?Chapter 838:


    A derisive snort escaped Elena as she started apuding.


    Her pping captured the crowd’s attention instantly.


    Cecily stopped her performance and looked up, her eyes locking with Elena’s mocking stare.


    Elena’s lips pulled into a slight smile, though her eyes stayed cold.


    “Impressive act. Why don’t you keep the show going?”


    The coldness in Elena’s stare sent a shiver through Cecily, though she quicklyposed herself. She rushed to her feet, ignoring the dirt on her pants, and thrust a finger at Elena. “You thankless brat! Anyone who turns their back on those who raised them deserves to be run over! How dare you sue Sylvia! I’m telling you now—drop thewsuit this instant!”


    “And what if I don’t?” Elena’s tone was cold. “Why should I heed your demands?”


    Cecily made a grab for Elena, her hand slicing through the air. Elena sidestepped smoothly, watching as Cecily raged like a madwoman.


    Elena’s apparent coldness prompted disapproval from the onlookers. “A girl so young, yet devoid ofpassion? She raised you, and that alone deserves your respect.”


    “Turning away from who raised you is an act of a heartless person!”


    “It’s impossible to ever fully repay the ones who raised you. You owe them kindness.”


    As the crowd began to back her up, Cecily wore a look of smug satisfaction. Did Elena forget the Harper family stood at the pinnacle of the’s society, where reputation was everything? If Elena didn’t retract thewsuit, she would tarnish her name.


    Elena, however, saw through the facade and remained unfazed. She steadily brought up a video on her phone and said, “Let me jog your memory on what actually went down. You used that so-called ‘motherly love’ as leverage to try to squeeze half the Harper family’s assets, and now here you are, pretending to be the wounded party again. Haven’t you learned anything?”


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    On the screen, the Reed family’s hunger for wealth yed out in in sight, stirring disgust among the crowd.


    Just moments before, the crowd had been fervently criticizing Elena, but now they halted, struck silent by the truth.


    “This old hag is greedy! She’s after half the Harper fortune—might as well im the entire globe!”


    “Can you believe it? She raised the girl, and now she’s using that to guilt-trip the girl? That’s just shameful!”


    “Any caring mother loves unconditionally, expecting nothing in return but to give everything.”


    “This family is just in it for the money. They’vepletely abandoned any sense of conscience.”


    “I was nearly deceived by her demeanor. Such individuals are unfit to be mothers.”


    As public sentiment started to shift back in Elena’s direction, Cecily attempted to snatch Elena’s phone, but Javier quickly thwarted her by shoving her aside.


    Javier then positioned himself as a barrier between Elena and Cecily, his gaze as cutting as a de. “What are you attempting? Hands off Elena!”


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