?Chapter 21:


    Both Katelyn and Aimee turned their attention toward the door as it swung open. Sharon stormed in, her finger jabbing toward Aimee as sheunched into a tirade.


    “What the hell is wrong with you, talking about others with no respect? How dare you use us of ruining Katelyn’s chances for a better life? Do you know the time, effort, and energy I poured into raising her, when it was meant for my real daughter?”


    Katelyn’s eyshes betrayed the storm of emotions she struggled to contain.


    Unustomed to such hostility, Aimee’s temper red instantly, herposure shattering.


    “The real mistake here is yours! How could you fail to recognize your own daughter? Wasn’t Katelyn innocent, just a child? What could she have known? You are ming her for your own negligence and failure!”


    Sharon, seething with fury at the blunt exposure of her failings, shot back, “This is a family matter, none of your business! Keep out of it!”


    As Katelyn watched the heated exchange, her lips parted to speak, but before she could utter a word, Lise entered, gently touching Sharon’s arm, attempting to mediate.


    “Mom, calm down. Maybe Katelyn is struggling to ept the sudden changes and is acting out. I understand she is upset. Let her take it out on me—I won’t hold it against her.”


    Throughout her words, Lise avoided ming Aimee, deftly redirecting the focus—and the me—onto Katelyn. Lise cast a nce at Katelyn, a thin veneer of apology clouding her eyes. Her sigh carried the weight of unspoken judgment.


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    “Katelyn, who could have predicted that fate would be so cruel to both of us? But now that things have turned out this way, we must ept what life has dealt us. The Bailey family has cared for you all these years. Do not repay them with pain just because you are feeling temporarily let down.”


    Lise always kept to the moral high ground, her tone brimming with empathy, yet her words cloaked in subtle barbs directed at Katelyn. This was her tried-and-true strategy.


    Hearing this, Katelyn could not help but find it all terribly amusing, her clear eyes brimming with unspoken sarcasm.


    “When have I ever done anything to hurt them?” she asked.


    Lise pressed on, “If you did those things, then why let your friend say such harsh things? Do you have any idea how—”


    Lise’s stance brought clear satisfaction to both Sharon and Jeff. Sharon reached out, took Lise’s hand, and patted it tenderly, her heart swelling with emotion.


    “It is true. Only our real baby girl knows how to look out for us. As for the imposter, no matter how much we do for her, she will never truly belong.”


    Sharon’s praise for Lise was also a thinly veiled condemnation of Katelyn. In Sharon’s eyes, Lise was now the perfect daughter—the one she had always longed for. Next to her, Katelyn was nothing.


    Katelyn sat in stony silence, her hands gripping the nket with white-knuckled intensity. Her eyes were shadowed with profound disappointment, tinged with a deep, unspoken pain. Sharon’s words were like salt searing into her already festering wounds.


    Aimee’s fury was palpable. Lise’s scheming demeanor, her ability to manipte the situation with such ease, was truly infuriating.


    “From start to finish, all those words were mine alone,” Aimee snapped. “Katelyn has never uttered a word against your family. If you have a problem, address it with me directly. Stop hiding behind your bullying of Katelyn!”


    Lise let out another weary sigh, her gaze filled with feigned wisdom. “I know Katelyn’s game. She’s always used others to fight her battles, all the while maintaining a facade of innocence.”


    Katelyn’s eyes grew even sharper, their sarcasm cutting through the air. Her voice was icy, each wordced with frustration. “Lise, spare me your deceitful games. I see through them clearly.”


    Lise was momentarily stunned into silence by the remark, her teeth grinding as she struggled to contain her rising anger. Why hadn’t Katelyn lost herposure and exploded in a fit of rage by now?


    Katelyn’s anger, when unleashed, would paint Lise as more delicate, pitiful, and ironically, more dignified. Yet, despite the biting nature of Lise’s words, Katelyn’s calm demeanor made her appear absurd—almost like a puppet in a farcical y.


    Even now, Katelyn maintained her air of haughty superiority, as if nothing could touch her quiet confidence.


    Upon witnessing Lise’s distress, Sharon’s patience snapped. She advanced toward Katelyn, her voice dripping with scorn.


    “From start to finish, it’s all your fault! If not for you, how could Lise have ever been mistreated like this? You’ve deprived her of everything, and even now, you continue to torment her! Katelyn, you’ve crossed every line!”


    Each word felt like a dagger twisting in Katelyn’s heart. She had done nothing wrong—why was she being condemned by everyone?


    Lise seized the moment to intervene, her voice soothing as she said, “Mom, please don’t hold it against Katelyn. I understand that the earlier incidents weren’t your fault.”


    Katelyn’s fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white as she struggled to contain her swelling disappointment and anguish. “After concealing your true self behind this facade for so long, do you really think people would just believe this pretense of yours is the real you?”


    Sharon’s rage reignited instantly. “Wretched girl! How dare you speak to my daughter like that!”


    Unable to restrain herself any longer, Sharon’s hand shot out,nding a sharp, resounding p across Katelyn’s face.


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