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Chapter 2

Elizabeth sneered, "First of all, I have never taken anything from her. On the contrary, she replaced me and enjoyed the Clark family's comfortable life for so many years."

"Secondly, you need to understand that it was you who lost me back then."

"I owe her nothing, and I owe you nothing, so I don't feel the need to compensate anyone."

Seeing that Betty was about to speak, she continued, "If Brenda wants to be the Clark family's daughter, she can continue to be. I don't care at all."

Betty was stunned, not expecting Elizabeth to say such a thing. "What do you mean?"

Elizabeth replied indifferently, "Just what it sounds like. I'm cutting all ties with you now and leaving the Clark family."

"From now on, we'll be strangers when we meet."

She added, "I'm leaving, and your adopted daughter, Brenda, will still be the little princess of the Clark family."

"You don't have to worry about me taking her things or your love for her. I'm doing you a favor."

Elizabeth's words hit the Clark family like a ton of bricks.

They never thought she'd actually want to cut ties and leave the family.

Brenda leaned against Betty, looking all guilty and apologetic. "No, I should be the one to leave."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take your opportunities. I just liked that variety show, so Richard went to talk to you."

"I don't want that show anymore. Please don't be mad. I don't want to upset Mom, Dad, or our brothers."

She looked all innocent, but she was really just playing the game.

She made it seem like she didn't mean to take Elizabeth's opportunities and showed how "considerate" she was. She also made it look like Elizabeth was the bad guy, using threats to get her way.

Sure enough, the Clark family's expressions grew even more sour.

Elizabeth glared at Brenda. "Cut the innocent act. I see right through you."

She was done with family loyalty and wasn't going to be nice to Brenda anymore.

"You've been saying you'd leave for a year, but you're still here. Your little act only fools idiots."

She added, "Of course, you wouldn't ask me directly for anything. As soon as you hint, these suck-ups in the family give you whatever you want."

"And you don't need to do this. I don't care about your sycophants anymore. They can't hurt me."

The Clark family's faces darkened instantly.

Brenda's expression shifted, and she struggled to keep her anger in check.

She clung to Betty, looking all hurt. "I didn't. Don't talk about Mom, Dad, and my brothers like that."

Sure enough, Betty was furious. "What are you saying? Where are your manners?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I was born to parents but not raised by them. No one taught me manners."

The Clark family was speechless.

Betty looked at Elizabeth with disappointment. "Are you still blaming us? We took you back, but it seems we made a mistake."

"Over this past year, we've compensated you generously. What more do you want?"

Elizabeth used to find these words piercing and heartbreaking, but now she really didn't care.

She pulled a bank card from her bag and tossed it on the table. "This is the compensation you gave me. I haven't used a single cent."

There was fifty thousand dollars on that card, but she hadn't touched it.

"Since coming to the Clark family, I won't take anything the butler bought for me."

"But for the things I've used, I'll pay you back in cash."

She placed a written note on the table. "I've been in the Clark family for over a year. Including food, clothing, and other expenses, I've used less than five thousand dollars. Here's the list."

"I just transferred five thousand dollars to this card. From now on, we're even."

If a problem could be solved simply by money, then it wasn't a true difficulty.

Elizabeth had settled her accounts with the Clark family, but what they owed her emotionally would remain a debt forever.

Her actions made the Clark family realize she might be serious, and it left them feeling a bit embarrassed.

Betty slapped the table, her face red with anger. "Fine, if you walk out that door today, don't ever think about coming back."

She believed Elizabeth couldn't possibly abandon the Clark family and them.

Betty's intention was to warn Elizabeth not to push her luck, not to actually make her leave.

The others stayed silent, clearly agreeing with Betty.

"If I leave, I won't come back," Elizabeth said, and with that, she turned and walked out, pulling her suitcase without a second thought.

Seeing this, Paul finally spoke up, "Stop messing around. Brenda won't take your variety show opportunities anymore."

"In the future, I'll have Richard get you more good opportunities."

No matter what, Elizabeth was their biological daughter; they couldn't really let her leave.

Elizabeth turned to Paul, her expression cold. "Are you using opportunities to insult me?"

Paul frowned. "That's not what I mean. I just want to tell you that since we found you, we will compensate you."

Elizabeth found it laughable. "I really must thank you for your compensation."

"Over the past year, I've felt your coldness, complaints, and disdain."

"So, I really don't dare to accept your compensation."

Paul paused, realizing that no matter what he said, it wouldn't change her mind. He sighed and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

He was usually very busy and had indeed neglected Elizabeth a lot over the past year.

Elizabeth said, "We sever our relationship. It's that simple."

"Don't contact me anymore. I'm leaving."

Paul was infuriated by Elizabeth's attitude, and the expressions on the faces of the five Clark sons were equally displeased.

Especially Kevin, who looked at Elizabeth with a mix of complexity and anger. "All this back and forth, you're still blaming me."

"You just want to use this to force us to compromise and compete with Brenda for favor."

Elizabeth looked at Kevin coldly. "Shouldn't I blame you?"

"You lost me back then, causing me to be abducted and almost sold into slavery."

"Should I be grateful for the favor of you losing me?"

Kevin's face turned red. "I didn't do it on purpose back then, and I didn't know you were almost sold into slavery."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Not on purpose, so that erases the fact that you lost me and changed my life?"

After returning to the Clark family, Kevin showed more goodwill and concern towards her than the other four brothers, Paul, and Betty, as if to make up for his past mistake.

However, whenever she had conflicts with Brenda, he always stood by Brenda's side.

So, why would she want such a terrible brother?

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