?Chapter 1445:


    In a fit of frustration, Sandra packed away the expensive items and copsed onto her bed. Tears soaked her pillow as she cried herself into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.


    The next morning, she gazed into the mirror, her reflection a stranger with swollen, red-rimmed eyes. She looked like a shadow of herself, drained and broken. Sheyered on heavy makeup, hoping to mask the evidence of her sorrow, but when she joined the Harper family for breakfast, they still noticed it.


    Seated beside Brenna, with Shepard and Giselle across the table, Sandra kept her eyes glued to her te. Dalton was taking a nap, not needing to go to work today. With her head bowed, Sandra ate in silence.


    Shepard’s sharp gaze flickered toward her, concern etching his features. “Have you been crying?” he asked gently, his voice carrying a warmth Sandra hadn’t expected.


    It was the first time her biological father had shown her such care, and it stirred something deep within her. Believing this was a promising beginning, Sandra resolved not to tell Shepard about Keira’s situation, fearing that it might ruin this moment.


    “Just something in my eye,” she lied, her voice barely steady.


    But her tears betrayed her, spilling over just as Keira’s name shed across her phone. Sandra’s heart sank. She silenced the call and blocked the number.


    Shepard, wise and perceptive, saw through Sandra’s flimsy excuse. “Come on, Sandra. What’s troubling you?” he asked, his tone soft but insistent.


    Sandra’s emotions overwhelmed her, and herposure crumbled as fresh tears fell. Giselle, however, bristled with impatience. Barely a week had passed, and already Sandra had gotten herself in trouble. Was she angling to exploit the Harper family’s wealth and influence so soon?


    To Giselle, Sandra was as sly as a fox, her cunning nature woven into every calcted move. Giselle cast a cold nce at Shepard, not wanting him to meddle in trivial matters. She believed letting Sandra live here was already enough. This child, born out of wedlock, had no right to expect further favors from the Harper family’s storied legacy.


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    Brenna just savored her meal in silence.


    After some time, Sandra’s storm of emotions settled, and she found her voice. “Dad, my mother is caught in the gambling web again. She squandered the eleven million you gave her and is still rolling the dice. I pleaded with her to use that fortune to carve out afortable life—eleven million could cradle her for a lifetime. But she ignored my words and fled overseas to gamble. I’m at my wits’ end; I am unable to stop her…”<fn7c0c> Checktest chapters at FιndＮovel</fn7c0c>


    Shepard let out a derisive huff. “People don’t change. Do you want to help her?”


    Sandra’s heart plummeted at his words. Was Shepard washing his hands of the matter? Should she continue to y the victim and beg Shepard to help her mother? Torn between frustration and duty, Sandra seethed at the Harper family’s icy detachment. How could they turn such a cold shoulder when her mother had gifted them a daughter?


    Sandra shot a nce at Giselle, who red at her with nothing but contempt. Her eyes then drifted to Brenna, who sat quietly at the table, eating as if nothing was happening.


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