Elly Campbell threw out those words without giving face and, in that final half of the sentence, made it clear to James Campbell and Sophie Baker that she would absolutely not recognize this illegitimate daughter.
Sophie Baker's face turned a few shades paler, and her eyes skillfully filled with aggrieved tears.
With downcast eyes and biting her lower lip, she dared not speak again; she knew that someone would naturally speak for her, and all she had to do was sit quietly.
"Elly, I've said it before, Sophie is my daughter, she is also a member of the Campbell family, your sister, and you can't refuse to recognize her even if you want to."
Elly raised an eyebrow, her mocking gaze as if edged with a blade, sweeping across Sophie Baker's face.
She had long heard the name Sophie Baker, only knowing her as the love of Adam Jones's heart, towards whom she held no hostility; however, now, the situation was different.
Those who broke her family and made her mother sad, she would never show them mercy or leave them with any dignity.
James Campbell had no right, and Sophie Baker even less so.
"A member of the Campbell Family? Isn't her last name 'Baker'? CEO Campbell, you have the nerve to force me to recognize this illegitimate daughter here, so why don't you have the nerve to go home and get the Old Master to write her name into our Campbell family's genealogy? My recognition is useless, it only counts if the ancestors of the Campbell family recognize her."
"Elly, you... don't go too far. I am your father; what right do you have to speak to me like this?"
Even though James Campbell knew Elly's words were the truth, he was poked in the weak spot of his heart by her sharp words and became furious with shame.
Sophie was his most dearly loved daughter, unlike Elly Campbell, who was always at odds with him; she would dutifully be a good daughter.
Even though he never gave her any status, she didn't mind; she would even comfort him in return.
Now, all he wanted to do was give her some status, but was that also wrong? Why bring the Old Master into it?
It was precisely because the Old Master would never agree that he thought of starting with Elly Campbell, but to his surprise, this obstinate girl wouldn't even give him that much face.
"Lucky for you that you still remember you're my father. Since you remember, then act as a father should, and don't embarrass yourself here, flaunting an illegitimate daughter everywhere. If you want to become the laughingstock of high society, leave me out of it."
"Elly, you..."
James Campbell was left speechless and seething with anger by Elly's words, his fingertips trembling as he pointed at her.
Seeing that the timing was about right, Sophie Baker, who had been silent and aggrieved all this while, began to rise, pulling the trembling James Campbell back to his seat, and softly comforted him—
"Dad, let it be, don't be angry. If my sister doesn't want to recognize me, then don't force it. I don't want you to spoil your relationship with her because of me."
"Sophie..."
Seeing Sophie Baker acting so sensibly, James Campbell felt all the more heartache and guilt.
"You rest assured, there's no such father-daughter relationship between CEO Campbell and me, so there's no such thing as spoiling it."
Elly Campbell's mocking voice cut in just in time, interrupting this father-daughter's acting in front of her, and the cold edge in her eyes, like ice that had condensed for a thousand years, made Sophie Baker shiver involuntarily.
Adam Jones had come on a whim along with Elly Campbell and hadn't expected to witness this father-daughter struggle.
He had long heard that James Campbell had a woman outside and an illegitimate daughter, but he had not known that this illegitimate daughter would be Sophie Baker.
Watching Elly Campbell's cold and aggressive behavior, he suddenly laughed. This was the real Elly Campbell, wasn't it?