Natalie knew her father was a bottomless pit. She whispered, "Mom, Dad demanded a million dors a year for his retirement, but I know it won''t be enough. He knows my secrets and is using them to ckmail me."


    He was insatiably greedy, and she was already filled with regret.


    He would only me her and her mother for ruining his happiness, remembering only the good times with Wendy.


    He would get lost in his own world, endlessly reying every fond memory with her, blowing them out of proportion while pushing away the people who actually cared about him.


    She knew her father''s personality all too well.


    Sophia flew into a rage. “That useless bastard! You''re his daughter, and instead of helping you, he''s plotting against you? What good is a father like that? Only a fool like Wendy would have treated him like he was priceless."


    Sophia was jealous of Nathan. Wendy had been genuinely good to him-incredibly


    So.


    She prepared three meals a day for him, bought him thetest designer clothes every season, and never hesitated to spoil him with luxury cars and expensive watches.


    And as for her, the money that trickled down from Wendy was enough to let her live in luxury for the rest of her life.


    Joanna knew better than anyone how well Wendy had treated her father. In fact, she regretted leaving Wendy too.


    From now on, she''d have to buy her own limited-edition clothes; Wendy used to thoughtfully pick them out for her.


    She had lived like a princess, and Natalie''s misery only highlighted how happy she''d been.


    Joanna gave a bitter smile. "Mom, Wendy was a good person."


    Thement made Sophia snap. She sneered, "If Wendy was so great, why did you scheme against her? Why not let her stay your mother forever!"


    Joanna fell silent, her gaze dropping. She couldn''t say a word.


    She knew exactly why. Her birth mother only cared about money truly, nothing


    else. She''d never once shown any genuine concern for her.


    Sophia took a deep breath. Sometimes she felt like Evelyn Carrington was more of a daughter to her.


    At least Evelyn always considered her feelings.


    People were like that-theytch


    onto the first person who is nice et and stubbornly believe t


    them re


    a good person.


    But she couldn''t say that out loud; it would create a rift between them.


    “Alright, Joanna, what''s done is done. Let''s not talk about it anymore. What was this n you mentioned?"


    Sophia knew Joanna missed Wendy. She had been spoiled like a princess, but Sophia couldn''t give her any of that.


    Sooner orter, a rift would form between them.


    And sooner orter, Joanna would realize it too.


    Joanna pulled herself together. The


    woman


    front of her was her


    biological mother, and she had


    shown concern for her over


    l.ne


    the


    years.


    She had to keep telling herself that to feel better, to convince herself she hadn''t made a mistake.


    "My dad cheated with a secretary a while back, and I have the evidence. We can use it to force him into divorce. But you need to get Mr. Wilson to give him five million


    dottars as a one-time buyout.


    "


    Sophia stared at her, stunned. There was no emotion in her daughter''s eyes. Five million dors to buy out a family bond?


    Was that how Joanna saw family? Something that could be bought and sold?


    For all her own selfishness over the years, Sophia had never thought of putting a price on kinship.


    She let out a smallugh. Turns out, they were both just as selfish as each other.


    Joanna then asked, “Mom, are you sure you and Mr. Wilson are going to get married?"