Chapter 71

Marissa looked at Susanna calmly, though her fingers twitched slightly as if she were holding something back.

"Life in the city has so much to offer. If she goes back to that small, quiet countryside, how could it ever compare to what she has here?" Susanna muttered bitterly. "I bet she turned around halfway and bribed one of our bodyguards to find out where we get our hair and makeup done.Typical of her."

Every thoughnt she had about Marissa was soaked in resentment. She twisted everything Marissa did into something vile.

Pure hatred contorted her features, her gaze casting Marissa as a monstrous villain.

"Listen, Bryson's already married to Evelina. Stop pestering him, or you'll regret it!" Susanna snapped,glancing around the hall, clearly ready to call someone over to throw Marissa out.

"Bryson? What's he got to do with this?" Phil's voice came through the phone, tight with worry.

He urged the driver to go faster, hoping to stop his wife and daughter before things got worse.

"She's got no shame!" Susanna barked, rolling her eyes before fixing Marissa with a cutting glare."She showed up at the hospital to throw herself at Bryson while Evelina was out getting his medicine! The nerve of her!"

She didn't hold back. She threw every cruel word she could think of, twisting the story into something far worse.

She wasn't about to let Phil fall for Marissa's teary act again. The last thing she wanted was for that girl to stay in their house, freeloading off them any longer. Phil sighed, trying to calm her down. "Just wait for me, alright? Don't overreact, and don't scare Marissa. We'll sort this out when I get there."

Phil had always been the calm one, unlike Susanna,who spoke without thinking. He preferred to handle things rationally.

"I don't care what you say, Phil. I just want her out of Ozreka for good!" Susanna snapped without hesitation.

"Give the phone to Marissa," Phil said firmly. "I'l talk to her myself. You and Evelina should go get your makeup done. You can't be late; it wouldn't look good."

Susanna looked ready to argue, but when she remembered how important the evening was, she gave in with visible irritation.

"Phil wants a word with you," she said coldly,shoving the phone toward Marissa. Then, turning to Evelina,her tone softened. "Sweetheart, go ahead and start your makeup. I'll be right there." Susanna wasn't comfortable with Phil speaking to Marissa alone.

Ever since finding out Marissa wasn't really her daughter, she couldn't stand the sight of her husband and Marissa together. It stirred something bitter in her every time.

They'd come down to have Lottie do their makeup,and now that they were there, Evelina didn't want to leave.

On top of that, Evelina couldn't shake thefeeling that Marissa's appearance wasn't a coincidence.

The makeup artists had been gossiping earlier about some rich man's lover, and Evelina had a sneaking suspicion that it was Marissa.

Seeing Marissa's flawless face, she understood why men were so drawn to her.

"Mom, I'll wait for Lottie," Evelina said, her eyes drifting to Marissa. The makeup on her face had Lottie's signature touch-soft blending, bold highlights. Curiosity slipped into her tone. "Marissa,did Lottie do your makeup?"

"Oh, please. She probably doesn't even know who Lottie is," Susanna sneered, her tone dripping with scorn.

When Marissa didn't reach for the phone, Susanna grew irritated. She thought Marissa was just being difficult. "Can't you hear me? I'm talking to you!Don't just stand there like a statue!"

"Do you really have to talk to her like that?" Phil's tone hardened on the other end of the line. In his mind, if Marissa hadn't gone with her birth parents,perhaps she could just stay in Ozreka.

Tonight's banquet would be full of influential people.He could use Marissa's beauty to lure in a powerful ally for the family business.

"You're always defending her!" Susanna hissed,clearly fed up. "She won't even talk to us, Phil!What's the point of humoring her? Don't tell me you're thinking about giving her money again!" After so many years together, Susanna knew her husband well enough, whenever he was cornered,he threw money at the problem.

If it were anyone else, she'd have let it go. But Marissa? Not a chance.

Deep down, Susanna wanted Marissa to end up miserable, living the same poor, hopeless life Evelina once had.

The idea hadn't even crossed Phil's mind until Susanna said it. After all, Marissa had called him "Dad" for more than twenty years, so it didn't feel right to just turn his back on her.

"Marissa, just tell me how much you need. I'll send it." His voice carried the same fatherly calm.

Marissa had never expected Susanna to turn so cold,so cruel, once their relationship fell apart.

She tried to act detached, but failed. A part of her still cared, no matter how hard she tried not to.

"Dad..." she began softly, unsure what to say. "Two hundred thousand," Phil offered before she could even respond, his tone decisive.