Chapter 197 She's Not Dangerous
The moment Emily's words left her lips, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed from the entryway. The first to arrive home was Lucas.
He stepped through the door and caught sight of Emily right away sitting on the couch. His expression darkened instantly.
He strode into the living room in three quick steps, scooped Snowball up, and glared down at Emily from his towering height.
"What are you doing here? Don't tell me you think finding Snowball means we'll just let you move back in for good?"
Emily visibly froze, then she started to well up. "Lucas, you've grown so tall. I remember when you were just a little boy tugging at my hand, begging me to buy you ice cream."
"Stop the performance!" Lucas's voice shot up. "We just saw each other a week ago. What's with this whole reunion performance?"
Hearing this, Ray and Mary both stiffened, their heads snapped in his direction.
Mary's voice sounded tight. "Lucas, when did you see her?"
"Just last week. She somehow got my phone number and called to arrange a meeting—" Lucas was about to call Emily out on her lies when the door opened again.
Evelyn trudged in after a long day at the hospital, exhausted. Seeing Emily's face again was a real headache.
"What's going on?" She stopped to take off her shoes in the entryway, her tone cold and indifferent. She couldn't even be bothered to greet Emily.
"Evelyn..." Emily called out in a small voice.
Having weathered the real world, Evelyn had grown up a lot compared to before. Her voice carried exhaustion as she replied flatly, "Don't call me that. I have only one sister, and her name is Sophia."
Emily bit her lower lip, her eyes filling with tears. "I know you all hate me..."
Before she could finish, Lucas cut her off. "If you know that, what are you doing here?!"
Ray and Mary had known their children wouldn't easily accept Emily back. Truth be told, even they were uneasy about it.
But she was still a child they'd raised and watched grow for seventeen years. Seeing her homeless and pitiful felt a pang of reluctant pity in their hearts.
Mary emerged from the kitchen carrying a dish, her face expressionless as she set it on the dining table. "Everyone just drop it. We'll discuss this when everyone's here."
Ray rubbed his temples wearily. "Sit down, all of you. We'll wait for James and Sophia to get back, then we'll get this sorted."
"What's there to figure out?!" Lucas saw right through Emily's scheme, his voice furious. "She thought we were too poor back then and left without a word! If she really cared about us, would she have gone six years without a single word? Now the Smith family's bankrupt, our family's doing better, and suddenly she wants back in! Does she think this is some kind of halfway house?!"
"Lucas! Why have you become such a short fuse?!" Ray scolded.
"Dad!" Lucas's face flushed red with anger. Clutching the Samoyed with one hand, he pointed at Emily with the other. "She asked me out last week to turn me against Sophia! She was the one feeding me all that weird nonsense, which is why I lost my temper with Sophia that day! With someone like her in the house, she'll wreck this family!"
"What did you say?" Ray's eyes flickered, and when he turned to look at Emily, his whole attitude changed.
Mary felt the same way—her heart sank until she could barely breathe. She'd foolishly hoped Emily had come to genuinely apologize.
It was a cold wake-up call on her face, warning her that Emily was an ungrateful wretch who'd never once valued the nurturing she'd received.
The atmosphere in the dining room grew so tense it felt suffocating.
It was nearly eight o'clock when James rushed home, looking a bit travel-worn. The moment he stepped inside, he sensed the abnormal tension. His gaze swept across everyone's faces before landing on Emily.
His expression remained neutral, much like when he'd first met Sophia—completely unreadable.
Back then, it had been because he held no expectations for Sophia. Now, it was complete disappointment in Emily—he didn't even care enough to hate her anymore.
"Quite the heated argument. Seems there's nothing more to talk about?"
With the atmosphere this hostile, clearly no one welcomed Emily back. Hence, he saw no need to voice his opinion.
"James!" Lucas strode over to James's side, his gaze fixed on Emily with pure spite. "Last time she met with me, she tried to turn me against Sophia. She kept badmouthing her!"
Hearing this, James's previously neutral face clouded over slightly. He couldn't stand hearing anyone speak ill of Sophia.
He forced a fake what resembled a smile—seemingly harmless, yet the expression never reached his eyes. "You're not welcome here. Please leave."
Emily stood rooted to the spot, fidgeting nervously in a pitiful display. "I didn't deliberately badmouth Sophia. You don't understand—the Smith family are all crazy. Growing up with them twisted Sophia psychologically!"
Hearing this, Mary's eyes immediately reddened. She grabbed a spoon from the table and threw it right at Emily. "How dare you speak ill of Sophia?! Get out!"
Emily dodged the spoon, a flash of fear in her eyes as if she was recalling something terrible. She sobbed, "It's true! I was only trying to warn you so you wouldn't be tricked by how she looks. Haven't you noticed she's... strange?"
"I think you're the strange one here," Evelyn said coldly. "You left without looking back, even changed your name—you stopped being a Johnson long ago. Now you show up at our door, deliberately badmouthing our family member. That's a total lack of character."
Everyone's eyes were full of suspicion as they looked at Emily. She anxiously tried to defend herself but couldn't find words that would convince them.
Her eyes scanned the room and finally landed on the dog in Lucas's arms.
"Right! The dog! Do you know why she can't stand dogs?"
"Does hatred need a reason? Like how we hate you—it doesn't require logic," Lucas snapped. Just looking at Emily irritated him!
Emily's words came out in a rush, as if she was afraid she'd be thrown out before finishing her statement. "In six years, have you ever seen her angry? Have you seen her sad? She doesn't have normal human emotions! When she was little, she watched Andrew stab John's dog to death. The trauma twisted her—now, when she sees dogs, she wants to kill them! She's not normal! She's insane! Don't you think it's dangerous living under the same roof with her?"
The room went dead quiet. No one believed Emily's words, yet they couldn't help but recall their six years with Sophia.
Indeed... they'd never seen her truly angry. At worst, she'd go expressionless when she was in a bad mood. They'd never seen her shed a single tear.
"I don't believe it," James said flatly. "Sophia is totally fine. She's not dangerous."
Emily's huffed in frustration. Why wouldn't they believe anything she said? Was Sophia really that wonderful?
"If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask her!"
"Don't bother."
A calm voice cut through the air. Everyone turned to find Sophia standing in the doorway.
She wore her same slight smile as she said calmly, "I do have psychological issues."