Chapter 2 Come Back And Fight Back

"My baby, my baby! No, no, no!" With a scream, Lily suddenly sat bolt upright on the bed.

She opened her eyes and gasped for breath. When she gradually became alert, she found that she was not in a hospital but in a familiar room.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door, mixed with the sharp screech of a car's tires, and a woman's crying.

Lily quickly scrambled out of bed and ran to the window, where she saw a woman was being dragged in the direction of the car by two burly thugs.

Unexpectedly, a very familiar scene replayed in her mind, and without thinking, Lily ran barefoot toward the direction of the stairs.

Lily couldn't tell whether this was a dream or reality. She ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. There was only one thought on her mind, which was to keep her mother with her!

As she ran too fast, she slipped down the last two steps and knelt down. Luckily, she grabbed the guardrail with her hand and managed to stop herself from falling.

Severe pain spread all over her body in an instant, and Lily realized that this was not a dream at all, but a reality.

This was a memory from her early childhood, the year she was in grade 3 of junior high school. The scene she had just witnessed was when her mother was forcibly removed from the Qiao family.

Without even minding the pain in her knees, she got up and rushed out. When she reached there, her mother had already been forced into the car, and the thugs were about to slam the door shut.

"Mom! Mom..." Lily shouted while running, "Let Mom go! Let my Mom go!"

However, those men didn't pay her any heed. When she approached the car, the door was suddenly closed, and the car flew like an arrow from a bow.

The car rushed forward with a crazy curve, and Lily was knocked to the ground. Looking at the direction in which the car disappeared, Lily shouted, "Stop! Stop! Mom! Mom..."

Her past life was cruel and so was this life. She could only watch her mother being taken away. No, this was not something that she wanted to live through again!

"Oh, my! Lily, why are you lying on the ground? It's so dirty. Stand up quickly!" Hearing a familiar voice, Lily was lifted from the ground.

After being set on her feet, Lily frowned slightly when she turned and saw who the woman was. It was Lucia Zhao, a woman that she would never forget for the rest of her life.

"Are you all right? Did you get hurt? Come on, wipe your tears now." Lucia Zhao wiped the tears from Lily's face and said, "From today on, I will be your mother. I will treat you as if you were my own daughter, and our family will love each other in the future."

Lily tilted her head slightly back to avoid Lucia Zhao's touch. She clearly remembered how this woman had treated her "as if she were her own"!

"Yes, sister." At that moment, Claire, who was standing behind Lucia Zhao, stepped forward and affectionately held Lily's hand as she said, "From now on, Mom will treat you as her own daughter, and I will also treat you like my own sister. In addition, our brother will also treat you as his own sister, right?"

When she spoke the last sentence, Claire looked over at Eden Qiao, who was standing not far away, looking disinterested. Claire raised her eyebrows and motioned for him to answer.

Lily followed the direction of her gaze to where Claire was looking. She also held some resentment against Eden Qiao, not because he was a bad person, but because he was the most important person that made Lucia Zhao become the hostess of the Qiao Family, and he was also the reason that her mother had been driven out of the Qiao Family!

Eden's face was devoid of expression. He regarded them indifferently. Finally, when his eyes met Lily's, he nodded.

Seeing his reaction, Claire looked at him reproachfully and turned to Lily as she said with a smile, "My brother is just like this. He doesn't show much enthusiasm to others. You will get used to it."

"Okay," Lily said in a low voice. She lowered her head with a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes, but her voice sounded very grateful. "Thank you for not disliking me. And thank you for treating me as your family."

"What are you talking about? We are family." Lucia gave her a reproachful look, but her words seemed to be full of tenderness.

"Mom is right," Claire smiled. "By the way, have you ever eaten at the Westin Hotel? It's good. We'll take you there for a meal next time. Don't you have Dior's clothes? Next time I'll buy an outfit for you, and a LV bag, and Pomellato jewelry. I will give it to you if you like..."

While Claire's mouth spilled forth the names of luxury brands, Lily sneered. She had already known the "flattery" schemes of this mother and daughter in her previous life.

After a while, Claire finally changed the topic. "Lily, could you do me a favor? Please help me to decorate my new room."

Without waiting for Lily's reply, Claire dragged her away.

As soon as they entered the room, Claire loosened Lily's hand, opened the wardrobe, and said, "Lily, these are all from Dior's clothing line. It's my favorite brand, but I don't think it looks good just hanging like this. Do you have any better suggestions?"

