Chapter 227 Back To The House
One of the bodyguards removed his coat and handed it over to the startled Stephanie. She immediately put it on and continued shivering in fear. No longer was she the arrogant heiress of the Clintons she had always been.
Oscar marched over and glared at her in the eyes. He instructed in a callous tone, “Get up.”
She raised her head and catapulted in Oscar’s direction the moment she saw him. Seconds after she reached him, she wrapped her arms around him and gasped out her reply, “Oscar, where have you been? I was afraid they would take me out for real! You should’ve rushed here to take them out sooner!”
It was then Stephanie found out she couldn’t live without her family’s support. Apart from her family members, no one would tolerate her and her arrogant attitude. None of them would listen to her, let alone do her a favor when she wasn’t affiliated with the Clintons. Throughout her life, she had spent most of her time splurging instead of generating a stable source of income. In fact, she thought working was merely a waste of her time. Unfortunately, when she was away from home, she found out she couldn’t even make a living to sustain her lifestyle.
Over the past few weeks, she approached her friends for their aids. However, when they found out she was no longer affiliated with the Clintons, they turned her down without a second thought. It was the same when she approached Cassie. Cassie transferred a hundred thousand to Amelia and told Amelia to try harder if she wished to return to her family members.
When she made a trip back to the Clinton residence, the guards pretended as if they weren’t aware of her identity. In spite of the harsh remarks she made, they stopped her from making her way into the residence. She tried camping near the residence in an attempt to approach her parents. However, the guards would chase her away without showing her any mercy.
As someone who had been living a carefree life ever since the day she was born, the past few weeks were the darkest period of her life. It was then she figured out she was but a nobody if she wasn’t a member of the Clintons. To be precise, she was inferior to those from a low-income family.
Oscar pushed Stephanie away with all his might and bellowed, “Suck up your tears! Otherwise, I’ll leave at once!”
Stephanie gaped at her brother’s warning and went dead silent as instructed after a short while. Afraid of getting on his nerves, she dared not try anything silly.
He deadpanned his questions, “Have they done anything silly?”
Shaking her head, she answered his query with her lips pursed, “N-No… It’s thanks to the bodyguards who have rushed over in the nick of time! Otherwise, they might have long gotten their hands on me! Oscar, I’m your only sister! You need to avenge me!”
Oscar’s disappointment was written all over his scrunched-up face. He couldn’t believe she wouldn’t stop seeking revenge even when she was in such a pathetic state.
He asked in return, “Since you’re the mastermind who has tried to bring upon my wife and son’s demise, am I supposed to avenge them as well?”
Stephanie was rendered speechless by her brother’s question.
Meanwhile, Olivia, who was in the car, couldn’t take it anymore. She handed over Tony to Amelia and said, “Amelia, stay here with Tony! We’ll head over and check on Stephanie!”
Judging by Amelia’s deadpan look, Olivia knew her daughter-in-law was upset. Nevertheless, Olivia couldn’t afford to leave her only daughter alone.
Owen and Olivia immediately alighted from the car. Olivia was about to rush over to Stephanie’s side, but Owen stopped her and told her to stay level-headed in times of emergencies.
“Olivia, you need to calm down since Oscar is there to keep Stephanie safe. Also, you need to mind your words and actions whenever you’re around Amelia. I’m afraid she’s going to overthink things again if you don’t mind yourself. There’s no way she can get over the things Stephanie has done over the night.”
Olivia let out a long sigh of despair with her brows furrowed. In the end, she took note of Owen’s instructions and walked over instead of rushing over.
As much as she was worried about Stephanie, she knew she had to take Amelia’s feelings into consideration.
“Stephanie.” Olivia’s presence brought the awkward confrontation between Oscar and Stephanie to a halt.
Stephanie started weeping the moment she saw her mother. She rushed over to her mother’s side and wailed, “Mom!”
Olivia was heartbroken as her daughter in her arms had a disheveled appearance with her clothes torn into pieces.
She asked anxiously, “What happened? Have they tried anything silly?”
As Stephanie wouldn’t stop wailing, Olivia got increasingly anxious.
Unable to get Stephanie to tell her the truth, Olivia looked at Oscar and asked, “What’s wrong with your sister? Has anyone tried to pick on her?”
Oscar shook his head and answered, “She hasn’t mentioned anything of that sort.”
“What do you mean? If others haven’t picked on her, why won’t she stop wailing? Where are those jerks?”
“They have already fled the scene.”
Unable to suppress her wrath anymore, she shot daggers at her son and reprimanded him, “Have you seriously allowed them to run away? We’re talking about your sister instead of some outsider! She shouldn’t have to go through any of these in the first place!”
Owen thought Olivia had gotten overly worked up. He urged in a hushed voice, “Calm down, Olivia. We need to figure out the reason the entire incident has occurred in the first place.”
