?Chapter 1108:


    Mara’s heart twisted at the sight of her grandson’s tears. “Oh, sweetheart, who bullied you?”


    Feeling emboldened by his grandmother’s presence, Brody Welch straightened up, chin jutting forward. He jabbed a finger at the servant. “It was her! Grandma, make her pay! She wouldn’t let me draw!”


    A deep scowl settled over Mara’s features as she rounded on the servant. “Who gave you the right to tell my grandson what he can or can’t do? You’re just here to serve!”


    The servant stared in disbelief, struggling toprehend such tant unfairness. Frustration colored her voice as she tried to defend herself. “He took Miss Harper’s lipsticks and scribbled on everything. I simply told him not to touch what doesn’t belong to him, and that’s when he started crying and hitting me.”


    Mara brushed the exnation aside with a dismissive wave. “He’s just a little boy. Let him enjoy himself. It’s only makeup—no big deal.”


    Meanwhile, Elena knelt among the chaos, gathering the shredded drafts. Three were beyond saving. Her lips curled into a cold, bitter smile. “No big deal? If I toss him over the balcony, will that still be nothing?”


    Mara’s outrage red. She twisted Elena’s retort on purpose. “Are you saying you want to throw my grandson off the balcony just because he messed up a few things? How petty and cruel you are!”


    Without missing a beat, Lisette swept her son into her arms, sending Elena a furious re. “He’s only a kid. Why make such a big deal out of this?”


    A cold glint shed in Elena’s eyes. Excusing everything as “just a kid” reflected parents’ disregard for responsibility—children only turned out this way because the adults let them. Despite the wreckage in her room, not a single apology hade from any of them.


    Elena spoke in a voice that was cold and clear. “You’re right—the makeup means little. But every one of those design drafts is worth twenty million. That’s sixty million gone in an instant, so when do you n to transfer the money?”


    All the color drained from Lisette’s face as the words sank in.


    With a re as sharp as broken ss, Mara shot back at Elena, “Only a little boy! He’s just being naughty, that’s all! How can you seriously hold a child ountable for this?”


    A faint smile tugged at Elena’s lips. “You’re not a child anymore, are you? What excuse do you have for not teaching him manners and guiding him to own up to his mistakes and make things right?”


    Redness flushed Mara’s cheeks as anger twisted her features. “He’s just lively and curious! Can’t you, years his senior, just let it slide this once?”


    Louis’s fists clenched tighter, irritation flickering in his eyes. Only Mara’s age kept him from giving her a solid beating and knocking some sense into her. Watching Mara continue to shield Brody behind his youth, Louis let out a short, coldugh. “By your logic, if my sister came over and wrecked your house, you would just let it go?”


    Sensing the argument slipping away from her, Mara dug in her heels. “Who has ever heard of a design draft worth twenty million? That’s just a story you made up. Where’s the proof?”


    Louis remained cool as ice. “If you think I’m lying, just ask around. Elena’s reputation as a jewelry designer is global—her drafts sell for twenty million apiece, and people wait in line for a chance to buy.”


    Jewelry design was a foreign world to Mara, but the thought of having to pay out sixty million made her sick to her stomach. Her own family’s finances were always tight. Without Alexander’s help, they’d never have left their cramped apartment behind.


    Mara grumbled under her breath, “If those designs mattered so much, she should’ve kept them safe. How could a child know not to doodle on a sketchbook?”


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