Chapter 108 Don’t Be Fooled by Her

Chapter 108 Don’t Be Fooled by Her

Facing Brandon's probing questions, Ophelia showed not even a hint of weakness or hesitation from start to finish.

"More or less. Precisely because my family is ordinary, no one planned out my future for me, so I had to tread carefully at every step — finding opportunities in dead ends, and calculating the odds in the face of risk."

Her words were neither humble nor arrogant. The last trace of doubt in Brandon's mind completely vanished, and his impression of this little sister he was meeting for the first time grew even more favorable.

She had grown up without anyone to shelter her, yet she never stopped pushing herself forward. When faced with hardship, Ophelia truly stood out.

In contrast, Emily had grown up pampered in the Jones family — not only was she simple-minded, she had zero drive or ambition. Brandon had always thought Emily was a bit slow, but now, comparing her to Ophelia, "a bit slow" didn't even begin to cover it. She was just plain dumb.

A faint flicker of tenderness crossed Brandon's deep eyes, but he quietly buried it without letting it show.

He let a genuine smile curl at the corner of his lips, his tone warm and gentle. "Every bit of your brilliance and every achievement you've earned is well deserved. If you ever need help going forward, just come to me."

Everyone in the industry knew that Eric, the man at the helm of Vanguard Capital Group, had incredibly high standards and rarely acknowledged younger talent. Yet today, he had made exception after exception for Ophelia.

The crowd watched her with a mix of shock and barely concealed envy.

Even after the reception wrapped up smoothly and the visiting delegation drove away, the buzz about Ophelia on the Serenity University campus just wouldn't die down.

As dusk settled in, Brandon returned to Emerald Lake Estates for the first time in a long while.

He ran Vanguard Capital Group and oversaw the financial operations of more than a dozen branches worldwide, living abroad for most of the year and rarely coming home.

The moment Emily heard Brandon was back, she was already waiting at the door. She had no idea that Brandon had seen Ophelia's remarkable talent with his own eyes, and even less idea that her long history of spreading lies and slander had already been exposed.

"Brandon, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!"

Before Brandon could say a word, she eagerly launched into complaints about Ophelia. "Brandon, look — it's this late and Ophelia still isn't home. She's always like this, coming back at all hours of the night, sometimes not even coming home at all. Mom and Dad never say anything about it. Brandon, you really need to have a talk with her."

But the moment the words left her mouth, something shifted in Brandon's presence.

"Stop." Brandon raised a hand to cut her off. "We're all adults. As long as she's not doing anything illegal, it doesn't matter what time she comes home. Mind your own business."

Feeling the anger radiating off him, Emily's heart sank, and a strange unease crept over her.

Brandon fixed her with a cold stare. "I met Ophelia today. The person you described as gloomy, petty, arrogant, and insufferable? She's a remarkably calm and sharp-minded young woman with a level of composure that puts most people her age to shame. She's genuinely exceptional. Every lie you've been spreading about her is complete nonsense."

Emily's face went awkward in an instant. "Brandon, you — you met her already?" she asked in disbelief. "That can't be right. She's not that great. Don't let her fool you — she's really good at putting on an act!"

"I can tell what's real and what's not far better than you can." Brandon's gaze turned cold and cutting as he stripped away her pretense without mercy. "You grew up in the Jones family with every comfort imaginable, and yet you're this petty — all you do is complain. From now on, you are not to say another bad word about Ophelia. If it happens again, I won't let it slide."

That hit like a sledgehammer, crushing every little scheme Emily had been nurturing.

She felt ashamed, furious, and wronged all at once, with nowhere to direct her resentment. So she piled every bit of her hatred onto Ophelia.

After putting Emily in her place, Brandon didn't spare her another glance and headed straight to Liam's study.

With his father, his sharp edges softened. His tone was steady and respectful as he gave a clear, organized update on his work overseas.

"Dad, Vanguard Capital Group's overseas headquarters has recently completed asset consolidation in the Skylake District and Gold Valley District. All three cross-border hedge funds are fully operational, with returns breaking industry benchmarks. The cross-border tech acquisition that had been on hold for six months — I personally finalized the risk management framework and eliminated all geopolitical financial risks. That deal has now closed successfully. In addition, the risk control systems across all overseas branches have been fully overhauled, closing every capital gap left over from last year. Overall revenue this year is on track for steady growth."

Liam nodded with visible satisfaction. "Having you manage the overseas operations puts my mind at ease. You've worked hard."

"How have things been at home lately?"

At the mention of family matters, a look of helplessness crossed Liam's face. "Your aunt, for some reason, has taken a serious disliking to Ophelia. She was secretly working with people on the outside to go after her. But I've had her committed to a psychiatric facility. She'll spend the rest of her life alone."

Hearing this, a wave of cold fury swept through Brandon's eyes.

He could tolerate simple jealousy and rivalry between younger family members. But he would never tolerate an elder stooping to such vile, underhanded tactics to harm a young woman.

Every time he thought about Ophelia spending eighteen years on her own outside this family, he felt an ache he couldn't shake.

Knowing that Emily and Qiana were close, he went to warn Emily after leaving the study. "Emily, I don't want you having any contact with Aunt Qiana from now on. She has no integrity — she'll do anything to get what she wants. If you keep spending time with her and pick up her habits, don't expect me to go easy on you."

Emily flinched. Even though she was seething inside, she had no choice but to nod stiffly. "Fine. I got it."

Seeing that her response was at least somewhat cooperative, Brandon's tone softened a little. He reached into his luggage and pulled out two gifts he had already prepared.

One was a custom haute joaillerie set from Morn, a rising independent design house — understated yet luxurious, impeccably crafted, and far from cheap. It was the carefully chosen gift he had put real thought into for Ophelia.

The other was a luxury gift box from a department store — exactly the kind of flashy, overpriced thing Emily had always been fond of.

Brandon handed the gift box to Emily. "This is yours."

Emily took it, but before she could feel happy about it, she spotted another jewelry box in Brandon's luggage. She recognized the logo — it was from a jewelry brand that had been trending lately, expensive and nearly impossible to get your hands on.

"Brandon, is that..."

"That's the gift I got for Ophelia. A welcome present."

Emily froze.

She and Brandon had a bond that Ophelia couldn't possibly compete with — or so she'd believed. Yet the gift he gave her was something anyone could walk into a store and buy, while Ophelia got a custom-made piece of jewelry.

Why? What gave her that right?!

"You treat some outsider better than you treat me. Unbelievable!"

The stark difference shattered what little composure Emily had left. She couldn't fake sweetness for another second. Her face darkened; she let out a sharp scoff, and she turned and walked off in a huff.

Brandon watched her storm away, his eyes completely indifferent.

Clearly, Emily still hadn't grasped the reality of her situation. She was the outsider in this family now, not Ophelia. Instead of making an effort to build a real relationship with everyone, she was still acting like the same spoiled, self-centered person she'd always been. Foolish.

Once Emily was gone, Brandon took out his phone and sent a message to his assistant, Ryan.

[Look into Qiana — her relatives, and anyone she's been in contact with recently. As detailed as possible. Get it to me as soon as you can.]