Chapter 408

Rina’s Lies

Hal’s proclamation left Titus grim and also resulted in Julia loosening her grip around Rina. I can’t say
he’s wrong; if she really weren’t his daughter, why does she bear such strong resemblance to him?

As though she had sensed the doubt that crept into their minds, a panicked Rina grabbed Julia’s arm
and eyed Titus pleadingly as she urged, “Mom, Dad, don’t fall for his lies! I’m not their daughter. I’m
really not!”

However, Zane had a sadistic smile playing on his lips as he stared at Rina and suggested, “In that
case, why don’t you tell us why you look so much like Hal?”



Rina then glowered at him, anger and hurt flashing in her red-rimmed eyes. You’ve gone too far. Are
you so desperate to expose my identity?

While bristling at the wounded look she was giving him, he felt his lips twitch as he muttered in
exasperation, “What a lunatic.”

“What’s wrong?” Sonia asked.

“Nothing. She merely hates me,” he answered with a casual shrug.

She let out a good-natured laugh as she said in jest, “Well, that’s expected of her, considering you’ve
brought Hal and his wife over.”

As both of them fell into a friendly repartee, Toby merely watched them with his lips pressed into a grim
line. What’s going on? Isn’t Sonia upset with Zane because he was hiding things from her? How is it



that they’re back on good terms all of a sudden? Has she actually forgiven him? The possibility of this
made him clench his fists at his sides.



Across the room, Rina was being scrutinized by Titus and Julia as they waited for her to provide an
explanation. Knowing that she could not escape the ordeal without losing their trust, she took a deep
breath and responded tearfully, “I… I don’t know why I look like him, but I’m really not his daughter at
all. Mom, Dad, please, you have to believe me.”

Greta, however, scoffed in disgust as she seethed, “Don’t be stupid. I gave birth to you and I raised you
for over twenty years, only for you to turn your back on us after finding a pair of rich folks to call Mom
and Dad. How heartless can you be, Taylor?” With that, the older woman reached out and tried to prod
Rina’s forehead with her finger.

Rina immediately ducked behind Titus and Julia once more, evading Greta’s dirty and calloused finger.

An enraged Greta snapped, “Oh, is this how it is now, Taylor? Did your skin grow thicker along with
your new riches? How dare you duck away from me! Come out and let me teach you a good lesson,
you ungrateful brat!”

Hal also added, “Didn’t you hear your mother? Get out here right now!”

“I will not! Why should I when you are both going to beat me to death? I was your punching bag for
over twenty years. Do you really think I’d continue to take your abuse like how I did in the past?” Rina
peeped from behind Titus’ frame and shouted at Hal and Greta spitefully.

“Y-You—” Greta pointed a trembling finger at Rina as she hissed, “You little b*tch! You have some
nerve to speak to us that way. What, do you think you have the world on your side now?”



By the sidelines, Sonia frowned when she heard the rough language Greta used. While she didn’t
fancy Taylor in the slightest, she felt sorry for Taylor for having to put up with a biological mother like
Greta.

After all, it was heartbreaking to hear a mother verbally abuse her own child like this.

“That’s enough!” Titus yelled, his voice resonating throughout the room and effectively putting a stop to
Greta and Rina’s squabble.

Hal and Great might be as bold as they were rude and demanding, but they were lowly peasant folks at
the end of the day. So, they didn’t dare to ruffle the feathers of a rich man like Titus. As such, they fell
silent as soon as he told them to.

“Looks like Titus is taking the reins into his own hands now,” Zane remarked quietly while rubbing his
chin.

Sonia couldn’t see anything, but she heard the furious undertone of Titus’ voice and arrived at the
same conclusion as Zane.

On the other hand, an unfazed and patient Toby continued to stare at the scene before him in silence.

Over at the other side of the room, Titus’ gaze lingered on Hal for a few seconds before he turned to
give Rina a dark look. “You said you were their punching bag for over twenty years, is that right?”

She nodded numbly. “Yes.”

“And these are the Mr. and Mrs. Carey from your past stories, as in the ones who would call you to
pester you for money, is that right?” Titus pressed further.



Upon hearing his voice grow colder, Rina swallowed convulsively. Even though she was deeply
panicked, she nodded and replied, “Y-Yes.”

“In that case, why don’t you explain to me why you said you didn’t recognize him when I showed you
his photo back at the detention center?!” This time, a clearly outraged Titus raised his voice as he
jabbed a finger in Hal’s direction.

All the color drained from her face when she realized that she had been caught lying. She had indeed
said that she didn’t recognize Hal from the photograph on top of feigning cluelessness as to why she
bore such a strong resemblance to him.

However, Rina suddenly let the cat out of the bag that Hal and Greta had abused her for over twenty
years and even admitted that they were her parents when Titus questioned her. I’ve exposed myself!
I’ve as good as told them I know Hal and they’ll know I’m lying about that photo at the detention center!

“My, my,” Zane drawled, then whistled as amusement glittered in his eyes. “Hey, Sonia, looks like Rina
dug her own grave at some point and now she’s jumping into it.”

Sonia smiled at this, pleased with how things were turning out.

Toby, however, narrowed his eyes and kept his gaze on Rina. What is she going to do about this?

Presently, Rina was trembling as her heart leaped to her throat. She had lied to Titus and Julia when
she said she didn’t recognize Hal back then, hoping that they would believe she was their long-lost
daughter. However, she never counted on the probability of Zane bringing Hal and Greta over to
expose her lies.

No. I’ve struggled to come this far and I won’t let Hal and Greta take any of this away from me! With
renewed determination, Rina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. When her eyes
fluttered open a second later, her heartbeat was as steady as it had ever been. She looked at Titus and



Julia with tears in her eyes and shakily elaborated, “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry I lied to you in the past. I told
you that I didn’t recognize Hal and I did so deliberately not for other reasons, but because I hate them
and wanted to cut them off completely.”

After having said that, she quickly rolled up her sleeves to reveal all the scars that marred the skin on
her arm and proof of the horrors of her past.

A mortified Julia clasped a hand over her mouth as she gaped at the scars in shock. Titus, too, fell into
a stunned silence.

Even Zane couldn’t believe what he was seeing and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He knew
how Taylor had brutally suffered under the hands of Hal and Greta; all of the details were recorded in
the information he dug up about them. However, Zane had never seen Taylor’s scars in real life until
now and it was only then that he realized how the pictures of her old wounds had severely downplayed
the actual injuries.

Sonia was quite literally kept in the dark and was oblivious as to this shocking revelation. As for Toby,
he maintained his indifference. At present, he couldn’t care less as to how others had suffered or been
treated unfairly as long as it didn’t involve his family or Sonia, so he felt no empathy toward the scars
on Rina’s arm.

“Mom, Dad, I’ve never shown you these scars. These two people are the reason why my scars exist;
there were times when I thought I would die by their hands and I probably would have if some kind soul
hadn’t saved me. This is the real reason why I hate them with all my being.” Rina pointed at Hal and
Greta with boiling hatred and continued, “It wasn’t until that fateful day when I heard them mentioning I
was not their daughter that I understood why they treated me like that, so I stole the necklace they hid
from me and left that hellhole. Then, I landed here in Seafield. I only managed to reunite with you both
because I saw that you were searching for the owner of this necklace.”


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