Ti passed quietly.
A maid eventually noticed her and approached with cautious steps.
"Miss Brenda, do you need anything?" she asked politely.
Brenda looked at her, and a mory surfaced.
This was the sa maid who had once advised her that if she wished to survive in the Almond family, she must obey Mr. and Mrs. Almond’s every order.
From the mont Brenda had returned to the family, there had been no overwhelming joy.
No tears of reunion. Instead, she had felt as though she was being evaluated, like a rare product placed under inspection.
When they discovered that Brenda possessed strong talent while Lana had appeared ordinary at the ti, they had quickly sided with her without hesitation.
Her brothers had been no different.
At first, they had shown little enthusiasm, even ignoring her.
Then one day, almost abruptly, they began treating her with exaggerated kindness and support.
Now she wondered if all of them had hidden motives.
’Were they hiding sothing from ?’ she thought uneasily. ’Or were they planning to use soday?’
Suddenly, it seed that Lana had not been the villain in this story at all.
Perhaps Lana had simply been another tragic figure, silently enduring everything without ever revealing the truth.
But what troubled Brenda most was one question.
’Why didn’t Lana tell earlier?’
Did Lana want her to suffer?
No. If that were the case, Lana could have revealed everything the mont Brenda returned, ensuring that every display of parental kindness would feel like a dagger in her heart.
So why had Lana remained silent?
The more Brenda thought about it, the heavier her guilt beca.
A faint voice inside her heart whispered an answer.
’Because Lana knew she was enjoying certain things here.’
Perhaps it was not genuine love, but it was access to resources, protection, and opportunities, things Lana might never have received if the truth had been exposed earlier.
Lana might have stayed silent out of courtesy for the comfort she had been given by the Almond family.
Brenda took out her phone and sent a ssage to her ntor.
"I don’t want to take revenge on Lana anymore."
She had once planned to call Lana’s biological parents to the university, intending to expose and tornt her.
But now, as she reflected on everything, she felt ashad.
If Lana had already suffered enough injustice since childhood, what right did Brenda have to judge her?
Moreover, Lana had not sched against her after Brenda returned.
Brenda got to know her true identity because of Lana’s montary curiosity.
She sighed deeply and rubbed her face in frustration. Everything felt painfully complicated. She no longer knew what was right or wrong.
The maid observed her strange behavior and narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Is sothing troubling you, Miss Brenda?" she asked gently.
Brenda looked up and studied the maid’s face.
"When you told that I should obey Mr. and Mrs. Almond to make them happy," Brenda began slowly, "why didn’t you ntion how much they owe ?"
The maid looked puzzled.
A faint, almost mocking smile curved Brenda’s lips.
"Shouldn’t they be the ones compensating ?" she continued. "Shouldn’t they be enthusiastic about holding close and taking care of ?"
Her eyes darkened.
"But I don’t see that happening."
She leaned back into the sofa.
"You told to obey them. Why didn’t you tell them to take care of their daughter? If they don’t... then maybe I should just leave."
The maid fell silent, clearly caught off guard. After a mont, she asked carefully,
"Did sothing happen at the university that caused this sudden agitation?"
Brenda let out a short, humorless laugh.
"What could possibly make agitated at school?" she asked calmly. "At the university?"
The maid hesitated before sitting beside her.
"Perhaps Lana said sothing," she suggested cautiously. "Maybe she tried to provoke you, and you’re upset because of it."
Brenda turned her head slowly.
"What kind of provocation could Lana possibly use against ?"
The maid, thinking she understood the situation, quickly replied,
"She must have told you that your parents owe you more than what you owe them."
"But from her perspective, it was always Lana... "
Before the maid could finish her sentence, Brenda raised her hand and interrupted her, her voice cutting through the warm kitchen air like a blade.
"I don’t want to hear that sa script again," Brenda said calmly, though her eyes were frighteningly cold. "I want an answer to a question."
The maid’s heart skipped a beat; however, she maintained a poker face.
"What is it, Miss Brenda?" she asked cautiously.
Brenda looked at her with a chillingly composed expression.
"What was Lana’s favorite food?"
The maid paused, clearly taken aback by the sudden question.
"She... she loved dumplings," the maid replied after a mont. "Especially the handmade ones."
A strange smile appeared on Brenda’s lips. It was not warm; it was thoughtful.
"Do Mr. and Mrs. Almond know that?" Brenda asked quietly.
The maid hesitated, misinterpreting the question as jealousy. She shook her head slightly.
"You might not know this, Miss Brenda," she said gently, "but Mr. and Mrs. Almond often felt they couldn’t connect with Lana. They hardly spent ti with her."
She reached out and held Brenda’s hand, offering a reassuring smile.
"You should be happy," she added. "You have a family who chose you even without knowing your blood. They were never close to Lana."
Brenda let out a soft chuckle, though there was no humor in it.
"Indeed," she murmured. "What a chilling family."
She slowly withdrew her hand.
"From what I’ve investigated, Lana did so much for this family. Yet they never grew close to her. So how can I be assured that even if I do countless things for them, they will remain warm toward when I need them?"
The maid stared at her in disbelief. She had never expected Brenda to question things so clearly.
She opened her mouth to defend the family, but before she could speak, Brenda stood up abruptly.
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