Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 47: Clarissa – The Beginning of Destruction

I was a little surprised to learn that Darren was willing to come home tomorrow.

Yesterday, he looked like a walking corpse and snapped about how busy he was.

For the past few weeks, whenever I asked him to have dinner at home, he always refused, using work as an excuse.

Maybe Darren was like me. To him, Shannon was a cute little sister who couldn’t be refused, let alone hurt.

I wasn’t jealous of the difference in treatment.

I knew my place. I was just the sister who had been found after seventeen years. I couldn’t be compared to the sister who had been by his side for all those years.

Besides, this was actually good for me. If Shannon was the one talking, Darren would surely believe her.

The next day, unexpectedly, not only Darren came home but Edwin as well. Even though he still refused to look at me.

Mother, who sat at the head of the table, noticed the tension hanging in the air.

Especially between me and Darren, who were seated side by side, and between me and Edwin, who sat directly across from me.

The seating arrangement wasn’t intentional. That was simply how the rules were set. How ironic.

Mother tried to lighten the mood. "It’s been a long time since we had a complete family dinner like this..."

She said it as if she had forgotten that the head of the family, Alpha Will, wasn’t here.

But I didn’t mind at all. In fact, this was much better.

"While we wait for the food to be ready, how about you share something interesting that happened over the past few days?" Mother looked at her children one by one.

The men stayed silent.

I also had nothing interesting to share. Everything I had would only make my chest feel tighter.

Shannon spoke up. "I want to say something. It’s not really an interesting story, but I want everyone here to know."

I guessed this was about the device plagiarism issue. At first, I wanted to stop her, afraid the atmosphere would get worse.

But then I thought about it again. Darren and Edwin might leave right after this anyway. It was better to explain it now.

"What is it, Shannon?" Mother asked.

My heart pounded hard even though I wasn’t the one speaking.

Shannon took a deep breath, her face filled with sadness.

"Sister Clarissa told me everything. I was really sad when I found out she became the subject of rumors because of the device. I want to explain that the device was truly made by Sister Clarissa. She only used my space in the workshop, and the materials I bought were also for her."

I let out a breath of relief, almost crying. This would finally be over.

Shannon was everyone’s precious child. Surely they would believe her.

BAM!

I flinched at the loud sound of the table being slammed from across me.

It was Edwin. His eyes were wide, burning with anger as he glared at me.

"How could you be so heartless, Clarissa!" Edwin shouted. "Was it not enough to steal Shannon’s device? You even forced her to admit to us that it was yours? How dare you!"

"Shannon is obedient, but you shouldn’t take advantage of that for your own selfishness," Darren added coldly.

I was too shocked to process their words. Even after Shannon spoke directly, they still didn’t believe me.

What did they actually want? They never gave me a chance to prove myself. They had already branded me a plagiarist.

I turned to Larry, who was looking at me with an unreadable expression. Luna Eileen had begun to sob softly. Shannon looked stunned.

The women in this house were weak-hearted. That was why the men could label others however they wanted.

"How can I make you believe that Shifter’s Aide is mine?" I stood up, facing Edwin and Darren. "Are you really my brothers? Why can’t you trust me just once?!"

Darren suddenly stood up as well. His tall figure was intimidating compared to my much smaller frame.

He didn’t look at me. Instead, he walked over to Shannon’s side. "I’m sorry for shocking you, Shan."

He held Shannon’s hand and turned to Luna Eileen. "Mother, I didn’t mean to ruin this rare family dinner. Please don’t blame Shannon. Blame me for failing to properly guide one of my younger siblings."

He glanced at me when he said ’one of my younger siblings,’ then continued, "Let’s eat outside. I’ll take care of it."

"Darren, the food is already prepared. We don’t need to go out," Luna Eileen objected.

"Mother, this atmosphere isn’t suitable for a family dinner," Darren replied. "Edwin might slam the table again. And Clarissa should stay in her room to reflect on herself."

He glanced at me briefly.

After a few seconds, Luna Eileen finally nodded and left.

I sank back into my chair. Everything in front of me felt empty.

’Yes. Just a few seconds, and they all left. They left!’

Screech.

My vision snapped back into focus when Edwin stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

He glared at me, then walked away. But before leaving, he said words that shattered my heart.

"You’re a family destroyer."

They didn’t care about my words. They didn’t believe me. And they seemed to have forgotten all the promises they once made to me.

There was no dependable eldest brother. No youngest brother who always believed in me. Not even a mother who would protect me.

This wasn’t the first time, was it?

Every time something happened and I hoped they would come for me, they were always too late. And afterward, they would make promises that turned out to be nothing but lies.

Why did I keep believing them?

Oscar should have been enough of an example. Yet I still threw myself into a pit even deeper than before.

Why was I so stupid?!

"Clarissa..."

I looked up and saw that Larry was still in the room. He was looking at me with that same unreadable expression.

"Let’s eat dinner first," he said calmly. Too calmly, considering what had just happened.

In the past, I wanted to understand how Larry thought. I wanted him to talk more to me.

But now, I didn’t care anymore.

They were all the same.

I stood up without responding. From the corner of my eye, I saw a maid trembling behind the door, holding the food that was ready to be served.

Sadly, they never even got the chance to place it on the table. This dinner had already been destroyed.

Because of me.

I went up to the second floor, entered my room, and cried uncontrollably.

My heart hurt so much. It was filled with disappointment and anger.

The sound of a com-orb pulled my attention away. The number nine appeared on the screen. Richard’s contact.

Hesitantly, I answered.

His deep voice came from the other side. "Are you busy tonight? Want to go out with me?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

I answered immediately. "I want to. Right now."

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