'm with the Brown family, I'll treat you well. The better I do, the better your life will be. We're in this together, aren't we?"
Valerie gave her a sideways glance. "That's more like it."
Gloria's lips curved upward in an obedient smile.
"Get up." Valerie pushed her aside and stood, heading into another room.
A few minutes later, she emerged holding a bottle of clear liquid.
"What is this..." Gloria looked confused.
Valerie explained, "I made it myself. Colorless, tasteless. Long-term use affects the brain—symptoms similar to Alzheimer's."
She placed the bottle in front of Gloria. "Take it back. Use it on the Brown family's lady. Every time she takes it, emphasize repeatedly that you're her real daughter. Someday, she'll be useful."
Since Gloria had no way to win Sterling over, at the very least, her position in the Brown family couldn't slip. The Brown family was their final bargaining chip.
Gloria hesitated. "Will it really work?"
Valerie's voice was cold. "What else do you have? Any other ideas? Want to just sit there waiting for doom? Wait to be kicked out by the Browns?"
After years of comfortable living with the Brown family, the thought of being thrown out and returning to their old hardscrabble life filled Gloria with resistance.
"Got it. I'll do it. I will." She steeled her resolve and carefully tucked the vial away.
Valerie looked down at her. "Don't make any more reckless moves during this time. Don't come looking for me either, or the Browns will get suspicious. If you can't even handle this small matter, then we'll both just wait for the Lancaster and Brown families to come after us!"
Gloria's heart jolted. She quickly agreed.
By the time she returned to the Brown Villa, Sterling had already left. Only the three Browns remained sitting in the living room, the atmosphere heavy and somber.
"Dad, Mom, Henry..." One look told Gloria they knew what she'd done. Her voice was full of guilt when she spoke.
Percy glanced at her, his expression unprecedentedly serious. "Kneel!"
Gloria froze. "Dad..."
She wondered if she'd heard wrong.
Before she could react, Henry suddenly stood and headed upstairs. Moments later, he returned holding a heavy wooden paddle in both hands.
A wave of fear washed over Gloria.
"Glo, I warned you before to keep your head down." For once, Henry was completely serious, displaying the demeanor of the Brown Group's current director.
His gaze was grave as he looked at Gloria. "What you did this time is too serious. Combined with your past offenses, Father has asked me to personally enforce family discipline. Do you have any objections?"
Gloria's eyes were full of resistance. Instinctively, she wanted to refuse. But thinking of their future plans, she gritted her teeth and swallowed back the words, forcing herself to nod with difficulty.
"I... I know I was wrong."
With that, she obediently knelt before Percy and Kaitlyn.
Because this was family discipline, Henry held nothing back. The paddle came down hard on Gloria's back.
Soon, Gloria couldn't hold her kneeling position anymore. Her body trembled continuously. Kaitlyn looked away in distress but didn't speak up to plead for mercy.
After what felt like an eternity, Henry finally stopped. Gloria had gone numb with pain. Her vision darkened.
Percy's authoritative voice sounded in her ears. "Someone, take Glo back to her room to rest. She'll stay home to recover during this time. Without my permission, she's not to step one foot outside this house."
Someone quickly came to Gloria's side to help her up.
Percy added, "Once you've recovered, I'll personally take you to apologize to Ms. Spencer."
Gloria's face was bloodless. She nodded weakly.
At the hospital, Willow remained completely unaware of everything Sterling had done.
She also had injuries on her face. The moment she returned to the hospital, Maria had fussed over her with concerned questions for ages. She'd barely managed to deflect them.
After having dinner with Maria that evening, she remembered she hadn't told Sterling about her resignation yet. Though Baron had let her go personally, so Sterling probably already knew by now, right?
Willow returned to her room and glanced at her phone. She'd just received a message from Sterling—
[Can you come downstairs now?]
Willow's heart stirred.
A few minutes later, she casually emerged from her room fully dressed.
"Where are you going?" Maria was still sitting outside.
Willow frowned as if uncomfortable. "My wounds hurt. I just asked Ruth—there's a doctor on duty now. I'm going to have them check it out."
Maria was worried about her injuries, too, and didn't ask more questions, letting her go.