Valerie scoffed, nothing had changed about Zoey; she was still the manipulative bitch she had always been. With that knowledge, Valerie's racing heart slowly began to calm.
Valerie wanted to laugh at herself. Why was she still scared of Zoey when she now had power? With just a few phone calls, she could land the Wright family in deep trouble. Zoey and her mother would lose their pillar of support – the Wright family. And they would also lose what they've always been greedy for – wealth and power. And after that, she could finally squash them like buds.
Her lips curled up, but at the sight of the expression on her father's face, she stiffened.
Would he give her the benefit of the doubt? She thought.
On the other hand, Mr. Wright's eyes fell on Maya, who was lying motionlessly on the floor; blood trickling down her nostrils, mouth, and ears. The man's eyes bulged and his stomach churned. He shifted his gaze to Valerie, stunned.
No, he was petrified. He couldn't believe that his own daughter would turn out to be such an evil person; a murderer!
His anger surged. Pointing a quivering finger at her, he thundered, "You– You evil creature! Who will you kill next, me?!"
Valerie lowered her head as her rising hopes instantly vanished into thin air. A bitter smile crossed her lips. As expected, he didn't confirm whether Maya was dead before accusing her of murder.
He never does.
Zoey's and her mother's words were all that mattered.
Valerie felt a dull ache in her chest. She had always been disappointed in her father, and even now, he hadn't changed.
She didn't think that her heart would ache this badly, but it did. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. When she raised her head again, her eyes had lost all emotions.
Zoey was elated. Even though she was angry and wanted Valerie dead, she still had to pretend to care. She couldn't leave Valerie alone to challenge her without greater consequences. "Dad, please, don't blame Sister too much. Maya must have offended her and Sister had to defend herself."
Hearing that, the man's anger reached its peak. "Defend herself, you said? From who, from what?! An ordinary maid?!" he turned to Valerie and spat, "You should be ashamed of yourself! You and your sister were born the same day, yet she's better than you in all ways!"
Zoey shrank her neck and refused to speak further; Mr. Wright looked scary. Meanwhile, her heart was floating in glee, thinking that, after today, Valerie would be publicly disowned and left to rot in prison.
Zoey muffled a laugh. She thought she could have fun, but the present Valerie was a handful. So, getting rid of her now would save them all a lot of stress. This way, she would be avenging Maya, she thought.
Mrs. Wright squeezed in, like a weary but caring stepmother. "Valerie, no matter what Maya did, you shouldn't have killed her. She was your sister's maid and your sister was fond of her. If you're still angry at Zoey and me for coming into this family, just say it directly, and we'll leave the family. There's no need to harm the innocent people around us."
"Would greedy leeches like you really leave?" catching the shock in their faces, Valerie snickered, "I thought so too."
"Bang!" Mr. Wright suddenly hurled a statue at Valerie. He couldn't restrain himself any longer. His daughter had gone overboard. He was enraged; his breathing became short and labored, and his chest heaved rapidly.
The statue landed in front of Valerie, shattering into bits. A shard flew off, striking her neck and leaving a cut. Valerie felt a sharp pain in her neck; she touched it, and her fingers came away stained with blood. She gritted her teeth, her heart heavy with disappointment for her dad and extreme anger at Zoey and her mother.
She shot a glare at them and didn't miss the excitement on their faces.
Mr. Wright was startled at the sight of Valerie's blood. He felt an overwhelming urge to check on her, but the displeasure and pain over what she had become held him back. He clenched his fist and restrained himself, torn between anguish and concern.
Zoey and her mother were thrilled about driving a wedge between the father and daughter; Zoey's eyes sparkled with a triumphant smile.
She welcomed Valerie's intense stare with a fleeting daunting smile, provoking her to retaliate. But when it wasn't forthcoming, Zoey gave her mother a faint nod, and her mother was prompted into a heart-wrenching, tearful outburst.
"Alexander, I tried my best to be a good mother to your daughter. I did everything I could to make her happy, but she had never seen me as good enough. If my husband hadn't died in that– "
Mr. Wright's eyes widened in panic, and he quickly hugged her, silencing her. The truth about her late husband's death was something that shouldn't be spoken aloud, as it was mostly the Wright family's fault.
"Don't talk like that, Clara," the man pacified, but the woman was too hurt to listen.
Hugging him tightly, she pleaded in a low voice, "Then call the police and let them take Valerie away to be disciplined."
