"Isabella."
Serena's voice was calm and cool. "Your business has nothing to do with me."
The implication was clear: her business also had nothing to do with Isabella, so she should mind her own.
Isabella was taken aback. "But we're family now…"
Even as she said it, she felt a pang of resentment.
Serena raised an eyebrow and spoke bluntly. "After twenty years, you even get attached to a dog. So, since you know how to please Mom and Dad, I don't mind them keeping a little plaything like you around."
Isabella's face instantly darkened. Was this bitch calling her a dog?
She made it sound like her parents were just keeping her as an amusing little pet.
It was utterly humiliating!
"If you want to live a quiet life, drop your little schemes, shut your mouth, and just be a good little plaything at home."
Serena leaned in, her voice dropping to a cold whisper near Isabella's ear. "This is your last warning. Otherwise… another twenty years won't be enough to save you."
"My patience is limited. Understand?"
Her cool voice, laced with ice, pierced Isabella's ears.
Serena paid no mind to Isabella's instantly pale face or her trembling body.
She walked past her and left without a backward glance.
Behind her, Isabella stood frozen, Serena's humiliating warning echoing in her mind.
Her whole body felt cold, her face twisted into a grotesque mask.
Isabella thought of the canvas bag Serena always carried and frowned slightly.
What was so special about a country bumpkin's laptop?
"As long as you can get her computer, with my skills, I can find out all her secrets and see what she's really up to." Ian chuckled softly. "Once we have something on her, we can make sure she can never put on airs in front of you again. We'll expose her for who she really is in front of everyone, so she can never compare to you."
Isabella's heart tightened, and her pupils constricted.
She stared in the direction Serena had gone, thinking of the utter humiliation she had suffered today, of Mr. Harrison's coldness toward her and his completely different attitude toward Serena.
Then she thought of her family, who used to dote on her and her alone, now all stolen away by Serena.
Jealousy and resentment burned away her reason.
Her eyes filled with venom as she slowly nodded. "Fine!"

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