Lily thought of a reply, while a bit of sarcasm played in her eyes. Lily knew this ploy very well. Claire was not really interested in her opinions, and she just wanted to show off!

So she just smiled and shook her head. "I think it looks good."

"What about all my jewelry?" Claire opened her jewelry box and asked for Lily's advice, "Do you think the matching earrings should be placed together with the necklaces or should I split all the earrings and the necklaces?"

"Just arrange them according to your own preferences." Lily still remained indifferent.

Seeing this, Claire felt a little unhappy. She had said so much, but Lily did not appear impressed at all.

Unwilling to give up, she picked up a bottle of perfume from the dresser and said, "This perfume is from Chanel. Dad gave it to me. You have been Dad's daughter for more than a decade, and now, it's my turn to be the daughter. The status of being the Qiao family's daughter is really high class."

Claire finally spoke the truth that was beating in her little heart. Lily sneered and said, "Yes, I was the daughter for more than ten years, and I'm still the real daughter of the Qiao family. What about you? You are only a nominal daughter of my father, but who knows, you might not be his daughter at all."

"You!" Claire glared at Lily and shouted, "Who are you to say I'm not father's daughter? I am Dad's biological daughter!"

"Really? But who can prove it?" Lily raised her eyebrows as she asked.

"Lily Qiao, don't go too far! I've told you that I'm Dad's daughter, so I am father's daughter!"

"Even if you are Dad's daughter, so what? You will not be the lady of the Qiao family in the end."

"You..." Claire was so angry that she hurled the perfume bottle straight at Lily.

Lily had anticipated that Claire would do something like this, so she quickly side-stepped, avoiding the attack. The glass bottle shattered on the ground. At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside, and Dillon Qiao's voice asked, "What is going on here?"

Hearing her father, Lily's eyes sparkled. She lowered herself to the ground and looked up at Claire, seemingly wronged. "Claire, I was kind enough to help you decorate the room. Why did you throw the perfume bottle at me? If I did something wrong, you could have just told me."

When Dillon Qiao entered the room, this was what he saw. He looked at Lily and then at Claire. "What the hell is going on here?"

"No, I didn't do it. She just sat on the ground by herself," Claire explained fearfully.

"Claire, how can you lie?" Lily's eyes turned red as she enlisted the aid of her tears. She covered her injured knees with her hands and turned to her father. "Dad, it hurts..."

Hearing this, Claire reacted immediately. She folded her arms and looked at Dillon Qiao, utterly aggrieved. "It was she who started the fight. If she hadn't hurt me, I wouldn't have thrown the perfume bottle at her."

"Let me see," said Dillon Qiao with concern.

"Dad, look!" Claire lifted her hand, revealing a wound, and she smiled smugly at Lily when Dillon Qiao wasn't looking.

Lily said indifferently, "Claire, you have a strange physique. The wound you just suffered seems to have made a scar already."

Claire's face turned pale. When she was about to refute the accusation, she heard a rebuke from Dillon, much to her unhappiness. "Claire, you are so thoughtless."

After starring at her, Dillon turned around and helped Lily up. When he saw her scuffed and bleeding knees, he felt a touch of guilt. He could not help but scold Claire, "You should admit your faults and not try to frame others. Lily is your sister. How can you do this to her?"

"Dad..." Claire looked at him, feeling wronged, but she could not say anything.

"Claire didn't mean to do it. It's no big deal. My knees were only scratched. Don't blame her, Dad." Lily tried to persuade him. She pulled her hand out of her father's and said, "Dad, I'll go back to my room and have my wound treated."

Looking at Lily limping out of the room, Dillon felt guilty, and he couldn't help but stare back at Claire.

Back at her room, Lily took out the medicine chest and swiftly treated her scrapes. The scene of her mother's eviction was still fresh in her mind.

'Gosh!'

Lily screamed in her heart. After her mother had been kicked out of the Qiao family in her previous life, she had been informed of her death that night. The hospital had said that she had suffered a myocardial infarction that had been caused by excessive stress. This would be listed as the cause of death.

Thinking of this, Lily immediately got up and went downstairs. As soon as she reached the stairway, she heard Lucia's voice drifting up from below. "I'm going out to relax. Don't wait for me to come back for dinner."

Relaxing?

Why did she need to relax at this time? Thinking of the time when her mother would die, Lily immediately understood what Lucia was going to do.

Lily went into a state of panic, and she concluded that she must stop Lucia, or else, all her efforts would be in vain!

'Oh, yes!' Lily's eyes brightened as an idea formed in her mind.