Mr. Wright stiffened. Call the cops on his daughter? He couldn't do that.
Zoey took the chance to add more flames, "Sister, do you wish to see our parents die of heartache? How could you make our mother cry like this? She has been nothing but good to you. She– "
"Smack!" Valerie suddenly landed a heavy-handed slap on Zoey's face, sending her crashing to the floor in shock.
Silence followed the resounding blow. Everyone was flabbergasted, they were unprepared for Valerie's retaliation. Zoey didn't do anything to deserve that! They all thought.
The next instant, Mrs. Wright thundered, "Valerie! How dare you?!" she pushed Mr. Wright and yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his face, her voice trembling with tears. "Alexander, you – are you going to watch your daughter kill Zoey too before you call the cops on her?!"
That slap carried most of Valerie's rage and, after letting it out, her heart grew lighter. She ignored her stepmother's angry cry, and her father's furious glare. Valerie rotated her wrist a couple of times, she also felt the pain.
Zoey's face was red with her finger marks on it, and her lip was broken too. That was a powerful hit, she thought.
"My wrist hurts. It's been a long time since I killed a fly on someone's cheek...oh, that was a mosquito." Staring at Zoey, she paused, "Do you perhaps have excessive blood? Was that why a mosquito perched on your face?" she flashed a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, and added, "You should donate blood more often."
Zoey's eyes widened. Was that the lame excuse Valerie came up with for slapping her?! Her ear was still ringing, and her face was stinging! ... She was so livid that she almost pounced on Valerie, but their father was still present. Zoey balled her fist and clenched her jaw, forcing herself to keep it in. Standing up, she tried to speak, "Sis– "
"You don't have to thank me. What are sisters for?" Valerie interrupted her with a straight face.
Taking advantage of the situation, Zoey began to weep. "Valerie, you just came back after six years, you should be showing dad that you've repented. Why are you causing dad heartache?"
She was genuinely crying due to that slap. It hurt like hell!
Valerie chuckled, "How I treat him shouldn't concern you, he's my dad after all. You should worry about your father."
"Mathew, call the police and report the murder case!" Mr. Wright suddenly instructed his butler. He has had enough. Valerie left him no choice. Just as he turned and was about to head upstairs, Aunt Martha's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Miss Zoey, don't you think that you're doing too much? Miss Valerie has just returned home, and you want to send her away?"
"How dare you talk to Miss Zoey in that way?" the butler frowned. He felt that Aunt Martha had indulged Valerie too much, which had ruined Valerie's life. "Head back to the kitchen, this instant!"
The old woman placed down the teacup she was holding and laughed bitterly, "Under your watchful eyes, Miss Valerie was about to be sent to prison for a crime she didn't commit."
"Shut your mouth, Martha! Valerie turned out this way because of you! Had you not spoiled her too much, she would have been a decent human and not a murderer!" Mrs. Wright chastised.
"Was that how it was? Why didn't Miss Valerie become unreasonable before you came into her life? If I can recall, Miss Valerie loved you and your daughter when you had just arrived. She was willing to share everything she had with Miss Zoey. How did she suddenly begin to hate you and Miss Zoey? You and your daughter know best."
"Aunt Martha, that's enough," Valerie shook her head. She didn't want the woman to continue. It wouldn't change anything.
If only she had seen the look on her father's face.
"Aunt Martha, I understand that my sister is your favorite, but please, can you not point accusing fingers at my mom? We were not even here when Valerie killed my maid." Zoey looked aggrieved, more tears pulled up in her eyes. She looked pitiful.
"Who said Miss Valerie killed anyone? How could you think the worst of your sister if you claimed to love her so much?!"
"What are you talking about? Didn't she kill the maid? Have you gone blind with age?!" Mrs. Wright screamed. She was going to make this old woman pay for causing unnecessary trouble once this was over, she thought.
"Did you check to know if the maid died or not?" Aunt Martha glared at Mrs. Wright, who looked stunned after her question.
Everyone was thunderstruck! That was right. Nobody checked before accusing Valerie.
The butler snapped out of his daze and hurriedly checked on Maya, only to notice she was still breathing. He looked at Valerie, feeling remorseful, then shifted his gaze to Mr. Wright and said weakly, "She's still alive."
Mr. Wright's eyes widened, without thinking, he barked an order, "Quick, call an ambulance!"