Chapter 4 The Real And Fake Daughters

When Juliet strolled back to the Black family villa, she found the family of three sitting down to dinner. Aside from Eileen, whose eyes were red from crying, her biological parents didn't look too happy either. Juliet pretended not to notice and turned to head upstairs. "Stop right there!" Coral White slammed her knife and fork down on the table and stood up, glaring at Juliet. "What kind of attitude is that? Can't you see there are people here?" As she spoke, Coral's gaze fixated on the ripped knee of Juliet's jeans, filled with disgust and disdain. How could she have such a rebellious daughter?! Juliet smiled on the spot. "Mom, it's pretty fresh hearing you say that. Dad just said your precious daughter is depressed and told me to keep my distance from her. I was minding my own business to avoid causing trouble, and now you're saying I can't see anyone? So what do you want me to do?" As soon as those words left Juliet's mouth, Coral was furious. "Do you even have any manners? Talking to your parents like this?" Juliet shook her head with a smile. "Manners? I don't really have any, considering I'm just a bad kid without parents." "You!" Juliet pulled over a high stool and sat down at the table, grinning as she looked at the family of three. She figured she knew her parents pretty well. Coral suddenly spoke up, clearly having something else up her sleeve. Sure enough, Coral's expression stiffened as she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Juliet, it's not a good idea for you to keep living like this abroad. Your dad and I discussed it, and we think you should stay in Country A and go to NY University." Upon hearing that, Juliet fell silent. Coral, getting even more frustrated, raised her voice. "Juliet, what do you think?" Juliet chuckled, stroking her chin as she scanned the room. "This brilliant idea—whose brainchild was it? Aren't you both unhappy with me? Why do you want me to stay?" Before Coral could respond, Juliet's eyes widened in sudden realization. "You… you're not thinking of the company's shares, are you?" Both Coral and Bowen's faces turned stiff. "Juliet, don't think nonsense. No matter what, you're still a daughter of the Black family. Your dad and I would never hurt you." Juliet rolled her eyes. "Okay, then how about you go announce publicly that I'm the true daughter of the Black family, and Eileen is just an adopted daughter? How about that?" "Juliet, you…" Eileen's eyes went red, nearly crying again. Coral looked upset. "Juliet, how can you be so selfish? You only think about yourself—don't you care about anyone else?" Juliet stood up, beaming. "Mom, I'll say the same thing to you—if you want me to go to NY University, fine. But if you expect me to give up my share of the company, that's not happening! Not a chance!" "You want a duck that's ready to be eaten? Unless you want to cut me open!" With that, Juliet picked up her suitcase and leisurely headed upstairs. The expressions of the three left behind darkened, as if it could start raining. "How did I end up with such an uncouth child?" Coral spat out, wishing more than anything that Eileen was her biological daughter. Why did Juliet even come back? Why didn't she just die out there?! With tears in her eyes, Eileen said, "It's all my fault. Juliet acts like this because she hates me; I…" "Eileen, don't think like that." Coral quickly took her hand to comfort her. "You're our daughter. Once we figure out how to get Juliet to sign over her shares, we'll send her packing!" "Really?" Eileen's face lit up with hope. Coral nodded. "That bad girl would just bring shame to the Black family! As your parents, we will make sure you're taken care of; you have a share too." Eileen lowered her head, anxiously saying, "But what if Brother comes back? He really loves Juliet…" "No way! You know your brother's temper; how could he love someone so uncouth?" Juliet didn't care about their little plans. Her main task now was to track down the thief who stole the files on the 618 bombing case! Juliet logged into the internal network of the Death God Training Base and saw a chat group called "Ghost Animal World" filled with messages popping up one after another. Ghost Tiger: [Big news! Leopard is online!] Juliet typed away slowly on her keyboard. Ghost Leopard: [Did you find anything?] Ghost Tiger: The Dragon Skin body armor hasn't gone into mass production yet. Only a small batch was sent to City W of Country A and England. Ghost Leopard: [City W of Country A?] Ghost Tiger: [FBI.] Ghost Leopard: […] Juliet felt a sudden headache. Ghost Wolf: [You don't think the FBI took the files, do you? No way, right? Shocked.jpg] Ghost Tiger: [Leopard, you're in big trouble. I just got some intel from Sir, and if you can't get the files back, you might have to end yourself as an apology..] Juliet pressed her temples, not replying. She knew all too well. If she couldn't get the files back, committing suicide wasn't going to happen—after all, the old man still needed her to improve those new weapons. But it was definitely going to be a headache. FBI was a powerful organization, and getting lost files back from them wouldn't be easy. White Sheep: [Is it really that serious? @Ghost Tiger] Ghost Tiger: [Totally forgot about you. You let that guy go. Looks like you'll be joining Leopard to meet the Grim Reaper. Smile.jpg] Ghost Wolf: [Sneaky.jpg] White Sheep: [Scared.jpg] Juliet leaned back lazily in her chair, tapping her fingers on the table one by one. Ghost Tiger: [Leopard? Are you still there?] Ghost Leopard: [Spit it out!] Ghost Tiger: [Someone's checking your info. We traced it back and found out the person is in City N.] Ghost Leopard: [Is that it?] It was just hot air. If the person who stole the files wasn't in City N, she'd be crazy to show up here. Ghost Tiger: [The same person is also buying a batch of experimental drugs on the dark web at ten times the market price.] Ghost Leopard: [Healing drugs?] Ghost Tiger: [The same batch of special medicine you developed in the lab, which is still in human trials.] Juliet's expression hardened. Ghost Tiger: [They probably don't know that's from the Death God Training Base. The drugs will be handed over in a few days. I can give you the location so you can set up an ambush?] Ghost Leopard: [No, just give me the drugs.] Just as the message went out, there was a sudden knock at the door. Juliet frowned, closed her laptop, and got up to answer the door. On the other side was Eileen, dressed in silk pajamas. "Sister, what's up?" Juliet leaned against the door frame, giving her a sidelong glance. Gathering her courage, Eileen said, "Juliet, I feel like you have a bias against me. Can we talk?" Her voice was incredibly gentle, and her face looked beautiful and innocent, like the typical caring older sister. But Juliet knew exactly what Eileen was about. It was the same four years ago as it was now—nothing had changed. "Go ahead, what do you want to talk about?" Juliet leaned against the door, clearly not planning to let her in. Eileen forced a smile, saying, "School starts in a couple of days, and you've been abroad. You probably aren't used to life here…" Juliet had been sold as a child; no one knew what she had gone through. But just looking at her temperament showed that it had to have been something rough. Someone like her thought she could come back and compete? Eileen felt disdain in her heart, but her expression remained soft. "Don't worry, once we get to school, if you need anything, just ask me. I'll definitely help you." Before Eileen could get any closer, Juliet grabbed her wrist. Juliet chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "So, what are you trying to plant on me? Why don't you take it out and let me see?"