Olivia took a deep breath to calm herself, but she was against the idea of letting those at fault off the hook.
Oscar stared at Stephanie with an indifferent look and announced in a callous tone, “Mom, I won’t poke my nose into her business anymore. I have made my way here merely because I don’t want you and Dad to be upset. Amelia has been pretty magnanimous. I hope you can return the favor and make a wise decision.”
Olivia was startled by her son’s reply. Similarly, the wailing Stephanie turned around and glared at her brother in the eyes.
She yelled at him without holding back, “Oscar, they almost took advantage of me! I have learned my lesson after spending such a long time away from home! Can you stop picking on me when Amelia isn’t even hurt? Why am I being reprimanded when they’re just fine?”
Oscar glanced at her with an indifferent look in silence as he had no intention to engage in another conversation with her.
He announced, “Dad, Mom, I’ll take my leave and allow you guys to decide if she’s allowed to make her way home with us.”
Oscar marched in the direction of the car without a second thought as soon as he finished his sentence. Olivia was about to stop him but changed her mind at the last minute.
She glared at her daughter in the eyes and reprimanded her foolish daughter, “Aren’t you aware your brother is still irritated by the thing you have done? Can’t you stop getting on his nerves? Had your brother not rushed over to your rescue, you would be gone by now!”
Stephanie was startled by the things awaiting her had that been the case. Nevertheless, she refused to give up just yet. She rebuked, “Mom, it’s the fault of those shameless thugs! If it weren’t because of them, I wouldn’t have ended up as pathetic as such! I have really learned my lesson and can’t live my life without you, Dad, and the support of the Clintons! Can you please bring me home with you? I will stop getting on your nerves in the future!”
The moment Owen caught Olivia staring at him, he denoted, “We’ll just bring her back with us for the time being.”
Olivia, Owen, and Stephanie headed into another car, whereas Oscar brought Amelia and Tony back with him using another car.
Oscar took a peek at Amelia through the rearview mirror and asked in a hushed voice, “Are you okay, Amelia?”
Amelia, who had been keeping Tony entertained, looked at him and repeated after him, “What?”
“If you are against the idea of being anywhere near Stephanie, we’ll make our way back to the apartment.”
Amelia gave it a thought and answered, “It’s fine. Let’s just make our way back to the Clinton residence. I don’t want Mom to be upset since she’s not really feeling well.”
Oscar nodded and made their way back to the Clinton residence as suggested.
As soon as Amelia and Stephanie returned, the confrontation occurred in the living room.
Stephanie greeted her sister-in-law with a proud grin before looking at the infant in between her arms. “Is this Tony?”
As Stephanie marched over, Amelia stayed behind Oscar and said, “Dad, Mom, it has been such a long day. I’ll head upstairs and call it a day.”
Once she finished her sentence, she made her way past Stephanie and brought herself upstairs.
Similarly, Oscar announced, “Dad, Mom, I’ll be making my way upstairs as well. Good night.”
When Olivia, Owen, and Stephanie were the only ones left in the living room. Stephanie started complaining, “Dad, Mom, have you seen Amelia’s arrogant look? She doesn’t even consider me her sister-in-law! Can’t you guys do something about it?”
Olivia rolled her eyes and reprimanded her daughter, “Why don’t you learn to show her some respect before complaining about her? I’m going to make myself clear for one last time! Your brother and sister-in-law are the ones in charge of the family in the future. You’d better patch things up with her if you don’t wish to spend the rest of your life in isolation. Otherwise, you’d better not regret your decision if anything happens to you in the future. Also, I’m not going to bother if you’re the one at fault this time. Just stop doing anything rash in the future. I have always thought you’re an independent child, but it turns out you’re not. That’s it for today. I’ll be heading upstairs and calling it a day as well.”
Staring at Olivia’s departing figure, Stephanie thought she was no longer a member of the family.
In a final attempt to salvage her relationship with her family members, she looked at her father with her lips pursed and asked, “Dad, are you going to dismiss me as well?”
“Stephanie, have you not learned your lesson? I’ll allow you to take a break for a few days. Once you’re ready, I’ll get you a job to keep you occupied. As soon as you have something to tend to, I’m sure you’re going to stop overthinking things.” As soon as Owen made himself clear, he headed upstairs to join his wife.
As much as Stephanie tried to play to her parents’ emotions, her efforts were to no avail.
She wiped her tears dry and muttered to herself while having her eyes glued to the rooms on the first floor, “Dad, Mom, Oscar, it seems like Amelia is the only one all of you care about, huh? If that’s the case, I need to get rid of her as soon as possible! Cassie is right—we need to rely on one another to take out our common foe! Since I’m back, it’s time for her to leave the family because we’ll never be a family!”
