Chapter 3 I Thought Your Design Drafts Were Trash

Brenna looked at the Barrett family with clear contempt, her expression calm as she revealed the truth to the surrounding guests. "For over a decade, this family has capitalized on my designs-transforming a modest auto parts business into a full-fledged car-manufacturing empire, even securing a public listing. But now that they've outgrown their need for me, they're framing me for theft, all to protect their real daughter. How touching," she said with a snort.

Alec's face darkened with fury, his voice rising. "What kind of nonsense is this? You barely made it through grade school. How could you possibly understand mechanical design?"

Brenna held her designs up for the gathering guests to see. "Take a good look. This isn't a blueprint for new energy auto parts. It's an advanced cargo ship design. I have no reason to steal from anyone, least of all Isabella."

Now, the regret hit her hard. In the past, she had been too young to see through Alec's schemes. She had been too trusting to realize why he had insisted on putting his name on her designs.

It was painfully clear now-Alec had been setting this up from the very beginning.

Brenna tapped a line of component names on the blueprint. "Read this carefully. It's in Amland's language, and it translates to 'nuclear-powered cargo ship propulsion system'."

Tilting the paper slightly, she pointed to the faint watermark in the lower right corner, which shimmered under the shifting light. "This is my personal mark. You can compare it to Isabella's so-called 'designs'. Her designs are garbage," she said.

Just as she finished speaking, Sarah Moss, one of the servants, hesitantly stepped forward, holding an identical folder. "Miss Barrett... I thought these were trash, so I threw them in the trash can. These are your design drafts..."

Brenna let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Did you hear that? Even Sarah recognized them as trash."

Isabella's face burned with humiliation. She shot Sarah a murderous glare before yanking the folder from her hands and flipping through it in a panic. Then, with a furious growl, she slammed it down. "These designs aren't mine!" she exclaimed.

Sarah paled, stammering, "I-I didn't mean to say they were trash! I just... mistakenly thought they were and threw them away..."

She trailed off, glancing around awkwardly and realizing there was no way to clarify this without making things worse.

Ruby, unwilling to let Isabella be humiliated any further, immediately shifted the attack back onto Brenna. "Oh, please! Look at yourself. Do you really expect us to believe that someone who never even finished grade school designed a nuclear-powered cargo ship propulsion system? You must have stolen this! People like you bring nothing but disgrace. Don't you dare associate yourself with the Barrett family again from now on!"

Brenna didn't spare Ruby a glance. She simply flipped open both her own design drafts and Isabella's, setting them side by side for the crowd to compare.

Alec's and Ruby's faces immediately turned dark. Alec clenched his fists, his entire body tense with barely restrained anger. Then, he barked, "Enough with this nonsense! Do you really think you made our family rich? The Barrett family's success is built on my and your brother's hard work. You had nothing to do with it! We clothed and fed you for years, and this is how you repay us? You ungrateful brat-get out now!"

Ruby, feeding off his rage, didn't hesitate to pile on the lies. "We took you in, gave you everything, spent millions raising you-and you dare act like you're the victim here? Do you think the scraps of talent you brought to this family mean anything compared to what we gave you?"

Brenna's eyes turned ice-cold. She believed there was no point in arguing with them. She was leaving, and once she walked out that door, the Barrett family's problems would no longer be hers. "Fine. We will have nothing to do with each other from now on," she said.

She bent down to grab her laptop from the floor.

However, Isabella was faster. She snatched the sleek black device before Brenna could reach it, holding it tightly in her grasp. "You're so stubborn, Brenna. I was kind enough to offer you a way out earlier, but in return, you throw dirt on me and my family? You make mistakes, refuse to apologize, then try to turn it around on us? This computer must contain confidential information about the Barrett family. You can't take it with you!"

Before anyone could react, Isabella grabbed a glass of water from a nearby guest's hand and poured it directly over the keyboard of the laptop.

Without warning, Brenna slapped Isabella across the face. Then she grabbed the drenched laptop and immediately began drying it off.

"How dare you hit me?" Isabella gasped, her face twisted with fury. She raised a trembling hand to strike back-only to be slapped again by Brenna.

Ruby, a second too late, lunged forward, incensed. "The Barrett family raised you, and this is how you repay us now? By attacking our real daughter?"

For years, Ruby had treated Brenna as a convenient target for her frustration, an outlet for her anger. But never-not once-had Brenna retaliated.

Ruby wanted to hit Brenna. But something in Brenna's eyes made Ruby falter, her raised hand hanging mid-air.

"Mom, she hit me!" Isabella exclaimed, clutching her stinging cheek, her eyes burning with resentment.

Ruby grasped Isabella's hand, her breath catching at the sight of the glaring red imprint on her precious daughter's face.

"Does it hurt, Isabella?" she asked.

Isabella shot Brenna a venomous glare, her fury boiling over as she lifted her leg, aiming a kick at Brenna while she gathered her belongings.

Brenna dodged instinctively, smoothly. Securing the last of her things, she turned to face them, her voice icy. "Oh? So it hurts? Mom, when you used me as a punching bag all these years, did you ever ask if I felt hurt? You had no problem beating me senseless, but the second I lay a single hand on your precious daughter, you act like you are heartbroken?"

Ruby's eyes flickered with unease for a moment. Then, she recovered quickly, her lips curling in disdain. "And what do you think we took you in for? To pamper you?"

"So you're finally admitting what you did to me." Brenna swept a frosty look over the Barrett family, then swung her backpack over her shoulder. Without a word, she turned to leave.