Chapter 7

It didn't take long before my mother came rushing to find me. Her face was so dark it seemed like it could drip water.

"Danica, I heard you went to see your grandfather. What exactly did you tell him?"

Her voice was sharp and commanding, leaving no room for argument.

I took a deep breath, having already prepared myself. "I just told Grandfather about some things I've noticed."

My mother's brows furrowed even deeper, and her gaze felt like it was piercing through me. "You'd better not cause me any trouble, Danica."

I met her eyes steadily, but inside I felt nothing but coldness.

"Mother, I did what was best for Grandfather. You should be relieved."

Her face darkened even more, clearly not believing a word I said.

"You'd better remember, family honor and interests are what matter most."

I sneered inwardly. Family honor and interests?

In her eyes, only the interests of my brother and herself were important.

"Mm, I'll remember that," I replied flatly.

Mother stared at me, as if trying to catch any hint of deceit in my words, but eventually, she said nothing more and turned to leave.

I watched her retreating figure, my feelings mixed.

From beginning to end, she hadn't even asked about the injury on my hand.

I was completely done with her.

The next day, I said goodbye to Grandfather and decided to leave the Mann family. But before leaving, I still had something to do.

I went to the Swanson family, intending to take their eldest daughter-in-law to meet Alex and reunite them as family.

While waiting in the Swanson family's courtyard, I suddenly heard familiar footsteps.

I turned around, and it was Ricky.

His right eye was completely blind now, still wrapped in bandages. But his tone was just as arrogant as ever, with a hint of mockery.

"Danica, you actually have the nerve to come here?"

I stared coldly at him. "Ricky, what are you doing here?"

He took a few steps closer, his gaze growing more vicious. "I came to see how long a vile woman like you can keep up her arrogance."

I scoffed. "Vile? Compared to what you and Isis have done, what I've done is nothing."

Ricky's face twisted in surprise, clearly not expecting me to be so blunt. "If you kneel down and beg for forgiveness right now, I might just let you off."

I didn't flinch and stared right into his eyes. "Go to hell. Who do you think you are?"

Ricky's face turned a deep shade of anger, and he tried to move closer to me.

But due to his injury, his movements were clumsy and slow.

Instead, I took a step forward, locking my gaze with his.

"Ricky, I've long seen through you and Isis's little game. Did you really think you could fool everyone forever?"

He gritted his teeth. "Danica, don't get too full of yourself. Do you think exposing me will change anything?"

I let out a cold laugh. "Change nothing? At the very least, I can make sure you and Isis's schemes don't succeed."

Ricky let out a laugh of anger, "You think you've got that kind of power?"

I stared him down. "You'll find out soon enough whether I do. Now, get out of my way."

Ricky, stunned by my resolve, froze, unsure how to respond.

I took the opportunity to turn away and continue waiting in the courtyard.

But just then, Isis appeared. Her face had healed, and she looked at me with a provocative sneer.

"Don't you dare hurt Ricky again!"

I rolled my eyes. "Which eye of yours saw me hurting your precious Ricky? Also, as soon as my brother fell from grace, you ran off to live with the Swanson family. Have you no shame?"

Ricky immediately rushed to protect Isis, spewing insults at me, calling me a crazy woman.

Before I could reply, Isis suddenly went limp, collapsing softly to the ground.

No matter how much Ricky shook her, she wouldn't wake up.

I laughed. This woman was pulling the same old trick again.

Faking unconsciousness? I had plenty of ways to snap her out of it.

But just as I was about to approach, Ricky shouted at me.

"Danica, get out!"

The look of love he had once pretended to show me was now completely gone, replaced with utter disgust.

"Don't think I don't know. You're still trying to hurt Isis!"

In our past life, he had been just as stubborn, convinced that I was jealous of Isis.

He always guarded against me as if I were some kind of thief.

My patience had been seen as guilt in his eyes.

So this time, I simply grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and hurled it right at Isis's face.

Within seconds, she couldn't keep up the act any longer.

She bent over, coughing violently.