Chapter 169 The End of Strife

Chapter 169 The End of Strife

Olivia spoke so fast that her voice filled the entire banquet hall before anyone could react.

Barney had weathered plenty of storms in his life, but even he froze for a few seconds, his face turning dark.

"Olivia! What do you think you're doing? We had an agreement before you came back!"

He growled under his breath and reached out to grab the microphone from her hand.

Olivia stepped back and to the side, easily dodging him.

"Mr. Barnett, I agreed to be publicly acknowledged as your adopted daughter, but I never promised to take what really happened back then to my grave."

She tilted her head, a smile on her face, but her eyes were completely cold — nothing there but an icy chill.

Barney's expression grew worse by the second, his body trembling slightly.

Tony and Murray both went pale at the same time and immediately rushed toward the stage.

As Tony stormed up, he snapped at her, "I knew you couldn't behave yourself. When Dad insisted on bringing you back, I should have put my foot down. Now look — we've let you make a complete scene and embarrass the whole family!"

Murray kept a straight face as he tried to calm the guests around him, while calling over the security team.

"Everyone please stay calm. What Ms. Ross just said is completely false. We will be releasing an official statement shortly. Given Ms. Ross's greed, we will be removing her from the family registry. As of today, she is no longer an adopted daughter of the Barnett family and has no connection to us whatsoever."

While the two brothers worked to control the situation, Penelope quickly fell into step with them.

She put on a perfectly convincing look of confusion and distress. With everyone watching, she let a single tear slip from the corner of her eye, her voice full of disappointment.

"Ms. Ross, I have no idea what I did to upset you. I've already shared half of Father's affection with you. Why would you spread lies about me like this?"

She truly was the golden daughter the Barnett family had poured every resource into raising. Even in a crisis, she didn't panic — she quietly and smoothly turned the narrative against Olivia instead.

The Barnett family closed ranks around Penelope without missing a beat. They didn't directly deny the truth, but every move they made hinted to the room that Olivia was the greedy one.

Everyone assumed Olivia had already stolen Penelope's place in their father's heart and still wasn't satisfied — that she now wanted to publicly destroy her.

The reunion banquet erupted into chaos. Guests exchanged all kinds of looks, and the whispers spread fast, most of them aimed at Olivia.

"She seemed smart enough. Can't believe she'd be this reckless. Publicly going after the Barnett family — she's done in this circle."

"Bold move. No idea how she got Mr. Barnett wrapped around her finger, but causing a scene at her own welcome party? Did she really think the family would take her side just to save face?"

"I don't know about that. Look at her features — she actually looks a bit like Mr. Barnett. She might be his illegitimate daughter."

"That would explain everything. Same father, completely different treatment — she probably just snapped."

People kept whispering and sneaking glances at Olivia, their eyes full of pity, already convinced this version of events was true.

Olivia stood on the stage and took it all in without a word. She had no intention of defending herself.

She turned to the security team that had just arrived and spoke in a flat, cool tone.

"Block them. Don't let anyone near me."

Her gaze was indifferent, and she carried herself with the quiet authority of someone used to being in charge.

Murray paused, then looked at her with open contempt.

"You actually think you're the real Barnett daughter? These are the family's private security team. Why would they stop us?"

The words had barely left his mouth before he was proven wrong.

Every one of the security guards bowed toward Olivia, then moved forward and blocked Tony, Murray, and the rest of their group — forming a solid wall at the edge of the stage.

Olivia curved her lips into a slight smile, her eyes carrying a hint of disdain.

"Did you ever wonder why I refused to let the Barnett family host this event?"

The color drained from the faces of the Barnett family. They could barely hold themselves together.

A flash of panic crossed Penelope's eyes, but she quickly pulled herself back under control and kept quietly steering the room.

"Olivia, please stop. I know it's been hard watching me grow up by Father's side for over twenty years. But you're part of this family now too. Making a scene like this doesn't help you at all. Come down, and we'll go home and talk this through. Okay?"

"No. Not okay. Not even a little."

Olivia gave her a cold glance.

She had to admit — the Barnett family really had put everything into raising Penelope. What a waste.

She swept her gaze across the entire Barnett family and raised her voice slightly.

"There's no need for alarm. I have solid proof of my identity, and there are a few other things I'd like everyone to see."

She pulled out a USB drive and handed it to one of the event staff.

The guests were still reeling when the staff plugged it into the system. Six reports immediately appeared on the large screen behind her.

Olivia spoke clearly. "These first two are paternity tests — one for me and one for Penelope, both tested against Barney. The results confirm that we are both his biological daughters. The other four are kinship tests — me and Penelope each tested against Tony and Murray. The results show that I am the one with a biological connection to Tony and Murray."

The reports hit the room like a bomb. Everyone was stunned into silence.

Penelope's face went white. She was about to argue that the reports were fake, but Olivia's voice cut through again.

"These are official reports issued by the police department and are legally binding. If anyone wants to challenge them, I'm happy to run the tests again right now."

She scrolled to the next page. Three more reports appeared on the screen — one clearly dated years ago, and two that were recent.

"This older report was a paternity test my mother Ursula had done right after I was born. It's been held in an overseas trust foundation ever since. The two newer reports are kinship tests — one for me and one for Penelope, both tested against Ursula. The results are clear: Ursula is my biological mother. Penelope shares no blood with her."

The official seals and the foundation's private stamps on every report made the truth undeniable.

The guests stared in stunned silence, their expressions a mess of shock and disbelief.

The Barnett family had never seen this coming. Olivia had arranged everything in advance. Their faces fell, and they desperately tried to rush the stage to shut off the screen — but the security team held them back.

Penelope's body trembled as she fought to hold onto the last shred of her composure.

"Olivia, stop this. Even if you are the biological daughter—"

"It's not even if. I am."

Olivia cut her off, then turned to face the Barnett family and turned up the volume on an audio recording.

The recording played clearly — Barney's voice, from years ago, pressuring Ursula to abort the baby, and the conversation about passing Penelope off as his legitimate daughter.

When it ended, the room went completely silent.

Olivia looked at Barney with cold, steady eyes, her words sharp and deliberate.

"A while back, when I disappeared — it wasn't a car accident like the rumors said. The overseas trust foundation found out I was looking into my own background. They reached out to me and handed over every piece of evidence my mother had left behind."

"Barney, you claimed to have loved my mother deeply. But you were the one who hurt her the most. And the daughter you raised so carefully — she's the one who had my mother killed."

Olivia laid out every piece of evidence and confronted him in front of everyone.

"Do you still think bringing me back as your adopted daughter — as a prop for your illegitimate child — was the best outcome?"

Her eyes burned with years of resentment. Barney stared at the screen, at the hard evidence of Penelope ordering the hit on Ursula, and stumbled backward, shaking so badly he could barely stand.

Penelope completely fell apart. She screamed.

"That's not true! None of it! I never did any of that!"

Olivia's voice was ice cold. "Whether it's true or not — you can tell the police."

The moment she finished speaking, two officers made their way through the crowd and stepped onto the stage.

"Penelope, you are suspected of ordering a murder. The evidence is solid. Please come with us."

Penelope went white as a sheet. Her legs gave out and she crumpled to the floor, and was carried away by the officers.

Olivia glanced at the Barnett family — still standing there in a daze — then dropped the microphone and walked toward Simon and the others.

She no longer cared what happened to that family.

She had only ever cared about the people who stood by her without hesitation.

"Let's go. We're going home."

Every old wound, every score to settle — all of it was done now. From here on, nothing but a fresh start and open skies.

(The End)