Chapter 3

"Why did you hit my daughter?" Margaret shouted at me, her voice trembling with worry.

My mom's expression turned icy in an instant. "Margaret, you're just our maid. Watch your tone."

Margaret clammed up right away.

Vivian bit her lip hard, shooting me a defiant glare.

With everyone watching, I walked slowly into Vivian's room and picked up the bottle of milk from earlier.

"Vivian, next time you try to lie, make sure you check the evidence first," I said.

I deliberately poured the liquid from the bottle over her head.

"All I gave you was yogurt. It was just in a milk bottle. If you'd taken even a sip, you wouldn't be so confident accusing me," I said.

Vivian's face drained of color in an instant.

I smirked coldly and continued.

"If you're only allergic to milk, then why did you break out in hives after drinking yogurt? Are you really allergic, or are you just trying to frame me?" I pressed.

My dad took the bottle from me, saw it was yogurt, and his face turned grave. The look he gave Vivian was full of disappointment.

My dad said, "Vivian, we brought you back to make up for all those twenty years we weren't there for you, not so you could plot and fight with Claire.

"If you're so unhappy with this family, nobody's stopping you from leaving with Margaret."

Vivian was frantic, not caring about the mess all over her. Her voice trembled as she tried to explain herself, "I really don't know why, Mom, Dad, please don't send me away."

I crossed my arms, ready to watch her squirm and try to talk her way out of it, when Margaret suddenly stepped forward.

She said, "I saw some milk pudding in the fridge before dinner and thought it looked good. I forgot it had milk in it and gave Vivian a little taste.

"That's probably what caused Vivian's allergic reaction. It's not the child's fault. It was my mistake."

Margaret's face flushed red as she took the blame for everything.

Vivian let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right, I remember now. I guess I really did misunderstand you, Claire," she said.

I gave Vivian a long, pointed stare, my tone full of mockery. "Wow, what a stroke of luck. Next time, you'd better watch yourself, Vivian. Don't let another allergy end up pinned on me."

Vivian looked downright miserable, but she grudgingly nodded anyway.

I let it go and gave my mom a knowing look.

With twenty years of mother-daughter bond behind us, and Vivian being the one who messed up, my mom was bound to be on my side.

She walked slowly over to Margaret.

My mom said, "Margaret, I only allowed you to stay on as help in the house out of respect for your role as Claire's real mother and Vivian's adoptive mother.

"But after what happened today, you're getting older, and your role here has become a bit awkward. Maybe it's time for you to reconsider your place here."

Since she was the one at fault, Margaret could only grit her teeth and accept it, swallowing her humiliation.

She managed a strained nod and forced a smile.

"Alright, I'll stop coming from tomorrow on. I trust the kids will be alright without me," she said.

Margaret grabbed her bags and walked out of the Summers residence that night, not looking back.

Vivian still had our parents feeling guilty about her, and with Margaret taking all the blame, they couldn't bring themselves to really call her out.

But that whole mess planted a thorn in their hearts, and after that, their attitude toward Vivian was always kind of distant and lukewarm.

Without Margaret around to bail her out, Vivian was desperate to fix things with my mom and dad, but she kept running into dead ends.

Even the barrage of comments only floated past me once in a while.

Most of them were just nagging me to treat Vivian better, or threatening that if I kept clashing with her, I'd really have it rough.

I treated them like air, not letting a single word sink in.

A month later, the barrage of comments blew up again.